July 13, Brewster, Orleans

I pulled a double-header today, finally getting interviews at the parks that are closest to me. (I had previously been to Brewster 3 times and Orleans twice, all without interviews. Brewster as a fan, and Orleans because, well, when I went last week, the wind was so strong that I had no chance at usable audio, so I just watched a few innings and went home.)

I started my day in Brewster -- a small, new (opened in 2006) ballpark behind one of the elementary schools. It and YD are my two favorite parks of the five I've been to this year -- and six, counting Hyannis which I have not been to in three or four years. It's funny to me that I like the two parks without lights the best. It has nothing to do with day baseball versus night baseball, though I do find some sense of old-timey local feel in day games that isn't quite the same under the lights...

I started my day sitting at a picnic table about 200 feet down the right field line. I sat next to a senior citizen who spends his winters in the Ft. Myers area and has been to a number of minor league and spring training games since living there. I talked with him for the first three innings of the game, though not on tape. (He was too quiet of a talker, I was too far away, and I just enjoyed the leisurely pace of our conversation...about an hour to say seven minutes worth of things. Very baseball-esque...and I love it.)

I started my process in the 4th inning, walking the ballpark once around to scout the fans and then pick my subjects. The first two I spoke to rejected my request to speak to me. One of them, as soon as I left, said something to someone next to him and the whole section started laughing. I can only assume it was about me, and I don't particularly care. I've developed a thick skin through my years in the hospitality industry, though it's been 3 since I've been in said industry.

I ultimately found a man in center field who was a great conversation, but I froze while on tape. The interview was only okay, but it was my fault, not his. Well, live and learn. The process itself is a means of education just as much as the final product will be.

My next interview was a man on top of the hill offset about 30-degrees towards the first-base side of the plate. I hit the jackpot. He is a Cubs fan -- or was, until his son got drafted by the Yankees and now plays for the Class-A-Advanced Tampa Yankees. His son is Zach McAllister. I wish him luck. I did not meet him, obviously, since it is during the season, but his father is an incredibly nice man.

(Also a note while I'm putting names down to look for in the future: Brewster's OF David DiNatale (Miami, '09) showed some AMAZING defense on MULTIPLE plays. His offensive numbers suggest a lack of plate discipline and/or inability to pick up the breaking ball. (3 walks, 13 strikeouts in 35 at bats.) He is also the oldest member of the team, so I would guess he won't be drafted...and if he does, he has a lot of work before he can make it. (Future knuckleball pitcher, perhaps?) Also: When one of Harwich's hitters got up, the man next to me said, "He's one of the best hitters in the league" and then he hit a home run. I want to say it was Dustin Ackley (UNC '10), but I am going to double-check that when I check the box score tomorrow. If the name is wrong, I'll make a note of it in my next post.)

That game ended as it started -- with non-recorded conversations. This time with old bosses. The game was called due to darkness at 8 PM. A 3-hour Cape League game is not normal...so it was off to Orleans.

--

I got to Orleans in the top of the 6th. Orleans had a 3-0 lead over Bourne and Bourne had been held to only one hit. I quickly walked the entire park and tried to find a subject.

A lot of people love Orleans, but I don't. Too many people in too small of a place. The hill where people sit is awkwardly shaped and certainly too cramped to get an interview. (the only place I could stand to interview people would be an awkward angle.) Behind the plate is too congested and would likely yield too much side-noise. So I'm left with the 14 fans leaning on the outfield fence.

I found one.

Jackpot.

He's a high school teacher who coaches his school's baseball team. While everyone else's interview has been somewhere between 4 and 7 minutes, his was 12. And I didn't ask him nearly as many questions. He just kept going saying, "You'll edit this down. I can ramble, right?" I, of course, let him, as I was unsure what I was going to get out of him but I knew it would be good.

He spoke of the differences in the game fundamentally in each locale and level speaking from his unique perspective. He turned his head away at a few times, so his voice isn't always perfectly clear, but the sound quality on this is better than I'd feared. His "Baseball Is..." answer was really closer to four answers, including answers to questions I'd never thought of asking.

To sum up his round-about answer: Baseball is a game that demands passion from its fans, because without passion, it's boring.

But in spite of the 4-and-a-half hours of live baseball tonight, I certainly was not bored at all.

After finally interviewing in Orleans and Brewster, I realize that I need to make it back to YD at least twice because it was, by a long shot, the most successful day I had.