Lexblogging: The Lexington Legends
By Went to a Lexington Legends game tonight. The Legends are the Houston Astros affiliate in the long season A-class South Atlantic League. I was mildly surprised that the game was almost sold out; I got the $4 bleacher seats because they were the only ones left.
Applebees Park is a decent place to watch a game, name notwithstanding. It doesn’t compare favorably to my favorite minor league stadium, which is Civic Stadium in Eugene. The crowd was large and enthusiastic, however, which is always nice.
The Legends were facing the West Virgnia Power, which is one hell of a stupid name for a minor league baseball team (“Legends” ain’t that great, either). The Power won 5-1 on the strength of four unearned runs in the first inning, the result of three errors. “A” ball at its finest. . .
The Legends had a few players of note. Mitch Einertson, the right fielder, hit .308/.413/.692 in Greenville last year, and is only 19 years old. Unfortunately, he’s hitting .248/.367/.373 this year, which is a pretty substantial step backward. There are two other players having excellent years that I haven’t been able to find anything about. Tonight’s pitcher was James Barthmaier, who has a 2.38 ERA with 135 Ks in 128 innings. This seems to be a hitters league, which makes that line very impressive. Justin Towles, a 21 year old catcher, is currently hitting .336/.435/.545, but again, I haven’t been able to find anything out about him.
People have been asking me a lot about “culture shock”, about how different living in Lexington must be from living in Seattle. I have to say, apart from the transportation issue (I drive every day, for the first time in over ten years), it’s hard to put my finger on any real clear differences, other than the obvious ones that come from moving from a city to a town. It’s also very hot, but that was to be expected, and hasn’t bothered me overmuch. Going to a baseball game here wasn’t all that notably different from going to a game in Eugene or Tacoma.