Joy in Mudville

Warmups before the game at Banner Island Ballpark.
Stockton Arena dominates beyond left field.

Banner Island Ballpark has a lot going for it. It’s right on the north side of the San Joaquin River in a spruced up downtown neighborhood, next to Stockton Arena. Legend says that baseball was played on this very spot in the late 1800s near the muddy river banks when Banner Island was still an island in the middle of the river. They called it Mudville and it might have been the inspiration for Casey at the Bat, everyone’s favorite baseball poem by Ernest Lawrence Thayer.

Whether or not the story is true, an earlier version of the Stockton Ports called themselves the Mudville Nine. Banner Island Ballpark is not the official name of the stadium, but everyone calls it that. The island is no longer an island either, but the area has retained its name in honor of Charles Weber, who flew his star-spangled banner there whenever there was good news for the Union forces in the Civil War.

The San Joaquin River flows behind right field, inviting home run splashdowns.

This particular baseball team has been in Stockton off and on since 1941 with a few name changes and various major league affiliations through the years. They took on the name Ports in honor of the Stockton’s inland seaport on the San Joaquin River that empties into San Francisco Bay 80 miles away. You have to wonder if any home run balls over the right field fence make it all the way to the Pacific and beyond.

Pulled pork sandwich, with two sides, hold the asparagus.

When I ordered a pulled sandwich dinner with baked beans and creamed corn on the side, I noticed the food cart also had asparagus on the menu. “3 for $3” the sign said. I didn’t ask “Three what?” for $3, because my plate was full, but I have to say I was intrigued by the idea of snacking on asparagus at a baseball game.

Five O'clock Dock and Running Gus caps.

The team store features two caps with asparagus. One shows a stalk of asparagus running with a baseball bat. He’s known as Running Gus and is featured on Kids’ Club paraphernalia. The other has a burly, unshaven man wielding to a stalk of asparagus like he means to take care of some unfinished business with it. His name is Five O’clock Dock, and he represents the blue-collar workers who are ready to cut loose after a hard day’s work at the seaport.

Free Caballos cap.

All of these asparagus shenanigans are a gimmick based on Stockton’s claim as “Asparagus Capital of the World.” Both of the baseball caps are fun and I might have bought one or the other except that the promotional giveaway is a colorful baseball cap with the stallion logo of the Ports’ Copa la Diversion alter ego, Los Caballos de Stockton.

Lineups, standings and .schedule all in one place.

This night’s game was a matchup between the two last-place teams in the North and South divisions of the Low-A West. Somebody had to win and it was the visiting Visalia Rawhide that rose to the challenge. Final: Visalia Rawhide 8, Stockton Ports 3.