Visalia sits just about dead-center of the sprawling California League, a couple of hundred miles south and east of San Jose and about 250 miles north of Lake Elsinore. Saturday night I took the trip down Hwy 99 to Recreation Park to see the Rawhide take on the Lake Elsinore Storm and it was a true California League game on the field. The weather couldn’t have been better and the park was jammed with 2,623 fans who saw a real fireworks show, early and late.
It was the second weekend in a row for me to see the Storm, and if I didn’t get a good enough look at Hunter Renfroe last Saturday in Rancho, then the Padres’ #5 organizational prospect put himself front and center with his performance against the Rawhide.
Every Saturday is All-American Saturday at Recreation Park and the home team wore red, white and blue jerseys while a popular drink special was in play for those with a Rawhide boot-shaped mug. It was barbecue, cheap drinks and homerun derby in Visalia.
GAME RECAP
With the end of the first half just a couple of weeks away, the Rawhide entered this game holding onto slim hopes for catching Bakersfield atop the North division. The Blaze began the night with a four-game lead and had just taken two of three over the Rawhide here during the week.
The home team got off to a fast start with the first four batters reaching base, including RF Alex Glenn’s three-run triple. The Rawhide jumped all over Lake Elsinore’s starter, RHP Bryan Rodriguez , and they finished the inning with a 4-0 lead. In the second, 3B Brandon Drury singled in two more runs to make it 6-0. For the home crowd it was the best of times and it couldn’t have started any better.
Meanwhile, RHP Brandon Sinnery cruised through the first two innings, pitching to contact and getting outs. He kept everything on the infield in the first, with Renfroe beating out a groundball to SS for a single, but no damage. The second inning saw Storm 1B Duanel Jones line a clean single into left field, but he too was stranded.
Then came the top of the third inning.
Lake Elsinore, trailing 6-0, went SINGLE-SINGLE-fielder’s choice-HOMER-line out-WALK-HOMER-HOMER before Sinnery could get the third out, and it was all tied up at 6. Three homers, six runs, and just like that, Rodriguez was pitching for a win again.
The longballs came from Renfroe with a three-run blast, Jones with a two-run shot and RF Luis Domoromo, who tied the game with his solo dinger. Renfroe’s was #14 on the season to lead the Cal League. When I saw him go deep last weekend in Rancho, that was only #10. Now, four homers later, he still wasn’t done for the night.
The score stayed tied until the bottom of the fifth when Drury launched a majestic shot over the fence in right-center. It put the Rawhide up 7-6 and pulled Drury to within one of Renfroe for the league homer lead at 13. Two more scoreless innings followed and both teams were well into their bullpens going to the top of the eighth.
Renfroe had gotten the Storm on the board with his three-run shot in the third, but he could have done even more damage as he had come up twice since then with two runners aboard. In the fourth, he grounded sharply back to Sinnery who started a 1-4-3 double play to end the inning, and in the sixth he struck out with two aboard, again ending the inning.
Another chance came Renfroe’s way in the top of the eighth and he didn’t waste it. RHP Kyle Winkler came in from the ‘pen mid-inning with a runner on first and gave up a single to DH Diego Goris to set the stage for Renfroe’s at bat with runners on first and third. Winkler got two strikes on Renfroe and had first base open following Goris’ steal of second, but he threw one too close to the sweet spot and Renfroe sent it out again for his second three-run homer of the evening. The scoring was done at 9-7 for a Storm win, and Renfroe had six RBIs. He could have had double-digits if he had come through in those other two at bats, but he had to settle for a 3-for-5 night, nine total bases and providing the winning margin.
The pitching decision went to the relievers as RHP Roman Madrid got his first win for Lake Elsinore and Winkler took the loss. The Rawhide dropped a full game in the standings as Bakersfield moved out to a five-game lead with a 15-10 win at High Desert. Similar games in Adelanto and Visalia, but it all broke against the Rawhide. With the win, the Storm pulled to within one game of Lancaster, who lost to the Quakes in another football score, 16-13.
MORE RENFROE
If you are into statistical analysis, here’s some data for you. Hunter Renfro is slashing .290/.363/.579, but he is 5-for-9 with 3 homers and 9 RBI while I’m in the park. Just sayin’. I will reach out to his agent and see what we can arrange as far as getting me to work this magic going forward. I’ll be happy to take up permanent residence at Petco Park when he hits the bigs. Surely this coincidence is the mojo, not Renfroe’s elite talent.
