I set off today around noon to check out the National Pig day. There was a long line of folks lined up in the bitter cold wind to buy tickets, some saying they waited as long as 4 hours for the chance to get games they wanted.
Get used to this weather Pig Fans, the Ironpigs have 22 home games scheduled by May 16th. With a heavy home stand early on in the year one wonders if the league is compensating for the high attendance that Ironpig’s fans have accomplished over the past 3 years. Give the other teams a chance to pull in warm weather crowds. Not my main point, but something to ponder.
A few things of note from National Pig Day…
Our good friend Matt Provence was seen cooking up complimentary hot dogs. Per his press release later in the day he noted that 1,494 hot dogs were distributed adding that 6 never made it to the bun. I witnessed his skill with the hot dog tongs and have to say only 6 dogs hitting the deck this morning is an accomplishment. 🙂
Another thing I noticed was a set of Ironpig go carts in a plastic wrapped wooden carton sitting on the concourse by section 115. At first glance they appear to be mini-Nascar models both with what looks like a lawn mower engine. I wonder if the Pork Racers will take things to a new level…
Photo by Heather Mastropieri
Also from the Ironpig’s press release:
·12,000 tickets sold at Coca-Coca Park, via phone and on-line (more expected on-line through midnight)
·1,031 complimentary IronPigs Yard Signs distributed (one per family in attendance that chose to register)
·1,400 complimentary pulled pork sandwiches distributed by Royal Gourmet
·600 complimentary pretzels distributed by Philly Pretzel Factory
·1,150 cups of complimentary Hot Cocoa dispensed
·768 can of complimentary Coca-Cola Products distributed
·4 live pigs available for petting and photos compliments of Ross Mill Farm and Pig Placement Network
Of note today, Chad Durbin signed with the Cleveland Indians.
Also wanted to mention (as we have a diverse fan base out there) that the Lehigh Valley Yankee Fan Club will be holding their 2011 Kick off meeting on Tuesday night at Hampton Lanes.
From their Facebook site:
Scheduled To Appear:
Scranton Yankees – AAA Farm Team of the New York Yankees
Trenton Thunder – AA Farm Team of the New York Yankees
Lehigh Valley Ironpigs – AAA Farm Team of the Phillies – General Manager Kurt Landis & PA Announcer Tim Chorones
Glad to see the local franchises supporting a fan club.
One last thing before I finish for the day.. with the Phillies defeating the Yankees today in a Nationally televised game I really don’t have much to say that you don’t already know so I will share my view of today’s game.
noisenation.mlblogs.com 
Hmmm, Ferrous wears #26 and the go-cart/stock car is #26. FeFe wears #08. I’ll bet I can guess what number was on the other car.
A neighbor was there for tickets in the morning and the best he could get for the games he wanted was Sections 101 and 102.
The other car was #8 but I couldn’t get a clear camera shot. Good call Decal!
Yes Decal…the other one was 08. I tried to get a picture of it, but chairs and such were in front of it. It was underneath the 26 car. I was thinking it was going to be a FeRROUS and FeFe mobile because one Slapshot, the mascot of the Reading Royals drives one similiar but his is more of a monster truck.
After reading your post, I didn’t realize it was one sign per household. Oops..we both got one. I saw a lot of people walking around with 2 of them.
It was so good to see the employees we have come to love (and maybe even not love) and it really makes me excited for baseball season!! And Matt looked pretty good serving hot dogs, but he should definately not quit his day job 😉
I’m going to have to keep the sign in a window at our house. We have mischievous neighbors…and strangers with dogs…
I had met some of the LVYFC (ten or more years ago) at a street fair in their native Northampton. Nice folks.
Don’t worry, Sarge… the same teams go at it again today in Clearwater… nice setup with the table and post mount… we’d have to think of that here eventually when the folks’ (1984?) set bites it…
A few updates from the Saturday spring training games.
Oscar Villarreal pitched the 4th inning for the Dodgers vs. the Giants. In his 1 inning he allowed 4 runs on 4 hits with no walks or strikeouts.
For Arizona, Andy Tracy was 0-1 as a pinch hitter, leaving 2 runners on base. Cody Ransom was 1-3 with a double.
Coca-Cola and Martins thank you for your patronage!
We are very appreciative of those who have sponsored our cook book fundraiser so far. If you’d like to see your own link on the right menu, feel free to join the cause 🙂