Mapping the path

MID-ATLANTIC BASEBALL

Bowie Baysox

Dad and I kick off our road trip with a leisurely drive to Annapolis before heading to Prince George’s Stadium in Bowie, Maryland, to see the Double-A Bowie Baysox. Afterward, we stop by Bowie’s Belair Mansion and enjoy a perfect end to Day 1 at José Andrés’ restaurant, Zaytinya.

> Jump to Video Highlights

We drove down to the harbor, which was busy with tourists and filled with boats: motor-powered tours, sailboat tours, pleasure craft, and small yachts. We drove just a bit further to the Chesapeake Bay and the United States Naval Academy, established in 1845. The 338-acre campus is at the former site of Fort Severn, built for the War of 1812, as well as a previous fort used in the Revolutionary War.

There was a version of our itinerary where we would have started earlier, stopped to look inside the state capitol, seen Washington’s letter, and visited the Academy’s museum. But we had learned from experience that we need to pace ourselves on these trips, take the first morning slowly, get our daily processes established, and be ready both physically and mentally to take on three weeks of focused baseball travels. It was time to get to the ballpark in Bowie.

The Baysox play at Prince George’s Stadium, which opened in 1994 at a cost of $10 million. While construction of the ballpark was underway in 1993, the Baysox played their inaugural season at Baltimore Memorial Stadium, previously used by both the Orioles and the NFL’s Baltimore Colts. The ballpark is named for its home county, Prince George, which is itself named for Prince George of Denmark — husband of Queen Anne, who ruled Great Britain from 1702 to 1714.

We rolled up to a parking space in front of the ballpark. I got out and began preparing my bag and camera gear in the back seat, ready to get started on three weeks of baseball. That’s when Dad said, “Matt, I can’t find my wallet.”

Oof. We looked all over our rental car to no avail. Dad developed a theory that it had wiggled its way out of his back pocket when he had slid out of the passenger seat during one of our stops in Annapolis. He called his wife, already thinking about having identification for our return trip home. I called a hotel where we had parked for the statehouse, but they had not found it. We decided to set this problem aside for the game and try to solve it after.

Bowie has been affiliated with the Orioles from the beginning, and it’s a natural fit: Prince George’s Stadium is less than 30 miles from Camden Yards in Baltimore. The team’s name refers of course to the Chesapeake Bay, and the team leans into it, dressing up in alternate identities like the Bowie Baysharks, the Crab Cakes, or as their Copa de la Diversion persona, Cangrejos Fantasmas (“ghost crabs”).

The Baysox have won just one Eastern League title in their existence, in 2015. Top alumni include Jeffrey Hammonds, Manny Machado, Jake Arrieta, and Adley Rutschman.

Dad and I stepped into the Baysox team shop, the Tackle Box. He is always on the lookout for a nicely designed baseball, while I am in search of the Perfect Hat — the one and only hat I will get from each team, lest my hobby turn into the obsession I know it can be. It is thus a critical choice, and I typically come to these shops having scouted my options and praying they will have my chosen Perfect Hat in 7 1/2.

So they did. I donned a Baysox home and posed with mascot Louie (rhymes with “Bowie,” naturally). Louie once had pink hair but now covers that spot with a baseball hat. I get it, Louie.

We had arrived on Heroes Day, a promotion supporting a wide variety of public service organizations. The Baysox wore half-and-half jerseys honoring firefighters and police,

The Baysox would be taking on the Harrisburg Senators, the Double-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals, who were sitting at the bottom of the division early in the second half of the season.

The Nationals would also have their top prospect on display: James Wood, a second-round pick of the San Diego Padres in 2021 who was traded to the Nationals in the deal for Juan Soto. At 6 feet, 6 inches, and 240 pounds, Wood has some serious pop in his bat. But he had struggled a bit in his move from High-A Wilmington to Harrisburg.

Among the heroes recognized on the day were nurses, doctors, emergency technicians, search and rescue teams… and the cast of Paw Patrol.

It had turned into a hot day, with the temperature in the upper 80s but feeling even warmer. Many fans, ourselves included, abandoned their good seats for the shade of the top rows and concourse.

The game got underway. On the second pitch, the Baysox were down 1-0.

Robert Hassell III, the first-round pick of the Padres in 2020, hammered a ball over the right-center fence off 31-year-old Bowie starter Austin Voth, a six-year Major Leaguer on a rehab assignment after soreness in his right elbow earlier in the season. Wood doubled two batters later, but Voth made it out of the inning with Wood stranded on base.

