I'm not going to lie, and say that my desire to see the Portland Beavers was because I thought it would be a rewarding experience, and that I have a vast knowledge of the San Diego Padres' farm system, and I really wanted to see ______. No, make good with your assumptions and know that it was my inner-15 year old who simply was fascinated with a team solely for the fact that that they were called "the Beavers." And only a person like me is driven enough to act on the impulses of literally flying across the country to watch a minor league baseball game.

Silly initial reason aside, I did have several other driving factors in making the trip out to Portland. I have never been to the state of Oregon in my entire life, and I honestly can't say I have much reason, other than to walk on the same beaches as the Goonies and Kindergarten Cop, would I have one. PGE Park itself, has been oft-referred to as one of the finest parks in the entire minor league circuit. But most importantly, is the fact that at the end of the 2010 season, the Portland Beavers will be no more. With only a handful of home games left, I found myself running out of time, real fast like, and this trip was planned fairly spontaneously. In the internal struggle between logic, rationality versus satiating the kid who refuses to grow up within me, the Beavers won out.

Panoramic photo edited by Danny Hong, August 2010

As planned, I took a morning flight out of Atlanta, and only thanks to the three-hour time difference going from east to west coast was I capable of making this day-game happen. Any other remaining game would have necessitated me needing to stay overnight in Portland (which happened anyway, but that's another story), as well as deal with the potential for less seat availability, because let's face it, a Monday afternoon game is about as well attended as a Tyler Perry movie premiere.

After getting off the MAX train, conveniently steps away from the stop was the entrance to PGE Park, the home of the Beavers. More benefit to choosing a weekday day game, was the fact that I was able to procure a $5.00 general admission ticket, and since the game was so poorly attended, I could essentially have sat anywhere I wanted to, which I did, in various locations.

Upon entering the park and walking around, I have to say that I liked PGE, a lot. As far as minor league venues are concerned, without question, PGE is the largest minor league park I've been to. Granted, the upper sections of the upper decks are tarped over, like they are at Oakland A's games, but it's easy to tell the potential of an actual sellout, if the Beavers were capable of drawing one. From some of the random single-serving friends I made throughout the afternoon, the park's capacity is well capable of holding just over 10,000 people. Pretty generous for minor league ball.

The hallways are spacious and clean, and due to the overall size of the park itself, it could easily be mistaken as Major league, based on the concourses alone. The foundation is perfect for next year, when PGE is converted into solely a MLS soccer venue, home of the Portland Timbers. Yeah, don't get me started on it, apparently I'm not the only person who doesn't like the fact that the Beavers are being driven out of town by a sport that disallows their venue to be shared with another club that isn't a "major" one. Hence, part of my desire to see PGE in its original glory, before it's mercifully ripped to shreds in the conversion to a futbol house.

One of the only drawbacks I experienced during my trip was due to the the simple fact that team was slowly making their way to the end of the road, the team store wasn't bothering to replenish their merchandise. The good news was that what they did have was almost all 50% off in desperation to get rid of much of it as possible while they still could, and I was capable of getting my requisite team logo baseball, despite there literally being less than ten left available. But the bad news was that I wasn't able to get the hat I really wanted to get, because they were simply out of my size.

Out of all the travels that I've done, I have always worn my Atlanta Braves (or subsequent affiliate) hat to every park I've been to, but this was the first time that I'd ever set foot, knowingly without any sort of hat, because I had intended to, for the first time, purchase a hat of the home team. The 15-year old demanded a Beavers hat. I really wanted to get the plain all-Navy home Beavers hat, but apparently, a lot more people than I would have imagined have the same melon-like 7 1/2 hat sized head as I do, and they simply had no more. Slightly disappointed, and determined to not go home empty-handed, I settled on the two-tone away Beavers hat

But anyway, back to the park itself. Unlike many other minor league ballparks I've been to, that if any cover at all, typically tends to end within a section or two outside of the foul ball net's coverage, PGE Park is pretty much covering 99% of the park, minus the very few scant solitary row of available seating in the outfield, as well as the beer / private function section in the foul ball territory on the first base line. The roof is also visibly made from solid wood, and I imagine is cumbersome to repair when necessary.

One interesting aspect about the park is the neighboring athletic club - apparently patrons can sit out on a balcony and ride stationary bikes that are positioned right near the guardrail, and facing the field, which to me would be like a dream come true; getting to work out while watching live baseball. Granted, the weather might be a factor, but anyone well prepared would have grand way of killing 2-3 hours while burning calories and improving cardiovascular endurance as a whole. And for the lazier patrons, they even seemed to have a separate balcony, that acted kind of like the rooftops of Wrigley, in which that they're not PGE park seats, but still easily capable of watching the game from about the distance of a typical outfield seat.

There is a lot that is aestetically pleasing at PGE to me. From the ivy'd outfield wall, to the manually-operated scoreboard, there is something charming about the ballpark as a whole that I like a lot about. People walking along the streets can essentially watch baseball for free through the fence, and if they were really lucky, even have a chance at procuring a well-hit home run baseball.

Overall, I have to say that I was very pleased with my trip to PGE Park, and getting to see the Beavers play in their own park, as opposed to seeing them out in Las Vegas. It's a little saddening to me, to know that after the 2010 season, the Beavers are no more, which is probably going to be a blessing in disguise to the Padres organization, whom I'm hearing are going to move them closer to San Diego, which is a logistical dream come true for the team, but there are going to be a lot of baseball and sport-loving people in the city of Portland who are going to be losing a great (named) team. Simply put, I'm just very glad and grateful that I took the time and money out to see the Beavers at home before they're gone from existence.

Noteable performance(s):   Craig Stansberry started off the game with a bang for the Beavers, by hitting a mammoth home run that cleared the tall outfield wall in left for a quick 2-0 lead, but it was Albuquerque's Justin Sellers who finished the game stronger, having 2 hits, 2 RBI, a home run, as well as scoring twice himself. On the pitching side of things, the Isotopes' Charlie Haeger couldn't find the strike zone all day long, walked five guys, and was pulled after just two innings to the team's benefit, while Portland's Josh Geer, went seven innings, but was evidently kept in too long, and ended up taking the loss.

Game Result:   What started out as a pretty exciting back-and-forth game, it all came unraveled for the home team in the 6th and 7th innings, when the Dodgers affiliates tied, and then took the lead, and held on for the win. Albuquerque Isotopes 5, Portland Beavers 4. The two times I've seen the Portland Beavers now, both have been losses.

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