In Cleveland: Three Nicks are more than one

Jacobs Field, now known as Progressive Field, lived up to everything I thought it would since it opened when I was a Connecticut high school student just a few years removed from Ohio. Maybe it was seeing a couple college friends I hadn't seen in a decade. Maybe it was that Midwestern friendliness I grew up in. Maybe it was the Labatt Blue on tap. Maybe it's that it was that the Nicks, my two college friends, led us to a seat 30 rows behind home plate.

That Indians starter Carlos Carrasco took a no-hitter into the sixth inning didn't hurt. He was impressive on the mound. And the Indians fans were fun to talk baseball with.

The hot dog was disappointing, I must say. But it tasted of potential. It was less than luke warm but had some good taste to it. Better than the SWB dog yesterday. Excellent mustard selection helped. (Like Shelley Duncan, you ketchup people are bland.) Intended to try a sausage or hamburger. But it never happened. I blame Michael Stanley, the Cleveland favorite performing a concert after the game. You could spot his fans.

We were originally sitting in the Lodge section — level 300 in the second deck of fair right field, After taking the wrong escalator. We got to walk down the ramps, which seemed to take an inning. But we eventually found some elevators on the first level that took us within 100 feet of our section. We were in our seats before the Tribe came to bat.

It was cool to sit in home run territory. I have not it done that much. But we didn't stay long.

We arrived at my friend from Nick's house in Hudson, Ohio, a Cleveland suburb, a little after 4 on Saturday. After relaxing on his screened-in porch for a bit, he said he had a surprise. And in walked another Nick, another friend from Ohio University. The Two Nicks were always a lot of fun in school and I was quickly reminded why.

Once at the game, the three in our traveling party — Brian, NY Nick and myself — checked out the stadium while the Ohio Nicks waited for the Will Call line, which was almost wrapping around that beautiful baseball stadium.

Despite getting on the wrong elevator and getting a tour of the ramps that lead you out of the stadium, we finally found our seats in section 304. When the Ohio Nicks got in, they had prime seats in section 151, just to the right of home plate. And they told us there were three open seats next to them.

Minutes later, after acting like we sit in section 151 at Jacobs Field every Saturday night (the Indians hats we bought probably helped) we no longer 400 feet from the action. We now were a pitch away from the first base on-deck circle.

While the seats in the outfield were nice — and a great buy at $20 — sitting to the right of home plate, looking out across the field and at that Indians scoreboard, is the way to watch a game. Of course once we sat down there, Carrasco gave up his first hit. But no matter. The Tribe was back in control. The Pirates couldn't keep up.


We got to cheer for Choooooooo. Got to have Labatt's at a baseball game — my first time since a trip to Montreal to see Pedro Martinez pitch against the Braves in the late 1990s. Got to talk to a bunch of friendly midwesterners, And got to learn who Michael Stanley is. I got to catch up with two good friends from my Athens, Ohio, days.

Cleveland was a fun city. I wish we could have stayed for a couple days to really check it out. Every baseball fan should go to Progressive Field (a k a The Jake). Being from Cincinnati, I had always given Cleveland a hard time. I take back most of that.

And anything would have been better than the hotel we stayed at in the middle of Ohio last night. But more on that later.

We're just outside Columbus. Bob Evans is calling.

Trip stats:
Ballpark hot dogs: 2
Home team record: 1-1
Bed bugs encountered: 0
Miles traveled: 678