The Senators sent Alemao Hernandez to the mound. He had started his year in Wilmington, too, and would be with the Triple-A Rochester Red Wings in August. The second batter Hernandez faced was Jackson Holliday, who swung at a first-pitch fastball and pulled a single to right field.

But Hernandez kept the Baysox in check from there, giving up just one more hit across his first four innings.

While roaming the concourse, I ran into Rob Carlin, former broadcaster for NBC Sports in Washington, D.C., and now Director of Business Development for the Baysox. I told him about our trip, and he walked me into the Baysox front office — which was being kept about 40 degrees cooler than the concourse — to meet General Manager Brian Shallcross.

A gregarious man who has been with the Baysox for more than 20 years, Shallcross greeted me warmly. With the Harrisburg Senators in town, he launched into a story about a double-header in 2006 that was moved from Harrisburg to Bowie due to flooding on the Susquehanna River. (The Senators play right in the middle of the river, on City Island.) Shallcross scrambled to find staff to come back from scheduled time off to manage the games. They mustered an announcer and one ticket-taker — Shallcross’ wife — to make it happen. The Baysox went the extra step of donating half of all ticket sales to the Red Cross of Harrisburg. After playing a rare, canned version of the National Anthem, they were ready to start the first of two games.

But Senators manager John Stearns kept his team in the dugout. He insisted that Harrisburg was the home team, even though the rule had been that the game’s location determined the home team. Shallcross spoke to the umpires, who confirmed they were at an impasse. Irritated that he had done so much to make these games happen, only to be impeded by an obstinate manager, Shallcross said, “Well, we’ll solve this real quick,” and called the president of the league, complaining vigorously and looking for support as he stood at home plate.

"“I just heard silence on the other end,” Shallcross told me. “He said, ‘Brian, I screwed up.’ I designated the games as a neutral site,” which meant Harrisburg was indeed the home team. It was a long day.

As I left the cool confines of the front office, Shallcross recommended that I try the pit beef sandwich, a local specialty that was being served that day with fresh horseradish. It did the trick.

Back on the field, both teams seemed to labor in the heat. Voth was relieved by Bowie right-hander Connor Gillispie, a ninth-round pick from Virginia Commonwealth University who kept the Senators at bay.

Bowie Master of Ceremonies Evan Johnson did real work to bring some energy to Prince George’s Stadium on this lazy Sunday, running games and other events between innings. Contestants played Dizzy Bat, spinning 10 rotations with their head on a bat, then attempting to run to a finish line; and zorb ball, in which two combatants slam into each other wearing giant inflatable balls to see who will be the last one standing. One classic ballpark bit that did not work on this day was the Frozen Shirt game, in which two fans race to knock enough ice out of a frozen shirt to be able to put it on. In the midday heat, however, it was just a Damp Shirt game.

The teams traded runs in the fifth inning, and the Senators added another in the top of the sixth to extend their lead to 3-1.

In the bottom of the sixth, the Baysox finally knocked Hernandez out of the game. Designated hitter Billy Cook led off the inning with a home run to left center. Holliday then legged out an infield single. Two outs later, Hernandez got Bowie left fielder Shayne Fontana to tap a soft grounder to him. Hernandez underhanded his toss to first — about four feet over the head of first baseman Frankie Tostado. The error scored Holliday and ended the afternoon for the pitcher from Mexico.

The next batter, Baysox shortstop Joseph Rosa, ripped a single to left off reliever Garvin Alston to bring Fontana home. Bowie had taken the lead, 4-3.

I made my way down the right-field line to see the one of the unique features of Prince George’s Stadium, the ballpark’s iconic lighthouse, dressed in Orioles orange and reflecting the team’s proximity to the Chesapeake Bay. The Baysox also have a kids play area nearby, with an old-fashioned carousel, speed-pitch game, and a giant inflatable slide.

Harrisburg put runners aboard in each of the last three innings, but Gillispie and two other Bowie relievers kept the team in front.

With two outs in the bottom of the ninth, Senators shortstop Jackson Cluff singled to right. Catcher Brady Lindsley followed with a line drive to left. As Cluff chugged for third base, Harrisburg’s third-base coach for some reason waved him home. Cluff was out at the plate by about 12 feet, giving Bowie the 4-3 victory.

Back at the hotel, Dad reached into the pants he had hanging up in the closet… and found his wallet. Emergency averted.

> NEXT: Washington, D.C.