Game Day Pictures: Gwinnett Braves vs Charlotte Knights 9-7-09

It's the last game of the regular season of the Gwinnett Braves' season, and some friends and I decided to make the trek to Lawrenceville! The stadium wasn't as far away as I expected, and it's so cozy -- we sat between home plate and the visitor's dugout (here, home is on the third base side), in the shade for only $15 each. (Comparable seats at Turner Field are $60-70.)

As we entered, we were greeted by an 80s cover band, the lineup card, and the League standings. We had a little time before first pitch to walk all the way around the field. The regular seats go from foul pole to foul pole, with only one level. The outfield seating is a grassy slope in right center / right field called the Berm, and they had $1 hot dogs and all sorts of bouncy inflatables for the kids to play inside. Here's the view from the Berm, no zoom:


More of the outfield: pic 1 ~ pic 2 ~ pic 3 ~ pic 4 (My roommate says I just like the bouncy dog because it's belly-up! I do love dogs, especially the ones who like belly rubs.) :D

Views of the bullpens: visitors 1 ~ visitors 2 ~ G-Braves

Before the game, the jumbotron showed us the top 5 plays of the G-Braves 2009 season.



OK, game time!

- Lineup cards are exchanged

- For the national anthem, the infielders and outfielders stood together to honor the flag. The anthem was sung by someone with a spectacular voice and a little too much creative freedom, if you follow. ;)

- I took a lot of pictures of Jason Heyward. He was really wonderful to watch, and I can't wait to see him gain his full "man strength", as one of the analysts called it. You can tell his muscles aren't fully developed yet, and he's still graceful and FAST and has great pop in his bat. pic 1 ~ pic 2 ~ pic 3 ~ pic 4 ~ pic 5 ~ pic 6 ~ and a video of a great catch he made in the top of the 9th!



- Barbaro (who is still slow as molasses but hits great!)

- Diory!

- Wilson Betemit, former Braves farmhand, and his enormous man-area. It was stunning. Just saying.

- Chopper the mascot, trying to get the crowd fired up -- he has his own concession stand! The concessions were all run by very happy volunteers, trying to earn money for local schools' sports programs. (I bought a pretzel from a mom whose kid played lacrosse.)

- The "K" signs aren't exactly the same in the minors than in the majors. ;)

- In game entertainment! Let's see, they shot t-shirts into the crowd, but they didn't have hot girls in my area. Chopper has been studying tapes of the Philly Phanatic. Chubby Checker got people to "twist again". And here are a couple of videos:



This one didn't go as well...


And my friends' favorite entertainment, "The Wiggle":


G-Braves won, 7-4! Confetti shot from all angles of the field -- that was fun, but the eventual-mom in me can't imagine how long it'll take to clean all that up! haha! Confetti 1 ~ 2 ~ 3 ~ 4 ~ 5 ~ 6

This was the most fun I've had at a game in a long time. Go G-Braves! Fans, go see the G-Braves! It was a wonderful experience. :)

Full Album