University of North Carolina Athletics
A Connecticut Yankee
July 14, 2000 | Baseball
July 14, 2000
By: Travis Everette, TarHeelBlue.com
My tour of the Coastal Plain summer baseball league and its venues trudged to Wilson, North Carolina on Thursday evening as the Durham Braves traveled to take on the Wilson Tobs. I was virtually assured of seeing some Carolina baseball action as the two teams combine for 5 current Tar Heel players. I must say that I was astonished at the beauty of Fleming Stadium in Wilson. The ballpark was constructed in 1939, but looks spanking new thanks to a project by the city of Wilson to resurrect the landmark. My hat is off to all of those involved in this great project as it looks like Fleming Stadium is poised for another 60 years of great baseball action.
All that being said, I must move on to my subject today, which of course is the actual game that was played. Those of you familiar with my occasional ramblings know that I like to set the scene with a movie theme. Sitting in the stands on Thursday evening, the film that came to mind was an old one starring Bing Crosby called "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court." It is about a man, Crosby, who is transported through time to the court of the great King Arthur. It fits well with the subject of my story today, Adam Greenberg. Greenberg, a Connecticut native himself, does not find himself in the land of the mythical Merlin as Bing did, but he undoubtedly feels just as lost in the world where King Tobacco reigns supreme. I laughed all the way to Wilson from Chapel Hill as I listened to Adam moan about how he was out in the stix and how these people couldn't possibly be from even the same planet he calls home.
Now, I'm a good `ol boy from eastern North Carolina myself, but a few years in the rarefied air of Chapel Hill can put a person at risk for some severe culture shock. I first realized I was home when I began to cough just a little from the cloud of smoke that hung over my seating area, and I commented under my breath, or so I thought, that whatever kind of cigarette it was really stunk. It was at this exact moment that the sweet, little blue haired lady two seats in front of me wheeled around, smoke trickling from her nose, and said "Honey, these things pay the bills around here, and if you don't like it, you can go home now." Spoken like a true southerner I thought, so I politely informed her that I had indeed grown up on a farm that grew tobacco. Immediately, I was back in the clique and glad of it because few things are sweeter than a southern belle, and nothing is worse than a mad one. I was quickly beginning to realize how lost Adam must feel around here.
So, I gazed back to the field after the national anthem and began noticing one again. One thing immediately caught my eye. Now, I have seen some pretty outrageous baseball promotions in my day, but the one I was looking at now had to take the cake. A certain pool and spa company in Wilson had erected a huge hot tub down the right field line in the middle of the beer garden. Now, admittance to this relaxing treat was neither limited by sobriety level or proper attire. It was basically first come, first serve, come as you are, and climb on in. Only in eastern North Carolina would someone place a bubbling pool of steamy water in the direct vicinity of drunken men and allow them to climb in as they liked. Whomever came up with this idea gets my vote for marketing person of the year with this contraption because this show was worth seeing on it's own. You can count the baseball game as a bonus. The most amusing part of the whole ordeal to me is that there was never a female in the tub (proof that girls really are smarter), and the six men piled on top of one another were having too good of a time hooting and hollering to notice their girlfriends' embarrassment.
elieve it or not, there was actually baseball played in the midst of all this unbridled fun, and all of the UNC alums played well. Durham shortstop Chris Maples was on base in three of his four plate appearances on the night. His counterpart to the right, third baseman Russ Adams made several nice defensive plays including the rarest play in all of baseball. In the Wilson half of the fifth inning with runners on first and third, Adams picked a hot ground ball off the foul line and rifled a shot to second base. The throw was relayed to first and on to the plate where the scrambling Tobs runner was tagged out to complete the triple play. The Wilson faithful gave the Braves a standing ovation as they came to the dugout, and everyone in attendance knew that they had seen something special.
As well as the other Heels played, the night belonged to Greeenberg. His 2-4, 4 RBI performance was a breakout for him as he only joined the Tobs a couple of weeks ago. Greenberg could have easily been 4-4 as every ball he hit was stroked. He wooed the home fans in the bottom of the third when with two men on he blasted a pitch off the billboards over the right field wall in Fleming Stadium. I knew that he had made a place for himself as the husband of the little cigarette lady said "Well, I'll be danged (I changed this word to maintain a G rating), for a boy from the north he sure can hit the ball." The homerun also thrilled one particular man in the hot tub as he almost lost his pants to the suction of the water as he stood, arms in the air to celebrate as his beloved Tobs steamrolled to an 8-1 victory.
So, Adam, as I write this, I hope you are sound asleep in your Wilson bed, resting assured that you have found a home in Wilson. You accomplished what hundreds of years could not: made southerners love a Yankee. Heck, I wouldn't be all that surprised if on my next trip to Fleming I saw Greenberg warming up to Hank Williams, Jr. and Johnny Paycheck. Hmmm, check that last thought. It's really late and I must be having episodes again. Maybe I should hit the bed before I become really dangerous and start typing lyrics.
