Royalty goes to Gwinnett to see the other Braves play in August!‏

Welcome to the Peach State

After spending the night in Chattanooga, Tennessee, I returned to the Peach State to wrap up my weekend getaway down South. Since the Atlanta Braves had their game changed from a day game to a night game to accommodate ESPN, I decided to go to Gwinnett that afternoon instead. I knew all along that was going to happen. I didn't wait for the official announcement. I decided that it made more sense for me to fly back that Sunday night from Atlanta . I didn't want to get up extra early to go back home bright & early Monday morning since I had another busy day planned which included doing a lot more driving. As it turned out my pal Gio Gonzalez was pitching that night too since the Braves were playing the Nationals. As they say, you win some, you lose some. I made the best of the circumstances I was given.

On my way to Gwinnett which is a suburb north of Atlanta‎, I stopped off at a Waffle House where I got to enjoy a royal breakfast to start my day off right. It worked out well as I wound up pressing for time. They serve food good fast as they like to say. I was a satisfied customer. After I got done eating, I got back in the car & I  finished the drive to Lawrenceville which is the town in Gwinnett county. When I got off the highway, I had to drive a few miles to get to Coolray Field which is where the Gwinnett Braves play. They're the Triple A affiliate of their parent club, the Atlanta Braves. That day they were playing the Norfolk Tides, the Baltimore Orioles' farm team. 

 

Coolray Field, Home of the Gwinnett Braves 

Upon entry, I went to the guest services booth where I was greeted by a gentleman named Dan. He made me feel right at home. He thanked me for coming out to the game. I told him it was my first visit. He told me I'm happy you're here. After talking for a few minutes with him, I went on my merry way. He directed me to the team store since they didn't have the passport stamp at that booth anymore. He said they used to. He searched high & low before he asked a co-worker for assistance. That person told him they have it at the team store. I proceeded to go there. After I got validated, I went & I sat down behind home plate so I could relax & enjoy the game.

 

Here's my official stamp

Here I am getting ready for the game to start

As for the game I saw, the hometown Braves wound up blanking the Tides, 2-0. The Braves got a fine performance out of their starter, Mike Wright who threw seven shutout innings. The bullpen preserved the last two innings as the people who showed up got to go home happy.

After the game, I drove an hour or so to the airport which is located south of downtown. I had to maneuver around some traffic as I approached downtown Atlanta. I saw a sign that said a few lanes were closed, so I got off the highway as I noticed the traffic building up to a standstill & I drove around on the streets in the downtown area before I was able to get back on the highway to get to the airport. Since it took me longer than I expected, I decided to go right to the airport instead of stopping somewhere to have dinner along the way. I stopped off for gas right near the exit for the airport then I returned the Chevy Sonic I rented for the weekend to Hertz. I wound up driving 1,004 miles safely. I proceeded to check in for my flight on Delta Airlines. After I got through security, I saw a Bojangles' which is a fried chicken restaurant near my gate. I  decided it was "Bo time" if you will. That's what their slogan said. I sat down, relaxed & I enjoyed some more Southern Hospitality before it was time for me to depart for my flight back home. 

While I waited for my flight to leave, I got to follow the game I was missing at Turner Field in Atlanta on my phone using the MLB At Bat app. Since Gio was pitching I was following it very closely as I always do when he pitches. He struggled in the first inning. He then seemed to have settled down for the next two innings. Since it was time to take off, I couldn't follow anymore. When I landed at LaGuardia shortly after 11PM that night, I found out that Gio got roughed up. With that being said, in retrospect, I made the right decision after all. I would have loved to have seen him pitch regardless but the way it turned out I may have had more trouble sleeping.

Stay tuned for another special post I'm going to be that will recap that memorable Monday I had.

Thank you for reading ‎& following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty is going down South to see some Triple A baseball!

I'm going to the Southeast over the second weekend in August.

Here's the game plan:

Friday August 8th I have a flight booked on Delta Airlines that departs LaGuardia Airport at 7AM Eastern Time I'm scheduled to arrive in Atlanta, Georgia at 9:32AM Eastern Time.

