Font ResizeThe hometown fans had left, making the short commute from Interstate 287 to their suburban homes in north New Jersey.
The hometown Somerset Patriots had left the park too, headed to the bars and midnight haunts to celebrate another playoff victory.
The front office staff had checked out as well; they had a championship series to plan.
Other than a cleaning crew, Commerce Bank Ballpark seemed deserted late Wednesday night had it not been for about two dozen fans standing on the sidewalk outside. They wore red Revolution jerseys and blue caps adorned with the York "Y" and eagle. They stood waving as the York Revolution bus pulled out of the parking lot for the three-hour trek back to York.
They stayed until the very end, one last cheer. Only this time it meant goodbye.
It was almost as if they wanted the summer, the season, the baseball, the guys to keep going.
York discovered something this season: It has a baseball team.
Sovereign Bank Stadium may have opened last year. Now the county actually cares.
People showed up last season, just not like this season.
Attendance is up, on average by about 600 fans a game from the inaugural season. (York averaged 3,709 fans per game last season and 4,351 this season.) Even that number is misleading. The Atlantic League shifted from a 126-game season to 140 games. And because the stadium was complete, York hosted more home games this season -- including more games in the dead months of May and
And a special demographic increased. What should we call them? Fanatic seems to tame a term. The diehards? The superfans? The Revolution Wackos?
The number of people who make the season an important and daily part of their lives has grown. That's significant because those people often help create an original atmosphere at the ballpark that can't be duplicated.
Being the last city in the region to get in the minor league baseball game has hurt York in a way. It will always be compared to its more-established neighbors.
It's not Lancaster.
It's not Harrisburg.
And -- now it seems -- that's OK.
York adopted a team.
It could be seen by scanning the stadium seats from the concourse on any game night. Fans wore Jason Aspito T-shirts. Or Matt Dryer T-shirts. Or Keoni DeRenne T-shirts.
No-names outside of York, they became something of heroes in and around Sovereign Bank stadium.
"Typically in minor-league baseball, fans don't get attached to players," Revolution General Manager Matt O'Brien said.
The Revs front office initially ordered a couple dozen of the personalized T-shirts. They eventually sold several hundred.
And the team itself changed. The expansion club in 2007 was a weird mix. They had a tight core, some of whom returned this season, but they also had a middle reliever who tossed firecrackers at teammates for fun.
Players seemed hurt at the end of this season. Not so much because they lost -- that was part of it -- but more so because they were going home and left the team behind.
Even manager Chris Hoiles seemed changed by the experience.
The former Orioles catcher didn't sidestep the question when asked about it during the dog days of August. If the Orioles needed a minor-league coach or manager this offseason, he'd consider the offer. But his dream job may be right here in York.
It may have taken him a year to grow accustomed to the city and the league, but once he did the ballpark became his home away from home --- just like it did for the players and diehard fans.
That was plain to see on his face as he walked around the clubhouse in Bridgewater, N.J., hugging players after the final playoff loss. He had found something unique in York.
Jim Seip covers the York Revolution for the Daily Record/Sunday News. Reach him at 771-2025 or jseip@ydr.com.
