On a beautiful Oklahoma City evening, the Oklahoma City Comets took on the Reno Aces. The AAA teams for the Los Angeles Dodgers (OKC Comets) and the Arizona Diamondbacks (Reno Aces) faced off June 4, 2025.
As a young man attending The University of Oklahoma, the Oklahoma RedHawks called Bricktown home and was the AAA affiliate for the Texas Rangers at a time when the biggest attraction was Julio Franco trying to resuscitate his already ancient career!
It was an absolutely gorgeous June evening for the ballgame. In fact, it was uncharacteristically cool and overcast. The interesting part of the game was that it was scheduled one night before the Mighty Oklahoma City Thunder took on the Indiana Pacers in Game 1 of the 2025 NBA Finals! If we had attempted to go the game the next night, it would have been a madhouse around downtown Oklahoma City.
With a reported attendance of 3,748, it was an uncrowded night at the park. One thing I will note is the extreme friendliness of all the ballpark employees, including the gift store. I was able to purchase a really nice New Era OKC Comets hat for my collection. As a huge fan of my hometown Houston Astros, I am most certainly not a Dodgers fan, but I love OKC and I absolutely love the new design for their hats. It was a must-have!
2025 is the inaugural season for the Oklahoma City Comets as they were known as the OKC Dodgers for several years before this season. I love the change as it pays homage to one of Oklahoma's most famous athletes, The Commerce Comet...Mickey Mantle.
A lifetime .298 hitter with 536 HRs and 1,509 RBIs, Mantle is arguably the greatest big leaguer to come from Oklahoma. A 1949 graduate of Commerce High School, Mantle went on to lead the New York Yankees to 7 World Series victories, 3 MVP awards, 20 trips to the All-Star Game, and membership to MLB's Hall of Fame in 1974! He was a true Oklahoma legend!
Now, some may argue that Mickey was great - but that Oklahoma is also remembered for another Hall of Famer! Johnny Bench was born in Oklahoma City. Johnny Bench graduated from Binger High School in 1965. During his time there, he excelled in both baseball and basketball, earning All-State honors in both sports, and served as the class valedictorian. Another OKLAHOMA LEGEND!
No trip to Oklahoma can take place without honoring Oklahoma's first real sports hero, and national icon - Jim Thorpe! Thorpe was born in Prague, OK in 1887. Jim Thorpe was a multi-sport athlete who won gold medals in the pentathlon and decathlon at the 1912 Olympics and played professional baseball, football, and basketball. He was the first president of the NFL and is widely regarded as one of the greatest athletes in American history.
Now, on to the game!
There were some big names in the lineups for both the OKC Comets and the Reno Aces. Starting for the Comets was Bobby Miller, who had an incredible rookie campaign for the Dodgers in 2023 going 11-4. In the last two years, he hasn't quite gotten back to that level. Honestly, he got rocked early by Reno and I was a little surprised. He was throwing 97 with a wicked curveball...but Reno wasn't intimidated.
Reno jumped out in front early with a big homerun by Tristin English of the Aces. English started the year in Rookie Ball, but has quickly earned a place on the AAA roster. I would expect to see more of English in the future as he makes his way to the Diamondbacks.
The Comets were not going to go down quietly. The bottom of the 2nd inning was as big at the top of the frame. James Outman, upcoming superstar for the Dodgers, started off the inning with a triple before Ryan Ward and Michael Chavis went back-to-back to make the game 3-2. Reno tied the game at 3-3 and we set in for a pitcher's dual.
Finally, in the top of the 9th, former big leaguer, and World Series winner Trey Mancini stepped to the plate.
Trey Mancini hit a three-run home run with two outs, giving the Aces a 6–5 lead in the 9th. That was too much for the Comets as they went down 1-2-3 in the bottom of the 9th.
The Aces took it 6-5 in an amazing ballgame.
For me, the highlight was seeing old college roommates and catching up after several years! During our discussion, we became very aware that next year is our 25th year out of The University of Oklahoma! What? How is that possible? We may be a little gray in the beard, but we still look good!
Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark gets a 5/5 from me for atmosphere, weather, level of play, surroundings, and the downtown area around the ballpark is as nice as any big city anywhere!
