There is nothing more exciting for a college baseball player than the opportunity to play in a professional ballpark--especially one that just opened three days ago.
So when the Blue Devil baseball team arrived at the new Durham Bulls Athletic Park (DBAP) on Sunday, it's no wonder they stared in awe as they walked across the field. The outfield grass was freshly cut, and you could have sworn it was painted green. Soft, manicured dirt filled the basepaths. It was reminiscent of both Fenway Park, with its large left-field wall and a hand-operated scoreboard, and Oriole Park at Camden Yards, with a clock in deep center field.
As I closed my eyes after taking that first peek, I heard the music from `The Natural' ringing in my ears.
"[The DBAP] is a small-scale major league stadium," senior shortstop Jeff Piscorik said. "When we first got here, we all walked around. Chris Hammond and I walked around the whole warning track, looking from all the angles and soaking it all in. [We were] remembering it, because this is one of the nicest places to play a college game in America."
And then there were the off-the-field facilities. Take for example the press box, located in the middle of a row of corporate skyboxes--another major league staple. Compared to the old DAP's four-person underground press box, this one was a dream. From my seat, located directly behind home plate, I could catch every moment of the game.
The players began to appreciate the stadium's field once the game began.
"I think that the playing surface is probably the best that I've ever played on," Piscorik said. "The infield dirt is just so soft that it's unbelievable how good it is."
Many of the old DAP's fans were concerned that the creation of the new stadium would destroy some links to baseball's past. But the DBAP manages to maintain that history with plaques along the walkway around the stadium that contain miniature biographies of the greatest Durham Bulls of all-timeDranging from current Hall of Famer Joe Morgan to potential Hall of Famer Steve Avery. And according to the players, the DBAP still has that feeling of baseball tradition.
"It has the same atmosphere," second baseman Frankie Chiou said. "The tradition is here, the beauty of baseball--it's all around here. It's great to come out here and play ball."
The DBAP should also be able to showcase a lot of offense. There's a feeling that the DBAP will be a launching pad for home runs, and Sunday's game didn't do anything to dispel it. A total of four homers were hit, twice the amount hit in the first two games at Jack Coombs Field.
"The wind was blowing out, and we were told before the game to come out here swinging and make solid contact," Chiou said. "That's what we did, and I guess a couple went out.
"It's a great atmosphere. It's great to play ball here, with a great facility and a great field. Everything is top-notch here."
Head coach Steve Traylor is hoping that the Durham Bulls will allow his team to play as many games as possible at the new DBAP.
"This is magnificent and a great place to play," Traylor said. "I hope to give the Bulls my schedule, and they can tell me which games that I can play here."
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