Tagged: Kevin Guzman

Back To The Loons

Great Lakes Loons vs. West Michigan Whitecaps (Midwest League)

19201290210_c58e17643c_zDow Diamond-Midland, MI: This month is the 30th anniversary of one of my favorite films of all time, Back To The Future. When we found out that the Great Lakes Loons were hosting a BTTF night, Brian and I jumped in the van and drove 88 mph downstate to take in the game. As soon as we entered the gate, we found what we were looking for: the BTTF car; the time machine; the DeLorean. Just to be able to see the car that was in he movie was amazing, but Brian got a special treat. By making a donation to the Michael J. Fox Foundation, he was able to get into the car. ‘Future boy’ hammed it up a bit, and we got some great photos!

19201253008_e9d602feca_z19201283820_4f86847236_z19382684782_80f8bec947_z19362800896_6106b5c641_zFlux capacitor…fluxing:

19201055610_06fed44157_zBri earned his DeLorean drivers license, too:

19362757706_c73d9fc95e_zAlso a little video of Brian in the time machine. I would love to take him on a trip back to 1985:

Great Scott!!!! Three generations of baseball fans:

18766291534_625d627dd9_zAfter we were done checking the car out, we headed down to the visitor’s dugout to try for some Whitecaps autographs. Brian really wanted to get Joey Pankake to sign his card, but he didn’t play this game. He did get his hat signed by Zach Shepherd and Franklin Navarro, though, and they were both very nice to him.19201127660_283a0b58d5_z19202517969_45c24ccfb9_zAs for the actual baseball game that took place, the Loons jumped out to a 1-0 lead when first baseman Justin Chigbogu hit a bomb over the right field fence that hasn’t landed yet. He went 2-4 on the night. Great Lakes then went up 2-0 on a Jimmy Allen RBI that scored Federico Celli. Allen was 1-3 for the game, and Celli 2-4.

19186358728_ba7471a66a_z19382540512_8f283ac021_z19382532142_e7bd8a82c5_z19202505339_f28164d0d8_zWe also spent some time at Lou E’s Lookout, playing on the playground and hanging out with mascots Lou E. Loon and Ral E. Camel.

19201227578_ae083e12b2_z19362600526_cb699591c4_z18768040963_37b8b6b499_zWhoa, this is heavy, but while we were in the Lookout, the Whitecaps started their comeback. The ‘Caps scored five unanswered runs, and needed only two RBI’s to do it. Michael Gerber got West Michigan on the board, when he scored on a wild pitch after hitting a triple. Gerber went 1-3 with an RBI, while Derek Hill led the way offensively, going 2-4 with the other RBI. David Gonzalez also went 2-4 with two runs scored.

19382526482_e19933f5c4_z19201106398_b84fbaecfc_z19382486382_50a6b63f12_zA view from out seats. There simply is no bad seat at Dow Diamond, it’s such a great ballpark. And this moon was amazing, too!

19373953005_d34c8891cb_z19388650985_8c532b6a75_zOn the mound, Artie Lewicki earned the win for West Michigan, allowing two runs on seven hits. Gabe Hemmer and Johan Belisario picked up the hold and save, throwing just over three scoreless innings. Kevin Guzman took the loss for the Loons. Another fun game, and feeling very blessed to be able to experience this with my son and dad. With a long drive ahead of us, ‘future boy’ and I made like a tree and got out of there. We have another game planned soon, but we’ll see how the weather holds up. Final: Loons 2, Whitecaps 5.

19202444799_44316b770a_zAnd another YouTube video of the game:

Photos and videos property of Minoring In Baseball

Back to reality in Michigan

Great Lakes Loons vs. Lansing Lugnuts (Midwest League)

17173558181_f9f2e46366_zDow Diamond-Midland, MI: Flying home from Florida, I decided to take an extra day and spend it with my dad. We usually go to a game for his birthday the first of April, but my training pushed that back a couple of weeks. I flew in just south of Midland, so we had a nice lunch and took in a Loons game, which is always a good time. As you can see by some of the pics, also, I finally discovered the MiLB In The Park app, and took advantage of it with the photos I took with my phone. I wish I would have used it in Jacksonville, but will definitely use it for any of our upcoming games.

16551738094_26620c07f9_z16553821313_87c6c82da4_z17172336272_6e2bdf12e6_zThis game also featured Lou E. Loons birthday party, so he had some friends celebrate with him. Ral E. Camel led the crowd in a rendition of ‘Happy Birthday’ for his buddy, too.

17173970525_6f7d0affc5_z17148040916_ba737ffc08_z16966576317_43c8bec9ba_zI did get spoiled a little bit with the warmer weather down south, and it seemed that some of the rain followed by back up north here. It was a little cooler here in Michigan that it was in Florida and Georgia, but in reality not all that bad for the time of year. The rain didn’t last long and didn’t delay the game, either, so it’s all good on that front.

16987798329_58a4f47c94_z16986426930_d38cc42ae8_z16987790859_c688d633dd_z17148018006_c0289c5645_zAs far as the game goes, the Lugnuts jumped to a 2-0 lead after scoring a run in each of the first two innings. The Loons came back to score single runs in the fifth and seventh innings to tie things up, but then both offenses would come to a complete stand-still.

17148007006_a86f96bbd7_z17148014896_b8b01a69a4_z17172295082_d8c7470e49_z16986169708_1d19923cf8_zAfter nine, the score was still 2-2, so into extras we went. With a little extra time, I headed to the outfield to grab a few photos from that vantage point.

16986629070_71b91e5265_z16553759903_581829d0d3_z16966515877_42e11ffdc6_zThe game went to a whopping 16 innings, with the visitors finally plating a pair. For the Lugnuts, they were led by Rowdy Tellez, who went two for seven with three RBI’s in the game, and Dickie Joe Thon who went three for six at the plate.  Andrew Case pitched the last four inning for Lansing, picking up the win while striking out two. For the home-town Loons, Josmar Cordero went three for seven, while Alex Verdugo and Mike Ahmed had two hits each. Kevin Guzman got the start on the hill for Great Lakes, going five strong innings while only giving up one earned run. Cordero, despite his three hits, would come in a take the loss, giving up both runs in the 16th. Also making an appearance for the Loons, was pitcher David Reid-Foley. Reid-Foley was born in Sault Ste. Marie (where I currently live), then moved down to Brunswick, Georgia (where I was training just the day before), and went to school and was drafted while in Jacksonville, Florida (where I caught a couple of Suns games). Baseball does unite the world, does it not? Final: Loons 2, Lugnuts 4.

17173927515_605fb993e2_z17173337611_10e212c7b3_zI wish I could say that we stayed for the whole 16 inning marathon, but honestly can’t. After being up since four in the morning, travelling back to Michigan, and still being and hour and a half until I could lay my head down, we couldn’t do more than 12 innings. A long day, but a fun time as always at Dow Diamond. We don’t have any plans to come back as of yet this season, but once Little League starts and gets a schedule, I can start looking at the rest of the summer. We do have plans to hit a pair of Whitecaps games next month, though.

17173911305_4772832dc4_z17172272672_7451da1ed5_zPhotos property of Minoring In Baseball