Pro baseball in Tulsa is about 113 years old this year. And the team names? They’ve always been pure Tulsa: the Railroaders, the Producers, the Oilers and, since 1977, the Drillers. The city and the sport are inseparable.
The Drillers begin another season as the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Double-A affiliate at 6:30 p.m. Thursday against the San Antonio Missions. It’s sometimes hard to get behind a minor league team for reasons other than civic pride. If a player’s good, they move up. If they’re not good, they often just disappear. But should you find yourself at ONEOK Field this summer, here’s a little guide.
Some of it is about baseball. And some of it is about attending a baseball game.
Four talking points to make you seem like a knowledgeable fan or to mull over at the game.
- This year’s Drillers’ roster is deep. Last year, a lot of the Dodgers’ minor league depth was concentrated in the farm system’s lower levels, particularly at the organization’s High-A Midwest League affiliate, the Great Lakes Loons. Seven of the organization’s top 30 prospects are starting the season with the Drillers.
- The outfield is especially stacked. The Dodgers’ No. 1 and 2 prospects, according to MLB.com, will be in it. Josue De Paula and Zyhir Hope both were late season call-ups last year and will be starting this year. Kendall George, the No. 14 prospect in the Dodgers system according to MLB.com, will be in the outfield mix as well. The Dodgers are so deep that the two top outfield prospects they traded for last year (one is former Oklahoma State player Zach Ehrhard) have been moved up to Triple-A Oklahoma City.
- The pitching is fast, young and intriguing. Jackson Ferris is a prime example: He went from a terrible pitcher in his first 15 starts last year with the Drillers to lights-out in his last 12 starts. The expectations on him are high. Adam Serwinowski is another hard thrower who’s dominated the Midwest League last year; the difference between Single-A and Double-A is always a difficult one for pitchers (see Ferris’ first half of last season); many eyes will be on Serwinowski, especially as he works to develop a third pitch, which will be essential to moving up in the Dodgers’ organization.
- Double-A baseball is considered the toughest level of minor-league baseball, because it’s where the physical tools even out a bit and a player’s approach to the game begins to matter more. Only about 35% of High-A players make it to the majors, according to Baseball Prospectus; almost 65% of Double-A players do. Pitchers throw hard at all levels of minor league baseball, but more of them have good off-speed and breaking balls in Double-A, which exposes hitters’ flaws. For pitchers, the batters often have better pitch recognition skills than at lower levels and are better at predicting what the next pitch is going to be. On both sides of the game, Double-A is a strainer.
Where to sit and not be in the sun when the game starts
Most of the Drillers’ games are evening starts, which means the sun is still blasting for the first couple innings. Sitting on the first base side will get you shade first — which is extremely important during the late summer games when the sun takes forever to set and the air is stagnant.
Best place to watch the game if you’re not really interested
The Discount Garage Backyard stand along the third base line has an area behind it with tables, TVs and cornhole setups. It’s a nice place to get out of the sun and the bustle of the concourse, though it is 21 and older.
The expansive terrace patio above the left field is a fantastic place to watch the game while not watching the game. There’s a bounce house there for the kids, but the patio itself is rarely crowded and you get a unique view of the game while you talk about anything other than baseball.
Best tips for parents
Bring a spare set of clothes for your kids if they’re the kind of kids who like splash pads, since they inevitably will end up there, especially when it gets hot.
Speaking of heat, the coolest place to be in the hot weather is the team shop. It comes with its own financial dangers, but it’s a good stop to cool off.
Eating adds up fast. Take advantage of $2 Tuesdays, where food and drinks are deeply discounted (and tickets are $9.18). The team also launched a new value menu for all games. The value there will be in the combos, rather than the individual items.
Whether you love post-game fireworks, bobblehead giveaways or the annual Mickey Mantle ring (happening Aug. 13), the Drillers have numerous promotions throughout the season. Be sure to show up before gates open if you really want that Route 66 Hawaiian shirt on May 30. Or any shirt. The jerseys and shirts go fast.
Your best kid promotions this year are the Hornsby building block toy (April 19) and kids eat free (April 19, May 3, May 17, May 31, June 14, July 12, Aug. 2 and Aug. 23).
Where to find the mascots
Hornsby, the blue baseball-loving bull, and Oily the Oiler both are good about roaming the stands and working both the stairs and the rows. But there is almost always more demand for the mascots than the time they will spend in a row. If the kids want to interact, watch for Hornsby or Oily to go up to the concourse and then catch them there. It’s almost always less frantic. Each of the mascots has someone who minds them — catch that person’s eye and they’ll often steer the mascot towards you.
There’s a bunch of shirts in the team store for teams I don’t recognize but seem vaguely local. Who are the Ranch Dippers/Chicken Dancers/Raft Racers/Noodlers?
Merchandising a team’s alternate identities has become a huge revenue stream for minor league teams. The formula is something about local + cool graphic design = license to print money. In the past the Drillers have been the Chicken Dancers (a nod to an Internet rumor that the chicken dance was started in Tulsa), the Raft Racers (an ode to the now departed Great Raft Race) and the Noodlers (a tribute to the fishin’ practice).
This year, it’s the Ranch Dippers, done in concert with Mazzio’s Pizza, and featuring an anthropomorphic pizza slice dipping itself in a vat of ranch dressing.
For the first time in a decade, the team has added a new alternate home uniform called “Tulsa Connect,” based around the Route 66 centennial. The uniform’s Tulsa script incorporates the neon signage found on businesses that line the Mother Road. This season, the team will also commemorate the centennial with a “Celebrating 100 Years” sleeve mark.
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