Last week, my business travel (ABF Freight) took me to the Pacific Northwest and Tacoma, Washington. It was my first trip, business or personal, to the State of Washington and I was so eager to check out the area, the baseball experiences, and have a solid week of work. Tacoma is a port city and from the first impressions driving around, getting lunch, back and forth to work, it reminded me a ton of Portland, Maine. Coastal area, lot of shipping, fishing industry, wet weather seemingly everyday, interesting locals galore – I’m used to all of the above having lived in New England most of my life. And what about baseball in Tacoma? Well, for starters, there’s the Tacoma Rainiers.
After a few rainy nights (Sunday, Monday, Tuesday), I took a gamble and decided to head out on Wednesday after work to catch a Rainiers game. The Tacoma Rainiers play at Cheney Stadium, a beautiful baseball park just outside the downtown Tacoma area. From my hotel downtown, it was a mere 5 mile ride down mostly local roads, easy to find, easy to park, $7.50 to get in via a general admission/lawn ticket. I’ve said it once, I’ll say it a thousand times, I love minor league baseball, the parks, the ease of attending, it is a mostly positive experience just about every time. And Wednesday night was no exception.
Before I get to the game, the field, the experience, you maybe asking “what exactly is a Rainier?” Minor League teams have the coolest names – WooSox, PawSox, Shorebirds, Tides, Trash Pandas, Mighty Mussels – and some of them represent local traditions, animals, events, that make them super unique. Case in point – The Tacoma Rainiers. Over its minor league existence, the Tacoma club has been an affiliate for the San Francisco Giants, the Chicago Cubs, the Detroit Tigers, the Minnesota Twins, even the New York Yankees. The Tacoma club would bear the name of its Major League club over those years until the Seattle Mariners made Tacoma one of their own in 1995.
So, again, what is a Rainier? I grabbed this photo one morning heading to work of local legend, Mount Rainier. Pretty sure this is root of the team name…
The stadium was filling up as I entered the park around the 1st inning. As I usually do, I took a quick tour of the stadium to see what was what and where was where. I started out towards the lawn seat that I had purchased and actually got onto the lawn, where other families had gathered. Cheney Stadium is an intimate stadium, no outfield bleachers other than an extended seating area in left field. Just trees and skyline in center and right. Lots of seating close to the game action, which I loved. Not a single seat was so far away you couldn’t see the game as it unfolded. After walking around for an inning or two, I settled into a seat along the third base line.
The Tacoma Rainiers were playing the Reno Aces. Both squads are at the AAA level of minor league baseball, meaning absolutely great players on the field. Former MLB players, maybe a player on a rehab assignment, maybe a player signed during Spring Training that will be called up to the big club if there is an injury. Simply put, its about a MLB as you can get in the Minor Leagues. Right there at 3rd base was a familiar face – Michael Chavis. Chavis was a 1st round draft pick of the Boston Red Sox, played through their minor league system, was a top prospect, got up to the Sox for awhile, went to play for the Pittsburgh Pirates, then I lost track of him. Great player, lot of energy, not consistent enough to stay in the lineup on a MLB roster, but there he was just one injury away from a potential call up to his new club, the Seattle Mariners. I wish him well.
The Tacoma weather played nice on Wednesday night. Mid to upper 50s at game time, clear skies, light breeze which became a moderate breeze, mid to upper 40s by the 5th inning or so. I grabbed a hot dog and fries for dinner and sat mostly in the sun until it set behind the stadium. Then I found my way through the concession stand area back over to the lawn to watch the team mascot run through the stadium throwing hot dogs wrapped in tin foil into the stands. The fans went wild and it was hilarious to see kids fighting over hot dogs thrown up in the air.
As the sun was setting, I tried to get as many photos of the field as I could and tried to zoom in so the lights of the stadium aided my photography. With the blue skies, Mt Rainier in the background, the field looking amazing, the stadium looking amazing, it really wasn’t all that difficult.
I mentioned Chavis earlier. There were several former MLB players on the field for both teams. Tacoma had a few (Chavis, Brian Anderson), Reno Aces had a few (Pavan Smith, Kolten Wong) and the play on the field was tremendous. There was a dampness in the air which prevented baseballs from traveling out of the stadium. Myself and a lot of fans would watch a baseball hit really, really well – only to fall into the glove of an outfielder about 10 feet from the fence. No worries, it gets like that in Boston’s Fenway Park in April as well.
I had a wonderful Tacoma baseball experience at Cheney Stadium. The Tacoma minor league club has a rich history in the Pacific Northwest. Many, many MLB clubs have chosen Tacoma to be the minor league affiliate over nearly 100 years of existence. The Seattle Mariners are an obvious choice to be the parent club, being so close geographically, and have been just that since 1995. The list of Tacoma players that went on to become MLB’ers is lengthy and impressive. Including one of my favorite players of all-time, Ken Griffey, Jr. Cheney Stadium, with majestic Mount Rainier in the background, is a beautiful baseball park for families, Rainier fans, and traveling baseball fans on business 3200 miles from home. I’m looking forward to another Tacoma Rainiers baseball experience when I revisit Tacoma, WA in a few weeks.
The Rhiter 