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I am using this blog as an excuse to get around to all of the California League ballparks and already it has been a great experience. But baseball at Recreation Park is a “home game” for me as I grew up just outside of Visalia. It was rare that my family could go see the Oakland A’s or Los Angeles Dodgers but we were able to go see the Visalia Oaks all the time.
The western-cowboy theme is dominant and very appropriate for the city, which lies in the middle of a prolific agricultural region. Every game is a cookout with a Cal League game going on and there is a section dedicated to those with cowbells. The mascot, Tipper T. Bull, represents the livestock that is an important part of the economy in Visalia and the surrounding areas.
A grassy section with picnic tables runs the length of the rightfield line and it is always packed with kids playing. The little ones have the run of the place and if you don’t want to get hit with a whiffle ball or dodge a team of uniformed pee-wee leaguers who are chasing each other, then don’t go through The Pasture, use the walkway above. The team caters to families and an area like this works beautifully. The Chuck E. Cheese commercials look boring compared to the fun and games going on here. Just around the corner, beyond the rightfield fence, is more of the same and this area also overlooks the visiting team’s bullpen.
A game against Modesto from the OF
Another section behind the right-center field fence is field level, offering a great view of fly balls and the fielders chasing them down. Most of us are used to seeing the game on TV and from stadium seating. Here’s a great view of an outfielder getting a first-step jump on a fly ball. It’s harder than it looks. While you’re trying to focus on the ball in the air, the player in front of you is on the move. Good stuff. This area has a wood deck and table seating, ideal to host group outings. But if you’re baseball-crazy, here they are right in front of you. It’s a great view.
If you like to be even closer to the action, the main grandstand seating is the place. You’re not going to sit closer to homeplate anywhere else and when the pitcher throws his warmup pitches before the inning starts, you hear that catcher’s mitt popping. Foul balls straight to the screen are unlike those you’ll experience anywhere else. It comes off the bat and hits the screen before you can throw your arms up, which you will despite the fact that nothing’s getting through the protection. Evan Marzilli was on third early in the game and Rodriguez threw one past his catcher. Elsewhere, Marzilli scores. Here, the catcher simply turned around and picked up the ball, which had bounced back to him. It is an intimate environment all the way around and a fan can’t sit closer to the game anywhere else.
ROOT,ROOT FOR THE HOME TEAM
When the ‘Hide got off to the fast start with four in the first and two in the second, the place was rocking as you would expect. When Renfroe hit his 3-run homer in the third, you could have heard a pin drop. It was palpable. He circled the bases in near silence and it really jumped out at me following what had been going on to that point. When the Quakes or the San Jose Giants play here, the place certainly has Dodger or Giant fans in the house as Visalia is halfway between the two major league cities. But when this Padre farmhand changed the arc of the game, it was a total ants-ruining-the-picnic moment. I don’t believe that was a Diamondbacks/NL west thing. That was over 2,600 people all-in for the Visalia team. In baseball, especially minor league baseball, it’s extremely cool to be provincial.
HISTORY
The Rawhide organization has done a great job in recognizing its history. Along the first base line is a wall of Cooperstown-style plaques for some of the greats in the team’s long history. Kirby Puckett, Vada Pinson, even umpire Doug Harvey are immortalized here. There are clear reminders of the connection to the Diamondbacks throughout the park, but it is the entire history of baseball in Visalia that takes center stage in this area.
You can’t go wrong taking in a game in Visalia. For a night of family fun or a chance to watch a pitcher’s stuff from just slightly farther back than the homeplate umpire, you’ll find it here. I haven’t had a bad trip in the California League yet. They’re all different, but the family-friendly thread weaves through each city and ballpark. Visalia is home-sweet-home for me as ballparks go, but anyone would get the same experience. The old days were great, but the Rawhide team has gone to the next level. The facility has been improved dramatically, and on a weekend in this town of about 125,000, Recreation Park is the place to be. Mets, Twins, Rockies, Diamondbacks…the major league affiliation doesn’t drive the attendance. The community comes out and, all around me, everybody knows each other. That’s a formula for success, decades in the making.
All Photos: Steve Cummings/CalLeagueHeat.com
