Sugar Land Skeeters fans are no stranger to sellout crowds, long bathroom lines, or parking in far-flung dirt lots. Fifty out of the 52 home games played at the $37 million Constellation Field, just a 25-minute drive from downtown Houston, have been sellouts.
What’s new to them, however, is tickets exceeding $200 (according to StubHub, 33 of them eclipsed that mark) or the national media coverage. But that comes with the territory when Roger Clemens, a 50-year-old seven-time Cy Young Award winner, is making his Skeeters debut, five years after his last appearance on the mound with the New York Yankees.
To read the full article on Clemens’ debut with the Skeeters, visit ESPN Playbook.
Lightning may not strike the same place twice, but who says Opening Day can’t happen twice?
Thursday night that’s exactly what greater Houston residents will get to see — a second baseball Opening Day, Opening Day for the new Atlantic League Team in Sugar Land, the Sugar Land Skeeters. And thanks to the novelty of this new independent league team, some Outer Loopers are about as excited for the Skeeters and their new $36 million stadium as they were for the Houston Astros’ Opening Day. If not more.
The Skeeters, at least for now, are new and refreshing. They aren’t coming off the worst record in franchise history. They didn’t go through any ownership or changing leagues drama in the offseason.
For those unfamiliar with this minor league free agent league the Skeeters are part of,it allows all 30 Major League Baseball clubs to sign a player at any time from the A.L. (which stands for Atlantic League, not to be confused with the American League which the Astros will soon be joining) and assign them anywhere within their organization. This is a huge gateway for ballplayers, both old and still relatively new (the age range on the Skeeters roster currently goes from 24 to 34), to try and make it into Major League lineups.
The most recent guy to have success with this free agent (and often last chance) model of minor league baseball is Houston native and Rice University graduate Lance Pendleton who was recently signed to pitch for the Tampa Bay Rays. Prior to this deal, Pendleton signed a minor league contract with the Astros and was released on March 30, 2012 as a free agent which sent him straight into the glove of the Skeeters.
In a press release issued by the Skeeters, Pendelton said, “Being from the Houston area, I knew the Skeeters would give me the best shot to showcase my arm. The organization really treated me with open arms. It is a double-edged sword though.
Sugar Land Skeeters
“I am upset to leave home where my family is, but this is an opportunity I cannot pass up.”
When asked about being competition for the Astros (mostly in the form of ticket sales and fan loyalty), Skeeters marketing communications manager Bryan Hodge responded with: “This area is a huge baseball market. Whether it is youth leagues or the Astros, everyone loves baseball here.
“We do not see the Astros as competition. We believe this market is suited for both teams to prosper and benefit each other. The more people watching and talking about baseball, the better it is for the growth of the sport.”
This just shows one of the many goals of the Skeeters organization — to further the mission of baseball by grooming these men on the Sugar Land field or helping them find their spot within MLB organizations. Aside from the actual sport itself, Hodge promises fun filled nights of entertainment for guests — that brand of entertainment you only find in the minor leagues.
“We will have the Cowboy Monkeys, a man who will light himself on fire and run the bases, fireworks, Roger Creager, concerts and more! We are a circus with a baseball game,” Hodge says half joking, half serious.
And it’s almost part of the game in Minor League Baseball to come up with wackiest and wittiest promos each year. MiLB.com even runs a contest to showcase the craziest ones — here’s hoping this new Sugar Land team can top that list some day.
The Skeeters will play 70 regular season home games at the brand new Constellation Field which broke ground in April of last year and has since generated an immense amount of buzz from locals. The $36 million stadium on Highway 6 is equipped with luxury suites, party seats, decks and even lawn seating where fans can sprawl out on blankets and battle the Texas heat.
Fans also seem to be excited about catching a glimpse of the eight-story HD video board in the shape of Texas.
Opening Day for the Skeeters is 7:05 p.m. Thursday at Constellation Field against the York Revolution. The game is completely sold out. Some lawn seats remain for the other games in the opening weekend series. Constellation Field has 6,000 reserve seats and the capacity for about a 1,000 more on the lawn or in standing room. Ticket prices for non-suite seats range from $7 to $12 (kids who show up in a youth baseball uniform are let in free).
