TRENTON-It is a fantastic time to be associated with the Trenton Thunder. Whether you are a fan, player, coach or one of the multitude of workers at ARM & HAMMER Park, the display the Thunder are putting on right now is amazing. At 20 games over .500 (49-29), and looking to sweep the SeaDogs in the final game of...
TRENTON-It is a fantastic time to be associated with the Trenton Thunder.
Whether you are a fan, player, coach or one of the multitude of workers at ARM & HAMMER Park, the display the Thunder are putting on right now is amazing. At 20 games over .500 (49-29), and looking to sweep the SeaDogs in the final game of a three-game set Wednesday, Trenton is playing some of its best baseball since 2013, when the Thunder won the Eastern League title.
But it may take a title to beat the excitement that happened in the second game of the series with the SeaDogs Tuesday.
Not many in attendance late Tuesday night will forget what they saw any time soon. Some were saying it was the best sporting event they have ever witnessed live. Whether that is true or not, it sure is fun to be a part of the 2016 Trenton baseball renaissance.
"It is really fun," Thunder short stop Tyler Wade said. "We have a great group of guys in that clubhouse right now, and we are meshing really well. I am excited to see where the rest of the season goes."
But more so than the record, which includes a white-hot 30-9 mark at home, is the multitude of ways the Thunder keep finding to win ballgames.
Take Tuesday night, for example. Trenton trailed 9-5 heading into the bottom of the ninth, and was down to its last out, when Mark Payton stepped into the box in a pinch-hitting role. Payton promptly crushed a first pitch fastball into the Delaware River, for a game-tying three-run home run.
But that just set the stage for the real dramatics, which came five pitchers later to Wade.
The short stop lined a ball to dead center field, that got over the head of Sean Coyle, and kicked around the warning track after bouncing off the fence. Wade, who had no intention of stopping once he saw the ball kick away while rounding second base, circled the bases for an inside-the-park walk-off home run, to give the Thunder a dramatic 10-9 victory.
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"No, no, no, no, no," Wade said. "I was telling one of the guys last night. I didn't see Bobby (Mitchell, who was coaching third). I was going regardless. Because I remember when I hit second, I saw the ball kick back, and I was like, I am not stopping."
"I was just trying not to trip," Wade said. "My legs were getting a little tired. That was the most exciting ninth inning I have ever been a part of in my life. It was unreal. I couldn't even talk last night. It was fun."
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With Reggie Jackson in the park on Monday and Tuesday night, and Cecil Fielder signing autographs Wednesday as part of a promotion, there has been some star power at ARM & HAMMER Park.
Hideki Matsui was in the dugout Tuesday, as he usually is at least once a home stand, to help as a roving instructor for the Yankees.
With the Thunder on fire, to take a cue from the world of European football fans who chant the hottest song on the planet right now, the opposing defenses are terrified. The way the Thunder have swung the bats lately, those ex-players must be as happy as the current roster is with the run production.
"I just think we are producing one-through-nine, and everybody knows their role," Wade said. "Everyone is doing what they need to do to help the team win. I think we just need to keep things rolling. Guys just come in and get their work done, and go about their business the right way, and it shows."
"We just have to keep the momentum on our side," Wade said. "Hitting is contagious, so hopefully, things keep going."
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Contact Sean Miller at seanmillertrentontimes@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @TheProdigalSean