CHILLICOTHE— After I moved to Chillicothe earlier this 12 months so many individuals informed me to ensure I see the Paints, the one downside is that I do know nothing about baseball.
Effectively, that is a lie I do know you might have a hitter, a pitcher and 4 bases to run. Apart from that I do know nothing about baseball.
When the managing companion of the Chillicothe Paints, Bryan Wickline, informed me you do not have to be a baseball fan to take pleasure in a Paints recreation I used to be intrigued. How may I’ve enjoyable if I did not have a clue what was happening? With this in thoughts, I made a decision to take an opportunity and see if it was doable to have enjoyable at a Paints recreation with little or no data of the sport itself.
Saturday afternoon I pulled as much as the VA Memorial Stadium prepared to observe the Paints tackle the West Virginia Miners. Although they might be taking part in a double header that day I’d solely be staying for one of many video games.
Fortunately, I would not be fully misplaced throughout the recreation as I had sports activities author Raven Moore there serving to me study the principles. She was very useful in telling me issues reminiscent of how lengthy an inning was and what phrases like designated hitter meant. The extra I watched the sport the extra I understood what was happening, it felt very straightforward to select up the fundamentals.
As soon as the sport began I used to be fascinated with what was occurring however shortly turned uninterested in the stop-and-start really feel of the sport. Throughout some innings it felt like performs have been consistently being made with a number of runs and factors being scored, in different innings, it felt like nothing was occurring. This pacing, personally, made it laborious for me to get too excited as a result of each time I did the motion would die down. Between innings, video games involving gamers and children have been performed, flowers got out, and music was performed. These small occasions helped hold my consideration targeted on what was occurring on the sector. The stadium additionally provides a coated play space for teenagers to play in throughout the recreation which may assist entertain youthful followers throughout the slower elements of a recreation.
One factor I wasn’t anticipating was how loud the followers have been, I’m unsure why however I all the time pictured baseball as a quiet sport. Possibly it was the beer, possibly it was the truth that the sport began late due to a lacking umpire, both approach, the group was loud. There gave the impression to be a mixture of heckling and cheering relying on the place you sat. The seats close to the primary and fourth base had far more heckling and taunting aimed on the different staff. The seats behind dwelling base had much less heckling and extra cheering. It was apparent that the group was hometown proud as they cheered on the Paints. As I bounced across the stadium it was clear that totally different seating areas had totally different atmospheres, some have been extra baseball-focused whereas others have been extra targeted on socializing.
Getting away from the precise recreation and focusing extra on the mechanical points of the night time, attending to the VA Memorial Stadium, the place the Paints play, was straightforward. Any friends may simply discover the stadium and discover a place to park. The identical goes for the doorway and structure of the stadium, it was very clear the place every little thing was. Whether or not you might be searching for meals and drinks or the restrooms it will be laborious to get misplaced. All of the seating areas additionally offered a great view of the sector so you could possibly benefit from the recreation from nearly any location.
In the end getting to observe the Paints win was enjoyable and thrilling. Whereas there are elements of baseball that I nonetheless do not perceive, like technique or what it means when you’re within the backside of an inning, I can confidently say that I did have a enjoyable time at Saturday’s recreation. Watching the Paints was an effective way to spend my weekend because it was a option to get exterior and expertise one thing distinctive to Chillicothe. Wickline was proper, you’ll be able to have enjoyable at a recreation even in case you aren’t an enormous baseball fan.
To study extra concerning the Chillicothe Paints, or to verify their schedule to discover a recreation you’ll be able to go to you’ll be able to go to their web site.
Shelby Reeves is a reporter for the Chillicothe Gazette. You may e-mail her at [email protected] or observe her on Twitter @Shelby_Reeves_