NILES — “It feels like going back to normal.”

A crowd waited Saturday evening outside Eastwood Field waiting for the gates to open on the first Scrappers game since pandemic restrictions were lifted.

The team played their third home game of the season since the team became one of Major League Baseball’s Draft League teams instead of an affiliate of the Cleveland Indians. The team is made up of hopefuls looking to increase their status in the MLB draft.

With kids donning jerseys, teens tossing balls and people ordering beers and hot orders of fried food and hot dogs passed out among eager, maskless fans, the scene felt finally familiar after more than a year of reduced or canceled sporting events, said John Brown of Warren, who works as an usher.

“It finally feels like we’re going back to normal. Like someone snapped their fingers and everything changed, even from a week ago,” Brown said.

In the first two home games, (a third was rained out) people were mostly wearing masks, keeping their distance and the crowd size was reduced, Brown said. But most attendees Saturday were maskless and interacting closely, in the typical fashion of a baseball game.

“It is a completely different vibe,” Brown said.

Summer isn’t the same without baseball, Brown said.

“It is the summer. Beautiful summer nights, out having fun with friends and family… I love it. It is a part of my DNA, something you pass on from generation to generation,” Brown said.

Tyler and Nikki Davis of Warren brought their sons Landon, 5, and Logan, 4, to the game, which was their first since Logan was a baby.

“We had a lot of fun last time, two years ago,” Nikki Davis said.

During the shutdown, it was difficult to keep the kids busy with the closure of so many activities, but the family found ways to keep the kids entertained, she said.

Grandfather Tom Crean brought his grandson Cayden Crean to visit with Scrappy before the game began. The little boy glowed in an over-sized jersey, hitting knuckles with the mascot.

A group of boys, ages 10 to 12, from Kent traveled to Eastwood Field for the game, too, excited to get out on a warm Saturday night after more than a year of being told “no.” They had gloves and ball in hand.

rfox@tribtoday.com