It Begins

The dawn of a new New York-Penn League season is here. Of course I went to the season opener in Brooklyn yesterday to see it happen. Did both pre-game (like literally as the players went into the stadium pre-grame) and post-game.

Autographs:

The only "as the players walked into the stadium" autograph I got before the game was one from Everson Pereira. Pereira was the crown jewel of the Yankees' international free agent haul in 2017. He's extremely talented and the Yankees are aggressive with his development. So much so that he was playing in Pulaski as a 17 year old last year. Rookie-ball might be a low level, but it's not exactly a level you immediately send 17 year olds too. Plus this year Pereira's been assigned to Staten Island, a level where the average age is around 20-22. Pereira turned 18 two months ago. The dude was born in 2001 and is already in Staten Island hitting third on a team in a league consisting of advanced IFA guys and recent college draftees.

I got this Pereira autograph the same way I got the Luis Torrens superfractor auto back in 2016. I waited about an hour or so in the parking lot then, several hours before the game took place, the SIY bus came and I managed to get Pereira right when he was going in. The things I do for scribbled sharpie ink.

My next autograph was the first pre-game one I got after the gates opened, courtesy of Evan Alexander. Alexander was the Yankees' 16th round draft pick in the 2016 MLB Player Draft. Drafted out of high school he was raw but had potential, and after a solid showing in Pulaski last year, he may be ready to take that next step this year with Staten Island. Fingers crossed!

Next up is the manager/former Staten Island Yankee, David Adams.
Adams was drafted by the Yankees in the third round of the 2008 MLB Player Draft. Though he was never a top tier prospect akin to guys like Jesus Montero, Adams was seen as a notable prospect. Notable enough that he was almost in a trade for Cliff Lee before he got hurt and the whole deal fell apart (NYY should've given up Nunez IMHO). Adams eventually made his MLB debut with the Yankees in 2013, then bounced around from team to team before retiring in early 2017. He quickly became a coach for the Yankees and is the manager for the SI Yankees.

Next up was the team's backstop, Carlos Narvaez.
Due to Anthony Seigler being called up to Charleston (damnit!), Narvaez got the nod as the catcher NYY wants to see a lot of this season in Staten Island. Which doesn't say good things about Saul Torres mind you. I don't have a lot to go on for Narvaez, but if last night's game is any indication, he's pretty good at catching and has a nice arm.

Now here's another top prospect I was super stoked to meet/get an autograph of, Oswald Peraza.
Peraza was part of the 2016 IFA class and though he wasn't exactly seen as the crown jewel (that distinction went to Roansy Contreras), he was seen as one of the better prospects the Yankees got, even with their limited bonus pool. Peraza is a very talented shortstop who projects to be a solid SS as he grows more stamina.

The third elite prospect I was excited about, Ezequiel Duran!
Duran was a part of the 2017 IFA class and has quickly become one of its fastest risers (along with Pereira). Only Duran's two years older than Pereira. Which means he's about age-appropriate for the level. Yesterday the Yankees' top three was Peraza-Duran-Pereira, immediately that should tell you that they're really trying to see what these three can do at a level that's slightly above what their ages would tell you they should be at.

One of two post-game autographs (yes, I showed up early to the game and left after it ended!).
Bryan Blanton was the Yankees' 21st rounder in 2017 and he's been used as a reliever since turning pro. He had some appearances in Charleston earlier this year before being assigned to Extended Spring Training and eventually Staten Island.

BTW, while I was looking for Blanton I accidentally asked someone else if they were Blanton (that person turned out to be Barrett Loseke). Sorry Barrett! Ugh, so embarrassing. What sucks more is that it's a rookie mistake I've been careful to never make and almost never did until yesterday.

My last autograph last night was from Juan De Leon.
De Leon was one of the many crown jewels in the 2014 IFA haul. Unfortunately he (much like many of the other players in that class) have yet to really pan out as hoped. De Leon is still young enough that he can get something going soon though. Plus if the recent career surge by Dermis Garcia has shown us anything, it's that development is not linear. Some players just need extra time. Also Juan was super nice and I'm rooting for him.

Personalizations:

Along with the autographs above, I had some special extra things done to certain other cards.

Yup. I had Everson Pereira inscribe/personalize my birthday present to me.
Yes, it's awkward to have a sticker auto personalized (believe me, I thought about ripping it off and asking for him to sign on the newly-naked card but decided against it) but I do like it. To thank him for complying with my weird-ass request I gifted Pereira a pack of Hi-Chews and a stack of baseball cards depicting Venezuelan baseball players.

The crown jewel of the 2013 IFA class, Leonardo Molina is back in Staten Island on a rehab stint. Luckily he agreed to my silly request to personalize this BoChro auto for me. I gave him a stack of player cards of players from the Dominican Republic as a thank you gift.

And that concludes the autographs and personalizations.

The Game

The game itself was... fine.

Getting to see Peraza-Duran-Pereira at the top of the line-up was MORE than worth the price of admission. Best of all that core was the team's SS-2B-CF, extreme potential straight down the middle. It was all glorious if you were a prospect nerd like me.

Peraza went 1-for-4 with a walk.
Duran went 1-for-4 with a walk.
Pereira went 2-for-4 with a walk.

Glorious.

Unfortunately despite that, the SI Yanks lost to the crosstown rival Brooklyn Cyclones (BOX). The team tried to rally late (or rather the Cyclones bullpen tried to give the game away in true Mets fashion), but the Yankees could never muster up the key hit to give them the lead. It was a hard fought 4-5 loss.

Anything Else?

I mentioned earlier that I showed up to the ballpark a good three hours before the game right? Just to get Pereira's autograph. That meant I had three hours to kill.

To do just that, I stopped by the New York Aquarium in Brooklyn. I'd always wanted to go just to see how it was like. Most of all I was just hoping for a dark room with a big couch that I could just sit on for a couple of hours while I watched the fish all swimming along.

The good news is that they had that. The bad news is that they only had one exhibit like that.

Yeah the NYA was pretty small. I wouldn't say it was worth the $25 admission fee (yes, it was $25, thank goodness I skipped out on lunch or else I'd feel even worse financially).

At the same time, it did give me some cool stuff to look at for a few hours. I hadn't been to an aquarium in years (the last time I went to one Paris Hilton was still relevant).

Plus this became the first time I ever saw a real seahorse in the flesh. So minor victory point there!

If you have $25 to spare and all the appreciation in the world for sea creatures, feel free to stop by the NYA. If you don't have either of those things, you might just want to stick with the boardwalk/Luna Park in general.

Also, I ate ballpark food for the first time in a while. I had forgotten what a total scam and rip-off ballpark food is. Those promos talking about how ballpark food is getting more unique and interest seems cool until you realize that those specialized hot dogs and burgers and whatnot cost twice what the regular stuff goes for (and for less in terms of portion size). And the regular stuff (your typical chicken tenders and fries) aren't cheap in the first place. At least not in New York City where they're $10.99 + tax. BLARG! I also bought a soda and a water bottle, bringing the total up to oblivion and putting me in financial ruin.

Anyway that was my first game of the year. Getting Peraza-Duran-Pereira done in one single game means that I'm off to a great start. If I never went to another game this season (which won't happen because I will go to another one, hopefully after Josh Smith gets assigned to SI) I'd be pretty content with my haul thus far.

As always thanks for stopping by and take care :).

2019 IP Auto Count: 13