There are two kinds of trips Mrs. SnakePit and I do. Ones for baseball, and those which accidentally manage to involve baseball. A couple of weekends back, we went to Pensacola in Florida to visit her sister, who suggested a visit to the local minor-league baseball team. Oh, alright then – don’t mind if we do. Which is how we ended up at Admiral Fetterman Field home of the Pensacola Blue Wahoos, the Double-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins. And yes, all their affiliates are sea-life based: they also have the Jupiter Hammerheads, Beloit Sky Carp and Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp. Though ‘Sky Carp’ is actually a goose. Go figure. But seems the D-backs are missing a trick here: why don’t we have the Visalia Vipers?

However, the Blue Wahoos name dates back to before the team’s association with the Marlins, having been used since the franchise settled in Pensacola in 2012 [Its history goes all the way back to 1959, when they were the Charleston White Sox: like many minor-league franchises, it has been very nomadic] At that point it was affiliated with the Reds, and their first season in Pensacola saw Billy Hamilton set the all-time pro-ball record for stolen bases, with 155. The team remained with Cincinnati through 2018, and had a two-year dalliance with the Twins, before becoming, appropriately part of the Marlins organization in 2021. They won the Southern League championship in 2022.

Before getting to the park, a few thoughts on Pensacola. This was my first visit to Florida since before I moved to Arizona: a 1998 trip to Disneyworld with SnakePit Jr and the SnakePitette, to be specific [My left eyelid still starts twitching uncontrollably, if I hear It’s a Small World…] I had forgotten how incredibly humid it is there. Part of the reason for going in August, was Florida is on the shortlist of moving locations – Mrs. S has had enough of the heat here – and we wanted to experience it at its worst. Per the sister-in-law: August. It simply drains the life out of you, and I suspect, much like Arizona, you’d end up avoiding going outdoors when it’s at its worst. Lovely beaches though (above).

However, with it being located by the Gulf of Mexico, it seems considerably breezier than Arizona, and that makes a significant difference. As long as the air is moving, it’s bearable. Something else I didn’t realize: Pensacola is two hours ahead of Arizona, not three. I always thought everywhere in Florida went by the Eastern time zone, but no. The panhandle is on Central time. It seems a little odd to have a state split like that, especially considering Florida is not much more than half the size of single time-zone Arizona. [It’s ranked 22nd by area, but 3rd by population] Since we stayed the entire trip in and around Pensacola, it didn’t matter much, except for me figuring out when I had to schedule GDTs.

Anyway. To the ballpark! It’s in downtown Pensacola, and getting in was definitely a bit of a sluggish process. Turned out the Saturday night game we were attending was Star Wars Night, a promotion which it seems is equally as beloved in the minor-leagues as the majors. I suspect this perhaps boosted attendance, reported as a 5,038 sellout – though there were certainly empty seats around. This meant the usual selection of cosplayers wandering around for photo ops, etc. and the scoreboard read “Rebels” and “Empire”, rather than Blue Wahoos and Braves (their opponents were the Mississippi Braves: guess who they’re affiliated with?). But beyond that… Not much Jedi-related stuff.

However, there was still never a dull moment, with something going on between every half inning, My last experience of minor-league baseball was in 2013, when we went down to see the Reno Aces take on the (then) Tucson Padres, but I have to say, it was an entertaining spectacle. The baseball? Well, I couldn’t have cared less about the result: but even this was a pleasant change. It’s very relaxing to watch a game when you have absolutely no vested interest. For the record, the Empire jumped out in front with a five-run first, but the Rebels chipped away thereafter. The forces of darkness eventually did prevail 7-5, though we left in the eighth. That humidity and the parking situation over-ruled the promise of fireworks.

We spent the first few innings wandering around the park. Visited the stadium shop, and picked up the traditional holiday souvenir of a team T-shirt, as well as taking the latest in a long series of pictures of Jim being attacked by plush animals. In related news, we are no longer welcome in the Pensacola Blue Wahoos stadium shop. 🙂 We also plowed into the concessions, and got the Heater Express Footlong Dog with Fries. While the latter were meh, the dog was glorious, flavorful and buried in toppings. It was a beast, to the point that Mrs. S and her sister were unable to finish theirs: I maintained my personal streak of never being defeated by a mere hot-dog.

Despite our early departure, it had been a thoroughly pleasant night, with even the SnakePit-in-law (not too much of a baseball fan) expressing how much she’d enjoyed it, and what a lovely little park it was. I certainly wouldn’t disagree with her there, and in some ways it was superior to the Chase Field experience. If we do end up moving to the area, I imagine we would likely become regular visitors to Admiral Fetterman Ballpark. Especially if we can find seats that catch a bit of a breeze.