A bundled couple watch the last home game of the 2021 season for the Albuquerque Isotopes on Monday evening at the Rio Grande Credit Union Field (Adolphe Pierre-Louis / Journal)
It was 82 degrees on the first field on May 6 – an unusually late date on the calendar for a triple-A baseball season opener in Albuquerque.
There was nervousness, excitement, some discomfort, and real curiosity when everyone was back at this ballpark for the first time in well over a year.
The Albuquerque Isotopes, who successfully brought New Mexico sports fans back to action on the spring night of May 144 days ago with the state’s first major public gathering of 7,171 fans, bowed to the home portion of their 2021 season on Monday night, defeating the Reno Aces 5-2 before an advertised crowd of 4,922.
Monday’s game and baseball’s return after a 2020 season canceled by a pandemic that hasn’t gone away was a win indeed.
“I would say there has been no more important season in our history,” said Isotopes Vice President and General Manager John Traub, referring to a solid school night enjoying a promotion for Mariachis de Nuevo Mexico.
“When we started in 2003, everyone was enthusiastic. Baseball was back (in Albuquerque after two years without a team). But that, that mattered more. It was more meaningful to the community, wasn’t it? “
Less than a week before the season opener in May, New Mexico fans weren’t allowed in stadiums. That changed in the days leading up to the opener and in the first few months. It’s been a flowing season with ever-evolving mask requirements, social distancing, new contactless ticketing, and mobile concession orders.
And none of that even takes into account the hurdles in front of the actual product on the field – the players on the isotope list – who had strict Major League Baseball protocols that prevented any fan autographs or interactions on the field or at least early in the season in the clubhouse with any fans, media or stadium staff, which resulted in the popular chili races not being allowed on the field in the first few months of the season (they became virtual with a video output halfway through the season).
The team started hard – a triple-A worst 15-33 record in late June – before becoming the hottest team in all of baseball for six weeks from July 1 to August 16.
“The way we fought every day (at the beginning of the season) – we played a lot of one-run games and lost a lot,” said Isotope’s 36-year-old triple-A-level manager in the first year , Warren Schaeffer. “We fought hard every night and never gave up.
And the fans came back in the stands. The Isotopes had more than their share of big nights and promotions, including a July 4th game with an announced attendance of 13,035 – the largest minor league attendance in the country this year.
“The public had a tremendous understanding of everything we had to deal with,” said Traub. “And they were just so grateful that they could get out again. I’ve heard this every day this season – more than likely any other year – that people say “thank you” or say thank you for the ability to come back out and just escape the rigors of life and just enjoy a night out. ”
With the (home) numbers
Some notable numbers for the 2021 isotope home season:
• 7,171: Announced May 6th Attendance, Opening Night, and the first major public gathering in the state of New Mexico since COVID-19 restrictions were in place in March 2020;
• 4,922: Announced participation on Monday evening, the home finals;
• 13,035: Announced July 4th, the most-attended minor league baseball game in the US of the year;
• 329,295: total attendance at 64 home games (there were 65 home games, one date was a one-two);
• 35-30: home record at Rio Grande Credit Union Field;
• 15: “Red” won the race in the nightly chilli mascot race, followed by “Green” with 13 and fan favorite “Taco” with a disappointing third place with 10;
• 196: Days to the Isotopes April 12, 2022, home opening.
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