Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders
Dad and I head to PNC Field in Moosic, Pennsylvania, to see the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders — Triple-A affiliate of the New York Yankees — host the Syracuse Mets.
With just three games to go on our epic road trip, Dad and I arrived a little before the gates opened at PNC Field, home of the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, the Triple-A affiliate of the New York Yankees.
Located in Moosic, Pennsylvania — with Scranton to the northeast and Wilkes-Barre to the southwest — PNC Field opened in 1989 as Lackawanna County Stadium, serving a new Triple-A brand, the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons. The ballpark was originally designed to be a miniature version of Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia, connecting to the team’s Major League affiliation with the Philadelphia Phillies. But in 2007, the Yankees became the club’s new Major League partner, the franchise rebranded as the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees, the ballpark’s artificial turf was thankfully replaced with natural grass, and the naming rights were sold to (surprise!) a bank.
As we waited for the gates to open, RailRiders mascot Champ looked on impatiently.
Professional baseball spread to the Wyoming Valley in the 19th century with the establishment of the Scranton Indians of the Pennsylvania State League in 1886. The club swapped leagues and names a few times at the end of the 1800s, playing as the Miners and the Coal Heavers. The Miners monicker eventually stuck, and the franchise appeared under that name for most of the next five decades, with the exception of 1939-1943 and 1946-1951, when they were known as the Scranton Red Sox.
Meanwhile, the Wilkes-Barre Barons just down the road had a similar trajectory, forming in the 1880s and maintaining a minor league presence — occasionally playing as the Coal Barons or Indians — for most seasons through 1955, when they relocated to Johnston, Pennsylvania. By then, the Scranton Miners had also dissolved, and the region was left without minor league baseball until 1989 and the arrival of the Red Barons in Moosic.
In 2012, PNC Field needed major renovations, so the club spent the season on the road. Based in Rochester, New York, the team called itself the Empire State Yankees and played home games in Rochester, Batavia, Syracuse, and Buffalo, as well as in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and Pawtucket, Rhode Island. The following year, they returned home and rebranded as the RailRiders.
The RailRiders name — which pays homage to Scranton’s long history as a railroad hub and manufacturer — came about through a fan-naming contest. “Porcupines” — an animal native to northern Pennsylvania — came in second place but was also incorporated into the brand.
Dad and I made our customary pre-game stop in the RailRiders team store just inside the front gates.
We saw a decent variety of hats on display, including an homage to the Red Barons. I had decided on a standard home hat with an electrified “R” riding the rails, but they did not have it in my size, and for the only time on our three-week road trip, I left a team store empty-headed.
The store did have a prominent selection of gear representing the “Vejigantes,” the Hispanic alter ego of the club that is part of Minor League Baseball’s "Copa de la Diversión” program celebrating local Hispanic communities and culture. The RailRiders would be playing our ballgame as the Vejigantes, described as “folkloric masked characters” that are “jester-like” and engage in “mischievous and entertaining antics.”
I walked down the third-base side and found a few Vejigantes warming up for the game in their brightly colored jerseys. The team was in the midst of a lackluster season, sitting in the bottom half of the division with a record of 51-56.
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre’s opponent for the night was the Syracuse Mets, who we had seen play two weeks earlier against the Lehigh Valley IronPigs. They once again brought their boring team name and equally unimaginative, New York-knockoff road uniforms. Syracuse sat just below the RailRiders in the standings and would finish the season with the second-worst record in Triple-A baseball.
It was time to explore our dining options for the evening. I sent Dad to the third-base side to find The Dogout, which featured build-your-own footlongs with options for bacon, chili, cheese, peppers, and onions. He reported back, saying he couldn’t find it, then went straight to the nearest concession stand for his mustard dog with relish, preferring to choose quickly and settle into his seat.
I roamed the concourse for interesting or regionally appropriate choices. I did find The Dugout — it was at a cart on the other side of the aisle, easy to miss. Across from it was the Electric City Grill, with several menu items featuring pierogies: on their own, on a burger, or on a Reuben sandwich. I had not yet tried a pierogi, and we were days away from the end of our Mid-Atlantic trip. This was it.
