A night at the ballpark

On any given summer night in Tacoma, you can find a community of like-minded people. That is, if you like baseball. 

Every time I go to a baseball game, I get caught up in all the sounds. From the announcers calling plays, to the crack of the ball against a wooden bat, to fans cheering and screaming after a home run. For me, the sounds of baseball are the sounds of summer.

So, I wanted to capture what it sounds like to be at a game at Cheney Stadium in Tacoma.  

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I grew up going to games at Tacoma’s Cheney Stadium, where the Tacoma Rainiers play. The Rainiers are a Minor League Baseball team and the Triple-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners’ organization.

The Rainiers’ home stadium holds over 6,000 fans. It opened in Tacoma in 1960. 

The crowd watches as Rainiers infielder Leo Rivas takes his at bat. (Credit: John Gallup / NWPB)

Roger Lingle grew up going to games at Cheney Stadium too. He’s been catching baseball games here for more than 40 years. 

“My first baseball game ever was with my uncle,” Lingle said. “I was three years old and at that time it was the Tacoma Tigers, and then it switched over to the Rainers. I’ve been coming to the stadium ever since.”

Season ticket holder Roger Lingle applauds a good play by the Rainiers. (Credit: John Gallup / NWPB)

Lingle is now a season ticket holder. On a Friday evening game in June, he was seated behind first base.

“Honestly, this is the only place that I could just really let loose and relax. It always has been — the crack of the bat, the smell of the grass, the sounds of the kids, the popcorn. I mean, it’s all very nostalgic,” Lingle said. “I remember opening my first box of Cracker Jacks like it was yesterday.”

You really can’t go to a baseball game without indulging in some ballpark food. Madisson Reyes manages Ivar’s restaurants at the stadium. She’s worked there for nine years.

Concessions manager, Maddison Reyes, runs the cash register at a restaurant in the Cheney Stadium concourse. (Credit: John Gallup / NWPB)

“We have really good fans. Our staff is all local,” Reyes said. “So it’s just a homey feeling here.”

On game day the kitchens are full of employees cooking hot dogs, scooping ice cream and frying up garlic fries.

The unmistakable taste and smell of these fries is unique to ballparks. The garlic isn’t pre-packaged; it’s shipped from a farm in California. It’s the same farm that Ivar’s has been getting garlic from since they first started serving garlic fries.

“With those famous Grounders garlic fries, we get our garlic, we drain it, we season it up, we put some herbs in it, and so it’s our own special recipe,” Reyes said. 

Every homestand, which is six days, the stadium goes through eight buckets of garlic — about 400 pounds worth.

Fun Squad members Conor Dunn, Justin Holum and Kate Heiderich, run through Cheney Stadium tossing out free t-shirts to fans. (Credit: John Gallup / NWPB)

Between innings, fans at Cheney Stadium find themselves entertained by the ballpark’s Fun Squad. 

The group, clad in Rainiers’ jerseys and usually following closely behind the team’s mascot, Rhubarb the Reindeer, coordinate t-shirt toss giveaways during the game or get the crowd on their feet with choreographed dances. 

Owen Bostain, who has been on Cheney’s Fun Squad for three years, takes on this role with great responsibility. He said he believes that what the Fun Squad does during the game can possibly influence its outcome. 

“In the past years we’ve had players complain because we do certain bits at certain times of the game — they yell at us saying, ‘Hey, you shouldn’t be doing that at this time ’cause that kind of ruins our vibe,’” Bostain said. 

Before each game, the Fun Squad meets to plan out what sketches, dances and giveaways they’ll do when, based on timing of the game, the size of the crowd and whether it’s a weekday or weekend. 

Cheney Stadium was built in 1960. It was known as the ”100-Day Wonder’ because it went up in less than four months according to MiLB. (Credit: John Gallup / NWPB)

For Bostain, the job doesn’t just pay the bills. He’s passionate about it and the energy the Fun Squad brings to the fan experience. 

“Baseball, anything can happen at any time, which is the art of it, and so energy is needed consistently,” Bostain said. 

Cheney Stadium usher, Chester Ritol, poses next to the Rainiers’ dugout. He has worked at the stadium for 16 years. (Photo credit: John Gallup / NWPB)

In the Dugout Club, the section of seats next to the Rainiers’ dugout at eye level with the field, you’ll find a staple of Cheney Stadium: Chester Ritol. He has worked there for 16 years, sharing his love of the sport and wealth of knowledge with fans whenever he gets the chance. 

“ I’ve been fortunate to watch families grow, seeing young people go ahead and become adults, and then now they’re starting to come back with their children and that’s really kind of a special thing to have,” Ritol said. “Baseball affords you that because you have 6,000 people come back and you form your little community.”

Ritol grew up in Brooklyn watching players like Jackie Robinson,  Peewee Reed and Gil Hodges. 

“My mom used to go with me on Ladies Day. Because in those days, ladies could get into the ballpark for 50 cents,” Ritol said. “ I still have a program from back in those days.”

Ritol spends his time at games helping fans find their seats and making sure everyone stays in line. Often, he’ll bring out his collection of baseball cards to share with fans. He’ll happily give you one to take home. 

“ The beauty of baseball; you talk to a man and his son or his family and once you start talking to him, they tell you their experiences of how they grew up …, there’s a little kid in all of us all the time,” Ritol said. 

The sun sets over Cheney Stadium in Tacoma. (Credit: John Gallup / NWPB)