Jays in Buffalo: Trying to experience Sahlen Field tough task in pandemic times
The Toronto Blue Jays played the first game at their designated home field, Sahlen Field, in Buffalo, N.Y., on Aug. 11. (Photo by John McLaughlin)
Bill Hughes
Bill Hughes
The view from just outside of Sahlen Field, the designated home of the Toronto Blue Jays for the 2020 season, in Buffalo, N.Y., on Aug. 11.
With the uniqueness of the MLB season without fans piquing my curiosity, I drove up to Buffalo last Tuesday to see if I could catch any of the Toronto Blue Jays game against the Miami Marlins.
Since Canadian officials would not allow MLB teams into the country to play the Blue Jays, Toronto decided to play its home games during the abbreviated season at Sahlen Field in Buffalo.
A buddy of mine who I met at last year蘑菇视频 MLB Little League Classic, John McLaughlin, had told me Monday night that he was already in Buffalo hoping to catch a glimpse Tuesday.
When I woke up Tuesday I did not know I was heading to Buffalo, but my thought process was that if MLB security would crack down on fans trying to watch the game, the best chance to catch a game may be the first.
I pulled out just after 1 p.m. last Tuesday and pulled into the parking garage just beyond right field at Sahlen Field around 5 p.m.
After meeting up with John and catching up, we grabbed a bite across the street from the third base line at Union Pub.
During the walk past the stadium, we could see inside and were amazed out how much the stadium looked like, and felt like, it actually was a Toronto Blue Jays venue.
We watched the early part of the game between Toronto and Miami at Union Pub and saw that fans were trying to watch the game from beyond the left field fence at the I-190 on ramps on Oak St.
We left and made our way out towards those fans but saw a cop was breaking up the crowd before taking off himself.
Being only a couple of hundred feet from having the chance to watch part of the game, John and I took a chance and walked over.
We were able to watch a little bit of the game before deciding to head back to the parking garage to try and watch part of the game from there.
We walked down Oak St. and made the left onto Swan St., which runs parallel to the third base line.
Ironically, in 1869, Mark Twain lived where Sahlen Field now stands.
Under his real name of Samuel Clemens, he was the managing editor and co-owner of the Buffalo Express and lived in a boardinghouse at the Swan Street entrance to the park that extended to the prime seats along the third-base line.
As we made it behind the home plate entrance on the corner of Swan St. and Washington St., we headed down towards the right field corner and the parking garage.
When we got there, we walked up the near a stairwell and stopped at a window and was able to watch more of the game.
We knew time would be limited as we were told prior to the game that no one was allowed to stand there as per MLB rules, but we lucked out as the security detail was in another part of the garage.
Eventually, security showed up and asked us to leave.
We were told that MLB was going to be blocking all views from the parking garage starting Wednesday, so we lucked out by going Tuesday.
It was the first MLB game in Buffalo since 1915, and although we didn鈥檛 get to watch the whole game, both John and I feel that we saw enough of it to count it as a game viewed in person.
It is his 47th stadium to see an MLB game in and my 35th.
John saw his first game at the old Yankee Stadium with hie parents in 1987 and has also seen games in Japan, Puerto Rico, Australia, Mexico and the U.K.
After the game, John shared his thoughts on the experience.
鈥淭he things that stand out to me were how much they made it seem like the Blue Jays had played there before,鈥� he said of the stadium transformation. 鈥淧lus, the bizarre crackdown on the garage and the questionable legality of trying to sneak a peak of the game on the ramp.
鈥淏ut it was quite an experience.鈥�
We had both originally planned on going to the game at the Field of Dreams that had been scheduled last week, but with all things considered, Sahlen Field will do for 2020.
For me, going to the games at the stadiums is more about the experience than it is about going to the game anyway.
After dropping John off at his hotel, I pulled out and drove home.
After driving through Buffalo while taking in the amazing calmness, site and smell of Lake Erie as I pulled out of town, I made it home by 12:30 a.m.
I was gone less than 12 hours, but it was quite the experience and was worth the drive to take the chance of not knowing if I would be able to see any of the game at all.