Lee Orr paid close attention to how Bowling Green closer Austin Hubbard pitched Fort Wayne teammate Mike Gallic.The TinCaps trailed the Hot Rods by a run in the ninth May 20 at Parkview Field.FORT WAYNE – Snow and rain fell Tuesday morning at Parkview Field.
There was enough precipitation for an umpire to delay a game.
But the weather wasn’t going to stop Fort Wayne resident Joe Myers from buying tickets to the TinCaps’ opening day.
Myers said he arrived at 5 a.m. Gates at the ballpark, opened an hour later, and tickets went on sale at 8 a.m.
“I work outside every day, so the cold, the rain and the snow doesn’t affect me really,” Myers said.
Individual game tickets for the TinCaps went on sale Tuesday. A steady stream of fans showed up during the first hour. They bought tickets, exchanged high-fives with the team’s mascot, Johnny, and received a free breakfast.
“It’s why we do what we do is for the fans,” said Michael Limmer, the team’s vice president for marketing. “It’s kind of a telling sign that you’re doing things the right way when you get the fan support that you do. We have a great facility at Parkview Field, ranked as one of the top in the country, and we just try to make sure that we give fans the best value for their dollar.
“The fans that come out here to get tickets on the first day individual tickets go on sale, it just means a lot to the entire organization. We don’t take that for granted.”
Laura Merica said this will be her fourth season coming down for the home opener.
“My family growing up went to major league baseball games every summer,” Merica said, “so this is just a nice way to be close to home and see a good game and see the players who are going to be future stars.”
Mike Pratt picked up six tickets for July 4.
“It’s an excellent stadium, state-of-the-art,” Pratt said. “Right downtown. It’s really a good thing.”
The TinCaps drew 376,022 fans in the 2011 regular season, an average of 5,612 a game. Fort Wayne had 22 sellouts. Parkview Field seats 8,100 fans.
This year’s home opener will be April 5 against Lake County. It is one of a team-record 27 fireworks nights. A sign outside the ballpark reminded fans that there were only 44 days until the first pitch.
“As soon as you turn the calendar to 2012 you know that you’ve got about 100 days to opening day and then when individual tickets go on sale, that’s about halfway to opening day. This is an exciting time. … You’re just excited to get fans back at the ballpark,” Limmer said.
“It hasn’t been a real cold winter, but it’s been a long one. And we’re ready to get some blue skies and sun back here at Parkview Field.”
