Batavia’s Dwyer Stadium
With the Bisons on a long road trip these past two weeks, Peter and I decided to do a quick jaunt to Dwyer Stadium this past Friday, and take in a game of the NY-Penn League Batavia Muckdogs.
After the sour experience last month up in Niagara Falls watching the Power (and the Glory), I had a bit of hesitation going to another low level baseball game, and driving down the Thruway and seeing the “Kingdom Bound Festival” directional signage was almost enough to give me cold sweats and reminders of the hosannahs we had to endure a month ago at Sal Maglie.
So wasn’t it great to arrive at Dwyer Stadium and find a ballpark filled not with Christians, but dogs. Yes, dogs; lots and lots of dogs. It was “Bark at the Park” night at the ballpark, and the venue was full of our four legged friends, there to enjoy a night of baseball with their owners.
I’ve got to say this about Batavia - their ballpark is definitely an “old school” experience. The field is tucked down a side street in a non descript residential neighborhood with nicely groomed houses; parking is free in the adjoining lots and on side streets; tickets are a reasonable six bucks; and the stadium seats about 3000 tops, with ads plastered on the outfield wall, a simple scoreboard and none of the bells and whistles you’d find in places such as Brooklyn or State College. But I say that as being a good thing.
Make no mistake - come to a Muckdogs game and you will have yourself a great time. Beer is cheap ($4 for a 16 ounce beer and a nice viewing deck on the first base side) and the main concession stand at the comfort station behind home plate offers a pretty varied menu, including hot dog and burger platters with pasta salad and baked beans for $6; I had the white hots ($2) while Peter enjoyed a “Muck Dog” ($3), which is a brat slathered with some sort of tangy red sauce. There are other stands in the concourse area, and even a big wall of fame on the first base side which displays names of the big leaguers who played here (Doc Ellis, Cito Gaston and Ryan Howard jumped right out.)
We got a real kick out of the Bark at the Park promotion. The game night host, an affable young fella named George did a pretty good job entertaining the crowd on this night, doing all sorts of zany contests in an area in the stands behind home plate. One was dogs which looked like their owner; another was for the biggest and the smallest dog; and winners were decided by audience applause, and plenty of prizes handed out to the winners.
With so many minor league baseball teams migrating to big markets these days, it is still nice to see a team and a stadium and an experience which is a throwback to a by gone era. Dwyer Stadium fills that bill and does it nicely. But travel to the other end of the state and see for yourself the glitz and glamour and size of the Muckdogs’ peers at Keyspan Park in Brooklyn and the Ballpark at St. Georges in Staten Island. You’ll be scratching your head wondering home much longer these guys can compete with the big guys, in what is no longer the NY-Penn League of the Vince McNamara era.
