Not So Nice Weather for Ducks

The soggy field at Canal Park. More photos will be added soon.

Storm clouds from the south brought a rain delay to Canal Park, home of the Double-A Akron Rubber Ducks, less than 10 minutes before the scheduled first pitch. The tarp came out. The clouds arrived. It rained for several minutes. The clouds left. The tarp came off.

Finally came the announcement that the first pitch would be at about 9 p.m., a delay of two and a half hours. The game would be shortened to seven innings though. The Ducks apologized for the long delay and said our tickets could be used for any remaining home game this season. 

Free t-shirt for Ghostbusters Night. Blazing duck head over Ohio pin.

Whether or not I get back to Akron in the next few weeks remains to be seen, but at least my friends Paul and Sally, who live less than an hour away, will be able to use them. And at least I got the free Ghostbusters Night t-shirt.

If you have to get stuck in a long rain delay, Canal Park is the place you want to be. You can kill the time looking at the multitude of menu options. Then you can take your time deciding which mouth-watering thing or things you want to try. Each of the concession stands goes over the top on at least one of the offerings on their menu.

Elote nachos and Pineapple TeriyAKRON bowl.

Elote nachos? An ear’s worth of elote-seasoned corn, shaved off the cob and served over a basket full of your choice of plain or flavored tortilla chips.

The Pineapple TeriyAKRON bowl? A half a carved out grilled pineapple filled with grilled rice, chicken and chunks of pineapple.

Those are just two examples found on the Extreme Foods page inside Duck Tales, the team's program. Maybe the most outrageous offering is the WKDD Screamer, a five-pound sundae made with 21 scoops of ice cream on a brownie, with banana, whipped cream, chocolate syrup, etc., and a cherry on top. It costs $25.

A baseball poster painted on the wall.

Everything else about Canal Park is good: Easy parking, no stairs (except for those leading down from the broad concourse to your seats), and a huge, easy-to-read video screen to keep you updated on the game’s action.

The player’s got a late start, but wasted no time bringing the action. The visiting Harrisburg Senators, AA affiliate of the Washington Nationals, got a hit right off the bat and had runners in scoring position in the first three innings. The Rubber Ducks, affiliate of the Cleveland Indians, were able to answer back with offense of their own, but took a few base-running risks that might have cost them some runs. In the bottom of the third, Brayan Rocchio knocked one over the right field wall with two runners on base to put the Rubber Ducks up 3-0.

As the sun set slowly in the west, the grounds crew put finishing touches on the field.

Paul and I left after three innings. It was getting late and we had at least seen every player come up to bat. We listened to the game on the radio until the signal faded away and made it home at about the time we would have anyway if the game had started on time. Here’s what we missed. In the top of the sixth inning, the Senators sent eight batters to the plate. With four singles, a walk and a double, they scored four runs to take the lead for good. Final: Harrisburg Senators 4, Akron Rubber Ducks 3.