Tuesday-night baseball is a tough sell. Seats are available for tomorrow night’s showdown at AutoZone Park between the El Paso Chihuahuas (champions of the Pacific Coast League) and the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (International League champs). Just as a manager would fill out a lineup card, here is a batting order of nine reasons the 2016 Triple-A National Championship is worth your while.
1 — This is, in fact, a national championship. Thirty cities have Triple-A teams, from Tacoma to Pawtucket, with every time zone represented. Ten of these cities are also home to teams in one of the country’s four major leagues (MLB, NFL, NBA, NHL): Nashville, New Orleans, Oklahoma City, Sacramento, Salt Lake City, Buffalo, Charlotte, Columbus, Indianapolis, and of course, Memphis. (Gwinnett is a suburb of Atlanta and Las Vegas is “major league” by standards well beyond the playing field.) It may not be baseball’s highest level, but Triple-A baseball is closer to the big leagues than NCAA basketball is to the NBA.
2 — One game, winner take all. Professional sports is drowning in playoff series. More money can be made in a best-of-five or best-of-seven series than in a single showdown for the championship hardware. There’s a refreshing component to Tuesday night’s tilt. Each team having survived a pair of series just to get to Memphis, they will now have to play the best nine innings of a season that has stretched almost six months. Desperation may not be seen Tuesday night, but urgency will surely be in play.
3 — Ferris Bueller would want you to go. Many Shelby County Schools start at the absurdly early time of 7:15 a.m. (Don’t get me started. There are health repercussions that SCS continues to ignore for what amounts to busing convenience.) Families with young children will be inclined to stay home. Don’t do it. Go to the game. Give your kids a unique midweek September memory. And if they’re a bit late to school Wednesday morning, consider any penalty a badge of honor. And tell them Ferris Bueller’s story.
4 — Pete Kozma is coming home. The 28-year-old shortstop played 360 games for the Memphis Redbirds (seventh in franchise history) and another 275 for the St. Louis Cardinals. He was the hero of the Cardinals’ epic Game 5 Division Series win at Washington in 2012 and the team’s regular shortstop when St. Louis won the 2013 National League pennant. This season for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (affiliate of the New York Yankees), Kozma hit .209 in 130 games (the reason a 28-year-old shortstop is playing in Triple A). If there’s a player who deserves a big moment Tuesday night at AutoZone Park, it’s Kozma.
5 — September nights in the Mid-South are precious. The Redbirds have long fought the battle of too much rain (April and May) followed by too much heat (June, July, August). This time of year, humidity is down, temps dip into the low 70s after sunset, and that cold drink you’re holding no longer sweats in your hand. Why not make a ballpark your back porch for one night?
6 — You have the chance to cheer a team called the Chihuahuas. Don’t let such an occasion pass. The San Diego Padres’ top affiliate features both the 2016 PCL MVP (outfielder Hunter Renfroe) and Rookie of the Year (second baseman Carlos Asuaje). Renfroe — who played his college ball at Mississippi State — earned his trophy by hitting .306 with 30 home runs and 105 RBIs.
7 — The game will be televised nationally (NBC Sports Network). Catch a foul ball Tuesday night, present the right dance move, and you just might go viral.
8 — On a minor-league scale, we may be seeing a super team in the RailRiders. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre went 91-52 in the regular season, six games better than its closest competition in the IL. No PCL team won more than 83 games. (El Paso went 73-70.) Baseball played well is a thing of beauty, regardless of the level.
9 — Don’t take AutoZone Park for granted. Attendance seems to be climbing for Redbirds baseball, but it remains near the bottom of the Pacific Coast League standings for ticket sales. Frankly, it’s embarrassing to see the Nashville Sounds (affiliate of the Oakland A’s) outdraw Memphis by more than 2,000 tickets per game. Baseball is a business at AutoZone Park. We will get what we support, what we pay for. Tuesday night should be considered a day for the Memphis baseball community to say “Thank you” . . . or “We don’t care.”
