I have said it once, I will say it again, “timing is everything.” This week, my business travels took me to the City of Lawrenceville, GA via Atlanta’s super-busy Hartsfield-Jackson Airport. As I typically do, I scope out baseball history, minor league teams, amateur baseball fields, and interesting baseball stuff in the area I am traveling to. Right there, on the way to my hotel in Lawrenceville, GA was Coolray Field, home of the Gwinnet Stripers. Sunday game, Sunday travel, looks like an opportunity presents itself if the timing is right.
The Gwinnet Stripers, the AAA affiliate of the Atlanta Braves, were scheduled to play their final home game of 2023 on Sunday, the 24th of September beginning around 1pm. My flight was scheduled to depart Providence (technically the airport is in Warwick) at 1pm and land in Atlanta around 3 or so, giving me just enough time to get to the field, watch an inning or two, and capture some stadium photos. Everything was going smoothly, my flight was on time, it landed on time, and then the brakes went on. Literally and figuratively speaking, my plans got delayed and delayed and delayed. Long story short (message me for the long details), I arrived at Coolray Field postgame, with only a few autograph seeking fans in the alley near the player’s exit and a small sample of their stadium staff still in the stadium area. Bummer.
The gates were closed, the ticket booths were closed for business, staff was piling out of the stadium gates which locked behind them. I was thinking I wasn’t going to be able to get a stadium view. Then, a woman walked towards the locked gate where I was standing. She was pulling a small wagon and seemed nice. I asked her, “Hi there, do you work here,” to which she replied, “not anymore” then proceeded to walk past me and let the locked gate shut. ‘Okay’ I thought, maybe it was a long season for this employee or perhaps she was let go for her attitude? I took a deep breath, looked around the concourse, and spotted a younger man who spotted me at the gate. I said hi again and this time, the young man was kind enough to let me take a stadium photo.
I didn’t get his name but thanked him very much for his time and letting this traveling baseball fan have a stadium view of Coolray. I didn’t walk around the stadium as I usually do. I didn’t want to push the generosity of this young man and cost him his job. It was a really nice day and the stadium looked amazing postgame. Probably try a little harder to get to the stadium for a game in 2024.
It was about a 10 minute drive from Coolray to my hotel in Lawrenceville. I was psyched to at least have an inside view of Coolray Field and will definitely put it on my list of 2024 Minor League Baseball stadiums to check out. Have you seen how good the Atlanta Braves are??? Many came up through the minors at stops like Gwinnett. Timing and situation permitting, perhaps I will be in attendance in 2024 to watch another Braves superstar in the making.
The Rhiter 
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