Oggie the Dinosaur was there. So was a motorcycle gang escorting the players onto the field. Fireworks lit up the sky after the game and - most importantly - 5,844 fans attended the premier of Ogden's sparkling new Lindquist Field.
The fact that the hometeam dropped a 5-1 decision to Idaho Falls was of little concern to most of those helping to christen Ogden's new ballpark."The event was Lindquist Field. It just happened to coincide with a baseball game," said Raptors president Dave Baggott. "For us, the outcome of the ball game was irrelevant. Just getting this off the ground was the key thing."
And by judging the reaction of the overflow crowd, opening night at the "Quist" was anything but a failure.
"If you ask me, it's exactly like a miniature Franklin Quest. I think it means a lot," said longtime Ogden-area sports booster Joe Hernandez. "It brings a lot to downtown Ogden."
Hernandez and his wife Jenny have been involved with supporting the Raptors since they opened play at Serge B. Simmons Field three years ago. In fact, they've hosted a player in their home, acting as surrogate parents, for each of the Raptors pro-baseball existence. "We had one of our old players call us up to see how we were doing and found out about the field," Jenny Hernandez said. "He said he wishes he could have been here to see it."
This year, it's Bucky Jacobsen that'll have his summer home with the Hernandez'.
Baggott was as proud as anyone in attendance. After getting pushed out of his home in Salt Lake City when the Buzz moved into the town, the old Salt Lake Trappers played a year in Pocatello as the Posse before setting up shop in Ogden. A new ballpark has been in the works since then and Baggott has worked to get his club into the facility.
"They wanted something to call their own," Baggott said of Ogden's baseball fans. "I think Lindquist Field is the central point of downtown Ogden."
With a stunning view of Mount Ogden over centerfield, and the Ogden LDS Temple spire only a block over the fence, Lindquist is like a newborn baby to the Raptors' do-everything operator.
Baggott was the master of ceremonies for the grand opening and local dignitaries helped break in the field. After much of the pre-game festivities ended, Baggott quickly made his way into the crowded pressbox to man the public address system and work the sound effects.
After explaining a few of the "Rules" of Pioneer League ball - such as allowing fans to sit on the outfield warning track when there's no more room on the grassy berms down the sidelines - it was finally time to play ball.
And Idaho Falls - sporting big leaguer Rick Suttcliff as pitching coach and Duke basketball star Trajan Langdon playing third - wasted little time in familiarizing itself with the oddities of playing at the "Quist."
Jake Thrower, the first-ever batter at Lindquist Field, got the first-ever hit off the first-ever pitcher, Paul Stewart, when he lofted the first-ever homer over Raptor Ridge.
Raptor Ridge, by the way, is a 24-foot high fence in right-center field where the fence juts back into the playing field rather than continue in a normal semi-circle.
Langdon, who entered the game with a .211 batting average to go with his Blue Devil jumpshot, got the first-ever double in the first inning when he stroked the ball into the crowd of a few hundred kids lining the left-field warning track. That was a ground rule double. "If it draws blood, it's a homer," Baggott warned from his PA booth.
No blood from the fans was drawn, but the Raptors shed plenty as the Braves took a 4-0 lead in the first and never were challenged.
Ogden continues its current homestand with another contest against Idaho Falls today at 7 p.m.