Saturday afternoon, I sat in the stands of York’s WellSpan Park and watched my first baseball game of the year.
Penn State York annually hosts a game at the home of the York Revolution, and I decided a few weeks ago to go, weather permitting. The weather permitted — it was in the high sixties Saturday afternoon, and the heavy winds hadn’t yet arrived — and so I saw PS-York take on their rivals in the Penn State University Athletic Conference, Penn State Schuylkill.
I’m not much of a fan of downtown York — I find it unpleasant to get to — but George Street has been redone since I was last down that way, and getting there was surprisingly painless. I parked in the Market Street garage and walked over. That wasn’t painless; the sidewalks are being redone. But soon enough, I was there.
York and Schuylkill were playing a double-header, two seven inning games. I only stayed for the first. It was a nice day, and I wanted to walk around downtown York.
The stadium was missing its signage. Earlier this year, the team announced that WellSpan, a local health care provider, had bought the naming rights to the stadium, replacing the previous Peoples Bank. The Peoples Bank Park sign was gone from the facade, and it was gone as well from the scoreboard. The new name — WellSpan Park — had yet to be installed.
Schuylkill took an early lead, York tied up the game in (I think) the fifth, and then York won on a walk-off with two outs in the bottom of the seventh.
Following the first game, there was a Senior Day presentation to three of the team’s seniors, and the coaches talked a bit about the three players, what they meant to the team, and the baseball program at Penn State York.
I sat where I usually do in York, on the first base side, a little bit past the dugouts and midway up. It’s a good vantage point. That’s where the Schuylkill faithful were sitting; York was using the third base dugout while Schuylkill was using the first base side. I moved midgame to the third base side, not out of any rooting interest but because that side was in the sun, and even though it was in the mid-sixties, it wasn’t quite warm enough for just a t-shirt in the shade.
Sitting on the first base side, I noticed that I had a pretty clear view of Prospect Hill Cemetery, which I first visited not quite a year ago. I’ve tried to see the ballpark from there — you can, though not well — but the cemetery is much clearer from the ballpark. The office building stands out, and you can see some of the obelisks beyond the right field corner.
Between games, and after the ceremony, I walked through downtown York, first walking past the Episcopal church, then walking to the York Emporium, a used bookstore I last visited maybe seven or eight years ago. I didn’t buy anything. I actually felt a little lightheaded while I was there.
And then, home.
I took one more picture of Prospect Hill from atop the parking garage.
April 1st, high sixties, baseball. What’s not to like?
Baseball is back. Next week, the Harrisburg Senators open their season, and the week after that I’m planning on seeing the University of Richmond take on Towson in Towson. Then in May, Lancaster and York open their seasons. This truly is the most wonderful time of the year. Baseball!