Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2026. Chris Wells is in the house, just as he been in the house 999 times before.
The house in this case is ESL Ballpark, the home of the Rochester Red Wings, who are taking on the Charlotte Knights.
It’s a perfect night for baseball, low 80s at the start, sunshine, good vibes. It’s ideal for Chris’ 1,000th straight Red Wings home game, a streak that began on Aug. 30, 2011.
For his achievement, he’ll get to throw out the first pitch. And the day will be declared Chris Wells Day in Perinton, where he lives. There will be media galore.
And Chris will do what he does every night, have the same food, sit in the same seat, and play-by-play the action, catching every twist and turn.
The Wells family, Chris, and his dad, Tony, and mom, Betsy, sit in Section 111 Row F, near the Wings dugout. They are surrounded by the friends they have come to know through the years, Red Wings regulars who are part of what might be thought of as Team Chris.
It’s a team that loves Chris, that appreciates Chris, that supports Chris, who is 51 now and has overcome hurdles, challenged assumptions.
“Chris has autism,” his dad says. “You can say that. When he was young, he didn’t talk. But I’ve always tried to take him to a public setting. And here, he’s amongst friends. These people are his extended family. These people know him.”
For Red Wings super fan, a vanilla cone
You would not know Chris is shy as he arrives at his seat, cameras tracking his entrance. He takes the attention in stride as he settles in behind Bernie Schmerbeck, just as he has so many times before.
Bernie, 73, is a retired Kodak employee from Greece who keeps score every game, a ritual dear to many fans.
But before the game starts, he and Chris have their ice cream ritual. They go to the same stand and are served by the same person, Taylor Duhart.
“We get the same exact thing every time,” Bernie says. “It’s almost a silent transaction. I get a small sundae. Chris gets a vanilla cone. By the time we get back to our seats his cone is gone.”
Chris Wells throws out first pitch
Kathy O’Neill, another regular in the section, is another member of Team Chris. On this night, she takes picture after picture of the hustle and bustle.
When summoned, Chris leaves his seat and strides confidently onto the field for his first-pitch duties, as narrated by Dan Mason, the Wings general manager.
For the record, Chris’ pitch is one of several first pitches. First to throw is Ben Licata, a crafty 8-year-old southpaw from Penfield. He lets it go. Strike one.
Chris throws fourth, a quick heave with arc. Could he be happier? Probably not.
A bond with former Red Wing Michael Restovich
As he leaves the mound, Chris looks like a player. In part, it’s because of his Red Wings jersey.
He wears Number 41. On the back it says Restovich.
That’s for Michael Restovich, who played with the Wings in 2003, the first year the Minnesota Twins became the Red Wings’ parent organization. He came back in 2004, played over 100 games.
During his time in Rochester, Restovich became one of Chris’ many baseball friends.
“As some point we got to talking,” Restovich, who is now an attorney in Rochester, Minn., recalled in a phone interview. “He is such a nice individual. He knows so much about baseball, the stats and all the numbers.”
Restovich wrote a letter of congratulations to Chris for his attendance achievement. In it he recalled some of the memories he took away from his time in Rochester.
“As great as those memories are,” he wrote, “none of them are as special as coming out of that tunnel before the game and having the pleasure of seeing you in the stand donning my jersey, having the chance to talk Red Wings baseball with you, and seeing you cheer when we finished the game with a victory on the field.”
During the game, Tony Wells passes copies of the Restovich letter around, just as he shows everyone the Town of Perinton proclamation declaring the day to be Chris Wells Day.
The document is signed by Supervisor Jenn Townsend. The proclamation, which she read at the game, is personal, as she and Chris have known each other since they rode the bus to school in the eighth grade.
The challenges of showing up for ball games in Rochester weather
Chris is clearly appreciative of all the attention – he gives multiple thumbs up – but his primary attention is on the game. The players come to the plate, he gives their names, repeats their numbers. There’s a wild pitch, his voice, a perfect announcers’ voice rises. The runners move, slide, even score, nothing misses his notice.
Around him, people talk of the 1,000-straight games. Betsy Wells has wisely missed some of those games.
“She observes the 60-degree rule,” Tony says. “The only exception is opening day. We usually don’t see her until May.”
Betsy has a point. Baseball shouldn’t be played if the temperature is below 60. Given snow, bone-chilling temperature, and every challenge but locusts, spring baseball in Rochester is not for the faint of heart.
Norma McNair and Peg Stratton, who are always in their seats a few sections down the line from the Wells family, remember a time at Silver Stadium, the Red Wing’s former home, when fog from Lake Ontario began rolling in.
“It moved in slowly,” Norma recalls. “The outfield disappeared.” After the fog got to the infield, the game was called. Then people left.
It is OK to leave a game early, Tony Wells says. “Tomorrow is another day,” he notes.
Chris Wells’ attendance record is spotless at work, too
Tomorrow for him and Chris will include a Red Wings game. And, for Chris, it will include his job.
Thanks to the Employment Alliance run by Heritage Christian Services, a program that links businesses with people with disabilities, Chris has worked for the last 16 years at the Olive Garden in Victor. His attendance record is spotless. As always, he shows up, just as he shows up at the Wings games.
His special game, the night of his first pitch, ends in an 8-6 Wings loss.
But don’t worry, Chris Wells will be back in Section 111, Row F, his home away from home.
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: One fan. One seat. One thousand straight Red Wings home games.
Reporting by By Jim Memmott, Contributor / Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Jim Memmott, Contributor | USA TODAY Network
