ESL Ballpark

So anyway, various members of the family have gotten into the lottery, and we're hoping one of us gets picked.

And we hope that we're able to get tickets, and we hope that come July 2nd or 3rd, our fannies are over there at ESL Ballpark watching a little Banana Ball.

It's going to be exciting.

Music means, well, Joel Assey's got a complete newscast for us.

In '97, it was a, it was a dream season.

It was our first year at ESL Ballpark.

That's right.

Um, you know, so there was so much excitement in the community.

We, we tell people all the time, you never...

It's, you know, history on deck.

You never know the next time when you come to a Wings game if you're gonna see a Hall of Famer on the mound or at the dish or, or wherever, you know? And, and it's really cool to see our guys, uh, be playing here at ESL Ballpark one night, and then the very next night they could be on SportsCenter making, you know, a top 10 catch.

Uh, and, and so that's really one of the, the cool things about being a Wings fan.

I mean, the trades are a great way to do that.

We are bringing more money to this community to do, uh, infrastructure work, whether we're talking about Interloop North, whether we're talking about work at the m- uh, the zoo or, or at, uh, ESL Ballpark, or whether we're talking about the renovation funds that I was able to secure for the city school district.

That requires skilled craftspeople.

And so we wanna support programs that, uh, we c- like the Multi-Craft Apprenticeship Program or the Tracks Program, which help do pre-apprenticeship work, which allow young people to get into those jobs that are paying, uh, the high salaries.

So looking back, as someone who was there for all of it, uh, looking back to that 1997 team, you know, what are your memories, you know, not just of the team, but, you know, where you were in your career and, you know, what Minor League Baseball was like then compared to now?

Well, that was our first year at ESL Ballpark, so we had just moved from Silver Stadium to ESL Ballpark in '97 and, uh, so everything was new, right? And, and, uh, it, it was just like I, I could not have written a better script, right? First year in the new ballpark, record attendance, um, some amazing nights here at, at the ballpark, and the, the city was so locked in on Red Wings baseball.

It was, it was just amazing.

And then to win the championship in the, in the last game against Columbus, who had beaten us in the last game at Silver Stadium, uh, the year before, right? So it was a rematch of the '96 Governors Cup.

The Rochester Red Wings AAA title hopes fell short this weekend in Las Vegas, but that does not diminish the fact that Rochester is the International League champions.

They returned triumphant there, so there will be a fan celebration at ESL Ballpark.

Red Wings manager Matt LaCroix said that the 5-3 loss to the Oklahoma City Comets should not diminish what the team has achieved.

The Wings went from the worst record in the league last year to the best record this season.

They're opening up the best-of-three playoff series with the Memphis Redbirds Tuesday, today in Memphis.

Those wanting to watch a game can stream it or join other fans for a free watch party at ESL Ballpark.

The Wings are making their first postseason appearance since 2013, having posted the best overall record in the International League.

Well, that's actually after recording the league's worst record last season.