Royalty spends a Saturday in different ballparks as the doubleheaders keep on coming!

View from behind home plate at Coca Cola Park

Saturday afternoon the King and I went back to Yankee Stadium for game two of the series between the Angels and the Yankees in the Bronx.

This time the Halos took extended batting practice as they belted three home runs off of Yankee starter and loser Phil Hughes who got beat up. Chris Iannetta, Howard Kendrick and Vernon Wells did the honors as the Angels evened the series at a game a piece as they cruised to an easy 7-1 victory.

After the game, we met our pal Vincent Ascanio outside the Stadium as he joined us for the second game of the doubleheader we were going to see. The King who had rented a car from Avis for the week. He drove us 100 miles to Allentown, Pennsylvania to see some minor league baseball.

We went to one of the best minor league ballparks in the country, Coca Cola Park, home of the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, the Triple A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. Our buddy Jason Grilli, spent some time there last year before he returned to the Major Leagues and joined the Pittsburgh Pirates as a free agent due to a stipulation in his contract.

The IronPigs were hosting the Rochester Red Wings, the Minnesota Twins' farm team.

One of the highlights on this night wasn't even on the field. We were standing behind home plate watching the game. All of a sudden, a guy named Diamond Jim as he said his name was noticed a familiar face. He saw the King who he remembered from the past from going to games there. The King has a notorious signature strikeout call that he does that drew Diamond Jim's attention. Diamond Jim was an older gentleman. He couldn't wait for a Red Wing to strike out so he could hear the King bellow. He got his wish on four occasions as the IronPigs' pitchers combined to strike out the Red Wings' batters four times during the game.

As a result, the King made Diamond Jim's night. It was a real treat to see this guy enjoy the King's festivities.
As for the game we saw, the IronPigs broke a 2-2 tie in the bottom of the seventh inning as they scored three runs as their center fielder Rich Thompson doubled in the go ahead run and former Phillie Domonic Brown added a two run triple for insurance as the IronPigs' went on to win the game, 5-2.

Stay tuned for another special post as the doubleheader weekend of games continued on Sunday.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman