A Wednesday Afternoon Visit To FNB Field, Part II - The Actual Game

A few nights ago, I wrote about my Wednesday afternoon visit to FNB Field, home of the Harrisburg Senators. I had a few hours before the game to self-guide myself on a tour of City Island, parts of downtown Harrisburg, and some of the local bridges that connect the “mainland” of Harrisburg to City Island. It was a 3 to 4 hour tour that netting me about 15,000 steps on my FitBit watch and a week’s worth of aches and pains that I am still reeling from nearly a week later. You can read Part 1 here – Pre-Game Trip – if you would like to catch up on my pre-game experiences.

Jumping ahead in the story for the rest of you – I arrived inside FNB Field at or around 5:31pm on Wednesday afternoon. Rain and “impact” type weather had been forecasted all week for Wednesday’s game and I was a little apprehensive on actually going to the game at all. But, after a few hours of clouds rolling in and rolling out with just a 25 minute downpour mixed in, I was happy to be inside FNB so I could check out the facility and what made this stadium such a unique experience for fans.

The Harrisburg Senators, or the Harrisburg Mayflies on this May 20th afternoon, are the AA Affiliate of the Washington Nationals. FNB Field has been the home field for the Senators since 1987, having started as Riverside Stadium. It has had several name changes, according to the Harrisburg Senators MILB page, with FNB taking over naming rights in 2016. It sits on a island, City Island to be exact, and is surrounded on all four sides by water, connected to the mainland of Harrisburg by a series of bridges. To say it is a one of a kind type stadium in Minor League baseball is an understatement.

First pitch was scheduled for 6:30pm, so I had about an hour to tour FNB Field, grab some dinner, and definitely grab a seat to rest my aching body. I started my tour in left field, at a concession stand and snagged a commemorative Senators cup and a few hot dogs. I found a spot in the left field concourse to sit down and take in the view and inhale the large drink and two hot dogs. Now, I will have the energy to really walk around and document the park, I said to myself. No, let’s give a few more minutes…

Okay, let’s get moving here. One foot in front of the other, you can do it. I started heading towards center field on the walkway that circled the outfield perimeter. I love ballparks that let you walk at least most (or all) of the perimeter of the field, including behind home plate and around the outfield. There are so many awesome ways to see a game and walking the full circumference of the concourse area is one way to find those awesome ways. I made it through a corporate gathering party and over to a bar area in right field before having to turn around and head back to where I came. Still, I was able to see the entire field from left, center, and right field viewing spots. Love this.

Along the way walking towards the home plate/backstop seating, I spotted FNB Field’s Chair of Honor, a special seat reserved in honor of POW and MIA service men and women. As I do with every Chair or Seat of Honor, I took a moment to pause and pay my respects for their service and sacrifice. And I loved that FNB Field joined so many baseball stadiums that I have visited in having this chair of honor present for others to pay their respects.

I found out that my ticket section was actually in the bleachers situated behind the first base area from a really friendly stadium valet. I had stopped again to rest my knees and asked him if it was okay to park it for a minute. He asked where my ticket was, I told him the section, and he said no problem. After chatting it up with him for a bit, I made my way passed home plate and into the concourse vendor section of the park. There was a huge “Greetings From Sensylvania” mural on the wall and inside was a row of life size bobbleheads of former Harrisburg Senators players. Names like Bryce Harper, Matt Stairs, Ryan Zimmerman, and Vladimir Guerrero caught my eye. As did Stephen Strasburg, who at one point was going to be the next Cy Young in many experts opinions. Pretty cool seeing the Senators Bobblehead Hall of Fame and reading their stats.

Honestly, it was far easier killing time inside FNB Field than it was killing time walking around the perimeter and surrounding areas of FNB Field pre-game. Also, Wednesday’s game was a “Wet Nose” event, meaning dogs were allowed in the park, which is always fun for me. Seeing dogs of all shapes and sizes trying to figure it out in a ballpark, with hot dog smells and other dogs is always hilarious for me as a dog owner. And, I always find a ton of interesting things to read and photograph and share, like these images from the park.

I had never heard for James Brooklyn DeShong before Wednesday’s game. But the “Pitching Ace From Harrisburg” looks like he had a terrific career. First with local William Penn High School. Then time with the PHI A’s, NY Yankees, and later with the Washington Senators. To read that DeShong was honored during the 1987 Opening Ceremonies for Riverside Stadium, now FNB Field, was really cool to read. Wow, what a career, what a Harrisburg Ace indeed.

Speaking of aces, one of my main reasons for going to a Harrisburg Senators game was to catch a glimpse of Rhode Island High School star, now Senators starting LHP Alex Clemmey. From the schedule online, I missed Clemmey by one night. Clemmey ended up pitching a gem of a game on Thursday night. No worries, I spotted Clemmey in the bullpen and in the dugout during the game. It is a really big deal for Rhode Island baseball having players like Alex Clemmey in professional baseball. RI doesn’t have too many to speak of, and Clemmey is making a big time push to move up the Minor League ranks and hopefully fulfill his (and other RI kids) dream of pitching in a Major League baseball uniform. Drafted by the Cleveland organization, traded to Washington a few years ago, Clemmey has really done well from himself and his Harrisburg Senators team in 2026, posting a respectable 2-2 record with 49 Ks’ in just over 40 innings of work this season.

Once the game began, I settled into a few seats along the third base side, then moved behind home plate, and eventually into my assigned seat in the bleachers to catch parts of the game. I love seeing the game from different angles, but behind home plate remains my favorite. The Senators or Mayflies were facing the Akron Rubber Ducks, the AA Affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. AA, in my opinion, is where an organization’s top talent resides just waiting for their chance to move up to AAA, then the Major Leagues. I got to see two very high level pitchers hold two very high level batting orders in check for most of the 5 or 6 innings I was at the game.

As I had one more night of work to complete, I headed to the left field area around the 6th inning for one more view of FNB Field. As I mentioned earlier, it was a Bark in the Park night at FNB and I witnessed a K-9 officer work with a rather anxious German Shepherd and its overly anxious owner on some command issues. The K-9 officer was awesome, training the dog on sitting and being in control, almost Zen like command in merely minutes of working with the dog. That was super impressive. Dogs, baseball, history, an Alex Clemmey sighting, and the weather held off – what a day in Harrisburg. Overall, it was an exhausting yet very satisfying Harrisburg baseball experience visiting FNB Field, home of the Harrisburg Senators.