West Coast League
Monday 4 July 2022
Played at Walker Stadium, Portland
Where. To. Start?
The Carrier Bag Firm had a marvelous USA Independence Day out at the Portland Pickles baseball. Marvelous, yet ridiculous, in equal measure.
I warn you, there's going to be some - you had to be there - moments in this Blog.
Portland, Oregon has an obsession with pickles. Not silverskin onions, not Branston, not piccalilli. But, with what we'd maybe call dill pickles, pickle spears, cucumber pickles. For eg, on our Portland day one, we were served pickles, deep fried in batter, in Backwoods Brewing Company.
Portland do not have a big baseball team like the Yankees or the Mariners. They have a non-league baseball team playing in the West Coast League. The West Coast League is open "during the Summer holidays" for players who play College Baseball. The Portland team of college kids is called the pickles. The Portland Pickles.
Now. I am NOT a fan of self piss taking sports teams & fans.
"We're shit & we know we are…"
No. Not for me. No.
But, you can take the game very seriously on the field. And in the stands. And still have fun. And, (from what I saw) The Pickles have found that perfect balance. Serious sport. But fun.
Natch, The Pickles have a mascot. A (presumably) ordinary, work-a-day person. Who dresses up as a seven foot cucumber pickle with a baseball kit on for gameday. They're called Dillon Pickle (high fives all round). You can guess the drill. Joking around with the kids. Having pictures taken. Joshing with the Ale Carts in section 204. Joining in with the chants.
And, here's the first oddity. Just like the world over, the PA will crank up the orchestrated clapping & trumpeting…
der der der der der der der der der …
But instead of belting out PICKLES at a lung buster, the crowd just murmur "pickles" in a faux embarrassed voice. WTF.
The Pickles Walker Stadium is a small stadium. I don't know how many it holds, but there were three an' half thousand there this afts. There's bench seating stands along to first & third base. And then Shirecliffe styleee grassy knolls along the rest of the lines. Picnic tables under the trees behind the outfield fence, in case you can't get a seat in the stands. Or, if you just fancy it, you can bring camping chairs, folding chairs, hell - chairs of any description. And plonk them on the grass banks. Get the beers in. And get at it.
Now. Ball games are games of ritual. All hail that. And, the ritual at The Walk' is that when The Pickles score, you get off your arse. Moreover. You get on yer feet. And, you pick your chair up. Holding it by one leg in one hand if you can. As high as you can. Raise The Chairs.
The Pickles bullpen is also out there, at the end of the third base line, at the foul pole. The bullpen is where the next pitchers warm up, and generally where the players not directly involved in the game sit. Given the geography of Walker Stadium, it's all a bit informal. But, I'll tell you what. On a Pickles score, the stools went up on the party deck, the chairs went up on the grass banks. But, by far the most enthusiastic Chair Raisers were the bullpen players themselves. Scenes. I'm telling you.
The fun ain't over yet. As The Pickles runner crosses the plate, and the chairs go up, he is presented with a medal chain, (fair enough I hear you say), with a Pickle dangling from it instead of a medal!!! While the crowd chant…
"Put your pickle chain on…"
Today was a double header. So each game was only seven innings. Going into the bottom of the seventh, the final inning, The Pickles were trailing 5-3. In these situations, American English requires that there…
"be a rally…"
The crowd cranks it up. The mascot, Dillon Pickle, appears with a large inflatable alligator. The crowd goes wild, but soon settles into a rhythmic chant.
"Rally Gator…Rally Gator…Rally Gator"
Eddie Saldivar zings one. Two Pickles score. They get garlanded with their Pickle Chains. The Chairs get Raised. Rally Gator is vindicated. But wait, have a look over at the players in the Pickles bullpen. They're raising the Chairs, natch. But, they've also put the Pyro up. Red, White n Blue. Well it is Independence Day after all. I repeat. The players have lit the Pyro. Marvelous yet Ridiculous. I warned you… Put your Pickle chain on, Raise the Chairs, Rally Gator, Players Pyro… you really had to be there.
Amidst all that carnage, I pushed my American Beer Ticks up to 96.
Away Days Brewing Co (Portland), Pitch Perfect, IPA from a Tin at 6%
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