Never far from the big leagues, Des Moines will feel like an especially reasonable facsimile during the brief five-game homestand that opens tonight.
Tomorrow night features a pregame ring ceremony where more of those gaudy World Series spoils will be awarded. Rob Zastryzny and Jake Buchanan are players on the swag roster and select I-Cub brass are included too.
The team’s principal owner is Michael Gartner who grew up here and did a stint as President of NBC News in New York before returning to this area and winning a Pulitzer Prize for editorial writing on a small Central Iowa newspaper he acquired.