Some are running on the grass behind the first base stands at Salem Memorial Baseball Stadium. A handful are playing whiffle ball inside a miniature version of Fenway Park, complete with a diminutive Green Monster, near the main entrance. Others are eating ice cream and hot dogs.
A few are even watching baseball.
The Salem Red Sox are offering the irresistible Carolina League allure of potential future superstars, reasonably priced family fun, Friday night fireworks and Mayberry Deputy Night. A Chamber of Commerce evening in this city of 25,432 at the base of the Blue Ridge Mountains has helped generate the second-biggest crowd of the year (5,727).