Texas Summer Baseball Tour, Year Two - Stop #2, La Moderna Field

I love sports.  I love baseball.  And I always try to stay positive about them both, and life.

Hopefully, it was just a one-time instance, but I ran into some bad baseball Thursday night, June 6, at La Moderna Field in Cleburne.

The Railroaders scored 14 runs - yes, you read that right, 14 - in the bottom of the second innning en route to a 23-4 win over the Gary SouthShore Railcats.

Railcats pitchers issued 22 bases on balls.

After an hour, I couldn't sit much longer, and watched the rest of what I stayed for by walking back and forth on the concourse.

I hit my two-hour limit, after four complete innings with Cleburne up 18-4.

I wonder, however, are we getting to a limit on what is acceptable as good enough baseball in the name of entertainment.

Thing is, La Monderna Field is a great facility.  It sits in a bowl.  Most seats have great sightlines.

Maybe there were opportunities - aside from a group - that were cheaper than buying my ticket online before I made the drive from Waco to Cleburne.

Every ticket was $18.  I paid for parking - an odd $4.49 (likely to get the tax to make it $5 driving up).  Fees and taxes were $4.10.

That makes a total of $26.59 to see baseball from guys who aren't likely to make it all the way back up, even if they were at one time.

Summer collegiate ball last week at Brazos Valley was $9.78.

A high school game - Class 6A regional finals at Constellation Field (Sugar Land's home park) - two nights later was $21 - $12 plus $2 for fees and $5 plus $2 for fees for parking.

However, with a game at Sugar Land, you expect that.  I don't recall when I made my trip to all 16 last year here in Texas that Cleburne's prices caused the same heartburn it did on Thursday night.

Plus a Railroaders game is a caucophony of noise.

The announcer openly cheers.  I almost construe it as rude to the knowledgeable baseball fan, as they know when or not to cheer and not to be guided incessantly like an aninmal.

And no sooner the game announcer ends for the half inning, the on-field person takes over - and he's not annoying (and is as equally good as the Bombers' on-field guy), but they do something every single half inning.

I know, I know, it's entertainment and if you make it fun for the kids, then the parents with money will bring them back again and again.

I think if you chase ballparks, you bite the bullet on this one to see it - and then don't come back, unless you're flush with cash.