Inside the mind of a Tampa Tribe fan: Between Innings

The Cleveland Indians defeated the Tampa Bay Rays on Saturday, 3-0, as starter Mike Clevinger posted one of his strongest performances of the season and new acquisition Jay Bruce was instrumental for the offense. There is always a story within the story though and WFNY looks to take you inside Tropicana Field through the lens of long-time commentariat-stalwart and Tampa-resident, B-bo.

Tell us a bit about yourself
Proud son of the great state of Ohio, forced from the state to pursue the career I love. Now residing in Florida, where I do my best to educate young minds while obsessing over Cleveland sports, the Buckeyes, and good whiskey.

My secret identity is Will Bryson. It’s actually not a very good secret, so feel free to share.

How horrendous is the location of Tropicana Field? What makes it the wrong spot for a ballpark? Or, do you think the reports have been overblown?
The number one complaint among folks in these parts is that attending the game requires venturing to St. Petersburg. It’s not so much a problem of St. Pete itself, which is working to appeal to a younger demographic with microbreweries, new restaurants, and a growing music scene. There’s also the Dali Museum and Al Lang Stadium nearby (home of the Tampa Bay Rowdies, a potential MLS addition in the near future). In a vacuum, Tropicana Field is in a perfectly reasonable location for a stadium. The greater issue is getting to St. Petersburg, which requires venturing across the bay. Options for doing so are limited (pick a miles-long bridge and pray) and congested (especially during the week) plus Floridians have a notorious inability to operate automobiles in a safe or sane manner. A nightmarish hellscape that perhaps only Dante could adequately describe. Coming from the North is somewhat less awful, but not by a large margin. You think the greater Cleveland area has traffic issues? US-19 would like a word. The popular alternative is, of course, to put a new stadium in Tampa. But exactly no part of that process is easy, whether it’s finding a location, deciding who will pay, or contract issues with the city of St. Pete. A new stadium solution would surprise me far more than a decision to relocate the team entirely out of Florida.

The ballpark itself, well…
It’s not a destination spot. A dome is absolutely necessary in this state (someone needs to tell the Bucs), but this is one of those early 90s, generic, dull, utilitarian structures. If you’re looking for character, this is not the place for you. The kindest thing I can say of the Trop (besides praising its air-conditioned interior) is that they finally have legitimate field turf in there, as opposed to relying on what appeared to be either discarded pieces from local driving range mats cobbled together or that green rug material that my aunt and uncle used to cover the deck where they parked their RV when I was 12. Didn’t exactly scream “professional facility.” If you ever for a second question how good we have it as Tribe fans at the Jake, come on down and see this mausoleum for yourself.

The Tampa Bay Rays are often the team writers refer to when suggesting possible relocations. Is there a strong base of diehard Rays fans that would be hurt hard by such a move?

There is a genuine passion for the game of baseball to be found in the Tampa Bay area, one fostered by decades as a destination for spring training (the Blue Jays and Phillies on the west side of the bay, the Yankees on the east, all within a roughly 20 mile span) and the presence of strong high school and collegiate programs; locally and throughout the state. And in their 20 year existence, the Rays have undoubtedly developed a loyal following that would find itself stung by a potential relocation. But, the reason such talk persists is that the diehard portion of the base is simply not large enough with both attendance (notoriously low) and tv ratings (declining markedly since 2010) showing worrisome trends for a franchise attempting to compete with the Yankees and Red Sox year in and year out. Even their World Series run in 2008 failed to do much for long-term popularity in the region.

There are a variety of factors working against them (Florida being populated largely by folks with shallow roots in the state and loyalties to their native teams, location/quality of their stadium, an older population not looking to spend on pro sports) that are worthy of greater discussion, but the bottom line is this: if the Rays leave tomorrow, the vast majority of folks in the area will move on with relative ease and speed because they have plenty of options and most aren’t hardcore fans of the team anyway (I’d miss the chance to catch the Tribe when they’re in town, but that’s it).

It’s an issue most pro sports franchises face being in this state.

How many games of the series the Cleveland Indians were in town to face the Rays did you attend? Do you have a normal location in the ballpark you like to sit? Any other traditions of going there (restaurants nearby, routines you follow that day, etc.)?

This year was unusual for me in that I was only able to attend one game of the four-game set. It’s that magical time of year when the students return to school, and so I was occupied with work responsibilities. Those seasons that bring the Tribe to town during my off times will find me in the air-conditioned comfort of the Tropicana Field stands at least twice. In addition, I’ll wander in for random, non-Tribe games 4-5 times a season just to get out to a ballgame.

Most years I’ve managed to get seats directly behind the visitor’s dugout at least once when Cleveland is in town. Those seats can generally be had for $90-100 a piece (don’t try for these seats when the Yanks or Sox visit unless you’re willing to take out a mortgage), which is worth it for the chance to interact with the players and coaches, especially before the game. In recent years I’ve had the chance to get autographs from Sandy Alomar Jr. and Asdrubal Cabrera, as well as a ball from Carlos Santana. My niece (a catcher herself) was especially excited to get an autograph from and talk a little shop with Yan last summer. Most other times the destination is the $15 seats waaaay out in left known as the Party Deck, an area offering a greater variety of food and beverage options than the rest of the park (think The Corner at the Jake, but to a lesser extent).

The traditional post-game stop is Ferg’s, a popular sports bar just north of the stadium with a ton of televisions, a nice selection of beverages, and some damn fine wings.

You mentioned online that Abraham Almonte made the day of a young fan on Saturday. Can you describe what happened?

Almonte would spend the down time prior to the bottom of each inning tossing the ball and getting loose with one of the ball boys along the third base line before trotting into defensive position. There was a group seated directly behind us with two young children, the younger of whom was especially eager to put his glove to use. The first row was largely empty at that point, so the boy’s father asked if he could come stand at the railing, the boy climbed over the vacated seat next to me. After showing off some dance moves, the boy started waving to get Almonte’s attention. Finally as Abe turned to take his position in left, everyone in our section started yelling to him and pointing to the boy. Abe looked back to home then ran over to the warning track below us and pointed to the section, smiled, and shouted something up in Spanish. The boy’s family began talking excitedly and told the boy “He’s coming back! Get ready!”

Abe came back prior to the bottom of the fourth and tossed the little guy a ball, which was snared just before winding up in someone’s beer. He then tossed another ball up for the other child who had been more shy about it all. You’d be hard pressed to see two happier kids in any circumstance. That four year old spent the rest of the game clutching to ball in his glove and yelling each time Almonte took the field. The whole group definitely had a new favorite player after that moment (though they certainly did love Lindor as well).

How was the rest of the game? What were your favorite plays/moments? Anyone in particular stick out watching live that surprised you?

Pitching most certainly dominated the proceedings, which made for a somewhat muted crowd. Tribe fans were very much in the house though…

Clevinger had the breaking ball working, and the only time you really felt he was in trouble was defused by Perez. I’ve rarely been as confident of anything as I was of Perez cutting down that attempted steal of third. Souza’s catch at the wall in right on Lindor was a heck of a play, and Encarnacion’s blast to center would have been over the wall pretty much anywhere else in that park. Also, Zimmer is T-A-L-L, and the red uniforms with the crooked-C hats are spectacular.

Really appreciate and enjoy the opportunity to share the experience. Tried to keep my tendency to ramble under control. Many thanks!