I was amazed and tantalized to see that the menu included a pierogi on a Reuben sandwich, like it was meant for me. But for what may have been the first time it my life, I was not in the mood for a Reuben. I opted for the burger with two pierogies, cheese, grilled onions, and Thousand Island dressing. Overall, it was good, but the pierogies felt shoehorned into the dish and didn’t add any extra flavor. They did add a texture I would describe as “strange for a burger.”
Dad and I were looking to end our streak of five losses and two rainouts for the home team in the previous seven games. It had rained earlier in the day, and ominous clouds began to gather during the pre-game ceremonies. But after renditions of both the Dominican (for Vejigantes Night) and U.S. national anthems, the matchup got underway in dry weather. Now the RailRiders needed to do their part.
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre started former second-round draft pick Clayton Beeter, a right-hander from Fort Worth, Texas, who had pitched at Texas Tech. After a full 2022 season at the Double-A level, Beeter began 2023 strong for the Double-A Somerset Patriots, posting a 2.08 ERA in 12 starts before being promoted to the RailRiders.
Clayton Beeter
Bret Baty
Beeter walked two batters in the first inning but managed to strike out Syracuse third baseman Bret Baty, who we had seen 11 days earlier with the New York Mets before his demotion to Triple-A following struggles at the plate and a hitless road trip. A theme had emerged: In Coney Island, we had received Bret Baty “Christmas in July” bobbleheads celebrating the former first-round draft pick’s time with the High-A Brooklyn Cyclones.
Beeter and Mets starting pitcher José Buttó kept the game scoreless after two.
The on-field emcee for the RailRiders is Rachel Malak, who hosts shows on local TV and radio and is the arena host for the American Hockey League’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. She appeared nearby in the second inning to run the “Pass the Fry” game, in which fans on each side of the ballpark toss a yellow foam faux-fry tube toward the seats behind home plate, often having it sail away in unexpected directions. Representatives of each side stand in the middle aisle, waiting to receive their team’s fry and win a prize. The winner on this night was celebrating her birthday and could not have been more excited to have been picked to play.
Malak also tossed shirts into the crowd and hosted a sack race and a “stack ‘n dash” competition, in which kids compete to get innertubes around their body in a stack before dashing to the finish line. But other events would be cut short by weather.
New York Mets #2 prospect (and #59 overall) Ronny Mauricio singled to lead off the top of the third inning. Baty followed with a two-run bomb over the left-field wall. The next hitter, Syracuse first baseman Luke Ritter, made it back-to-back homers with a blast to right. The visitors led it 3-0. Two batters later, Beeter was lifted from the game.
A light rain started to fall in the bottom half of the third. I gave Dad my umbrella, which felt smart and prepared. And then I left it at the ballpark, which did not.
After a good shower, the wet relented, revealing a gorgeous set of baseball skies full of flame and shadows.
I walked to the outfield for a better view, past the right-field bar and the grassy seating area known as the Homer Zone.
Syracuse picked up two more runs in the fifth on two singles and a double to make it 5-0 Mets.
Buttó, on the other hand, continued to stymie the RailRiders, allowing no runs on four hits in 5 2/3 innings. He would get a late-season call-up to New York, putting up a 3.62 ERA in 42 innings at the big-league level.
In the top of the sixth, RailRiders reliever Zach Greene walked three of the first four batters he faced. The diminishing crowd groaned louder with each free pass. But the despair grew exponentially with the fifth batter, designated hitter Carlos Cortes, who brought everyone home with a grand slam over the right-field fence. Syracuse led 9-0, and our losing streak seemed certain to continue.
I ran into Malak in the concourse, keeping dry. She and her on-field activities team were mostly sidelined by the intermittent mist, giving her time to pose for a quick photo.
Syracuse tacked on another run in the ninth for good measure. In the bottom half, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre got a two-out home run from second baseman Jamie Westbrook, but the miracle rally ended with the next and final batter. The Mets came away winners, 10-1.
