Baseball in the mountains: Lackawanna County Stadium

	TRR photo by David Hulse Lackawanna County Stadium hosts minor league baseball plus a variety of interscholastic and community events. (Click for larger image)

By DAVID HULSE

SCRANTON - As a game, baseball doesn't change from stadium to stadium, but the amenities do and if you want to enjoy more of the creature comforts, try the Red Barons at Lackawanna County Stadium.

Like familiar Baxter Field, home of the Catskill Cougars in Mountaindale, the stadium is built on a mountain (Montage) and affords some great landscape views. But the comparison pretty much ends there.

Completed in 1989 with a local bond issue and an $11 million state grant, Lackawanna County Stadium is a vest-pocket version of a major league ballpark, and it should be. It is home to the Scranton-Wilkes-Barre Red Barons, the AAA, International League affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. At the opposite end of the minor league baseball spectrum from the independent league teams like the Cougars, the Red Barons AAA operation is one step below the majors.

	TRR photo by David Hulse Patrons at Memorial Day weekend games were greeted by a three-piece band and rousing version of "The Pennsylvania Polka." (Click for larger image)

Located off I-81, just below the Scranton exits, the stadium is, on average, about an hour from most parts of the Upper Delaware via I-84. While the interstate provides an easy access, game time traffic can be congested. There is also a back way in to avoid the traffic off Route 502, but if you don't know the area, you're well advised to stick to the interstate.

Entering the stadium grounds, you'll pay $2 at the gate for parking. The lots are well-lit and marked, but unpaved and there's lots of dust when it's dry. Still, you'll often see folks having a barbecue or picnic on the tailgate before a game.

From its Astroturf surface, newly installed this year via a new $1.2 million state grant, to its giant center field television screen the stadium has all the bells and whistles. It's well-lit, clean and family-friendly.

Family friendly also means that it's affordable. Of its 10,884 seats, the highest priced lower-level boxes go for $7 and a seat in the bleachers will cost you $4.50.

Games I've been to have been well attended, but not packed. The Red Baron's best year was 1992, when they won the league title and drew 600,000 fans. This year they're averaging about 5200 per game over the team's first 23 home dates and that includes rainouts.

Like most modern stadiums, there are no columns to obstruct the action and the view is good from anywhere in the park. But remember, this is a mountain top, and even in the summer there is a nip in the air in the evening, especially in the open upper deck. Bring a jacket.

I'm big, so I notice seat sizes and shoulder room. Like any place selling individual seats, they get smaller when you move from "first class to coach." Over the weekend, I sat in a field level reserved seat, with a guy roughly my size seated immediately next to me. We could not sit back all the way at the same time without being shoulder to shoulder. We decided that the seats must have been designed in the far east where people come in smaller sizes.

	TRR photo by David Hulse A cheese-steak sandwich at one of the stadium concessions will hit the spot for $4.50, but be prepared to stand in line. (Click for larger image)

That aside, you'll probably get the munchies out in that evening air and there is lots of food and drink to be had. A soda and hot dog will cost you $3.50; peanuts and a medium sized beer are $4.50. And you don't have to worry about missing the action while you're getting food; closed circuit television, with monitors, are installed at most of the major concession stands.

If you really want to do serious eating, the enclosed Stadium Club restaurant offers a view of the game and a full menu, while a tented pavilion overlooking the right field corner hosts large group outings.

There is lots of entertainment, all the time. Like every minor league park, the Red Barons have a mascot creature (the Grump) and they run all kinds of contests and stunts between innings to keep you occupied. These include: drawings based on seat numbers, guys in impossibly overstuffed foam sumo wrestling costumes, and giant foam dice rolling down the backstop screen from the upstairs press box as prize-seeking fans hold cards with possible dice combinations.

Finally, there's the game itself. The players are a combination of young guys ready to make the "big show," and the older ones who haven't been able to pin down permanent major league jobs.

Good pitchers don't spend much time in the minors, so the primary difference between AAA and the majors is the quality of pitching. And the major league teams regularly raid the minor league affiliates' rosters, so the best players can disappear suddenly in mid-season. Still, these games provide lots of good hitting, fielding and baserunning and the stadium atmosphere does the rest. It's a good deal, for not a lot of money.