ALTOONA — A couple of hours before first pitch, it’s easy to see the appeal of PNG Field, home of the Altoona Curve.
Pittsburgh Pirates' Minor-league Affiliate Altoona Curve Offers Idyllic Baseball Setting
On a gorgeous June afternoon under clear skies, the Allegheny Mountains rise south of the Blair County ballpark, which is bookended by wooded hillsides. Over the right-fielder’s shoulder sits the Skyliner rollercoaster, just past the outfield wall in nearby Lakemont Park.
Pittsburgh Pirates' Minor-league Affiliate Altoona Curve Offers Idyllic Baseball Setting
It’s almost like the landscape was molded to fit this baseball field.
Pittsburgh Pirates' Minor-league Affiliate Altoona Curve Offers Idyllic Baseball Setting
The Double-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates is celebrating its 25th anniversary at the red-brick facility, and for fans who adore the pastoral nature of baseball that makes it unique among sports, it’s just about perfect.
Pittsburgh Pirates' Minor-league Affiliate Altoona Curve Offers Idyllic Baseball Setting
On this weeknight, a steady stream of delicious-smelling smoke
wafts from behind the right-field grandstands. That’s courtesy of Brock Roudabush and Cohen Hemminger, who are filling serving trays with freshly grilled burgers for the fans who will be arriving soon.
Pittsburgh Pirates' Minor-league Affiliate Altoona Curve Offers Idyllic Baseball Setting
“On a normal day, one of us will come in around 1 p.m., and a second person will get in around 2 p.m.,” said Roudabush, 17, of nearby Blue Knob. “We start getting everything ready for the night.”
Pittsburgh Pirates' Minor-league Affiliate Altoona Curve Offers Idyllic Baseball Setting
Hemminger, 17, of Hollidaysburg, said he and Roudabush judge how many burgers to prep based on ticket sales.
“Tonight’s presale is around 3,000 right now, so we’ll do 300 or 400 burgers to make sure we’re ready to go,” he said.
Two floors up, Preston Shoemaker is going over rosters, statistics and more as he prepares to announce the night’s game against the Bowie Baysox, a Maryland-based affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles.
Shoemaker, 23, the team’s assistant director of communication and broadcasting, is the first Blair County native to announce games on the two-stations-plus-online Curve radio network. WRTA in Altoona is the flagship station, with…
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