Tuesday's victory over the Windy City ThunderBolts really came with all the bells and whistles. While the Crushers followed many trends at the minor league level with contests in between innings, the ballpark, among other things, took center stage.
And why not? Steven Edelson has built a world class stadium, though that's nothiing new for the owner out of Chicago who has helped design some of the biggest ball parks in the nation.
What All Pro Freight Stadium really brings is a family-friendly atmosphere at a price everyone can afford.
Crushers first baseman Gordon Gronkowski said a mouthful in the postgame press conference when he questioned why anyone would plop $20 down for a ticket downtown to see the Indians.
Fun can be had in Avon for as little as $6 and there's plenty to do in a family-first atmosphere.
While the game is baseball, Lake Erie isn't about flexing muscles and bulging salaries.
There's still hit-and-runs, pitchers painting corners and players trying to steal signs. But what sets it apart is the very athletes that play the game.
They want to be in the bigs just like the next guy, but they're willing to go the extra mile to make sure everyone has a good time.
Crushers left fielder Tim Binkoski stuck around a full 10 minutes longer than he had to, making sure every kid went away with a signature, penning his name sometimes twice on balls and hats.
Frontier League Commissioner Bill Lee mingled with fans like a normal Joe and Avon Mayor Jim Smith made sure everything went off without a hitch.
To put it bluntly, if you go to the Freight once, you'll be there twice.
It's really hard not to have a good time while watching some pretty good baseball.