My daughter turned 16 in February. She’s never been much of a shopper or expressed any real interest in money, so I was a bit surprised when she told me she wanted to get a summer job. Nevertheless, when I saw that the Arkansas Travelers were hiring for the season, I sent her the link.
I didn’t expect her to apply, and certainly not right away, but that’s exactly what she did. She told them she wanted to work in the playground/splash pad area with little kids, and she proudly informed me that she was hired “pretty much immediately.”
Thursday night, while the Travelers were playing in Frisco, the organization opened Dickey-Stephens Park to anyone who wanted to watch Fourth of July fireworks over the Arkansas River while eating a ballpark hot dog. When my daughter’s boss asked who would be willing and able to work the kid’s zone that night, she volunteered. I asked if she was sure she wanted to work on a holiday. “It’s two more hours for my next paycheck,” she said. Hard to argue with that, I guess.
She and Jess and I drove to Dickey-Stephens together on Thursday evening and got there early enough to get a spot on Willow Street, facing the fence behind the scoreboard above left field, where we could see most of the field and the crowd. My daughter went in to start her shift, and Jess and I stayed behind. Given the heat and humidity, we took advantage of the free admission and went in only long enough to get hot dogs and drinks, then returned to the car to listen to the Travelers’ game on the radio while enjoying the wonders of modern automotive air conditioning.
For an hour after the gates opened at 7 p.m., kids and adults could play catch on the outfield grass. If you squinted just right through the humidity and orange-red rays of sunset, you could almost make out an America that only ever existed in Norman Rockwell paintings and Baby Boomers’ fever dreams.
Before my daughter left the car, we’d all discussed whether to stay for fireworks after she returned. The general consensus among the three of us was, “Eh … doesn’t matter to me.” No one seemed particularly excited, but no one was opposed either. (That’s frequently how things go with a 16-year-old.)
Just before she finished her two-hour shift, however, I was overcome with a wave of … sadness, I guess? It wasn’t really nostalgia, at least in the modern sense. I wasn’t pining for some memory of watching fireworks with my parents when I was a teenager; I was remembering those old days fondly and grieving a hypothetical future, 30 years from now, in which my daughter didn’t have similar memories to reflect upon.
Oh, sure, she’d seen fireworks before. There are plenty of pictures of her sitting on my shoulders at 2 and 3 years old, watching brightly colored explosions. But between a divorce and a pandemic, plus the inertia that comes from letting things fall by the wayside, we hadn’t really made it a point to see Fourth of July fireworks in recent years. So I made the executive decision that we were going to stay and watch these.
Anyone watching the fireworks show without sudden emotional baggage would have found it to be just about the perfect length for a pyrotechnics display. As my daughter reached over and squeezed my hand during the grand finale, however, I found myself wishing the whole thing — the fireworks, the moment, her days of being a kid without the pressures of adulthood — would go on forever. But when the final red, white and blue streaks gave way to the night sky, I realized that the sadness I’d felt just 15 minutes earlier had given way to the kind of happiness that only shows up when your heart is truly full.
This whole thing isn’t directly related to Travelers baseball, I suppose. But, then again, in an alternative timeline in which we aren’t Travelers’ fans, I probably never send her the link to the open job position, and we likely don’t wind up there on a humid, non-game night to watch fireworks that we could have seen a bit better from other observation points.
In that situation, we almost certainly don’t find ourselves standing alone on a Willow Street sidewalk, sharing a moment that I hope she remembers forever.
I know I will.
Series recap:
Monday (July 1) marked a rare post-pandemic departure from starting minor league series on Tuesdays. It also marked the first double-A start for 24-year-old lefty Brandyn Garcia, the Seattle Mariners’ 11th-round pick in 2023. Garcia had a little control issue, at least against Frisco’s Kellen Strahm, but was otherwise as good as advertised, striking out eight over five innings, walking only two and allowing no runs. In the fourth, third baseman Ben Williamson reminded fans that he can flash more leather than a heifer in heat, as he made a tremendous diving stop up the line and fired a rocket to first to end the inning. The Travs held Frisco scoreless through nine innings; unfortunately, the Travelers’ bats couldn’t get going, either. The game went to extra frames, but Frisco scored twice in the top of the 10th off of Arkansas closer Troy Taylor and pulled out the win. RoughRiders 2, Travelers 0 (10).
On Tuesday, LHP Danny Wirchansky celebrated his 27th birthday by taking the bump for the home team. He gave up a first-inning run, but was sharp afterward, going six innings with six strikeouts and allowing only the one score. Arkansas struggled yet again to score, running their scoreless-inning streak to 19 (including the final three innings against Springfield on June 30) before breaking through with four runs in the bottom of the seventh on Tuesday. After Harry Ford struck out to start the bottom of the seventh, Hogan Windish was hit by a pitch, Brock Rodden bunted for a single, Alberto Rodriguez singled (Windish scored), Kaden Polcovich was hit by a pitch, Rodden was called out on a spectacularly bad blown call by home plate umpire Nathan Diederich, Blake Rambusch was hit by a pitch (Rodriguez scored), and Williamson singled into Polcovich and Morgan McCullough. Travelers 4, RoughRiders 1.
