Looking Back at the 2013 IronPigs Season: Favorite Memories

“Memories,
Light the corners of my mind
Misty water-colored memories
Of the way we were”

–Barbra Streisand

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Here are my favorite memories of the 2013 IronPigs and last season at Coca Cola Park.  And, even though they’re my memories, no doubt I’ve forgotten some.  Or, perhaps there was something I didn’t see or do.  Please add your own in the comments.  For more detail, go back and read the original posts.  I didn’t link them, but they’re fun to re-read sometimes.

At the end I’ll add a couple “least favorite.”  These are in roughly chronologic order:

1. Media Day:  It was great fun meeting the players (and MiniMart’s “handlers”) and feeling the electricity in the locker room prior to the season.  The team was ready to play, even if their initial record didn’t show it!
2. NoiseCast:  We’ll get back to doing these, but the ones we did do early in the season were great fun.
3. May 2: The NoiseNation Award:  Yeah, these early season memories are a bit self-indulgent.  I don’t think DiPro and I expected  to see Dan make it to the game following the blog awards–let alone have two in tow.  The “award tour” was a lot of fun that evening.  Thanks again to Dan and DiPro and Decal and Cheryl and all who voted for us.
4. Our second “media” day:  It was hotter than normal.  DiPro and I spent the day in Reading at an R-Phils game where they got shut down pretty good by Boston prospect Anthony Ranaudo.  We came back to the Lehigh Valley to meet up with Cheryl and do some interviews with Tyson Gillies and Josh Fields.  We said hello to Tyler Cloyd.  Soon after, Cloyd was called up, Gillies was sent down and Fields had…
5. …The Stroganoff Strong Day:  We got wind of Josh’s lunch menu for the day, and his prodigious day at the plate led to many more lunches.  And, T-Shirts.  And radio spots.  Goodness!  Eat at Black Forest Deli, folks!
6. Three Games in One Day:  It was a Sunday in May, I believe, and we started the day at the IronPigs, left early to watch Kram3 play soccer, then made our way to the SteelHawks game in the evening.  Certainly a lot of fun.  If my memory is accurate, the IronPigs won, while the soccer team and SteelHawks lost.
7. Indy Starters:  During a May series, Indy started Charlie Morton, Gerrit Cole, and Francisco Liriano in three straight games at Coca Cola Park versus the IronPigs.  It was a treat to see three MLB-caliber players from the Pirates’ system who would go on to help them make the playoffs for the first time in over two decades.  Plus, the IronPigs won all three games!
8. Martin Turns the Corner in Indy:  It’s unusual to have a memory of a game I didn’t attend, but an afternoon in Indy Ethan Martin wasn’t pitching well at all.  He couldn’t get out of an early inning.  He convinced Brundage to leave him in the game, and rebounded to keep the IronPigs in a game they almost came back and won.  From that point on, Martin was one of the best pitchers the IronPigs had.  He gained a ton of confidence–it was cool to see  a player develop like that.
9. Saturday Tiki Parties: They’ve become a tradition.  I thought DiPro was going to cry that one Saturday when extra innings and a rain delay caused them to cancel the Tiki.  That was also Stroganoff T-Shirt Day…  Some good times were had at the Tikis this year:  Jr with the young Fields and Mitchell, introduction to the “hooch,” plenty relaxation and some good tunes…
10. Dugout Suite and Hot Corner:  One was early in the season, and the other later, but it was great to sit in locations where I hadn’t been before.  DiPro had extra tickets in the Dugout Suites and invited Jr. and me down to watch a Sunday game against the Redwings.  The IronPigs got crushed, but Jr. didn’t get ejected for heckling the ump and DiPro took the blame when Jr. yelled into the field mic.  A fun and memorable day.  Two early season games in the hot corner got nixed by the rain, but a “group night” with a bunch of friends in late July was a blast.  Greg Smith pitched a gem and the IronPigs won.  Cesar started to look a little better in CF.  I love those Sunday 5:35 games.
11. The Big Z and Biddle Pitch a Doubleheader in Reading:  Carlos Zambrano and Jesse Biddle both pitched well as the R-Fightins split a pair.  It was the only pre-vacation IronPigs game I missed, but we watched on my phone as Aumont mowed down batter after batter to lock the game up for the good guys.  It was by far Aumont’s best outing of the year, and I missed seeing it in person.  (see below)
12. Softball!  The return of Pro Fast-pitch to the Lehigh Valley was interesting and fun to watch.  I was hoping for better attendance, but the weather was nice both nights and everyone seemed to have a good time.  I hope they come back, at least for a game or two.
13. Double Safe:  Dan had joined me in my seats high above home plate.  We had the perfect view as Lerud and Martinez both scored as the catcher missed both tags.  The Ump signaled safe twice!  What a play!
14. DiPro At The Bat:  This was our third “media” day, and the official debut of NoiseNationTV.  Other than the part where DiPro almost died, it was a blast!
15. The Playoff Race:  I didn’t purchase the playoff package this time, but I still had fun watching the standings and the box scores. We were right in it until the final weekend at home–as Brundage told us on NoiseNationTV, you can’t really ask for much more than that!
16. Shutting It Down: Last Game, Post Game Tailgate:  It was something we did following the 2012 season, mostly because we didn’t get a game to watch due to the rain.  We did it again for 2013 and it couldn’t have been a better post-game tailgate.  Those who  were there, until the end, will remember it for a long, long time.

The View from our Tailgate as We Said Goodbye to the 2013 IronPigs. Photo (c) Kram209

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Now for a couple “least favorite:”

1. Early Season Losses:  We knew it might be a little rough at first with such a young team this past season.  And, it was.  Tough to watch at times in April.
2. Rose No Go:  I’m not a Pete Rose fan, but it’s too bad they couldn’t pull off the autograph day.  it would have been a fun circus.
3. The Day the Mitchells Died:  OK, nobody died.  Sorry to see two of my favorite players leave on the same day, though: Jermaine and Derrick.
4. Pittsburgh Columnist Disparages IronPigs:  “Rock Bottom” Dejan Kovacevic said of Jason Grilli’s time with the ‘Pigs.  I think we set him straight.
5. Aumont:  I’m cheering for him, but golly it’s tough to watch sometimes.
6. Cesar to CF:  As above.  I like Cesar but he struggled at times in CF, which didn’t help our playoff push.  Tough to watch.
7. National Championship Game:  Kind of a let-down, you know?  Could have been so much better with the IronPigs involved.  That was never likely, I know.  But, it was the goal and the dream.

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So that’s it.  Feel free to share your own memories of the games and the park and the people, below.  Now we look forward to 2014 and there will be new faces on the field, behind the counters, and in the stands.  We’ll say good-bye to some friends and make some new ones.  We’ll have fun doing it, though, and that’s the name of the game.

See you at the park, Go Hog Wild!

@Kram209