I asked for a press pass for this site, and I got it. (During the recent college season I represented the university.) When the Bears played at Hammons Field I sat where I wished. The local Cardinals affiliate, a Double-A team, draws a healthier crowd, particularly on evenings such as Military Appreciation Night.
The photo well itself is a box with a concrete wall and three sides of lightly padded railing filled in with netting. When I stand straight my head is totally exposed to spinning baseballs and flying bats.
Between photos I shifted my weight back and forth, like a tennis player awaiting a serve, or an infielder expecting a ball.
I suppose I was.
I started on the third base side next to the visiting team, the Arkansas Travelers, where only a handful of players and trainers sat on the dugout bench, even when the team hit. I kicked a cracked plastic bottle to the corner after slipping on it.
Still, in the past when I got closer I waited for someone to tap me on the shoulder and show me their tickets. “Oh! I didn’t realize,” I’d say, and move toward to the dugout. But I was never close enough to see the dirt spilled over the steps like rock salt on a snowy morning.
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