Tim Peterson
I walked out to the baseball field at Rosemead High School Friday afternoon and I thought I was at the wrong place. Was there another event going on that I wasn’t aware of? I was there to cover the Rosemead – Arroyo baseball game but by the size of the crowd you would have thought a CIF Final game was about to start. And a football game at that.
But no, the crowd was indeed there to watch the baseball game. Fans were packed in the stands on both the first and third base sides. There wasn’t an empty spot in sight. More stands were added down the left field foul line and those were jammed as well.
There were people sitting on the ground in front of the added bleachers and there were more people on blankets and lawn chairs down the right field foul line.
There were more people standing and more leaning over the fence trying to get a better view. There were even people standing on the top bench of the football grandstands behind the baseball field cheering for the Panthers.
There were people everywhere. Heck, even Arroyo AD/Football coach Jim Singiser was there. Well, Lady Knights Basketball Coach Mike Gorball was there too but Gorball is at most of the baseball games.
I was at the El Monte – Rosemead at Rosemead the Friday before and you could have heard a baseball drop. I could have counted the number of fans on both hands. So what brought the sudden influx of fans to a baseball game?
Hot Dogs! Rosemead pumped the game all week urging students to come out for the final game of the baseball season. They also said that every fan that shows up will receive a free hot dog and soda while supplies last. Well it worked and supplies didn’t last too long.
“We just decided to get some school spirit going for the last game of the season,” said Rosemead teacher Richard Gabriel who was manning the grill. “We wanted all the students to come out and cheer on the team for the final game.”
By the time I caught up to Gabriel the dogs were gone. All that was left were a bunch of empty hot dog packages.
“When you’re giving them away it’s easy to sell out,” Gabriel said with a laugh.
I’ve been pushing for night games ever since I started covering baseball games for the Mid Valley. 3:15 start times make it tough for the parents to come out and see their kids play. When you hold a 9:00 to 5:00 it’s not easy to get off work early every Wednesday and Friday in the spring.
Arcadia is really the only local school that has night games and it’s a big success. As evidenced by last Friday night’s Arcadia- Crescenta Valley game big crowds will come out and support their high school team.
The consensus is that football is the more popular sport and although that may be true there’s no reason that the baseball fans won’t come out if the times are accommodating. It’s not the sport, it’s the 3:15 start times.
Since lights aren’t being installed and game times aren’t going to change anytime soon, Rosemead’s hot dog idea was perfect. All of the parents might not have been there but the student body was out in full force.
Next year they should do it two or three times a year to get the students used to coming out. Once they go to a couple of games they might show up all the time. It could be an “event” instead of the after thought it is now.
Friday afternoon the baseball game at Rosemead was an event recognizing the seasons’ end. But hopefully it was also the start of something big.
That’s my principle.
Tim can be reached at tim@midvalleysports.com
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