While 9 in the morning may not be early by some standards, for a
baseball team that has played twenty six games in as many days, it
is early. The Madison Mallards are scheduled to embark on a
four game road trip at 9:15 this summer morn, their first extended
road trip (and first time leaving the state of Wisconsin) since the
an eight game marathon to open the season. After a long night
that included a rain delayed game and Rhythm and Booms, which
created New York City rush hour-like traffic after the game, the
various members of the team begin straggling in to the stadium
parking lot a bit before nine. The first to arrive is
6-foot-9 right-hander Andy Sigerich, whose car is locked inside the
ballpark.
Texas Tech teammates Doug Beck and Sean
Alexander are already at the stadium. Instead of fighting the
heavy traffic after the teams’ 7-0 victory, Beck and Alexander
elected to spend the night in the Mallards clubhouse.
Eventually, the bus is loaded, and the Mallards head for Waterloo,
Iowa slightly after their scheduled departure time. Left
handed reliever Chris Maliszewski is in charge of providing the
movie choices, from which “Casino” is chosen for the three-hour
ride.
During the ride catcher Javi Sanchez makes the
mistake of falling asleep with his mouth open. His Notre Dame
teammates Tyler Jones and Joe Thaman encourage catcher Troy Harp to
pour his can of Root Beer into their friend’s mouth. When the
good-natured catcher hesitates, shortstop Mike Rozema grabs the can
and pours a few drops. Rozema, always looking to put one over
on Javi, gets a good chuckle when a confused Sanchez wakes up with
soda on his face and shirt. The rest of the ride proceeds as
usual. Most of the team is sleeping, playing cards, listening
to music, or watching the movie. As usual, Harp gets ribbed
about his southern accent. The happy, go lucky Louisville
native accepts the teasing with a smile.
The team bus arrives at Riverfront Stadium in
Waterloo around 1:00. The Sunday crowd in Waterloo watches
the Mallards come away with a 5-3 victory in a rare afternoon
game. The game ends before 6:00, giving the weary team some
extended free time. Harp suggests taking a movie, leading
many Mallards to mimic Troy, who is still wearing his uniform and
catching gear. “Hey y’all, wanna see a movie, y’all?” can be
heard throughout the locker room.
The Mallards check into the Grand Hotel at
around 6:30. Despite the name, there is nothing grand about
this hotel, reportedly voted worst hotel in the Northwoods League
for 2002. A rooming shortage leaves some players having to
sleep five or six in meager accomodations. Time is
divided between the movie channels on the hotel cable or more cards
(spades being a team favorite).
Monday, June 30th begins for a very
small portion of the team before nine in the morning. James
Boone, Josh Wettlaufer, Francois Larmore and a few others brave the
early morning for the hotel’s continental breakfast. At ten,
an optional trip to the Field of Dreams movie site is scheduled,
and about half the Mallards choose Shoeless Joe, Terence Mann, and
Moonlight Graham over sleeping in. After the brief excursion
to Dyersville, the players return loaded with souvenirs to the
hotel and find ways to kill time before lunch. After
eating their fill at a Waterloo establishment, the team returns to
the hotel, where some players are surprisingly engrossed by the
romantic comedy “Kate and Leopold.”
The bus loads up once again at 4:45 and heads
back to Riverfront Stadium for the 7:05 game. A strong
pitching effort by right-hander Corey Cabral leads the Mallards to
a 5-1 victory and a series sweep of the Waterloo Bucks.
Skipper Darrell Handelsman gives some words of praise and post game
thoughts as the bus pulls into the hotel parking lot at
10:50. Some Mallards hustle to unload their gear and sprint
across the street to the nearby Burger King before it closes at
11:00
With a long drive from Waterloo to Alexandria
ahead of them, the Madison Mallards drag themselves out of bed and
onto the bus before the eight o’clock deadline. The first few
hours of the drive are rather quiet. “Reservoir Dogs” is
chosen from Maliszewski’s video collection, though most of the team
is asleep or listening to music during the movie.
