oAlthough it has the same moniker as Milwaukee's ballpark (at least until it became American Family Field), it is named for the late Larry H. Miller, who once owned the Utah Jazz and Salt Lake Bees. It opened in 2001 and has a capacity of 2,204. We approached from the back and went through a set of doors, which was a bit of good fortune as that led us to the Cougars memorabilia case, something most fans probably won't see.
Jack Morris (whose 3.90 ERA is the highest for a Hall of Fame pitcher) played here as did Wally Joyner and both of their jerseys on display along with some baseball cards, including a couple of Morris as a Blue Jay. Rick Aguilera also played here and has some cards too, but most surprising was seeing a card for Garth Iorg, a long-time Blue Jay who did not play here, turning down a scholarship. I guess he is included because he is a Mormon. There are also several rings in the case, though I could not ascertain their origin.
My favourite awards were also here, the NCAA Statistical Champion. In 2023, Austin Deming led all of D-I baseball with a .915 slugging percentage and also had the most doubles per game with 23 in 41 (0.56). Deming was drafted by Houston in the 10th round that year and was in the Arizona Fall League last season.
We then walked out to the front of the ballpark and picked up a pair of reserved tickets for $8 each, two bucks cheaper than the prime reserved that constitute the six rows below the walkway. Entering the stadium, we saw the beautiful views that everyone talks about. With the snow-covered mountains in the background and a beautiful sunny afternoon, this was an ideal start to the baseball season for me. The large brown building beyond center field is the Marriott Center, where BYU basketball would host Utah that night.
Our seats were in Section 104, Row 1 and after we were seated, a couple came by and showed us that they had the same seats. I am guessing that their tickets were for the postponed game, but it didn't matter as there were plenty of empty seats. My seat had an obstructed view of the pitcher as you can see below, so we did not stay there long anyway.
There is an awning the covers Section 105 directly behind the plate, but the rest of the seats are in the sunshine.
If you want to look directly at the mountains, sit on the first base side.
There is a large concession stand on the concourse behind home plate but having had the free pizza at the tennis, I did not partake.
There is a linescore above left field, while a more detailed video board above right field includes pitch speed and pitch count as well as the stats for the pitcher and batter. As with most NCAA ballparks, things here are pretty simple.
I knew that we would only be able to stay for 90 minutes, but that was better than nothing as we had originally planned. Stetson, who are based in Florida, were the visitors and the two had split the first two games of the series. BYU scored a pair in the first on a double down the third base line from Luke Anderson, and those were the only runs we saw.
I was hoping for a fast game, but it dragged and we left after 4 1/2 innings. Stetson scored a run in the 8th and then three in the ninth only for BYU to walk it off with three in the bottom half. The game took exactly three hours but we were long gone by then. I am glad I got to see this ballpark anyway and will revisit it if I can when I am back here to see the new Salt Lake AAA stadium that opens this season.
Notes
BYU won the second game 7-5 with a 5-run eighth, and that ended at 6:40. You could have then gone to volleyball at 7 (USC beat BYU 3-0) before heading over the basketball at 8 (BYU won 85-74).
Best,
Sean
No comments:
Post a Comment