KEITH GROLLER'S ALL STAR WEDNESDAY RECAP

From Keith Groller

Keith wrote this story for the paper (page 8 in Sports), but some people told me they didn't see it. So here you go again, in case you couldn't find it online:

By Keith Groller

OF THE MORNING CALL



It’s 9:24 a.m. Wednesday, a little less than 10 hours before the scheduled start of the Triple-A All-Star Game, and rain is falling hard in the main parking lot at Coca-Cola Park.

It’s the start of one of the biggest days in Lehigh Valley sports history, and certainly the most anticipated day for the Lehigh Valley IronPigs organization since March 30, 2008, the day Coca-Cola Park opened for the exhibition game between the IronPigs and the Phillies.

This event has been nearly two years in the making, requiring months of planning and extra work.

But at the moment, the staff is only worried about the immediate future, and the weather — especially the weather.

Mother Nature has tried her best to put a dousing on this special event; first raining out the Pigapalooza on Saturday, then delaying Monday’s Home Run Derby and preventing the players from getting on the field during Tuesday’s workout day.

It’s gloomy and wet 91/2 hours before the game, but the rain is no worry to clubhouse worker and umpiring icon Marty Ondrovic, who heads to his car in the lot, the one with the MTO-UMP plate.

“I’m going to McDonald’s for breakfast,” barks Ondrovic, who will later rub down 10 dozen baseballs to be used in the game.

It may be one of the biggest days in IronPigs and local baseball history, but you’ve still got to eat.

10:40 a.m. — Matt Zidik is the face of this game. He appeared as “Al Star” during one of the first news conferences announcing its details last year. As director of creative services for the IronPigs, is finalizing the work on the graphics for both teams.

“We’re just making we’re accurate with all of our information,” Zidik said. “The biggest challenge has been keeping up to date with all of the roster changes. Typically, I only worry about the graphics for the home team, but now we’re working on two, so it’s lot more work. I am usually here by 8, but I’m not usually here at 3:15 like I was last night.”

10:50 a.m. ­­— Tim Fisher is operating the popcorn-making machine. The Blue Mountain League Hall of Famer could do everything during his playing days but make the popcorn. He made six bags of 60 gallons worth of popcorn to be distributed around the park. “Smells good, doesn’t it?,” Fisher teases.

11 a.m. — Paul Cashin, the IronPigs stadium operations manager who played for Kutztown University in the 2007 NCAA Division II World Series, is assembling tables on the concourse to accommodate the media that will not fit in the press box. “It’s great to still be around the game,” Cashin says. “This is a big show tonight. … We’ve got to make it perfect and hopefully they’ll leave here saying good things.”

11:15 a.m. — His real name is Rich Frey, but he’s better known around Coca-Cola Park as “Warehouse Richie” or “Richie Ineeda” and that’s because throughout the course of a day Frey’s walkie-talkie hums with “Richie, I need a case of this” or “Richie, I need a case of that.”

Although the warehouse is a maze of stocked shelves and walk-in freezers filled with everything from beer to pierogies, Frey knows where everything is in an instant. “The place would fall apart without Richie,” Fisher says.

11:20 a.m. — Executive chef Jan Jaijda oversees food preparation in the kitchen for the league execs who will be on the party porches. “Everybody’s trying to show off today …,” he said. “We have a special menu tonight with carving stations for ribs, filet mignon and shrimp sautee.”

11:45 a.m. — Field operations director Bill Butler has had a lot to contend with in recent days with the rain. He and the grounds-crew seem up to the challenge. “We’re going to be OK,” he says. “We may see more rain before game time, but it’s going to clear out.

“We took a lot of rain on Monday night, but we’re pretty close to where we want to be. This is something we work awfully hard at, and when the game starts tonight I want our entire crew to be able to sit down and see the game on national TV and be proud of what they have done with this field.”

11:55 a.m. — Lindsey Knupp, the director of promotions, has her game face on. “I’m excited and nervous at the same time,” she says. “Everything has gone as well as planned, given the weather. A lot of teams bring in other mascots and acts for this, but we’re keeping it an IronPigs show.” She predicts the parachuters landing on the field during the pregame ceremony will be a big highlight. Seven hours later, she would be proven right.

12:50 p.m. — Tim Doohan, who runs the press box, is trying to figure where to put members of the media. Doohan slept on his office floor because he had to be at the park at 5 a.m. for a TV taping. “It has been a great experience …but I’m looking forward to sleeping in the next four days,” Doohan said.

1:50 p.m. — Former Phillies reliever Mitch Williams arrives in the press box and reports that Tom McCarthy, who was expected to do the play-by-play for the MLB Network, won’t be there because McCarthy’s son underwent surgery. “I’m going into this blind,” Williams says. “But it should be fun.”

3:30 p.m. — Clubhouse manager Jay Ross says it’s a challenge to coordinate uniforms for 60 players, most of whom he’s never met before. “We’ve got three No. 24s and two No. 3s and things like that. It makes things a little more confusing.”

3:45 p.m. — The IronPigs’ Matt Provence, who will replace McCarthy on the national broadcast, shows Williams around the clubhouse. “For me personally, this is a great opportunity,” Provence said. “But you never like for it to happen like this, though.”

4:05 p.m. — Jon Schaeffer, who will replace Provence on the national radio broadcast, leaves a bustling office for the press box, and says, “It’s controlled chaos right now. This staff has put themselves in position to succeed, barring anything from above. You could plan for a decade and it doesn’t matter with the weather. Everybody’s crossing their fingers.”

5:10 p.m. — P.A. announcer Tim Chorones is going over names in the press box. “I know I’m going to take my time with Kila Ka’ahhue of the Omaha Royals,” he says. “The home run derby was really stressful the other night. This will be even crazier, but still a lot of fun.”

5:25 p.m. — The tarp comes off the field, light blue sky emerges and staff members smile for the first time all day.

6:49 p.m. — Bethlehem native and Pro Football Hall of Famer Chuck Bednarik receives an ovation before he bounces the first pitch to home plate.

6:59 p.m. — IronPigs’ fan favorite Andy Tracy is introduced to rousing applause.

7:05 p.m. — Standing in front of the countdown clock in its final seconds, assistant General Manager Howard Scharf says with a smile, “It’s a big sigh. It’s two years of work and now it’s here. It’s showtime.”

7:13 p.m. — Carlos Torres throws the first pitch. It’s sunny, 80 degrees and a perfect night for baseball.

Source: http://blogs.mcall.com/groller/