Winston-Salem Warthogs vs. Lynchburg Hillcats: Pictures!
Hey there, team. I’m at some craptastic Econolodge in Nowheresville, PA, right off of 81. The wifi only works in the lobby, so I’m going to throw these pictures up and then go hide out in my strange-smelling room. (Is it a bad sign if the scent of the room sort of stings my eyeballs? I guess I should just take out my contacts and suck it up.)
Ernie Shore Field, in Winston-Salem:
Great stories about Ernie Shore, but since time is short, I’ll let Wikipedia tell you.
Inside the park:
It was a really beautiful night for baseball—a little humid, but not too hot.
Here, a Hillcat stands in front of a bit of signage commemorating Bill Slack. Who is Bill Slack?
The between-innings entertainment was truly entertaining. Here, Wally the Warthog (I really, really wish they’d gone with “Warty,” but I guess you can’t have everything) “loses” to his young nemesis:
But nothing, and I mean nothing, could outshine the eyeball race:
Naturally, it was sponsored by a local optometrist.
And finally—-Yaaaaaaaay! Warthogs win!
July 31st, 2008 at 9:52 am
the team is called the Warthogs??? why would anybody want to be a warthog? is this a compliment? I mean, it’s certainly better than the Winston-Salem Mechanical Voiceboxes, or the Winston-Salem Lung Tumors, but still…
were those scary pig-like things in Willow warthogs? the ones that ran around and ate babies?
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July 31st, 2008 at 10:29 am
Ernie Shore is also about to be given to Wake Forest University. The WFU team has lights on their field, and the Warthogs are building an impressive new stadium in downtown Winston-Salem.
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July 31st, 2008 at 9:09 pm
It’s a good thing for Wake Forest, too. Their field is EASILY the worst in the Atlantic Coast Conference. I’ve seen high schools in North Carolina with better baseball stadiums.
As for the Warthogs, they used to be called the Winston-Salem Spirits back when they were the Cubs and Reds farm clubs. I liked that name — back when Frank Castillo played there. Then they had a contest to rename the team, and Warthogs was chosen. The name kind of stinks, but it has character, and I think the mascot is awesome.
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July 31st, 2008 at 9:25 pm
Is warthogs better than iron pigs? I can’t make up my mind.
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July 31st, 2008 at 10:44 pm
Warthogs is good, but Iron Pigs is more creative (and has more to do with the local economic culture), so Iron Pigs wins.
Also, the Greensboro Grasshoppers used to be the Greensboro Bats. I think we can all agree their new name is way awesomer, no?
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July 31st, 2008 at 11:00 pm
I would like to see it be “War Pigs” and they could use the Black Sabbath song for their theme music.
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July 31st, 2008 at 11:50 pm
oh my god don’t even tell me there’s a mascot. that thing will give me nightmares…I’ll start looking around for a midget running around screaming “the bay-bay! the bay-bay!”
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July 31st, 2008 at 11:52 pm
bats are kind of cool though, and definitely scarier than grasshoppers. grasshoppers are probably better base-stealers, but bats, man, they fly at you from outta nowhere and they BITE. and they have rabies – so it’s like a team of Milton Bradleys!
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August 1st, 2008 at 10:27 am
A friend of mine used to work for the Greensboro team when it was the Bats. I still have a hat with the old logo. But I still like Grasshoppers better.
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October 3rd, 2008 at 10:07 am
Can I purchase tickets for the opening game at the new Winston-Salem baseball staduim next spring? Curtis
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