The sky was clear and the sun shone through the gap in the grand stands. The smell of low cut grass and ball park franks wafted. We were sitting in the shade behind home plate. Louisiana Tech's Dylan Mosley was pitching and I hadn't been to a real ball park in almost two years. The last (non little league) game I had attended was at Kaufman stadium in Kansas City to watch the Royals lose to some or for that matter any other team in the MLB. This, however, was not Major League Baseball. This was the Jay Hawk league.
The Jay Hawk league is a semi-pro league touting such teams as the Liberal Bee Jays, the Southwest Slashers (Joplin), Hays Larks, and others. This night, it was the Bee Jays vs. the Slashers and would end in a close loss for Liberal. I found myself cheering for a team that had been around for 50 years. The Bee Jays solicit local corporate "buy outs" for each game so they can offer free entrance. The Bee Jays were named for American League founder Ban Johnson who offered good "clean" fun and low ticket prices for their fans.
It was a truly fun evening with friends, so fun that we returned for the double header on Saturday. The Bee Jays split the double header with the Southwest Slashers and I'm a fan for life. So take me out to the ball game . . .
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