Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, August 8, 1995 TAG: 9508080059
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Under the bright lights in more ways than one, perhaps the best way to describe the opener at Salem Memorial Baseball Stadium was that it was a night of pomp and circumstances.
OK, so the Avalanche had to play some extra innings at Municipal Field this season. It was great preparation for the oft-postponed Memorial debut, as Salem scored twice in the bottom of the 15th for a 3-2 victory over Frederick.
The four-month wait for a field of dreams was worth it, however, and the new mascot certainly wasn't the only Baseball Nut on hand.
Not much other than Salem Mayor Jim Taliaferro's ceremonial first pitch came up short. The weatherman surely made it seem like Opening Day. It even felt like an April night.
And in a fitting tribute to what fans had seen over most of the struggling seasons down the hill in Municipal, the new park's first run was scored on an error.
And the winning run was scored on a walk.
There were plenty of no-shows in the standing-room gathering of 6,421. Of course, 35 years from now, there will be 64,210 claiming they saw the new park's opener, just as millions in Pittsburgh say they were at Forbes Field for Bill Mazeroski's World Series-ending homer in 1960.
It was the largest crowd for a Carolina League game in Salem since June 9, 1986. Of course, the 6,600 at that game had the turnstiles coming and going.
Hagerstown led 11-0 after a half-inning. Dave Falcone, down from Class AAA on an injury rehab assignment, hit two grand slams and a three-run homer in his first three times up. The Redbirds lost 21-3.
``The only reason we could get 6,600 in the park is that some people left after the first inning to make room and others came in to see if Falcone would hit a fourth homer,'' said Salem general manager Sam Lazzaro.
Ah, memories. There will be new ones now in a new place, in a city where pro baseball has been played every year since 1957. In more than a reference to the tiny dimensions of Municipal, the ballclub squeezed everything it could from a park that opened the year Babe Ruth hit 60 home runs.
What spectators figure to get at Memorial Stadium - other than more creature comforts - is a different brand of baseball. Thanks to a back-loaded schedule arranged by the Carolina League, Salem still will play 30 percent of its 70 home games - and 20 more - at the new park.
The first Colorado farm club to call Salem home isn't blessed with speed. That didn't matter so much at Municipal, where a long rally was the distance on a three-run homer.
Nevertheless, Avalanche manager Bill Hayes will play a more aggressive game in the Yard by the Boulevard than he has down the street.
Outfield play will be more crucial because of the wide-open spaces. A third-base coach actually might consider sending a runner home from first on a hit to the gap in Salem now.
``You'll be able to teach kids to play ball here,'' Hayes said of the new park. ``There won't be any more sitting back and waiting for a three-run homer. We'll open up the can a bit. We'll hit-and-run more.''
Keys manager Mike O'Berry and Hayes stood next to the cage during batting practice discussing how the new address would change how the game is played.
``In the old park, it got so that you didn't want to steal so many bases because you were afraid you'd get thrown out and cost yourself a two-run homer,'' O'Berry said.
A new attitude of another kind should accompany the new park. The ballpark is a home away from home for a ballplayer. The spacious, carpeted clubhouse should have the Avalanche more enthused about coming to work, just as a new stadium should help spectators embrace a sport that still has major problems.
``I've been to all the Class A parks in the comparable leagues,'' Hayes said, ``and this park and Durham's are the best two I've seen. It's a real tribute to Salem to have built something like this.''
There were plenty of deserved bows to be taken Monday night, but the responsibility for Salem having a new stadium goes to major-league baseball as much as anyone.
If the Professional Baseball Agreement signed in 1991 didn't require improved stadium standards, there wouldn't be ballparks like Salem's gleaming diamond dotting the map of the minors.
At least the majors can do something right. As has Salem. In the 44th year of professional baseball in the city - the Friends started in the Class D Virginia League in 1939 - there's a new reason to cheer.
And standing sentry over silent Municipal Field on a memorable Monday night, the Marlboro Man could hear only the echoes.
by CNB