After planning all summer to get to a nooner at Nat Bailey Stadium and check out Vancouver Canadians Baseball, we finally made it this past Tuesday. The Canadians of course are the single ‘A’ affiliate of the Oakland A’s in Major League Baseball and Nat Bailey Stadium is one of the most historic sites in Vancouver and home to some great history. The Nat is a single story structure, seats up to 5,132 fans and covers 1.5 acres. This year marks the 58th year that baseball has been played at the Nat which still employs one of the few manual scoreboards in Minor Professional Baseball.

It was a gorgeous day to be outside watching some baseball and after parking at the Stadium, which was only $5, we were quickly inside. We were fortunate to be offered some tickets from one of the owners. He graciously provided not only tickets in the sun along the first baseline, but also tickets right behind home plate in the shade if we got too hot – life was good and the stadium was awesome! Once you arrive, after weaving your way through the small concourse area and up a few steps you get a fantastic view of the field and stadium itself. It sends a chill up your spine as you look forward to the anticipation of a great baseball game that lies ahead. The Canadians do an outstanding job with field maintenance, with perfectly groomed gravel and grass that was short and striped and could rival some of the best golf courses I’ve every played. It felt like we were at a Major League game!

The Canadians also do a great job at providing a fun environment, good service (the ushers in particular all seem to have a great time and really enjoy their jobs) and they realize they are in the entertainment business. Also, who doesn’t love the 7th inning stretch and good rendition of “take me out to the ball game”. There are a lot of food options from the typical burgers and hotdogs, to wraps and a mandarin salad to three different kinds of Sushi! Something for everyone. There is some form on entertainment after every inning and this game started with a reinactment of the famous Lou Gehrig speech made at Yankee stadium to acknowledge the support of the fans when he announced his illness. Quite a moving start to the game and the actors did a great job.

The game started a little slow with a 3 up 3 down inning by both sides (the opponents were the Tri-City Dust Devils). The teams traded some hits, made some great outfield charging grabs and stranded a few runners before Tri-City opened the scoring with the bases loaded on a blooper just over the second baseman’s head. The Canadians managed to get out of the inning only down one. They went ahead 2-1 in the bottom of the same inning with a couple of good hits and some timely base running. A strikeout in the top of the 9th ended the game with a 2-1 Canadians victory. Highly entertaining and the value entertainment activity of the summer (with tickets from $11-20). There are only 6 home games left (one is a nooner) so head out to the ol’ ballpark and enjoy some Canadians Baseball!

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