Upon arrival, I'll be renting a car from Hertz for the weekend.

Friday August 8th New Orleans Zephyrs at Memphis Redbirds 7:05PM Central Time
                                              
Saturday August 9th Round Rock Express at Nashville Sounds 6:35PM Central Time

Sunday August 10th Norfolk Tides at Gwinnett Braves 2:05PM Eastern Time  
                        
I'll be flying back home Sunday night so I have to miss the Braves & Nationals since ESPN decided to take that game for their Sunday night game. I'm not surprised. I need to be back for a MLB doubleheader Monday that's why I'm not staying over. My flight on Delta Airlines departs Atlanta at 8:45PM Eastern Time. I arrive at  LaGuardia Airport at 11:10PM Eastern Time.

Please feel free to check back for all the details of how this getaway turned out. It's going to be a good time. You can't beat Southern Hospitality.

If you want to join me, please let me know so I can arrange to make it happen.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty recognizes personal milestones home and away over Memorial Day weekend!

Saturday during the day I got to clean up around the house before I went out to Citi Field to see the completion of the game that was suspended Friday night against the Atlanta Braves with the score tied at five after eight innings. That was followed by the regularly scheduled game on John Franco Bobblehead Doll night.

I wound up meeting my Cousin Andy and my pal Rich Wolber by the Apple outside the ballpark at 5:45PM. I had tickets for them. Once we exchanged pleasantries, we went in through my buddy, Sam Citron. I introduced him to my Cousin. As always, it was a pleasure to see him.

We then went upstairs to section 516 as the royal court was already in session. We had a nice gathering which included Manny Morales, Frank Anichiarico, Pat Gorman, David Sack & Martin Caamano.

As for the completion of the suspended game, Bobby Parnell threw the first pitch of the top of the ninth inning at 6:10PM. He wiggled out his way of trouble by getting a double play to get it to the bottom of the ninth still tied. The Mets failed to score so on to extra innings they went. In the tenth inning, Brandon Lyon came on to pitch for the Mets. He wound up giving up the winning runs as second baseman Dan Uggla delivered what proved to be the game winning hit, a single. B.J. Upton added a sacrifice bunt that turned into a fielder's choice as Brandon Lyon couldn't make a play on the ball which allowed another run to score to make it a 7-5 game in favor of the Braves. The Mets failed to score in the bottom of the tenth inning as the Braves emerged victorious. The game ended at 6:52PM which was almost 24 hours after it started on Friday night.

The regularly scheduled game was suppose to start at 7:15PM but it wound up being pushed back to 7:28PM because of the suspended game.

As for that game we saw, the Braves' starter Mike Minor did it all. He shutout the Mets for seven and a third innings. He struck out twelve and he hit also hit his first major league home run to get the Braves on the scoreboard in a scoreless game in the fifth inning. His two run homer was part of a five run fifth inning that did in Mets starter Dillon Gee and the Mets. The Braves cruised to a 6-0 win as they took the first two games of the series.

Scott Bultman at Chase Field 

It should be noted while we were watching our games at Citi Field, fellow ballpark chaser and avid reader of my blog, Scott Bultman was in the midst of achieving a personal milestone of his own. He was at Chase Field, home of the Arizona Diamondbacks which was the last ballpark he needed to see all the current ones. He now has 37 total ballparks overall. We met him at Yankee Stadium the first week of April that gave him number 29. On this night, he accomplished his mission. He wasn't alone either. Our pal & fellow ballpark chaser, Steve Fekete aka the Padre Punk was there too to see his Padres play. He also got to celebrate the occasion with Scott. The Padres won the game, 10-4. With that being said, Steve got a lot more than he bargained for.

Me at Coca Cola Park for 8K

Sunday morning the King and I took the subway to Yankee Stadium where we met up with David Sack and Vincent Ascanio. We were all there to meet up with our pal Bryan Gilligan who was meeting us there to drive us all to Allentown, Pennsylvania. We went back to Coca Cola Park to see the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, the Philadelphia Phillies Triple A affiliate host the Norfolk Tides, the Baltimore Orioles farm club that afternoon. It was a historic day for me personally because that game was the 8,000th live sporting event I've seen in my lifetime. As for the game we saw, the IronPigs held off the Tides, 5-4.

