MANCHESTER, NH – Once our two hometown teams, the Phillies and the Red Sox, were out of the running for the World Series I shifted into baseball disinterest where I was indefinitely idling, trying to figure out how football season was going to shape up.
But what I didn’t bet on was that I could care about the Toronto Blue Jays as much as I do right now – as in, over the past 24 hours. They ran away with Game 1 against the Dodgers Friday night and Jim and I were there for much of it – and by there I mean at Fisher Cats stadium, where Games 1 and 2 are being broadcast on the big screen in the field as well as on all TVs in the Sam Adams Brewhouse.
It is the World Series Watch Party I didn’t know I needed.
There were two pages of special spooky-themed drink options, and concessions were open until 9 p.m., which meant a burger and a pretzel were just an order away. Missy Heywood, Premium Operations Manager, was taking orders and bringing the food so the rest of us could enjoy the game.
Jim and I were among the first to arrive, and we were early, like more than an hour early, but that gave us time to chat with Heywood about all sorts of things, including how the food service will be switching to in-house for the 2026 season.
Our bartender, Charmaine Davis-Elliot, was keeping everyone happy – not just those of us there for the game but also those who had come to check out the Fright Nights at the field, a great idea for extending the use of Northeast Delta Dental Stadium, post-baseball season, as a haunted ball park where the luxury suites double as escape rooms. There’s still time to check it out as the haunted stadium tours will continue through Nov. 1.
As for the World Series Watch Party, we saw several people we knew – and even met some new friends, including Peg and Andy Prolman, who are longtime Ink Link VIP members who I’ve never met in person. They sent us over a round of drinks and we had a chance to thank them in real time and meet their son.
As for the game itself, what a treat it was to see so many players who we’d watched over previous seasons work out their skills at Fisher Cats Stadium – 11 in all (read more on that here), including John Schneider, a former catcher who is now team manager for the Blue Jays.
We decided to leave sometime between the 5th and 6th innings – and that’s when everything heated up – the Blue Jays had an incredible inning with 9 runs and went on to beat the Dodgers, 11-4. Among the highlights of that 6th inning rout was the pinch-hit grand slam home run by Addison Barger – a World Series first.
And, there was a free raffle going on between innings for everyone in attendance, for everything from koozies to free tickets for the 2026 season.
It was all just enough to make us feel like all these years of rooting for the home team has given us a bonus team to care about. Maybe the Phillies and the Sox are out, but we’re all in for the Blue Jays, and thinking about going back for Game 2.
See you there?