Now those folks outside the Loop finally have a stadium to call home.
This article was featured on Culture Map, Houston’s Daily Digital Magazine in the sport’s section.
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Before you go assuming that a gal who writes something titled The Blonde Side made some super heinous mistake saying an NCAA baseball team played a pro team, take solace in the fact I know what I’m talking about. At least this once. Especially since I was there.
I should also note, that on a game schedule with 58 games for Florida State, only one of them is denoted with a “!” and that of course is this one.
Yesterday I had the chance to attend the Philadelphia Phillies first Spring Training game of 2012 at Bright House Field in Clearwater, FL against none other than my Florida State Seminoles. It’s not everyday you get to watch your favorite college team play the 2011 National League East champs in beautiful sunny 79 degree weather to kick off the season.
Many MLB teams pit their first game against a local (or in this case semi-local) team which does a lot for both teams and is an exciting atmosphere to take in a game. Yesterday’s game marks the 12th time Florida State has faced a major league team posting a record of 2-10 (including yesterday’s loss). Their only two wins come from beating the NY Yankees (1978) and the Atlanta Braves (1981), but the squad usually fares pretty well against these pro teams.
The experience breakdown for this 2012 Florida State squad has 17 players returning combined with 17 newcomers. The team is comprised of 7 seniors, 7 juniors, 2 redshirt sophomores, 3 sophomores, 1 redshirt freshman, and brand-spanking new 16 freshman. The Seminole baseball team is no stranger to wins and big games with 49 NCAA appearances, 20 CWS appearances and 5 ACC titles under the belt.
The fans appeared pretty evenly split at Bright House, but I can assure you when those garnet and gold pinstriped underdogs did something good, the crowd went wild. Even the crowd dressed in their Phillies garb. Case in point: when senior RHP Adam Simmons struck out big-leaguer Jim Thome (who recently just rejoined the Phillies organization) at the plate, the crowd went bananas. I’m talking Gwen Stefani B-A-N-A-N-A-S.
Another notable difference in a game like this? Seeing a collegiate pitcher hit a pro at the plate and then mouthing “sorry”. No where on a Major League mound will you see that sort of conciliatory emotion. It’s kind of refreshing to see, at least at the start of the season. I too have had many a smiles watching guys like Vincente Padilla terrorize batters and conversely, guys like Nyjer Morgan charge the mound or drop an F-bomb in the batter’s box.. Or four.
The Noles pitching and defense held the Phillies scoreless through 5, and then tied it up in the 7th after FSU capitalized and scored a run on a wild pitch. Like clockwork, the fans in the crowds started cheering:
The game definitely heated up in the 7th when senior RHP Mack Waugh got called for a balk and
FSU Head Coach, Mike Martin (photo courtesy of Zimbio)
Florida State head coach Mike Martin (currently in his 33rd season with a FSU record of 1673-577-4) went out to “talk” to the umpire which got fairly animated to say the least. It was the first standing ovation of the day.
How Martin didn’t get booted from the game was beyond me, but the guy was fearless and genius and I’m now a forever fan. Martin, no stranger to FSU or the game of baseball, graduated from Florida State in 1966 and went on to be drafted in the 25th round by the NY Mets later that year.
The Phillies eventually went on to win the game 6-1, where I’m sure all 4,399 fans at Bright House Field can vouch for the valiant effort put forth by the boys of Florida State.
Side note: something I learned – Spring Training games can end in a tie. Maybe that’s where Donovan McNabb got confused a few years ago?
Follow Florida State Baseball on Twitter @FSU_Baseball
https://theblondeside.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/TheBlondeSide_Mike_Martin_zimbio.jpg594416Jaymehttps://theblondeside.com//wp-content/uploads/2018/06/1526998321020-300x192.pngJayme2012-03-01 10:13:522012-03-02 15:10:16FSU vs. Phillies
