Royalty w/o 7/15 in review

Wednesday night after I returned to work I took the Staten Island Ferry to see the Baby Bombers at Richmond County Ballpark at St. George. The Staten Island Yankees were hosting the Batavia Muckdogs. During the day, I got an e-mail from fellow roadtripper, Jim Wood who I met back in May at Citi Field. He told me he was going to be at the game. I told him I'll see him there. It turned out to be a festive occasion for him that night because he was seeing his 100th ballpark. I was thrilled to be part of his personal milestone. There was a small crowd on hand so we had plenty of room to enjoy each other's company as well as the game. We got to catch up on our whereabouts since we met in May. It's always fun to hear someone else's point of view from their travel experiences. Jim said he was working near Philadelphia the day before. When he got done with work, he went to see the Camden Riversharks play in an independent league game before he drove up to Staten Island. After the game he saw with me, he said he was driving to Aberdeen, Maryland to spent the night before he finished driving back home to Raleigh, North Carolina where he now lives.

As for the game we saw, the Muckdogs hung on to beat the Yankees, 8-6. They lead 8-1 after seven innings. They gave up four runs in the eighth and another one in the ninth on a home run by right fielder Yeicok Calderon before they got the next three Yankees out to escape with the victory.

After the game ended, Jim & I said our goodbyes. He went on his way and I was able to catch the 10:30PM boat back to Lower Manhattan.

Thursday night after work I went out to Coney Island on the D train to see the Brooklyn Cyclones play the Mahoning Valley Scrappers at MCU Park. Before I got to the ballpark, I stopped off at Subway for a pre game meal. When I got outside the park I ran into my pals Vincent Ascanio & Michael Abrams who were also there. When we got inside, we saw our buddy Domish who was present & accounted for.
Upon entry, I went right to the team store so I could get my new minor league 25 game passport book stamped & validated to prove I was officially there.

As for the game we saw, the Cyclones fell behind, 1-0 in the second inning. The Scrappers added another one in the top of the fifth inning to go up 2-0. The Cyclones broke the shutout with a run in the bottom of the fifth as they trailed, 2-1. The Scrappers responded with three more runs in the top of the sixth as they went on to beat the Cyclones, 6-2.

Friday night after work I returned to Citi Field now that the All-Star break was officially over. I stopped off at Taste of Dolly's for a few slices of pizza before I was greeted by my pal, Sam Citron at the Rotunda gate as the Mets opened a three game series with division rival, the Philadelphia Phillies who were in town for the weekend.

I proceeded to go up to the Fan Assistance booth behind home plate so I could get my Major League Ballpark Passport book stamped & validated. It was number 6 out of 30 for me as I continue to make the rounds to see all 30 current parks again.

When I finally got upstairs to section 516, I was joined by the King who was back from his latest road trip & his brother Henry who was visiting from Florida. Bryan Gilligan, Vinny Ascanio, David Sack, Alan Gimpel & Michael Carson were also on hand. It was a late arriving crowd mainly because of the post game concert they were having as they announced a gathering of 35,021. The performer was Nas, a rapper from Queens.

As for the game we saw, it was over fast for all intent and purposes as the Phillies scored early and often off Met starter Jeremy Hefner who got beat up. He allowed eight runs in two plus innings as the Phillies lead, 11-0 after three innings. The Mets made an attempt to comeback but they dug too big of a hole for themselves as they wound up losing the game, 13-8.

After the game, the King, his brother Henry, Bryan Gilligan & I went to Donovan's Pub for a post game meal. We wound up meeting up with Charlie Casiano & Frank Anichiarico there as well. We were one big happy family. It was a great way to forgot about the awful game we saw.

Saturday morning I got up early so I could do my laundry before I returned to Citi Field for game two of the three game series with the Phillies.

This time I got a visit from a special guest who I met the Saturday before in Pittsburgh at PNC Park. I'm talking about Blair Long who decided to spend his afternoon at the ballpark. His wife Paula was going to join him but it was too hot for her so she wisely decided to stay home. It was nice to see him again.

In addition, Manny Morales, Marc Beck, Pat Gorman, Phil Butleman, David Sack & Al Linderman were also present & accounted for that day.

Furthermore, I got a surprise visit from my pal Eddie Pelle, his girlfriend Bethany & his brother John who came up during the game.

