Road Trip to Charleston, West Virginia - The “Toast Man” is worth the price of a ticket

I had a great time Monday night at the West Virginia Power game in Charleston, West Virginia even though the Power lost to the Charleston (SC) RiverDogs, 6-5. If you have never seen the “Toast Man” at Appalachian Power Park, it’s worth the price of admission. More on the “Toast Man” later.

The West Virginia Power is a Pittsburgh Pirates affiliate and plays in the Class A South Atlantic League. There are a lot of familiar names on the roster; 19 players were with the West Virginia Black Bears in 2016 and Power manager, Wyatt Toregas managed the Black Bears the last two seasons. The RiverDogs roster includes 14 players who were with the Staten Island Yankees last year.

Monday night was family night, so general admission tickets, hot dogs, soda drinks and popcorn were $1. Box seats were only $3, so we sat directly behind home plate, eight rows up. Appalachian Power Park is a beautiful ballpark with an intimate feel. Opened in 2005, it has a capacity of 4,500. Paid attendance on Monday night was 888. The Power are averaging 1,387 fans through 11 home games this season, so tickets normally are not a problem. Parking was $3 and right across the street from the ballpark; easy in and easy out.

Now back to the “Toast Man”. By day, he serves as deputy mayor of Charleston. On game night, Rod Blackstone is the “Toast Man”. He is an icon at Appalachian Power Park. The Power even honored him with a bobblehead night a few years ago. He sits in the first row of section 107. The team installed an electrical outlet at the backstop in front of his seat so he can plug in his toaster at the ballpark. Throughout the game he leads the fans in cheers while holding up placards. Whenever an opposing batter gets two strikes, he yells “power up the toaster”. If they strike out, he leads fans in cheering “you are toast, you are toast, yooooou are tooooost!” and then tosses pieces of toast (often burnt) as if they are frisbees to fans. He reminds the fans, “don’t eat the toast because you don’t know where its been”. Here's a video from a few years ago.

If you are planning a road trip to Charleston, West Virginia, ticket information is available at the Power website or by calling 304-344-BATS.

During the season, Mondays are Family Buck Night ($3 box seats, $1 general admission, $1 hot dogs, popcorn, and 12 oz. Pepsi products); Tuesdays are Two for Tuesday (two for one concession specials); Thursdays are Thirsty Thursday ($1-12 oz. and $2-16oz. cans of beer through the 7th inning); Friday games include post-game fireworks; Sunday is Kid’s Sunday Funday (kids 12 and under can play catch in the outfield prior to the game and run the bases after the final out).

Photo Credits: MiLB.com; WV Power, YouTube

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