LOW ENERGY OPENER
Vigor, spirit flat in, around Chase
It didn’t look like Opening Day.
The Diamondbacks might have been set to host the Cincinnati Reds on Friday, marking Arizona’s first home game of the 2021 season, but downtown had the energy of a center fielder during a bunting drill.
There were restaurants within walking distance of Chase Field that had signs hanging to welcome back baseball fans, but they were spread out in front of
empty seats just a few hours before the first pitch.
“Right now, it looks very weird, because of COVID,” Felicia Mullany said. “There’s nothing happening. No people out.”
She and her boyfriend, Raymond Castillo, were walking around near the stadium, wearing Diamondbacks gear. They said they were happy baseball is back and that they were ready to root for their team in person for the first time since 2019.
They hated last season.
“It’s so hard, watching games on TV without the fans inside, with the (cardboard cutouts) inside instead of us,” Castillo said. “It’s no fun to have no fans inside. Not cool.”
Still, the crowd was thin, and the pandemic wasn’t the only reason.
‘I’m hoping they can get it corrected’
The team is bad this year.
The best pitcher, Madison Bumgarner, is five years removed from having his best stuff. The best everyday players, Ketel Marte and Nick Ahmed, are on the injured list. And the fan favorite, Archie Bradley, is in Philadelphia.
If the first week of the season is any indicator, the Diamondbacks will struggle to avoid a 100-loss season.
Still, the first home game is about optimism.
“They’ve started off a little slow, but I’m hoping that they can get it corrected,” Tom Crowley said.
“Opening Day is the start of all new, great things, you know?”
Crowley predicted the crowd would pick up closer to game time.
“People want to do something,” he said, sitting on a barstool at Majerle’s Sports Grill downtown. “Whether it’s going to a ballgame, going to a restaurant, anywhere. People want to do things.
“People just want to cheer today. They want them to eventually win, but they’re glad that (the game) is happening.”
He was right.
The crowd picked up somewhat closer to game time.
Still, it was nothing like usual, especially for the stalwarts who can tell you what type of baseball town Phoenix can be.
Marty Janz has been around for every Diamondbacks opener. He remembers the first one, back in 1998.
“Nobody worked,” he said. “The whole city shut down to go to that game.”
He thinks baseball can do some things to make the experience more fan friendly.
“It’s called Opening Day for a reason,” he said, emphasizing the word day. “I don’t care to have it as a night game.”
‘We got blindsided ... it was hard’
But the pursuit of perfection is often the enemy of improvement.
So, the vendors who sell water and popcorn and candy near the ballpark will take what they can get, even if that’s 40 percent capacity, which was the limit at Chase Field on Friday. Last year isn’t something they want to go through again.
The pandemic put a huge dent in Bret Blankenship’s pocketbook.
“Oh, 100 percent,” he said, selling icecold water near the stadium.
Aside from ballgame traffic, “we were doing concerts, and we had a hot-dog cart near the courthouse,” he said. “But as soon as (the pandemic) happened, we were shut down to zero, because nobody was out.”
He’s glad baseball is back, even if the crowds are limited.
“It’s helped. I’m not expecting a lot this month, but I’m hoping by next month they up the attendance to 75 or 80 percent. … it’ll be back to normal.”
“Normal” would be a beautiful as a perfect game for Stephanie Buskirk. She sells water, peanuts, sunflower seeds and candy at a stand outside the stadium.
Last year hit her like David Peralta hits a fastball.
“We got blindsided,” she said. “You just take for granted what you have, and then there’s a catastrophe like that. It was hard.”
The lack of fans affected her ability to earn money.
“I didn’t make any,” she said.
“I’m not well-off like some people. I’m an average person. It was hard.”
She’s ready for a fresh start, which is what the first game is all about.
“I’m happy because it’s Opening Day, and I love baseball,” she said. “We get to be outside, and I get to make money. I’m just happy.”
Still, less than two hours before the first pitch, she had only made a few dollars.
It just didn’t look like Opening Day.