Six Days of Fun

 Man, that week went by in a flash. But here we are, in the aftermath of a six game series where the Hudson Valley Renegades took on the Brooklyn Cyclones.

I didn't go to the games on Friday and Saturday. I don't know if it's just a combination of me being a little out of shape after a year in quarantine or just that I'm older now, but going back and forth into the city on three straight days just fucking wilted me. I'm not sure where I had the energy to go to so many Staten Island Yankees game when I was in college. But I made sure to go on Sunday, the game started earlier than usual which meant that I could actually stick around for the whole game. Might as well since this is the last game the Renegades would play in Brooklyn/NYC for the rest of the year.

By this point I had already acquired the autographs I had set out to get (and then some), but on Saturday a card I ordered had come in and not even 24 hours later...

If this is my last IP autograph of the year, I'm satisfied.

The Hudson Valley Renegades did release a team set of sorts this year. I didn't obtain one before this series (most of the names in it are long gone anyway) but I did manage to get an Anthony Seigler I purchased as a single on eBay in. In a way it seems just right that my lone IP auto of a Yankees affiliate era-Renegades card is Seigler. At this point he's catapulted to one of my favorite players of all time, right up there with Luis Torrens and Thairo Estrada. He's just that nice and fun to talk to, the kind of guy you just want nothing but the best for. And after years of injuries slowing him down, I want nothing more than for him to dominate and make Gary Sanchez feel nervous.

The game in a word was wet. Light rain was forecasted around the time the game was set to start and though it'd let up by the time the game started, there'd be rainfall later in the game. Not enough to delay the game or force it to be rescheduled, but just enough that it was annoying. The fans in the stands escaped to the upper decks which had roofing. 

It certainly doesn't help that since we were in Coney Island there was wind coming in from the Atlantic Ocean. You could have an umbrella or a poncho (most had neither), a part of you was getting drenched regardless. Luckily for me I brought an umbrella, a hoodie, and I bolted to the team store to buy a towel to wrap around my neck. An old trick my grandma taught me was to keep my neck warm when the body starts to feel chilly/cold.

Despite the cold, wind and light rain the game had its moments like Everson Pereira blasting a two-run home run. Also very cool was that Anthony Volpe (one of the Renegades players and a former Yankees first round pick) had a whole cheering section made up of friends and family who came up all the way from New Jersey just to root for him. Seeing them go nuts every time Volpe came up to the plate and had a productive at-bat was fun. Thanks to the strength of another strong performance from Randy Vasquez (5.2 IP with 11 k's!) the Renegades had a 4-3 lead heading into the ninth inning but unfortunately the Cyclones scored two runs and hit a walk-off sac fly. The final score was 5-4 in favor of the Mets underlings (BOX). Thus ending the six game series where the two teams split the series with 3 wins apiece.

As cool as it was to watch a whole game from start to finish for once, it was a bit bittersweet for me. This capped off the last time I'd see these guys in the city. I'm not entirely sure I have it in me to drive all the way up to Hudson Valley again. But then again that just speaks to how well this series was for me as a fan.

I only went to four games and in that span I got to know a bunch of the players (and a few got to know me), I got autographs, a ball and topping it off is something I only got once before during my time as a Staten Island Yankees fan.

Yes, a baseball bat.

This was given to me by catching prospect Saul Torres. We were pretty friendly with eachother by yesterday's game and he told me he was going to give me a bat. Lo and behold he did! In return I gave him Hi Chews. This is extremely cool, it's the second bat I've ever gotten (the first being Luis Torrens back in 2014). I can't thank Torres enough and appropriately enough I've catapulted him to one of my favorite players of all time. The same tier as Torrens, Estrada and Seigler.

And that caps off the Renegades in the city series. All of this was absolute fun for me. Being able to go to games, get to see crowds again, get close to the players, autographs, etc... I missed this all so much.

(Left to Right) Muñoz, Torres, Seigler

Big thanks to the Renegades players for what was an incredibly fun series. With their playoff berth all but locked, fingers crossed they can win it all this season.

As always thanks for stopping and take care.

2021 IP Auto Count: 21