Smells of hamburgers grilling and barbecue waft through the air. Music from the Doobie Brothers to Metallica to the theme from Super Mario Brothers blares through the public address system as players warm up on the field and fans mingle on the concourse, excitedly munching food.
Yes, it’s time for Eugene Emeralds baseball in its inaugural year at PK Park.
The Ems are going through a transition period, as the team moved from South Eugene’s Civic Stadium and changed general managers for the first time in many years. But thanks to interesting promotions and affordable action on the field — as general admission tickets are only $6 — it still makes for a fun experience for students.
“Baseball has traditionally been an exciting sport, but we can’t control whether the team wins or loses. We can control how much fun families have. Little Johnny can have fun,”
general manager Allan Benevides said.
The Ems have many wacky promotions throughout the season to attract fans, including Star Wars Night, College Football Night, and the oddly named Hyphen Hatin’ Night. Thirsty Thursday and Friday Fireworks are popular promotions among college students.
June 30 was Twilight Night. Movie clips from the popular series played on the video board, and players’ heads were superimposed on Twilight characters’ bodies. In addition to promotions, mascot Sluggo made his debut this season and has been popular, as well. It’s all part of the Ems’ new strategy to lure new fans.
“The quality of baseball is professional baseball. The purists are going to come. What we’re really looking for is young moms,” Benevides said.
Typically, young moms aren’t interested in baseball, but they might try it as a family activity, said Benevides, who is in his first year as general manager for the Ems, taking over for long time mainstay Bob Beban.
The PK Park facility has helped with that. Benevides said the women’s bathroom was generating quite a response because it was such an upgrade over the Civic Stadium bathroom.
The goal is to move beyond keeping the traditional fans from Civic Stadium to making new fans. The location has changed to across the river, and hopefully that will draw more fans from North Eugene and Coburg, Benevides said.
Dale Berg has a regular segment for KUGN 590 called “The Man About Town” and has lived in Eugene for more than 30 years. He owns the famous Berg’s Ski Shop and is also a former umpire. He said the change from Civic Stadium to PK Park was sad to see, but it was also an exciting upgrade.
“It’s a more major-league-type facility.” Berg said, citing the children’s play area out beyond right field and the use of a video board, which was not available at Civic Stadium.
Berg also applauded the work parties in suites at PK Park and the enjoyable activities between innings.
“Baseball is unique in that it gives the opportunity to entertain in between innings,” Benevides said.
Though there many things to do off the field, the action on the field is good, too. The Ems are a Single-A team and part of the San Diego Padres farm system. As such, many players move up and down the system, and it is hard to pick a player to consistently root for. If you do want to look for some, however, there are a couple to keep an eye on.
Jedd Gyorko was the Padres’ second round pick in the 2010 draft, and he’s a player who could make his way up the organization to the Padres quickly. He leads the Northwest League in home runs with four and is tied for second with 16 hits as of June 30. Gyorko is from Morgantown, W.Va., and played baseball at West Virginia University.
If you want local, check out right-handed pitcher Matt Irsfeld. Irsfeld is originally from Eugene and went to Churchill High School.
The Ems have a global roster with players representing seven different countries. If you want some international flavor, check out right-handed pitcher Adys Portillo. Portillo is from Maracaibo, Venezuela, and carried a no-hitter into the fourth inning against the Boise Hawks on June 30.
Although it’s not the major leagues, the Eugene Emeralds still provide quality professional baseball at an affordable price. What more could one want?
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