Palm Springs, CA

What I Remember

Parrots. We had arrived in this desert golf capital on a Wednesday afternoon and found that the game we were planning to go to would be a doubleheader instead, we liked doubleheaders pretty much throughout the trip so we were happy about this but, looking around, had to ask why? It was, I recall, like most days in Palm Springs, crystal clear blue skies and warm and it was hard to believe a game the night before had been rained out. It hadn’t, we were told. Instead, the game was called because the lights didn’t work.

There was more to the story, though. Unlike the situation in San Jose the previous week, there was a culprit here. Apparently some parrots, escapees from a local pet store it was theorized, had built nests in the light poles and, in the process, stripped the copper wire off the lights and plunged the Palm Springs Angels and their fans into cool desert darkness.

The Game(s)

G1: Stockton Ports 5 Palm Springs Angels 2

G2: Stockton Ports 6 Palm Springs Angels 0

We saw a lot of the Stockton Ports during our trip through the California League but this was the only time we saw the Palm Springs Angels and it was not a great night for the home team as it managed just four hits over two games. The Angels did not have many future major leaguers but Jim Edmonds was on the team. He was on the disabled list during these games though.

The Box (Click on the arrows to see more images)

The Trip

This was the last stop in California, we headed into Arizona and points east the next day. Looking back I don’t think I would start a baseball tour in any other state (in fact my 2003 trip to all the minor league parks also started in the Golden State.) The combination of mostly great weather, relatively short drives and lots of beautiful scenery made it an ideal place to begin and we had such fond memories of the California League that we came back for the playoffs in September.

As an aside, my brother is visiting Palm Springs this weekend. Cal, if you read this, watch out for parrots.