Portland Seadogs @ Binghamton Mets

Day 2 of my 3 day trip took me to Binghamton NY. The trip took about 1hr and 20 mins from Scranton. Binghamton is the home of the AA Affiliates of my favorite team the New York Mets.
The B-Mets were starting a 3 game series vs. the AA Affiliates of the Boston Redsox. The Portland Seadogs.
When I left Scranton it was raining and cold. The temp was around 45 degrees. Not ideal baseball weather. I figured this to be a bad sign.
I got to NYSEG Stadium by around 10:30 hoping to get B-Mets as they entered the stadium. Since I got there so early I think there may have been only a few team personal in the stadium. While in the parking lot I noticed that the Centerfield fence was opened. This is not public access to the stadium since it leads directly out onto the field. I figured why not try to walk in the stadium and take some pictures.
 View looking at the scoreboard. Note the fence opened up. That is where I walked onto the warning track.
                                                            The B-Mets bullpen seating



                                                        B-Mets dugout. Note the heater. It was a cold day
                                                                The B-Mets bullpen
                               View into the bullpen seating. Does not look very confortable
I never walked onto the field. I walked on the warning track and down the right field line. I was worried about being seen and who knows how any of the stadium personal would have reacted. So, I went back to my car and took a little nap. The players started to arrive at the stadium around 12:30. But, at this point the rain was pretty heavy and I'm sure you all know heavy rain does not make for good graphing weather. It was driving me crazy seeing all of these players walk into the stadium and I couldn't ask for autographs because of the stupid rain. I knew who most of them where since most of them played in Brooklyn in years past.
I probably waited around till about 3:00pm, hoping the rain would stop. But, it never did. So, I grabbed something to eat and then checked in at the hotel.

I came back to the stadium around game time. The rain had lighted up. But, still not the best for graphing. My orignal plan was to get the B-Mets outside before the game and then the Seadogs before the game inside. But, my plans changed abit. I really wanted the B-Mets. So, I started hanging out on the B-Mets side. The tarp at this point was removed and the rain turned into a mist. Since there was no BP the players took there sweet time coming onto the field and most of them stayed in the dugouts near the heaters. At one point the rain pretty much stopped and I was able to get Cory Vaughn and Danny Muno on 4 card each. Then the drizzle started again. In Binghamton some of the seats are covered. So, I headed for cover and sat high up in the stands behind the plate. My seat was acutally 2 rows behind the B-Mets dugout. But, I was not going to sit there a get wet. It probably would not have been so bad if it wasn't in the low 40's.
One thing I noticed is. The weather did not stop the locals from coming out to the game. If I lived there I woudn't be at the game. I skipped the Ducks Championship game last year because the weather was similar. The only difference is it was in October and not late May.
So, no I'm in my seat wondering if any of the pitchers will sit in the stands  and chart? Well, They did.  3 Seadogs and 2 B-Mets. One of the Seadogs sat a few seats from me in the same row. Right of way I noticed Rafael Montero who was just sent back from Las Vegas to make a spot start for the Mets AAA team. I got him just before the game started on 2 of the 4 cards I had for him. I was not sure who the other B-Met was and didn't ask him.
Now I'm trying to figure out who the 3 Seadogs where and I figured 1 of them was Matt Barnes. He is the 3rd overall top prospect in the RedSox system and there top pitching prospect. He had gotten up in the middle of an inning to get food and I asked him if he would sign and he said after the game.
I was so cold I was about to leave without getting him. By the 7th inning the rain picked up and became heavier. According to the temp on the scoreboard it was 41 degrees. I was ready to bolt. But, I held out and he signed a OMLB on the SS for me.
I was hoping to stay after. But, with the rain and the cold I headed back to the hotel unhappy and only got 9 autographs for the day. This brings my total to 32 for the 2 games. Which is horrible. I'm sure I would have gotten atleast 50 between the 2 games.

                                                                     Matt Barnes
                                                           Montero, Vaughn and Muno

In the case of the weather there is noting you can really do.

A few more pics of the stadium


   One of the team mascots during a pizza giveway promotion in between innings

A note about the stadium. The stadium was built in 1992 and the B-Mets are its original tenants.
Its a DUMP for a AA facility.. I had been there probably 6 or 7 years ago and forgot how crappy it was. The concourse is dark and cramped and I've been to Indy League stadiums that are far better. Hopefully it gets renovated soon.
The only thing I like about the stadium is the train yard beyond the outfield wall. At various time during the game you will see freight trains moving along the tracks.


Tomorrow I'm hoping to write about my 3rd day of the trip which was in Cooperstown.
Yesterday I went to the Ducks game and today I went to Bridgeport to see the Patriots play the Bluefish.

One change I've just made to my Blog was to add a Game Log Page. In the beginning of each post I will note which game the post was for me. There may be games I attend that I do not graph.
The Binghamton game was game no. 9 for this season.

Thanks for Reading and Check Back Soon!!!!

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