As for the game we saw, the Phillies took an early 1-0 lead as shortstop Jimmy Rollins lead off the game with a home run to give the Phillies a 1-0 lead. The Mets answered back with three runs off Phillies' starter Cole Hamels. The Phillies got a run back in the top of the fifth to get within a run at 3-2. The Mets matched them as David Wright drove in a run to give the Mets a 4-2 cushion. They tacked on an insurance run in the bottom of the seventh inning which proved to be huge as the Phillies got a two run homer in the ninth inning from Chase Utley to get within a run again at 5-4 with two out. The Mets were able to get the final out to escape with the win.

After the game, Bryan Gilligan drove the King, Vincent Ascanio & I to Coney Island where we went to see another baseball game as the Brooklyn Cyclones were hosting the Batavia Muckdogs at MCU Park.

We were joined by our friends Beth & William Frank Guthrie who also spent the night at the ballpark.

As for the game we saw, the Cyclones jumped on the Muckdogs early as they scored the game's only runs in the bottom of the first inning. The Cyclones wound up scoring three times as they survived two rain delays as they defeated the Muckdogs, 3-0.

Sunday afternoon I returned to Citi Field for the rubber match of the three game set between the Mets & Phillies. It was also Dwight Gooden Bobblehead Doll day and Matt Harvey was starting for the Mets against Cliff Lee and the Phillies.

When I got upstairs to section 516, I was joined by Steve Tepperman, Phil Butleman, David Sack, Al Linderman, Alan Gimpel, Michael Carson, Rich Wolber, Frank Anichiarico, Pat Gorman as well as Mike & Joe Klein who were there too.

As for the game we saw, Matt Harvey was on. He threw seven shutout innings & he struck out ten Phillies as the Mets used the long ball to beat Cliff Lee, 5-0. David Wright & Marlon Byrd hit back to back solo homers in the first inning & Juan Lagares added a three run blast in the fourth inning to carry the Mets to the victory.

After the game, I went back home for a little while. I then went out and I met up with my parents who came in from Lancaster, Pennsylvania to visit for dinner. I also got to see my adorable niece Taylor and my handsome nephew Jeremy who they brought with them. It was nice to spend some quality time with the family.

Stay tuned for my w/o 7/22 in review when I find some free time to play catch up.

Thank you for reading & following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty goes to Batavia, NY for a 11AM morning game!

Royal View of the game 

After spending the night in the Buffalo area at Super 8, we were in position to go to Batavia, NY which was only 40 miles away.

We saw a minor league game that was scheduled to start at 11AM. The Batavia Muckdogs were playing the Staten Island Yankees. Our friend Bryan Gilligan who left us in Cleveland joined us in Batavia too.

Thanks to Stadium Journey, Paul Derrick arranged to secure us free tickets for the game.

We arrived with plenty of time to get situated right in front of the press box which is located behind home plate as you can see in the picture above.

We all sat down and relaxed and enjoyed the game. The Staten Island Yankees came in with a league best 29-9 record.

As for the game saw, the Staten Island Yankees built an early 3-0 lead but the hometown Muckdogs fought back to tie the game at 3 in the seventh inning. They took the lead in the bottom of eighth inning and they held on to beat the Yankees, 4-3.

After the game, our friend Bryan Gilligan wanted to have Pudgie's Pizza after reading on my blog how great a place it was. Thanks to our friends, Andrew Kulyk and Peter Farrell aka the Buffalo Boys who told us about Pudgie's a few years ago. It's a franchise that's located mainly in Central New York with locations in Binghamton and Elmira. They expanded into Rochester and they have a new location near Scranton, Pennsylvania as well as Clarksville, Maryland.

With that being said, we headed to Rochester, NY since that was the closest one to where we were.

Afterwards, Bryan was grateful for the opportunity. It turned out to be a wise choice.

Stay tuned for the next leg of the journey as we made our way to Auburn, NY for another minor league game that night.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Don Steiger gets royal treatment in Batavia, NY thanks to the USRT!

Don Steiger throws out ceremonial first pitch

Dear Andrew and Pete,

I just wanted to tell you how much I enjoyed meeting you two, and that it meant a lot to me that you would take the time to slide across the border to meet me late in the evening on a school night.... :)

I really appreciated you setting in motion a very special moment, along with a major assist from Travis Sick and Russ Salway of the Muckdogs front office, in bestowing the honor upon me to throw out the first pitch at Tuesday's game. And to top the evening thrills off, Russ came over and introduced himself, then was kind enough to share that he and the Muckdogs appreciated my being there and my support. Then he presented me with an official League baseball signed by the entire team!


