Fan Fest

Team treats fans to early look at what stadium and season have to offer

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

It was football weather at the baseball stadium, but apparently you can't keep Blue Crabs' fans down.

A few hundred turned out for Fan Fest at Regency Furniture Stadium in Waldorf on a cold, drizzly Saturday, April 11 — the day before Easter, even — to check out the stadium again, sample free Turkey Hill ice cream, eat some ballpark food to get a taste for the formal opening night April 23 or just to hang out and take in the ambiance.

The Blue Crabs Boosters were out in force, signing people up for their club, which supports the team mostly with the commodity probably most required by healthy young athletes: food.

"The players don't make much money, so we try to help out as best we can," said club member Bill Wootan, a Hughesville resident, seated at the club's busy signup table. "We have dinners for them, invite them home for a meal, pack sacks of food that they can take on the bus with them on road trips."

Lest the public think the club is all about fattening up the players, Wootan allowed that the boosters also take trips to see away games, and were planning a visit to the team's spring training facility in Lakeland, Fla.

Club member Diane Deskins of Port Tobacco said the club is mostly about just being a fan of the home team, but she does enjoy "getting the opportunity to meet the players." April Altieri of La Plata said "it's nice that [the club] welcomes women."

The Blue Crabs certainly welcome children. Crowds of the short set mobbed the stadium, shrieking in the moon bounce the team brought in to a dry spot in the stadium concourse, eating hotdogs and looking yearningly at the rained-out playground and Crabby Cove bumper boats.

But Kyle Benjamin of Mechanicsville and Parker DeAtley of Waldorf were kids on a mission, selling raffle tickets for their travel baseball squad, the Southern Maryland Knights.

The two were a bit casual about the stadium, but after all, "We practice here," Kyle said nonchalantly. The two attend as many Blue Crabs games as they can anyway. Parker said he liked the stadium "because it's big," but also said the bumper boats are a favorite.

Camryn Evans of Mechanicsville said she came to Fan Fest for the Easter egg hunt, but said she really liked going to games during the season, too. She also mentioned that "it's really big. I like the moon bounce and the playground, too."

Mom Stephanie Evans said the family attended "six or seven games and a concert" last year, "but we'll be going to a lot more this year."

The Blue Crabs also held open tryouts for spots on the team that Saturday, and Clinton resident Joel Amundson was among the pack of 30 or so players, equipment bags in hand and sporting baseball caps from 30 or so different teams, a pleasantly colorful note on a dreary day.

Amundson said he is originally from Minnesota, walked on to the baseball team in college, but then went into the military. He's a righthanded pitcher whose specialty is "junk."

"This is just a dream I'm trying to chase," he said. "I'd love a professional baseball career at any level."

And, according to Blue Crabs general manager Chris Allen, the tryout was not just an empty publicity stunt.

"I know Coach [Butch] Hobson [the Blue Crabs' manager] has left open two spots on the roster for these guys," Allen said. "He's taking 30 players to Florida, and coming back with 25, so, yeah, these guys have a shot."

As for the weather, "It's one of those days," Allen said with a shrug. "But our goal was to build that rapport that we have with our fans and that's been great," he said eyeing the crowd. "This is really a great bunch of fans."