Last week, while on a business trip to NJ and PA, I had some personal time to explore a few cities/towns/experiences in and along the Jersey Shore (NJ) leading up to attending a Jersey Shore Blue Claws game. I stopped into the Ocean City Historical Society, walked the grounds of the LLWS Champion Toms River Little League complex, visited Point Pleasant Beach, explored Asbury Park Stadium, and finished up getting an education at the Asbury Park Public Library. It was an awesome day of experiences – baseball, ocean community life, meeting great people. And after a semi-long day of exploring, I was ready for Jersey Shore Blue Claws Baseball. If you would like to read more about my pre-game experiences, check it out here – Part I, Toms River to Point Pleasant to Asbury Park.
Wednesday was a seasonably high day temperature wise in NJ. I would guesstimate the temps were approaching 90 degrees with high humidity. There were barely any clouds in the sky, which is great on one hand but not so great for photography on the other hand. As you will see in the photos in this blog, I struggled finding spots without a ton of glare from the sun. I do my best, I am not a professional photographer. Not even close. But, I do my best to capture what I can and present it to you without filters. Other cropping photos, I don’t do a ton of photo editing.
So, in my previous blog about my Jersey Shore Blue Claws adventure, I mentioned that I purchased a “best available” seat for the game at the ticket window. I typically purchase a general admission ticket because I rarely sit and watch the game from one seat, one spot. However, as the ticket agent mentioned, because the game had not yet gotten close to selling out, a best available seat was offered to me. At or around 5:45pm, the gates to ShoreTown Park opened and a rush of fans entered the stadium to escape the sun’s intense heat and also to begin their Blue Claws experience. I looked at my ticket and noticed I was about 10 rows up behind home plate, not bad at all. And since I had about 45 minutes to first pitch (6:30pm), I decided to walk the park and check out the Jersey Shore Blue Claws fan experience.
I may have mentioned it once or twice, but I love baseball parks that allow fans to walk the entire perimeter of the park. From home plate past the third base dugout area, there was a sound stage set up with picnic tables and chairs for some local entertainment, maybe a birthday party or retirement party. I sat in this section for a bit, mainly because it provided me (and others) with a ton of shade. It reminded me of a cool neighbor’s backyard, with high top tables and a convenient bar serving cold drinks. Heading out to the outfield area, there was a consistent theme of what life on the Jersey Shore may offer. There were lifeguard chairs with sand, a mini-golf course, and a giant Jersey Shore Blue Claws blue “big” chair. The park and Blue Claws organization did a great job of folding in the Jersey Shore lifestyle into the ballpark experience.
After a full perimeter walk inside ShoreTown Park, I took my seat for game time. The Jersey Shore Blue Claws are the High-A Affiliate of nearby Philadelphia Phillies. Their opponent was the Brooklyn Cyclones, the High-A Affiliate of their nearby NY Mets. Sitting directly to my left were three or four area scouts, not sure for which organization, but they were set up with their Ipads, taking notes on pitchers, catchers, hitters, and fielders. I missed my chance to become a scout 30 something years ago and sort of regret not looking into it further when I had that chance. Still, it is fun to see what scouting looks like now as opposed to when I was considering it as a career. The sun was setting at or around game time, but not fast enough for the fielders on the right side of the diamond. Wow, was that a tough sun field early on.
From my spot behind home plate, I had a near perfect view of the game. I watched three or four innings, then moved over to the third base line for a few, then finished watching the game in right field after picking up a delicious soft serve ice cream. High-A baseball talent is so interesting to watch. These players have moved up a level or two since being drafted by their respective organizations, and the challenge to move up to Double A becomes even greater at this level. Not knowing any of the players from either side, it was fun just to sit and watch the game unfold and literally cheer on every player, every play on the field. And with a full day of exploring the Jersey Shore already making me a bit tired, I decided to head out of ShoreTown Park after the 7th inning. Overall, it was an incredible day on the Jersey Shore of New Jersey experiencing just a small sample of why this ocean community is so popular. And it was an awesome Jersey Shore baseball experience attending the Blue Claws vs. Brooklyn Cyclones game at ShoreTown Park, Lakewood, New Jersey.
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