It was 99 degrees for the first pitch on Wednesday evening. Worse, the humidity was somewhere north of 500%, so the entire thing felt like playing baseball in a bowl of chowder. Luckily, the game was … about half an hour longer than the previous two nights, despite featuring no more offense. Gah. Logan Evans, who seems destined for a promotion to Seattle or Tacoma before the month ends, made a rare start since his move to the bullpen. He struggled, going only two-thirds of an inning and allowing two runs. Kyle Hill worked the Travs out of the first in a relief appearance, followed by Jimmy Joyce, Travis Kuhn, and Peyton Alford combining for nine scoreless frames. The Travs got one run back in the bottom of the first on an RBI double from Young. In the bottom of the second, they tied the game when Victor Labrada scored on a Ben Ramirez double play. Then, in the bottom of the tenth, Labrada scored the game winner on a wild pitch. Travelers 3, RoughRiders 2 (10).
Due to a scheduling quirk around the Fourth of July this year, Thursday saw the series move to Frisco for the first of three games at Riders Field, a ridiculously ugly edifice that is inexplicably sided like a mid-range apartment complex. Still, it’s less ugly than the six runs allowed to Frisco in the bottom of the first by Travs’ starter Reid VanScoter. Arkansas clawed one run back in the third on a Young double that scored Labrada, but Raul Alcantara — who otherwise pitched well in 3.1 innings of relief of VanScoter — gave that run back in the bottom of the fourth. The Travs strung together three hits and plated three runs in the fifth to bring the game to 7-4, before scoring one in the eighth and one in the ninth to cut the deficit to one. Sadly, they would get no closer. RoughRiders 7, Travelers 6.
Friday brought cooler game-time temps (84 degrees at first pitch) and even cooler bats from the Travs. Righty Michael Morales, making his first start for Arkansas, went 5.2 innings, allowing eight runs, all earned, and striking out four. Arkansas scored one in the fourth on a Frisco wild pitch and another solo run in the top of the ninth when Rodden hit his second double-A homer. RoughRiders 8, Travelers 2.
The series wrapped up on Saturday. Big righthander Juan Mercedes threw six innings, allowing four runs (three earned). Luis Curvelo came on in relief in the seventh and immediately gave up three runs. The Travs scored once in the eighth on a Ford groundout, but that was it. As the game ended on a fielder’s choice from Jake Anchia, I started to wonder if I cursed the Travs by bragging about their offense in last week’s column. Seems plausible, anyway. RoughRiders 7, Travelers 1.
A word about awards:
On July 3, the Travelers learned that southpaw Danny Wirchansky had been named Texas League Pitcher of the Month for June. During Gemini season, Danny started five games, winning two and losing none, while allowing only two earned runs over 28.1 innings and striking out 16. He held opposing hitters to a .134 batting average and issued only four walks all month.
As if that wasn’t enough hardware for one week, yesterday the Travelers announced that Brandyn Garcia was named Texas League Pitcher of the Week. His line in for the week: 5.0 innings pitched, eight strikeouts, two walks, no runs allowed. Not bad for his first double-A start.
One of the more insane things I’ve ever heard someone say about a mascot:
“That looks like one of those Bad Dragons.” –A woman at Dickey-Stephens Park commenting to anyone within earshot about the shape and style of the Otey the Swamp Possum’s tail (July 1, 2024)
While many (most??) of you likely have no idea what that is, I am saving my editor the headache and not linking to anything that would explain this reference. Feel free to Google it, but be warned that it is decidedly not safe for work. Can’t say that she’s entirely wrong. Just a tad untethered from social norms about what’s appropriate to discuss in public, I guess.
Travelers’ current record:
42-38 overall, 6-6 in the second half. Currently two games behind first-place Tulsa and sitting in third place in the Texas League North second-half race.
Three things to be optimistic about:
- Speed. I said it last week, and I’ll say it again. This team is FAST. Cole Young and Harry Ford have combined for 35 stolen bases, and I’m not sure either of them is in the top three fastest players on the team. Victor Labrada can absolutely fly on the bases, and Brock Rodden is maybe a step slower than him. Blake Rambusch and Morgan McCullough can both run. You can’t steal first base — as the recent offensive woes in Frisco reminded us — but you can definitely manufacture runs with this kind of team speed when you do reach base.
- Pitching. Danny Wirchansky winning Texas League Pitcher of the Month for June after Logan Evans won the award in May tells you just how deep the Travs’ pitching is. Brandyn Garcia looked legit in his first start. Reid VanScoter remains one of the best pitchers in the Texas League this season as well.
