Max Scherzer makes a rehab start for the Binghamton Rumble Ponies against the Hartford Yardgoats Double-A game at Dunkin Donuts Stadium in Hartford, CT, on June 29, 2022. ©Mark D Phillips
Max Scherzer makes a rehab start for the Binghamton Rumble Ponies against the Hartford Yardgoats Double-A game at Dunkin Donuts Stadium in Hartford, CT, on June 29, 2022. ©Mark D Phillips
There are times when I want to shoot baseball because of the situation. When I heard that Max Scherzer was doing a rehab start in Hartford, CT, “with top Mets prospects,” it was hard to resist. Where else can you get baseball’s greatest pitcher as a Rumble Pony against a Yardgoat?
 
The pregame light in the stadium is really dramatic and I thought it might be interesting to see what I could get.
 
I love minor league baseball. Have a camera? No problem, come right in. Shooting as a fan without credentials reminded me how much I liked the seats we had available to shoot from at Shea. It’s a unique view that is more in line with what fans actually see.
 
Wandering around the sold-out stadium where people were having fun, baseball felt exciting and new. I wish the major leagues would realize what they have lost. For 6,500 fans in Hartford, this was a field of dreams.
 
For Scherzer, it was 80 pitches, two earned runs, and 9 strikeouts. He’s on his way back to the show.
 
Oh, and by the way, a “Yardgoat” comes from the fact that goats were used to control the weeds at the trainyard where Dunkin Donuts Park now stands. And a Rumble Pony? A “fierce horse that no carousel can contain.” Sounds like Scherzer at Dunkin Donuts Park.