Grand Junction Rockies

Lucky us, we had the opportunity July 3 to view a GJ Rockies game from prime seats.  They played the Ogden Raptors who feed into the Dodgers team.  Score was tied at the end of the 9th inning and then we lost by 2 after two overtime innings.  It was pretty exciting.

Corky Coyote is the team mascot (shown left) and he did a good job of keeping the crowd animated.  For further crowd entertainment there were a number of special events between innings.

I noticed a number of differences between these minor league players and the 12-year-olds that I'm more used to seeing.  1) The big boys are bigger in size and have a lot farther to throw and hit.  And the pitches are much faster!  There's even a clock that indicates the speed of each pitch.  Too bad I didn't notice that until nearly the end of the game!  2) The big boys hit more home runs.  I think we saw five in this game.  3) It's harder for the big boys to steal a base (and they hardly ever try).  Both sizes tend to get mad when they strike out or make an error.  Both sizes still need coaching.  Both sizes seem to genuinely enjoy the game.  And while there is a lot of crowd entertainment at the games of the big boys, there's also a lot of beer and since I have never liked the taste of the brew, I really didn't enjoy     smelling it all evening.

It was great entertainment and if you haven't been to one of these games, give it a try.  The tickets aren't really expensive and it's a good way to spend an evening and see some future professionals.  Wonder which one/s that will be.  I'm keeping a copy of the register to check later.  Go GJ Rockies!!