12:05
To any hard-core baseball fan that’s the best time to watch a ball game. It’s the time games were played in the long forgotten early years before lights.
It’s the time when fans would leave work and head to the park to watch their heroes on the diamond, and it’s the time when many young fans would ditch school and sneak off to the park to watch a few outs before they had to race home.
Today, we still have the 12:05, but it’s a much different feeling than the traditional night game of the modern era. The crowds are smaller, the game is faster and the banter between opposing fans is typically much smarter. Fans that frequent day games are almost always a staunch fan of a club who know not only the player bios but many times the stats and figures of the visiting team; they are the fan’s fan.
For me, the lure of the 12:05 here with our hometown Fresno Grizzlies is that it has that old-time feeling every time I go to a day game. I could very well be in Boston, New York or Chicago instead of FresYes with how much of a classic feel the 12:05 has. As luck would have it though, I am right here in FresYes, just a few steps from the Fulton Mall.
The entire experience is different, from the smells in the air to the breeze that hits the back of your neck as it sneaks’ through the grandstands on its way to the outfield. The sound of the ball hitting the catchers mitt is sharper, the crack of the bat is clearer and the bark of the umpire is just a little more forceful. Everything seems to be more in focus at the 12:05, including the taste of the food. A typical hot dog that’s “good” at a night game is nothing short of GREAT at the 12:05, because let’s face it, hot dogs are a daytime food…….so is the beer that washes it down.
The other side of the 12:05 is you will see businessmen doing deals, new loves out on dates and old buddies out for some daytime playtime. Its a random mix that is unique to the day game crowd and if you have the free time mid day, it’s the home of some amazing baseball out on the field.
If you love baseball and our local Fresno Grizzlies, go to the team website and locate a 12:05 to attend. In fact, they’re playing a couple of day games this week. It just may change the way you look at the game.
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