NEW YORK, NY – At a recent game at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, FL, there was something rare going on. It was a sight that made me do a double take. It was a scene that at one time was normal. A fan was keeping score.
There he was sitting in the third row behind the visitors dugout, pen in hand and scorecard on his lap. That was as old school as it gets. The fan, 26-year-old Elijah Flewellen, wasn’t looking into his phone, as most of the 10,611 in attendance were, his mind was totally on the field. It was a beautiful sight and held hope that maybe there still is some interest in this once great game of baseball.
The game that has declining attendance as well as dwindling viewership. It was the present Commissioner, who said his goal was to bring the game back to the youngsters. He’s doing as lousy a job as the sub-par 200 hitters which he oversees.
Elijah attends about thirty games a year at The Trop, and the one game that stands out is Game 7 of the ALCS vs the Houston Astros in 2020.
Growing up, Elijah didn’t have much to cheer for as his Rays teams hardly finished above .500. The St. Petersburg native is a graduate of Lakewood H.S. and is currently working at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, FL. He also plays first base for an amateur team called the St. Pete Beach Bums.
The penny-pinching Rays need to take advantage of Elijah’s love of the game and make him the official scorekeeper. He’d probably do it for free as his desire for the sport well outweighs the dollar.
If that puppet of a commissioner really was serious about promoting this once great game he should have every ballpark distribute free scorecards with a pencil to every fan in attendance. In the meantime a guy like Elijah will continue to keep score and remain a staple of what it used to be like.
