6.09.2016

Santa Fe Fuego

Finally went to see a Santa Fe Fuego game — it was state government employee appreciation night, which more than anything just gave us a date to remember that we wanted to go to a Fuego game.

Brought our sandwiches to the historic Fort Marcy Ballpark, found one of Monica's co-workers and settled in. A bit cloudy, a few raindrops spat on us, but meant it was a beautiful temperate night. Ideal for sitting and watching.



It was a great time. Small, small field meant that, oh maybe 25% of the solid hits were home runs. Granted, can't think of the last pro game I watched, but feel there was a lot more stealing, a lot more bases because of pitches into the dirt, and more (attempted) bunts. Things were moving. It was exciting. The last of three nights against the Trinidad Triggers and the Fuego had lost the first two. But going into the 5th, they were up something like 16-5. Which you'd think would mean an easy end to the evening.



Nope. 'Round about 10:15, it was the top of the 9th. The Triggers were up to 15. With two men on base and two outs, the count went to full … and the batter walked. The next batter went to a full count, too. Edge of the seat waiting to see that last strike called.

Our ticket numbers were 59 and 60. It was tough to believe there were that many people in the stands. But they were vocal, loyal. They knew names, they shouted encouragement, they chanted, they passed a hat when the Fuego hit a home run; we might not want to mention, but they jeered the ump (who … I mean … seriously, that was a ball?).

Yeah. A good summer night, unplugged. Our team won.


Further reading:

  • A Pecos League pitcher's story of the 2014 season at New Mexico Magazine.

  • How the Fuego came to Santa Fe from The Santa Fe Reporter.







  • 6.04.2016

    Lynda Barry at The Lensic

    Last Tuesday, we got to see cartoonist Lynda Barry speak at The Lensic, part of the ongoing free lecture series presented by Santa Fe Institute.



    Turns out, the now-president of SFI was the one who hired her to teach at Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery; her book Syllabus comes from her experiences there, and I drew heavily on it when I was designing my advanced comics-making class.

    She spoke for about 90 minutes, energetic and funny even after a day leading a workshop at SFI. She's doing some big thinking about image and creativity, her presentation covered some of the things she covered in Syllabus and ranged even further before concluding with a party trick. Inspiring and insightful.