In the farthest right corner of the Left Field Lounge – just a few feet away from the right field foul pole, an area that would be called a Right Field Lounge anywhere else in the world – there is a space not containing any of the rigs that surround the rest of the outfield wall at Dudy Noble Field. It’s a public area free to be used by whomever, and for the last several years, one specific group has taken ownership of a piece of that deck sitting next to the visitor’s bullpen.
On Sunday afternoon, the crew made up largely of locals and others working in Starkville was surrounded by the usual portable patio furniture, meat-and-drink-stuffed coolers and charcoal-burning grills.