Gary, thank you again for nudging me to contact Pete and Andrew. They helped make a good trip into a never-to-be-forgotten one.


I can't thank you all enough. I've been on the phone with family and friends back home wowing them with the incredible experiences on this trip which I owe to ALL of you.


Thanks again Gary, Andrew, Pete, Russ and Travis! I'll close here as it's about 10 minutes until the gates open for Wednesday's Muckdogs game. We're going to get even tonight! :)

Sincerely,

Don Steiger


P.S. If you're planning to go to the Buffalo area and you want to get royal treatment please contact Andrew and Peter aka USRT.


Here's the link to their great website and blog which is also located on my blog list:


http://www.thesportsroadtrip.com/


Royal treatment can be experienced directly and/or indirectly.  I personally can't thank this guys enough for rolling out the red carpet to a perfect stranger.

Don and his son Donnie had treated me to dinner at TGIF Friday's in St. Louis. For more details, please see my previous post "The Gateway to the West".

Royalty w/o 8/2 in review

Monday night after work I went to Yankee Stadium to see the Yankees play the Toronto Blue Jays. Early in the game between innings they did a  special video tribute in honor of their late Captain Thurman Munson who died tragically 31 years to the day. To show respect, I did a special post. Please feel free to take a look if you haven't already done so.

As for the game that night, A.J. Burnett who started  for the Yankees got lit up for 8 earned runs as the Blue Jays held on to beat the Yankees, 8-6!

Brendan Morrow pitched for the Blue Jays and he won the game despite giving up 5 runs himself. He did strikeout 9 batters in the process.

Speaking of Brendan Morrow yesterday he came within one out of pitching a no-hitter. He wound up giving one hit as the Blue Jays beat the Rays, 1-0 in Toronto. He struck out 17 Rays. What a performance that was.

Tuesday night after work I went back to Yankee Stadium. Ricky Romero, the Blue Jays starting pitcher gave me a rare treat by going the distance.

He gave up a two run home run to Mark Teixeira in the first inning after he walked a batter then he proceeded to shut the Yankees down the rest of the night. He gave one other hit which was an infield single to Marcus Thames in the 5th inning.

The Blue Jays cruised to an easy victory, 8-2!

Wednesday I was working when the Yankees played an afternoon game. A-Rod  was still looking for 600th home run. He didn't waste any more time. In his first at bat in the bottom of the first inning, he finally did it. To find all the details, please read the special post I wrote if you haven't already done so.

That night after work I took a long train ride to Coney Island to see the Brooklyn Cyclones play the Batavia Muckdogs. I stopped off at Nathan's to have a few hot dogs and fries before I went into the ballpark.

As for the game, it was nice and fast for a change, it took only 2 hours and 3 minutes to play. Mind you it took just as long just to get home afterwards.

The Cyclones won the game, 4-0!

Thursday night after work I came home to rest and recharge the batteries.

Friday night I went to the Bronx to see the Red Sox play the Yankees.

It turned out to be a great night for me and for some special people who I met we're visiting NYC for the very first time. Stay tuned because I'm going to do a special detailed post regarding that. It was a prime example of what royal treatment is all about.

As for the game itself, Clay Buchholz of the Red Sox pitched very well to lead the Red Sox to a 6-3 victory.

Ryan Kalish, a Red Sox rookie, hit his first major league home run, a two run blast which was big because it gave the Red Sox a three run cushion at the time. It wasn't the first time this season that royalty saw him play. Back on April 24th and April 25th we saw him play for the Red Sox Double A affiliate, the Portland Sea Dogs when they played those days against the Trenton Thunder, the Yankees farm team. He wound up getting a single and a sacrifice fly on the 24th and a run scoring double on the 25th.

Saturday afternoon we went back to the Bronx for the second game of  the series. The Yankees went on to win this one, 5-2! CC Sabathia their ace was dominant. He pitched great for 8 innings until it was time for Mariano Rivera to come in to pick up a cheap save as the King likes to call it. Believe me, CC could have and should have finished the game. Thanks to manager Joe Girardi he wasn't allowed to.

After the game, we went to Donavan's Pub for a nice post game dinner. For more details, please see my newly created restaurant review link on my home page.

