Chilly celebration at the ballpark

You know you live in Indiana when you’re on your way to a baseball game and you haven’t put the snowshovels away yet.
That’s where we found ourselves Friday afternoon as we left for Fort Wayne to catch our first TinCaps game of the season.
The occasion was Connie’s birthday, but it was also a great excuse to launch another baseball season.
Mother Nature, of course, had other plans.
There was a reason we still had a pair of snowshovels leaning against the wall by the back door.
In Indiana and Ohio this time of year, you never really know what to expect. And Friday’s weather was chilly, misty, and damp.
Not exactly perfect for a night at the ballpark.
Usually, we focus on afternoon games, usually on Sundays when a good game helps stretch the feeling of a lazy weekend.
But because of the birthday and because it was opening week, we decided to book a room at the new hotel by Parkview Field. That way we wouldn’t be driving home late at night, and if the weather turned too ugly we could scurry a few hundred yards back to our hotel.
It wasn’t raining when we left Jay County, but a drizzle appeared just about the time we crossed the Allen County line. Fog and mist shrouded the landscape much of the way.
Fortunately, by the time we reached Fort Wayne the drizzle had stopped and the fog had lifted. Now all we had to deal with was the temperature.
We came prepared: Extra layers, fleece, hats, jackets, a scarf, and a blanket.
That sounds more like the packing list for a football game in November than a baseball game in April.
But trust me, we needed just about everything we packed.
The crowd, understandably, was a little thin. There aren’t a whole lot of folks crazy enough to sit in a damp stadium with temperatures in the 40s and a chilly breeze just to watch A-level minor league ball.
But what we lacked in numbers we made up in spirit.
And a birthday package I’d put together with the TinCaps added to the occasion. Connie’s name was read over the PA system, and she received a team-autographed ball.
But the real hit was having her picture taken with the Bad Apple Dancers, the TinCaps staff members who drag the basepaths a couple of times each game and do a mock-disco dance routine.
Still, we shivered, making full use of the blanket as the game wore on.
It warmed us up a bit that the TinCaps won, but we were glad to get back to our hotel and turn up the thermostat.
It wasn’t until we got home in the middle of Saturday afternoon that the temperature started to rise and spring began to feel serious about its arrival.
It was then — and only then — that I took the decisive step and put the snowshovels away in the garage.
And even now I suspect I’ll have to go looking for them one more time.[[In-content Ad]]