After the game, Bryan drove us back to Citi Field for another historic occasion as we saw the Mets wrap up their weekend series with the Braves on Sunday night baseball.

King & his father

This day was the 50th anniversary of the King's first baseball game he saw at Old Yankee Stadium with his father on May 26, 1963. The Yankees played a traditional doubleheader that day on Memorial Day against the Washington Senators. The Yankees won the first game, 7-1 as Elston Howard and Mickey Mantle hit home runs and Jim Bouton threw a complete game. In the second game, the Senators beat the Yankees, 7-6 despite a home run by Roger Maris.


On this night, the King reunited with his father who came out with his brother Charlie Casiano to acknowledge this special day. We also had some more company as we were joined by Frank Anichiarico, Bryan Gilligan, Ralph & Vincent Ascanio, Al Linderman, Phil Butleman, David Sack & Michael Carson in the royal court in section 516. In addition, shortly after the game started we had a surprise appearance from our pal Andrew Van Cleve who drove over from Harrison, NJ where he saw the Red Bulls play the Columbus Crew in a 2-2 draw. It turned out to be a memorable and joyous evening at the ballpark for all of us.

As for the game we saw, the Mets got a great outing from their starter Shaun Marcum who threw seven strong innings striking out twelve. He did leave the game losing 2-1 thanks to Dan Uggla who hit a two run homer off him in the seventh inning. The Mets rallied to score three runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to get a much needed come from behind victory. John Buck delivered a run scoring single to tie the game and Ike Davis hit a two run single to win it as the Mets went on to beat the Braves, 4-2 to salvage a game in the series.

Thank you for reading and following.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

McCoy Stadium - Home of the Pawsox!

McCoy Stadium

After visiting Fenway Park Sunday afternoon, Royalty made a pit stop on the way home to Pawtucket, Rhode Island which is 50 miles from Boston.

We went to see a minor league game between the Norfolk Tides the Triple A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles and the Pawtucket Red Sox aka the Pawsox.

The Pawsox wound up winning the game, 5-4!

As for the ballpark, it's a very nice place to watch a game.

Around 5 years ago the ballpark under went some renovations to get it up to Triple A standards.

The original backstop and seating area remain intact.

They expanded the seating area and they added additional seats include lawn seating in the outfield which is very popular in the minor leagues.

If you happen to be passing through Rhode Island you may want to get off in Pawtucket which is right outside of Providence.

Annual Visit to Fenway Park Royalty Style is Set for Memorial Day Weekend

Once again baseball season is almost upon us. That means a quick getaway trip to Boston to see the Red Sox play in their fabled ballpark, Fenway Park is on the schedule for the King and I.

Royalty has already seen an event in Fenway this year on New Year's Day when the NHL decided to play its Winter Classic there. You can get all the details from that on a previous post I put up.

As for the baseball visit, it will be as follows:

Saturday, May 29th Kansas City Royals play the Red Sox at 7:10PM that night. In addition, we'll be staying over in the area as well.

Sunday, May 30th the two teams meet again at 1:35PM. After that game, we have another baseball game on tap in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. The Red Sox top minor league affiliate, the Pawtucket Red Sox are playing the Norfolk Tides, the Baltimore Orioles Triple AAA farm team at 6:05PM at McCoy Stadium.

Please note Pawtucket is only 50 miles from Boston. It will make for a nice doubleheader in New England.

In addition, that Monday is Memorial Day so most people are OFF from work.

If you're interested, please feel free to contact me so I can arrange to make it happen for YOU!

If YOU haven't been to FENWAY PARK then this is a GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY for you to take in the EXPERIENCE!

Please see photos above. Please note Jim Lowry made his first visit with us last July and he had a blast like he said. I took his picture. Just another example of a satisfied customer.

Just think you can be next? Talk to me! Don't snooze, you will only LOSE!