Since most of the team did not bother with the
hotel breakfast, the bus stops at a gas station somewhere in
Minnesota around noon. Handelsman tells the team to keep it
quick and gives the standard gas station instructions: “And
don’t steal anything.” Players and coaches pick up the
basics: chewing tobacco, Gatorade, water, sandwiches, and beef
jerky. Handelsman and everyone in line get a laugh when
“Skip” is asked for his photo ID by the cashier.
The Mallards arrive in Alexandria, MN around
two o’clock. After checking into their new hotel, the team
drops off its luggage and heads right back to the bus for lunch at
the Garden Center—a bowling alley. In the basement,
bacon cheeseburgers are served, and once again Troy Harp gets the
short end. A few Mallards players fix themselves double
cheeseburgers, leaving no patties for Harp. Luckily for Troy,
the kitchen staff is able to fry up some extras. Since the
weather is blistering hot in Alexandria, the coaching staff decides
to hold off leaving for the field until 5:30.
Despite these precautions, Madison ends up on
the wrong side of a 6-3 score. After a post game meal of
fettuccini alfredo with chicken at Country Kitchen, the team heads
back to the hotel, which is a significant step up from their
lodgings in Waterloo. The end of a six game winning streak means a
much quieter evening for the team.
The following day begins with an optional
breakfast. The majority of the team does not emerge from the
hotel until 2:30, when for the second straight day it is lunch at
the bowling alley. Today’s main course is chicken sandwiches,
and fortunately for Harp, everyone learned from the previous day’s
mistake and each player only takes one sandwich to begin with.
Since the team heading back to Madison
directly after the night’s game, the Mallards must check out of
their hotel and must find someplace to kill time before they can
head to the ballpark. Coaches Jason Plourde and C.J. Thieleke
select the mall. J.P. and C.J. are left in charge because
Handelsman is in the hospital. The Mallards field manager had
come down with kidney pains earlier in the morning.
The Alexandria mall is by no means the Mall of
America, so the players finish browsing rather quickly. Soon,
the delegation that chose the mall over sleeping on the bus (as
Francois and reliever Cody Hall do) settles into boredom.
Rozema consumes several ice cream cones. Doug Beck and
company start up a game of spades in the ice cream shop.
First baseman Joe Thaman decides to get a hair cut, resisting the
urgings of several teammates who offer money in exchange for a
mullet.
Finally, the time comes to board the bus and
head to the stadium. Thanks to heavy lightening and
approaching rain, the game is called after five innings and the
Mallards eek out a 2-1 win thanks on the strength of a Tyler
Bullock homerun and a sensational relay throw to home plate by Mike
Rozema. Given the toughness of their manager, it is no wonder
that the team is in first place as not even the pains of a kidney
stone are enough to keep Handelsman from the dugout.
After the game, the team hurries to the bus
before the monsoon-like rain builds even stronger. Since most
restaurants are closed, Alexandria general manager Ryan Voz fills a
couple of garbage bags with hot dogs and brats and calls ahead to
order pizza for the Mallards in St. Cloud. The team then
heads for home in the midst of a downpour that seems to last for
hours. The six hour bus ride calls for multiple movies, so
Maliszewski selects “Tombstone” and “Apocalypse Now.” The bus
pulls into a St. Cloud hotel where a delivery guy is waiting with
ten pizzas. With their stomachs now full, the team now
searches for ways to occupy their time on the bus. Once
again, a game of cards is in full swing. Meanwhile, the
weather conditions outside are a bit concerning, as many semis have
pulled off the road due to the heavy rain.
As the sun begins to rise the Mallards pull
into the Duck Pond parking lot. It is 5:30 in the
morning. The players unload the bus and Handelsman puts the
pitching staff in charge of picking up the trash left on the
floor. After storing their gear in the locker room the
players head back to their host families for a few hours of sleep
before their 7:05 game against the Wisconsin Woodchucks. With
a win the Mallards can clinch the first half South Division title
guaranteeing home field advantage throughout the Northwoods League
playoffs.