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| Wilmington, DE - Daniel S. Frawley Stadium |
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| The Park Daniel S. Frawley Stadium is home to the Wilmington Blue Rocks, the Carolina League (Class A) affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. The stadium offers good views of Interstate 95 and the Wilmington skyline. That�s not why fans come here, though. They come to see the Blue Rocks score, for when they do, Mr. Celery comes out to celebrate. There is a statue of Judy Johnson, a local Negro League star, at the entrance. There is a sign on a pole past the outfield wall paying tribute to former major league pitcher Robin Roberts. Both men are in the Hall of Fame. |
| That Day We (my older daughter and I) saw the Blue Rocks play the Winston-Salem Warthogs, a Chicago White Sox affiliate, on the hot afternoon of August 9, 2001. The Warthogs� manager was Wally Backman, who played second base for the New York Mets in the 1980s. For a small guy, Wally always seemed tough. �Tough� is also what the home plate umpire must have said to Wally, right before he ejected him for arguing a call. The Warthogs won, 6-3. The Blue Rocks scored 1 in the 9th but fell short, leaving the bases loaded. We won a gift certificate to a local restaurant (we had a Blue Rocks logo stamped on the ad in our program), but didn�t have time to use it, because we were off to a night game in Hagerstown, MD. |
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| Copyright 2002 Chris Trapani All photographs and text on this website and webpage are copyrighted and may not be reproduced without the written consent of the holder of the copyrights, Chris Trapani. Direct all e-mail inquiries to [email protected]. |
| Judy Johnson, Negro League star. |
| Mr. Celery comes out to celebrate a run by the home team. |
| Scoreboard, sign honoring Robin Roberts, and the Wilmington skyline in the background. |
| Mascot, Rocky Bluewinkle. |
| The field, with an elevated portion of I-95 in the background. |
| The Wally Backman Triptych - Coaching third, Arguing with the Umpire, Handing over the lineup card. |