A day at the ballpark

Yesterday I took in a rare day game of the Springfield Cardinals (the AA team for the St Louis Cardinals). Typically they only have day games on Sundays or an occasional weekday during May. The May day games are full of school kids that are on end of the school year field trips.
The mid-June day game caught me by surprise, but I managed my busy retirement schedule and made it to the game.
Buses of summer school kids and summer day camps were in attendance, as well as a couple of corporate groups that were taking an afternoon off from work. 

I had forgotten how shrill the screams and yells of middle school girls can be!
The kids definitely brought some life to the game. They danced and sang along to the popular songs they recognized in the players' walk-up music and they got very excited every time a Cardinal player hit a fly ball into the outfield.
A number of kids never really sat down, but were up and about and making good use of the opportunity to be more social than school might normally provide.

I also witnessed a couple of adult workers that provided such great care and compassion to a small group of both physically and mentally handicapped adults. The caregivers were definitely working and rarely had time to enjoy the game. They helped their charges by physically lifting some of them to their seats, making several trips helping them to the nearby restrooms, getting them food and drinks, and generally making sure they had an enjoyable day at the ballpark.
I was impressed by the genuine care that was shown. It was obvious that this was so much more than a job for these care givers.

Since I generally go to the games by myself and usually enter with a General Admission pass, I rarely stay in one place for the entire game. I was able to find a couple of different vantage points and switched seats or found comfortable places to stand and watch the game and the crowd.

A thought occurred to me during the game --
The Springfield team has several Latino players that I figure are here on visas of some kind. They are from Mexico, Venezuela, and Panama. Other minor league teams also have MLB hopefuls from other countries on their teams. 
I'm sure they have the monetary protection of the MLB to protect them from having their visas revoked and being deported, but I wonder how our current administration and Sec. Noem feel about this particular set of migrants that are taking our US jobs.

I didn't mean to go there when I started this post, but the effects of the corruption and bigotry of our current political system invades our everyday lives -- even as we go to ballgames or out to eat at a favorite Latino restaurant.

It's still early in the season (about midway) and there are plenty of games to go to. I've been to a few games each home stand and will likely continue that pattern. I enjoy my solo trips to the ballpark, but have also enjoyed seeing a few friends at a game. If you are in the area and are planning on going to a game, drop me a message and maybe we can connect at the ballpark. 

John