My return trip from Florida went a lot smoother than the drive down. Other than a 30 minute delay in Atlanta for an accident, everything was smooth sailing. As luck would have it, the Memphis Redbirds were playing in Nashville on Sunday evening. I had planned on trying to get to Memphis this season so I could say I saw all 4 of the Cardinals full season minor league teams play at home, but my free weekends are limited for the rest of the minor league season.
This was actually the second time we have been to Nashville to see Memphis play. Our first trip was back in 2014, the last year the Sounds play at Herschel Greer Stadium. The following year they moved into First Tennessee Park. First Tennessee is one of the nicest stadiums I have been to. The inside was very clean and well maintained. One of the old features from Herschel Greer was used again.
The scoreboard is in the shape of a guitar. Nice touch for the home team to pay tribute to Music City.
Our seats were 2 rows off the field along the first base line. We were lucky enough to be in the shade for most of the game. I believe game time temp was about 92 degrees.
Memphis outfielder Nick Martini threw my son this ball after the third inning. His luck at getting game balls continues.
Of course we tried to get some autographs from the Redbirds. This stadium was not ideal for graphing the visiting team as the players come out from the third base dugout and walk to the first base dugout. My son and I stayed in our seats hoping to get players as they came out to stretch. We only got one, but it was a good one.
Harrsion Bader was a third round draft choice in 2015. He is currently hitting .297 with 19 home runs. He is the Cardinals 6th ranked prospect. As I am typing this I see that Bader was called up to the Cardinals today to replace Dexter Fowler who went on the DL. Best of luck Harrison!
My wife and daughter camped out along the dugout railing hoping to get Carson Kelly. He was not catching that night so I was not guessing he would come out very early. About 10 minutes before game time he came out and signed for about 5 people, my daughter included.
I bought this 2016 Futures Game ball at the Rawlings factory store while we were in Florida knowing we had a chance to see Kelly. It is nice to get something other than an official ball signed once in a while. As for the game, the Redbirds won 2-1 in 10 innings. Second baseman Breyvic Valera hit his second home run of the season in the top of the tenth to put the Redbirds ahead. This had been an outstanding year for Memphis. The team is 31 games over .500 and 19 games ahead of second place Nashville. I hope this success will translate to the majors when some of these guys get promoted.
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