Celebrate Baseball Season with the Ogden Raptors

By Branigan  Faurschou 

Ogden - After what seems like an eternity winter has finally left the Wasatch Front.  Trees and flowers are beginning to bloom, and all the sights, noises and smells of summer are starting to appear.  One of those all amazing sounds is the clank of a baseball off of a bat, and the noise of fans cheering the hit, all mixed with the smell of peanuts, cotton candy and ice cold beer.  Summer has meant one thing for the majority of sports fans in the United States for decades:  It is baseball season!

The Ogden Raptors will kick off their 22nd season in O-town on June 17th as they take on the Idaho Falls Chuckars.  The Raptors will play their first home games from the 20th to the 23rd when they take on Grand Junction, and again will be at home June 26th until July 1st as they take on both the Idaho Falls Chuckars and the Orem Owlz.

The Raptors look to build on last season as they came in second place in the Southern Division of the Pioneer league.  The Raptors will have some familiar faces on their roster as players like Michael Medina and Garrett Hope will be back on the roster.   Rosters are not completely filled out and are subjected to change and an opening day roster will not be announced until June.

The Pioneer League, which the Raptors play in, is classified by Major League Baseball as a rookie league, but it is a step up from other rookie leagues such as the Arizona League and the Gulf Coast League.    It is one of the first professional baseball experiences most players will have, as the league is set up to be as close to the majors as possible.

All the teams in the league are within a few hours drive of Ogden.  The closest team being in Orem, but other teams are in Grand Junction, Colo.; Idaho Falls, Idaho; and Great Falls, Billings, Helena, and Missoula, Mont.  All four Montana based teams are in the Northern Division and the rest of the teams make up the Southern Division.

The Missoula Ospreys won the title last year over Idaho Falls.  The Raptors have never won a title as the Ogden Raptors, their last title came in 1991 when they were the Salt Lake Trappers.  Though they have never won the Pioneer League title, the Raptors have been in the finals four times, most recently in 2012.

All Raptors home games will be played at Lindquest Field at 2230 Lincoln Ave in downtown Ogden.  Ticket prices are extremely affordable with the most expensive tickets last year costing only $12 dollars a seat.    Concessions are moderately priced as well, and may of your Ogden favorites are there including Lucky Slice Pizzeria.  

Games begin in June and will run until early September with playoff games sometimes running into October.    Fireworks displays occur regularly throughout the season with opening day, and games around the 4th and 24th of July also likely to have aerial displays.    Tickets go on sale June 1st.