Let's Go Thunder!

Baseball is back in Trenton -- FINALLY! Trenton Thunder has had quite a stormy road (pun intended) since the start of the pandemic when the New York Yankees decided to move their farm team from Trenton to Somerset, NJ.

The 2020 season was scrapped due to the pandemic.

The 2021 season brought two different teams, both calling themselves Trenton Thunder. After the Yankees left, Major League Baseball (MLB) created a Draft League of players who didn't get drafted by a major league team, but still wanted a shot at playing professional ball. They created a few teams, with Trenton being the center of the new league. Meanwhile, and much more exciting, the AAA team for the Toronto Blue Jays found themselves homeless both due to construction and the COVID travel restrictions between the United States and Canada meant baseball teams could not travel to and from Toronto. I've heard a couple of different explanations, and I tried blogging about it at the time, but I think their Spring Break stadium in Florida was under construction so the Blue Jays moved to Buffalo, and the Buffalo team moved to Trenton. 

It was amazing baseball!

Once the travel restriction was lifted, the Blue Jays returned to Toronto, and the Bisons (who went by the Bisons on the road) shuffled back to Buffalo.   

In 2022 we had the Draft League again. The rumor mill was strong that in 2023 surely we would have a Major League affiliated team again. Right?

On June 1, 2023 the 30th season started. We are once again with the Draft League. Management is tight lipped about the future of getting another AA team.

As per tradition, Don and I went to Opening Day. It was a great day to be a Thunder fan. The stadium was packed. Thunder won seemingly effortlessly 7 to 1 against the Frederick (MD) Keys. Seeing just how many people were still in the stands anticipating fireworks, we left in the middle of the 8th inning and listened to the rest of the game on 920 AM. We pulled into the driveway just as the last out was taking place.

It was great being back in the ballpark. We sat behind the Thunder dugout -- my favorite place to watch a game. Carmine, an usher who is a Muhlenberg alum '73, remembered us. Felt great to be back in the familiar place. As a thank you for purchasing a 10-pack of tickets, Thunder tacked on a free Opening Day ticket. I couldn't locate the official ticket (though I could find the email confirmation), but as luck would have it, the ticket taker stepped away and we slid into our empty seats in Section 106.

Thunder went cashless this year. I wondered how that would impact parking. When we saw the long line of cars trying to get into the main parking lot, I figured scanning credit cards was the issue. Nope. Cashless only starts once you enter the stadium. Outside you can only pay the $5 parking fee with cash. 

The parking area was insane! Didn't help a large section was closed off to set off the fireworks. Come to think of it, parking a rag top car next to where fireworks are set off is not a smart move. How would I explain it to the insurance company if my roof caught on fire? Good thing we left early!

After the Thunder pitcher took the mound grounds crew were invited over

because the pitcher did not like something on it. As Don and I said a number of times that game "if only they had an off-season to work out these problems." We didn't notice anything being resolved.

Another downside was that the announcer could not be heard in the stadium. They did not have the radio on in the bathroom. We couldn't hear the field announcer when he was on top of the dugout only a few rows ahead of us. 

I kept score best I could and watched the game.

In the car ride home I heard about the catcher for the other team -- Dennis Kasumba from Uganda. Sounds like he has the potential to become the first Major League player from Uganda. I decided to return the next next.

Friday night's game was so strange, Trenton Thunder offered a make up date for the tickets. The season only has forty home games. With being able to reuse two tickets, I still have nine tickets for the season.

The game started out less crowded than the night before (or at least felt that way because Ashley and I got to the game 30 minutes early and beat the traffic, plus without fireworks, there were more parking spaces in the back lot).

Before the end of the first inning Don texted to say it was raining in Lawrenceville.

Jed and Susan at the game

When I looked out over third plate, we had a clear sky. When I looked over home plate I could see a storm on the way.

In the middle of the second inning we felt our first drops and saw thunder. Ashley and I decided to wait the storm out in my car. As we walked on the concourse, Ashley walked ahead of me and I paused to take a picture of the sign that said "Rain Delay." At that point, they were estimating a 30 minute delay.

All of a sudden I heard the loudest crackle I have ever heard. I may have even ducked. I immediately thought lightning hit a tree next to me, but did not see any damage. After checking on me, Ashley sprinted to the car. I asked her if she wanted to stay in the car or leave, but she was ready to go home.

I tried to listen to the game on the radio, but ESPN 920 AM had already switched to the national station, which was babbling about basketball. Once home I kept checking the website and social media to see when the game restarted. The weather had cleared in Lawrenceville. About 90 minutes later I saw they were in the third inning, I asked Ashley if she wanted to return (she didn't), so I drove back to the game. Thunder was in the 5th inning, and they had already decided to make it a 7 inning game due to the long rain delay. They also announced they would honor the tickets at a future game.

Chatting with a season ticket holder on the way out he said he saw a bolt of lightning go SIDEWAYS! Based on the timing, that was the bolt we heard more than saw. Ashley saw it hit the light between us. The comment the fan made was it "sounded like a row of firecrackers going off at the exact same time." Yup, pretty accurate. He also saw a bolt of lightning hit the field.

Back at the game the scoreboard was out. The upper half worked, but not the part keeping score. It made me miss the days of long ago when they were still affiliated with the Boston Red Sox and had their own version of the Green Monster, complete with a manual scoreboard. No one I spoke with could remember if that came out when they switched to the Yankees about 21 years ago, of if the Yankees kept it a few years. In either case, they no longer have it, and even if they did, they likely would not have had someone sitting outside changing the score.

The good news was the in stadium announcer could be heard. The bad news was

Crowds thinned out

ESPN did not switch back to the Thunder game. Instead, they kept talking about the Lakers new coach. The Ugandan catcher did not play. I hope to catch him later in the season.

It is still great sitting outside on a warm evening watching baseball. Carmine said he does not miss those cold April nights ushering to a nearly empty stadium. Seems to be there is a compromise between starting in early April and starting in early June, but as the league is now mostly made up of college students, must work around their schedules.

Keeping track
of the score via
the website

There are some amazing plays, and there are some shaking your head plays. In one inning, I saw two different players steal first on wild pitches. Yes, they stole first base. We also saw a terrific double play, and another one we thought was a double play, but the umpire didn't call it the way we saw it from a few feet away. Seems the umpires are also getting used to playing ball. 

After the game, the teams headed to Frederick, MD to play each other a few more times in a row. There are only a handful of teams in the league, so we'll be seeing each other again and again. 

I look forward to many more Thunder baseball in 2023.