2015 Furlough: "Our Day Off!"

Dan twisted his ankle in the Pittsburgh Pirate dugout!

It's true.  We went on a tour of PNC Park...the home stadium of the Pittsburgh Pirate baseball team.  Our tour guide took us to a tiny museum they've started with examples of lockers from various times in history, photos (one of which was of Richard Nixon throwing the first pitch at the 1959 All Star Game), and memorabilia from famous players.

We went into the club house where the players have their lockers (as the players left it before leaving on the road), and where they meet as a team before & after the game. It was very nice!!  But we weren't allowed to take any photos in there. 

We went very high up where the press sit to report on the game, and then down to the dugout where the players and manager sit when the game is being played.  (Someone had cleaned up all the sunflower seed shells, etc.!)  We saw the three phones in the dugout, one of which is a direct line to the bullpen, where new pitchers are warming up.

We learned that the pitcher's mound is made up of mud from the Mississippi River, the grass is from New Jersey, the warning track around the field (where the pierogis race) is made out of crushed and dyed volcanic rock from Colorado (the fielders can hear it when the come to it, and it also helps drain the field from surface water - it's 1 foot deep), and the dirt base paths where the runners run is from Slippery Rock,  2 hours north of Pittsburgh.

We saw the batting cage where the guys practice, and learned that the batters can choose how the ball comes to them:  by someone throwing it, by a machine flinging the ball to them, or simply hit the ball off the T-stand (Andrew McCutchen likes the T-stand).

The statue is Willie Stargell who played in the 70s.  The 2 views of the field are from very high up as the press see the game, and from very low down as the players see the game. We were not allowed to take pictures in the clubhouse. 

We had lots of fun!