Many readers might ask, why travel 90 miles one way to pay $5.00 to see a bunch of college kids play for the New Market Rebels, a member of the summer wooden-bat league, Valley Baseball League. The answer is because it is a far more enjoyable experience than traveling 90 miles one way to Baltimore to pay $50.00 to see major leaguers play. Don't get me wrong--the Orioles will always be my favorite major league team and I will always root hard for them, but the game itself is much more enjoyable in New Market.
The Valley League is comprised of kids who will play no further than college, professional prospects, and potential major league stars. Indeed, the Orioles' Chris Ray and Luke Scott played in the Valley among many other major leaguers. The dreams of these young men are palpable and as refreshing as the warm breezes that drift over the ballparks during the summer evenings on which they play.
No ballpark frames the game and the dreams better than Rebel Park in New Market. The outfield fence would remind any old-timer of the 1930s as advertising covers virtually every inch of the plywood fence. It also has its version of the big green monster, that is to say the third base bleachers look out about Massanutten Mountain, rising straight up off the Shenandoah Valley floor about 2 miles distant. To see the full moon rise above Massanutten is a sight not to be forgotten.
More memorable than the moon are the fans who frequent Rebel Park. If you are a stranger, you will not feel as though you have wondered into someone else's park. Instead, you'll feel as if you are being welcomed into someone else's home. Folks come there to watch the game in the company of their friends and neighbors and this, perhaps more than any other quality, makes baseball in New Market, Virginia a field of dreams. Hopefully, this brief description answers why I feel the need to write a book about Rebel baseball!
Opening Day for the Rebels this year is June 5, but you don't have to wait to see a game at Rebel park! On Sunday, March 1, the University of Pittsburgh-Bradford will play a doubleheader against Lincoln College from Pennsylvania. Admission is free and the concession stand will be open. For directions to Rebel Park, visit their website listed at right.
As Austin mentioned the Rebel Park experience embodies the purest form and feeling of the game. Beyond it's pastoral beauty and homey atmosphere there is a sense that one has traveled back in time to a moment when life was simpler and less encumbered. Though it's been 10 months since last you saw your fellow fans the easy friendships and camaraderie resume as if only a week had passed. The faithful are there cheering their hearts out each season for a new group of young men--a group that quickly becomes 'ours' after just a few games. There's Front Row Fred heckling the umpires and needling the opposing players and coaches. The Silver Foxes have staked out their top row perch deciding which one of the players this year will be the recipient of the "Sweet Cheeks" award. The clarion clear strains of the National Anthem float on the breeze, compliments of local knitter Tacey Hawkins, followed by the radio ready 'Voice of the Rebels' Mr. Bruce Alger as he runs through the opening line-up. Kids are scrambling for foul balls--either to keep as souvenirs or to trade for goodies from the concession stand. Mmmmm, the smell of the best fried onions in the valley wafts through the air as folks laugh, catch-up, and analyze the new prospects. There's no avoiding being swept up in a rousing rendition of "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" during the seventh inning stretch and I dare you to reach the finish without a smile on your face. I've had some of the best interactions of my well lived life in those stands and though I may not remember the names or the details of every conversation the easeful contentment remains with me and keeps me coming back each season. Though I could go on and on I'd best stop here and save some for the coming months which will alternately fly by and drag along at a snail's pace as we await the start of the 2009 season.
Suffice it to say Baseball at Rebel Park: Cheap, Wholesome, and Fun!
LET'S GO REBELS!!!
Posted by: Melissa Dodge | February 20, 2009 at 06:46 PM
While reading this I was thinking about the Valley League players who have made it to the Majors and there is really something different about them. I'm specifically thinking about Luke Scott who writes down information in his notebook after every at bat. How many players do you see in the Majors who are that into the game itself and not just the money and fame like some players A Roid .
Posted by: Becky | February 24, 2009 at 04:46 PM