I guess most fans would say that teams don’t owe their fans anything more than putting a quality product on the field. But we all know professional teams do more than the bare minimum to entertain and reward their fans. Some might suggest there is a minimum standard.

Other than changing their bag policy with no notice, I wasn’t happy with the initial greeting I got from the folks at Jackson Field. I had to bring my camera bag back to the hotel even though I used it to store my insulin. Jim Parks, the gent in the First Aid station couldn’t have been nicer.

Most minor league teams (and a few ML teams) have been giving away free “game day” guides which are better than google. The guide serves as PR and ad revenue and a great venue for young sportswriters and media types the chance to flex their muscles. Eighteen years ago, I was given the opportunity to contribute to one such publication. The guides usually have great feature stories, complete rosters with pictures (suitable for autographs), stadium guides (including menus) and maybe most importantly, scorecards for nerds like Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar.

The Lugnuts offer no such publication. Some teams create scorecards, lineups and updated rosters (game notes at about half the parks I’ve been to). More often than not, someone has to use a copier and make sure they are ready before first pitch and if you didn’t get a pocket schedule upon entering, you’ll find plenty at the Guest Services window. A few teams even stock area visitor’s guides. I did pick up a few pocket schedules and two scorecards (one for each game). Editor’s note: Despite only costing $1 I had immediate buyer’s remorse. The scorecard was solid black and on the scorecard itself they had lightly printed logos right in the middle of the scorecard-rendering scoring almost impossible.

I noted the solid black exterior because it makes autograph collecting impossible. C’mon throw your fans a bone! On that note, you may have noticed that I didn’t mention autograph collectors in my game notes because there were none. For the first time in years, there weren’t any seekers of signatures-pro or otherwise. I did see three adult males armed with multiple baseball cards outside the park waiting for the Loons to board their team bus. They may have been in the park for the first four games, but that’s purely an educated guess.

I tend to notice these little things, touches that improve the overall experience. Likewise, and surprisingly their kid zone was limited to some sort of bouncy pit (no radar guns) or batting cages.

While I might seem like I’m picking nits, I really had a great time at the game and enjoyed the field itself very much.