It takes a ferry trip and a 4 train ride to get from the Richmond County Bank Ballpark at the northern tip of Staten Island to Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, but for the kids who played at last night’s New York/Penn League All Star Game, the trip is far longer than that. The American League All Stars downed the National League club 4-3, and Yankee farmhand Chase Whitley saved the game for his Staten Island teammate Preston Claiborne.

For the game last night, I sat in the press box with my first professional baseball credential. The game itself was nothing spectacular. This year’s Penn League prospects are weak, and the pitching — along with a few bad fielding plays — took center stage. So instead of a narrative about the game or a talk about the players. I wanted to share some scenes from the stadium.

Minor League games have a much different feel to them than Major League games. The formalities of a baseball game give way to a small-town feel as on-field contests dominate the between-innings entertainment, and the players themselves are mostly just a few weeks removed from their college season. One of the bigger differences, besides the level of play, is the way fans are involved in the game. It all starts with Scooter the Holy Cow:

Scooter entered the stadium via a checkered cab and spent much of the game milking the crowd. Even though the Bronx’s Yankee Dandy mascot never stuck, Scooter enjoys a good rapport with kids chanting his name when he shows up on the field. He even chest-bumped the Yanks’ own Jose Mojica during introductions.

The game itself zipped along, and for me, the crowd and surrounding environs were more interesting. I spied a Randy Johnson Yankee jersey, an old-school Ryan Braun jersey, and a Josh Hamilton set as well. The chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream from Hershey’s was nearly as good as the SI Yanks helmet cup in which it came.

The Yankees were well-represented. Jose Mojica singled, and Eduardo Sosa, injured, served as his first base coach. Chase Whitley, as I mentioned, recorded the save, and the American League went home happy, winners of the NY-Penn League All Star Game yet again.

After the jump, a full slideshow from the evening. [Read more…]