A Trip to Damaschke Field

by Lou Parrrotta

As a member of the Society for American Baseball Research, I get together with other baseball "nuts" at least five times per year to talk about the National Pastime.  The meetings are generally in the baseball mecca of Cooperstown, and they usually occur in January, March, June, July, and October.  This past Sunday, however, the group met in Oneonta for what is traditionally the "Opening of the New York-Penn League Meeting."  Being that Utica has lost its professional franchise, our group was compelled to take a short jaunt to Oneonta to see the Oneonta Tigers host the Tri-City Valley Cats.

When Utica lost the Blue Sox, owner Bob Fowler said it was the result of three reasons: a lack of fan support; inadequate facilities; and it was constantly losing money.  Now, I cannot speak for the last reason, as anyone can really doctor up the books to show a continuous loss, but I can address the other two.  If Fowler could not make a profit in Utica with an average attendance of over 1,300, how does Oneonta General Manager Sam Nader manage to do it with slightly more than 1,500?  Also, if one were to compare the facilities of Murnane Field at Donovan Stadium to those of Damaschake, they would quickly see it would be like comparing Yankee Stadium to Montreal's Olympic Stadium.  Yet, Nader's Tigers still seem to garner fan support.  I bet it is as a result of the dozens of giveaways that occur, and the amazing fan access to the players and the owner himself.

The game was what one would expect of Rookie Level-A baseball - a 6-5 win for the Tigers that had eight errors committed by both teams combined.  The highlight, however, was the last play of the game when the Tigers' first basemen made a diving snatch of a shot down the right field line, stepped on first for the third out, and rectified the numerous mistakes he had made throughout the game. 

The fan access to the team was wonderful.  It was good to see everyday fans roaming the park, eating and drinking, and laughing (sometimes uncontrollably) while watching tomorrow's stars learn the ropes.  It brought back the many memories of summers past in Utica when baseball was present.  Unfortunately, due to a true mismanagement of a precious asset, area fans will have to go to places like Oneonta or Syracuse to "get their baseball fix."

On a side note, the baseball world in general, and the St. Louis Cardinals in particular, lost two terrific individuals last week.  Legendary Hall of Famer and Cardinals announcer Jack Buck passed away after a long illness, and starting pitcher and former twenty game winner Darryl Kile passed away in his sleep from a coronary artery problem.  The death of Buck, while extremely sad, was a lot easier to handle than the death of Kile, a 33-year-old father of three small children.  It reminded many fans of the deaths of baseball superstar Roberto Clemente in 1972 and former New York Yankees great Thurman Munson in 1979.  It was also the second death this year of an active player. San Diego Padres outfielder Mike Darr was tragically killed during Spring Training in an automobile accident.  They will all be sadly missed and their absence will be felt for years to come.  May they all rest in peace.