- Christian Colon. It’s not every day that I bother to praise a manager, but Colon, who recently turned 35, has quickly established himself as the perfect manager for a team with this much youth and this many highly drafted players. Perhaps that’s a result of Colon having been drafted fourth overall in 2010, but whatever the reason, the players seem to love him and he reciprocates by always being the first guy out of the dugout when something happens and always vocally having the players’ backs. Just a tremendous hire by the Seattle Mariners’ organization.
Current area(s) of concern:
- Hitting? Maybe? I don’t know. It seems to vary wildly week to week lately, and I’m starting to wonder if this column has some sort of power to make the team do the opposite of whatever I’m currently praising or concerned about. So, sure, the hitting is back to being a concern. Is this an attempt at a reverse jinx? Maybe. But also, you can’t score just 16 runs in six games and not trigger some amount of concern from the fans.
- Power. No team that plays half its games at Dickey-Stephens is going to wow you with its home run totals, but man. The current healthy roster has a total of 34 longballs on the season (and four of those came from one person in one game). No active Travs player is on pace for even 13 homers in 2024. For comparison, Arkansas ended the 2023 season with five players with at least 13 taters. It’s possible to win without a bunch of homers, even in 2024, but it’s inefficient and less than ideal, especially on nights the team struggles to get multiple people on base in an inning.
Random fact about Frisco, TX:
The population explosion in Frisco over the past 30 years is mindblowing. In 1990, Frisco had a population of 6,138. By 2000, it was 33,714 (a 449% increase). In 2010, 116,989 people called Frisco home (a 247% increase). And the 2020 Census puts the population at 207,748 (a 78% increase). Sure, that’s almost entirely due to the growth of the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex generally, but just for context: Frisco’s growth from 1990 to today would be like Greenbrier hitting 200,000 residents in 2050.
Arkansas-related baseball trivia that might be useful to you someday:
According to Baseball Reference, as of this writing there have been 228 people born in Arkansas who later went on to play professional baseball in America at some level (e.g., minor league, major league, or Negro League baseball). Of those 228 ballplayers, six have been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame:
- Lou Brock (born June 18, 1939, in El Dorado). Primarily a left fielder, Brock played three-plus seasons for the Chicago Cubs (1961-1964) and nearly 16 seasons for the St. Louis Cardinals. He led the National League in stolen bases from 1966 through 1974 and retired as the all-time leader in stolen bases.
- Dizzy Dean (born Jan. 16, 1910, in Lucas (Logan County)). Dean pitched seven years for the Cardinals, four years for the Cubs, and one year for the St. Louis Browns. He went 30-7 in 1934 and won the Most Valuable Player award as the Cardinals won the World Series, and he finished second in MVP voting in 1935 and 1936.
- Travis Jackson (born Nov. 2, 1903, in Waldo (Columbia County)). A shortstop and third baseman, Jackson played his entire 15-year career for the New York Giants. He was a replacement-level hitter, but something of a defensive wizard, at least for the time. He led the league in defensive WAR in 1928, 1929 and 1931.
- George Kell (born August 23, 1922, in Swifton (Jackson County)). Kell played for five team over a 15-year career, but it was his six-plus years in Detroit that got him into Cooperstown. He led the majors in batting average (.343) in 1949 and in hits (218) and doubles (56) in 1950, and he led the American League in hits (191) and doubles (36) in 1951.
- Brooks Robinson (born May 18, 1937, in Little Rock). Easily one of the five greatest third basemen of all time and certainly the best defensive player of that bunch, Robinson won an MVP award, a World Series MVP award and 16 Gold Glove awards. He was an 18-time All Star.
- Arky Vaughan (born Mar. 9, 1912, in Clifty (Madison County)). Vaughan spent 10 of his 14 Major League seasons with the Pittsburgh Pirates, where he posted gaudy numbers by advanced metrics. He had a 190 OPS+ in 1935, plus five other seasons with an OPS+ of at least 140. Vaughan was a nine-time All Star.
Arkansas Times Player of the Week:
Danny Wirchansky. Look, if you just had such a good month that you were named Texas League Pitcher of the Month for June, and your response is to go out on your birthday in your first start of July and throw six innings of one-run baseball, striking out six and walking only two, you’re already a contender for this award. When your start was one of only two games the team won in the past week, you’re pretty much a shoo-in.
Honorable Mention: Victor Labrada. In a week where the whole team struggled to reach base, the speedy 24-year-old put together a solid series against Frisco, slashing .333/.429/.444 and reaching base nine times in 21 plate appearances. The highlight was on July 4, when Labrada reached base all five times on four hits and a walk, scoring two runs, including the game winner on a wild pitch in the 10th. For the week, he had six hits, two runs, two doubles and three walks.
Up next:
The Travelers head to Midland, Texas, this week for a six-game series against the Rockhounds, the double-A affiliate of the Oakland A’s, that runs Tuesday through Sunday. The following Monday through Thursday, the Travs are off for the Major League All-Star break, before returning home for a three-game set against San Antonio, July 19-21.
All games are available in Central Arkansas on 106.7 Buz2 FM.