Learning the game at Blue Cross Park Goldeyes hosted second school game of the season Wednesday
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A sizeable chunk of inhabiting schools from around Friendly Manitoba came out to the Blue Cross Park to get a taste of what baseball is all about Wednesday.
The Winnipeg Goldeyes hosted their second school day of the year, filling the crowd with students from 78 different schools located throughout the province.
Goldeyes general manager Andrew Collier looks forward to these events every year as the stands are filled with smiling kids, whether they have a deep love for the sport or are just being introduced to it.
RUTH BONNEVILLE / FREE PRESS
Jasper Jameson, a Grade 5 student from Waverly Park School in Brandon, received a signed baseball at the Winnipeg Goldeyes school game Wednesday at Blue Cross Park.
“They are really successful days of the year. Kids have a great time,” Collier said. “It’s nice to have a field trip and get out of school.”
And the players themselves love a full house that’s packed with enthusiastic fans.
“A lot of kids have never been to a Goldeyes’ game before, never been to a baseball game before so it’s a bit of an education and for the kids to see a live game,” Collier said.
Kyle Donnelly, 4/5 grade teacher at École Sun Valley School, brought around 50 of his students to the game — all patrols that keep students safe from traffic.
“We have lots of first time baseball fans here. This is a new experience for lots of them.”
“We have lots of first time baseball fans here. This is a new experience for lots of them,” Donnelly said as his students were cheering away.
The organization made sure they packed the three hour game with activities, music and Jumbotron games. Players came up before batting to high-five the students and threw them baseballs whenever they could.
During the Fish’s featured fourth inning “Spectrums Stretches,” a video display of outfielder Noah Marcello walked the young fans through upper body exercises to get them on their feet and stretched for the next half of the game.
And, sprinkled between the innings, the Goldeyes’ staff brought students onto the pitch for an inflatable horse race, a recycling team rally, and a sprint between two children dressed up as a chicken and an egg — a nod to the long term debate on what came first (the egg won this time around).
Jasper Jameson, a keen fifth grader, was given a ball by the opposing team — the Sioux Falls Canaries — which he got signed by the Goldeyes mascot Goldie. Carl Chandler, Jameson’s teacher from Waverly Park School, travelled with his Grade 5 and 6 class all the way from Brandon.
“This is the first time I’m bringing a class to the Goldeyes game,” Chandler said. “They love it, just to get out of the room and everybody can be loud and have fun.”
The Jumbotron continued to show a fan cam during breaks, where — despite the overcast skies — students’ smiles lit up the stadium, including a stadium-wide line dance when Cotton Eye Joe hit the speakers.
“They love it, just to get out of the room and everybody can be loud and have fun.”
The Fish’s skipper Logan Watkins reminisced on when he was younger and came to games himself.
“I remember being a kid going to baseball games. It makes you want to be a baseball player,” Watkins said. “Hopefully there’s some kids that came to the game and they weren’t baseball fans, but they are now.”
Goldeyes catcher Kevin García shares a similar sentiment.
“It reminds me that I used to be one of those kids, dreaming of becoming a professional baseball player. It brings you back to when you were a kid and it makes you love the game even more,” he said.
“It reminds me that I used to be one of those kids.”
As much as García would have loved to deliver a win — the home team ultimately falling 10-4 — all the students were happy to be a part of something so special.
“Just hearing those kids shout your name, it kind of revives you a little bit,” García said.
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