Yesterday, we headed out to the Inland Empire 66ers ballpark for Manny Ramirez’s San Bernardino debut. It wound up being an awesomely surreal party atmosphere.
The first thing we noticed after getting parked was a more pronounced police presence than usual.
There were also cops and security personnel cruising around the stadium. But that’s to be expected when you get a world-famous athlete playing in your park. We didn’t see anything untoward going on, apart from one fight in the 4th inning that was quickly squelched, so it seemed to be working.
It was noticeably more crowded getting around the entrance and food vendor areas, although I’ve seen it similarly crowded on big promotion nights or holidays.
While waiting in line for our first Dodger Dog and local Hangar 24 beer, we caught a couple readying themselves for the game with a final dreadlocks adjustment.
There were a ton of the Manny dreadlocks wigs being worn, including by Bernie, the 66ers’ mascot (see below).
Once we got seated, this gentleman was good enough to stand in front and remind us of why we were all there. ;)
A crowd was standing at the third-base-side railing trying to strain for a view into the dugout. When Manny made his first appearance, running onto the fields for warmups, he also got the first of several ovations of the night. Somebody even broke out a beach ball for the occasion, just like at Dodger Stadium. :)
Partway through warmups, Manny jogged over to the railing and signed autographs in the middle of this mob.
Big cheers for Manny’s introduction and him running on the field. No boos were heard anywhere near us. A few were reserved for San Bernardino Mayor Pat Morris, who threw out the first pitch. ;)
Much like a pro soccer game, the players were accompanied onto the field by kids. Here’s Manny with a couple of children and 66ers mascot Bernie.
Bernie also engaged in a bit of pre-game meditation on the third-base line.
I’m a sucker for mascots, especially talented ones. Bernie has some great routines, and the kids adore him. Here he is rocking the dreadlocks and the cowbell.
In Manny’s first at-bat, batting leadoff, he drew a walk from the understandably nervous Rancho Cucamonga Quakes pitcher, Alex Torres. The starter settled down, later striking Manny out twice.
After the walk, Manny went from first to third on a double by DH Elian Herrera, but was stranded there.
Winner for best headgear of the night was this fellow, with a Dodger cap atop his sombrero.
Manny had a pretty good average thanks to the home run the night before. Kind of surreal seeing his name out there on the old scoreboard.
Shouts of “Manny!” and “I love you, Manny!” and “Hey, Manuelito!” as he came off the field. Cellphone cameras filled up with pictures.
Preston Mattingly, son of Dodger pitching coach Don Mattingly, pinch-hit for Manny in the 6th inning, then stayed in at LF for the 7th and the rest of the game — which, by the way, the 66ers won, 4-1, after a great eight innings by starter Timothy Sexton.
Manny’s name at the top of the lineup board. All of those guys will have quite a story to tell, no matter how far they go in their baseball careers. I wonder who will be making it to the bigs someday.
Here’s the starting lineup transcribed (see box score):
- LF Manny Ramirez
- DH Elian Herrera
- CF Trayvon Robinson
- 3B Pedro Baez
- 1B Steven Caseres
- RF Scott Van Slyke
- 2B Adolfo Gonzalez
- C Alex Garabedian
- SS Christian Lara
- P Timothy Sexton
I imagine writing that name on the board must have been fun. :)
Lastly is this sign located just outside the entrance, with mileage to the various Dodger facilities around the US and Caribbean. If only we knew what units the distance to Albuquerque were in! ;)
A few other articles and related whatnot about the night:
- ie66ers.com: “Ramirez causes stir in San Bernardino”
- ie66ers.com: “Sexton Steals Spotlight from Manny”
- mlb.com: “Quiet night for Manny with Inland Empire”
- San Bernardino Sun: “Dodger fans flock to see Ramirez”
- San Bernardino Sun: Photo gallery
- LA Times: “Manny Ramirez’s minor league tour coming to end”
- Manny’s minorleaguebaseball.com page
- Box Score