July 4 baseball a tradition in Oklahoma City

The Dodgers enjoy playing at home on July 4.

It’s nothing new for Oklahoma City baseball. Dating back to their days as the Redhawks, Oklahoma City has been accustomed to playing at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark on Independence Day.

When Kyle Lobstein hurled the first pitch on Wednesday, it marked the fifth straight season Oklahoma City has hosted a baseball game on July 4.

While many fans serve up hot dogs and hamburgers from home, others head downtown to watch baseball and the fireworks show after the game.

Not only have fans gotten a show after the game, but the Dodgers have performed well during July 4 contests, too. Before Wednesday night's game, OKC was 8-2 in its past 10 games on July 4, including six wins in the past seven.

Alex Verdugo, an OKC outfielder, said the feeling surrounding the game can be a bit different.

“Playing with the home crowd definitely gives you an advantage,” Verdugo said. “You get a lot of adrenaline, and they pump you up. The fans definitely have something to do with the atmosphere you get.”

The Dodgers played in front of a sold-out crowd on Wednesday night. Aside from the flag banners strung beneath the suite seats, 11 stars were painted on the field – five behind home plate, five in the infield and one large one consuming the pitcher’s mound – giving fans and players a reminder that the game was a bit different.

OKC wore special caps to commemorate the

Playing with the home crowd definitely gives you an advantage. You get a lot of adrenaline, and they pump you up. The fans definitely have something to do with the atmosphere you get.” Alex Verdugo, an OKC outfielder

holiday. Stars and stripes were scattered on the Dodger hats, and fans resembled an American flag in the stands behind home plate.

The red, white and blue checkered its way through the seats and in the parking garage behind the left-field wall. Some fans had their trucks backed up to the openings of the garage two hours before the game, not only to get a glimpse of the series opener but also the fireworks spectacular afterward.

“I remember last season how different the atmosphere seemed when we played at home on July 4," Verdugo said before Wednesday's night's game. “The crowd was rowdier, and it helps having full seats during midweek games. The crowds can do so much for this game.”

In the American Northern division of the Pacific Coast League, Colorado Springs, Omaha and Iowa have each lost at least two games in the past four years on July 4, and none of those teams have been at home on the Fourth of July more than OKC.

It has become an Oklahoma City tradition, much like New York City's hot dog eating contest during the summer holiday. Baseball and fireworks at home are the norm for the Dodgers.