Whoa Whoa Slow Down There, Maestro

There's a New Mexico?  Yes, it turns out there is.  By the way, that's one of my favorite Simpsons lines of all time.  I went to New Mexico to see the Albuquerque Isotopes take on the Reno Aces on Triple-A Opening Day (I already covered Major League Opening Day).  The Isotopes were the Dodgers' Triple-A affiliate from 2009-2014 so it would have been nice to see them before this year, but oh well.  Of course, things just haven't been the same since they moved from Springfield.

There should really be a statue of Homer in his softball uniform outside the stadium.

I remember thinking I couldn't come up with any reason to ever go to New Mexico, but now it's my Paul Pierce state (number 34).  Here's my current map.  I hope to add a few more before the end of the year.  I got to Albuquerque by flying to Las Vegas (I hate that city) and then to Albuquerque.  On the way there, I flew over the Grand Canyon.  It was the second time in two days that I flew over the Grand Canyon.  My flight from Phoenix to Salt Lake City flew over it as well.  I might never get to see it from the ground (I thought about going three years ago when I was in Phoenix), but it was cool to see it from the air.  It's amazing how big it is.  I thought about the homily at my friend John's wedding.

On the way from Phoenix to Salt Lake City

On the way from Las Vegas to Albuquerque

I didn't really have anything to do in Albuquerque before the game and I was tired so I just took a nap at the hotel and then went to the stadium early.  The game was supposed to start at 6:35, but that was really just the start of the pregame festivities.  The mayor of Albuquerque was there and they had a representative from the Colorado Rockies (their new Major League team).  They introduced both rosters.  I went to a double-A game last year.  This was a different experience.  A bunch of the players on the two teams had Major league experience so I knew a lot of the names (Jair Jurrrjens, Aaron Laffey, Jorge De La Rosa, Roger Bernadina, Jamie Romak).  Glenallen Hill and Phil Nevin were the managers.

My view for the game

One thing I was paying a little attention to was the pitch clock.  They had 20 seconds on the clock for a pitch to be thrown, but it seemed like it wasn't really being enforced.  The clock would start as soon as the pitcher got the ball back, but a lot of times the batter wasn't in the batter's box.  So I don't know how you can have a pitch clock going if the batter isn't in the box.

I bought my ticket as soon as I could because I didn't really know what the crowd would be like on Opening Day.  There was a decent crowd, but it wasn't really close to a sellout.  Attendance was 8,702 and capacity is 13,279.  Despite not having a huge crowd, long lines for concessions was an issue.  I got up in the bottom of the second to get some food.  I walked around looking for a short line, but there didn't seem to be one.  At the concession stand I ended up going to, there were several cash registers, but it seemed like every person working a cash register had to work two of them.  That was obviously one of the reasons the lines were so long.  I ended up getting a green chili dog and a local beer.  The green chili dog was very messy, but pretty good.  The beer was fine, but nothing special.

It ended up not being a very competitive game.  Albuquerque led 2-1, but then Reno scored four in the fifth and ended up winning 8-2.  Indians' legend Roger Dorn's son Danny was 2-5 with a home run and two RBIs.  It was pretty cold and I had a very early flight the next morning, so I left after eight innings.

It was an interesting stadium.  Albuquerque is pretty much at the same elevation as Denver, so it's a hitter's park even though the dimensions are pretty big.  There's a hill out in center field like the one in Houston, but it's much bigger.  Also the fence in center curves in toward home plate.  Around the concourse they have Homer, Marge, Bart, and Lisa.  No Maggie, though.

I watched a half inning from right field.  You can see the hill in center field.

Homer sits with his back to the field.  They'll always be the Springfield Isotopes to him.

He's no Dancin' Homer

I had much the same reaction to this as I had last year at the minor league game in Arkansas.  If I lived in the area, I'd probably go to a bunch of games, but I can't imagine being particularly invested in the success of the team.  If they win, that's nice, but if they lose, whatever.  It was a fun day, though.  I'll probably never be back in New Mexico again.