Sunday afternoon we wound up in Staten Island watching the "other " Yankees in town play. The "baby" Yankees beat the Williamsport Crosscutters, 6-3!

While I was at the game, I stopped off at the Group Sales table to say hello to my buddy John DeLuca, the Group Sales Coordinator for the Staten Island Yankees. He told me he read my review of the ballpark and he told me how well written it was. With that being said, he made me feel real good. I told him to keep up the great marketing job.

If you want to attend a Staten Island Yankee game I suggest you round up at least 10 people and either call John at (718) 313-1336 and/or e-mail him at jdeluca@siyanks.com. Tell him Royalty Tours USA referred you. In my absence, he'll give you royal treatment.   

For further details regarding the Staten Island Yankee experience see the special post I wrote that has the official review of the ballpark which I did for my fellow roadtripper and founder of the website, Stadium Journey, Paul Swaney. 

That post is also conveniently located on my home page right under the about me segment. Just click on it and it will pop right up for your viewing pleasure..

In addition, if you want to have a better idea of what to expect from all the different ballparks around the country I strongly suggest you take a good look at Stadium Journey when you have some spare time. Paul and his partners as well as other sports enthusiasts have done a tremendous job scouting out for these places to give people tips and a real feel before they go so they know what they should expect. In this day and age, the last thing you want to do is waste your precious time.

Here's the link:

http://www.stadiumjourney.com/

I'm a big believer in the "5P's" that being "prior planning prevents poor performance".

Please feel free to take my advice and wait and see how it works wonders for you. I know for a fact it does for me.

After we left Staten Island, it was time to return to the Bronx for the Sunday night ESPN game between the Yankees and the Red Sox.

Upon arrival, we found out that scheduled starting pitcher A.J. Burnett was scratched due to an injury. Dustin Moseley took his place. He pitched well for 6 and a third innings before giving way to the bullpen which culminated with Mariano Rivera throwing one pitch to secure the last out as the Yankees won again, 7-2!

In the second inning, Derek Jeter got a run scoring single. More importantly, it was the 2,874th hit of his major league career which allowed him to pass the legendary Babe Ruth on the all time hits list.

With all that said, another week of my life is in the books.

Don't forget to check back for that special post I'm going to write.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman








      

                              

Royalty w/o 7/12 in review

This past week was extremely busy and eventful.

Monday I took the Staten Island Ferry from Lower Manhattan after work to go see the Staten Island Yankees play.

The game wound up going 15 innings.

I decided to stay until the bottom of the 12th inning with the game tied at 2.  I wanted to get home to get some much needed sleep. I hate to leave a game early but in this case it turned out to a smart & wise decision on my part.

The game didn't end for another hour and I needed to catch the boat back to Lower Manhattan. The Staten Island Yankees eventually lost to the Batavia Muckdogs, 6-5!

I didn't get home until 12:40AM. I can only imagine if I stayed for the whole game what time I would have gotten home.

Tuesday when I was at work I was  informed that George Steinbrenner passed away.

As a businessman myself, I greatly appreciated him. He was what our country is all about, that being capitalism. During his life he made a fortune by being a big time risk taker. He didn't win them all but he certainly wasn't afraid to fail.

Ironically George always wanted to be the center of attention. Even on the day he died he was in the spotlight. It was the day of the Major League Baseball All-Star Game in Anaheim and George wound up stealing the thunder and he was front and center on his very last day he was with us. How's that for timing.

Tuesday night I came home after work to rest up if you will and I watched the All-Star Game on TV. The National League won for the first time since 1996, 3-1!

With the victory, the team who that represents the National League will have the home field advantage in the upcoming World Series which starts at the end of October.

Wednesday after work I took a long subway ride to Coney Island to the Brooklyn Cyclones play. Thanks to my mother nature it was another long night for me.

The game was delayed in the third inning for an hour due to rain.

The Cyclones came up victorious with a 7-4 win over the Mahoning Valley Scappers.

After the game I took a long torturous train ride back to my car which was parked on the street near Citi Field. It turned out to be another rough night for me.

I couldn't wait until Thursday morning rolled around so I could turn my luck around.

Please check back for all the details from Thursday on.

It was quite an extended weekend to say the least.

The Royalty experience showed its true colors, purple and gold.

Thank you for checking in.

Yours truly,

Prince Charming