Since we got to town early, we took the opportunity to see a little more of Iowa and headed south to see Old Fort Madison. That too was a quick drive and we found the fort, an old locomotive, the prison and sadly a closed for the 5th Lost Duck Brewery. After quickly seeing the sights we headed back north to Burlington, but came up the Illinois side of the Mississippi. We had to pay a $1 toll to cross the bridge at Burlington.
As we got back to Burlington, we stopped at Big Muddy's for a beer and directions to the ball park. Didn't eat as we were waiting until the park, but the food looked good there.
Community Field is home of the Burlington Bees, single A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals who were taking on the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers, singel A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. The Bees are one of the older teams in the Midwest League and are community owned, just like the Green Bay Packers.
Community Field's design is meant to look like the bridge over the Mississippi in Burlington. However the park is not actually located on the river, but was only a short drive from the river. Free parking and a small cozy ball park await.
A current look at the Midwest League standings. I have pretty much adopted the Midwest League as my new home league. Sadly, only one of the Chicago teams is in the Midwest League.
Community Field has a covered area for eating, and is somewhat reminiscent of a high school football stadium. The facilities are new and well maintained though.
Again, not a true signature dish, but the locally produced beef jerky was a quick purchase. Good thing too, the jerky was fantastic and went good with the Landshark Lager we ordered.
Since I passed on food at Big Muddy's, I opted for the pork tenderloin sandwich at the park. Growing up in Indiana, I appreciate a great tenderloin sandwich, especially one form the Acme Bar in Fort Wayne. This one, was just okay. Not going to give a good Indiana one a run for its money.
Here is the view from behind home plate. Like Eastwood Field in Niles, Ohio, the backdrop to the field is punctuated by the green canopy of trees.
The managers turn in the lineup cards and I noted that both teams go with the high cuffed look. The Bees don the old school stirrups and the Rattlers go with the newer look solid colored socks.
A closer look at the trees behind the outfield wall during the playing of the National Anthem.
Community Field has a Hall of Fame Suite available for groups. $200 for 16 tickets and $25 sandwiches. That is a deal worth planning a road trip.
The Timber Rattlers at bat.
The Bees take to the plate.
Buzzy the Bee participates in the mascot race and as is the case throughout the league, the mascot loses the race to the young fan. I think the mascots need to get on a program if they ever want to win a race.
As I peered into the home dugout, I noticed one guy had a different colored uniform on. It appears the parent club Royals, sent a roving instructor down to the A team to dispense a little knowledge to the young prospects. Sadly it was not George Brett, Hal McRae or any other famous Royal alumnus.
Since the program signaled that both pitchers had ERA's north of 5.50, it was not a surprise when the runs started coming in at a rapid fire pace.
However, not everyone scored easily. Here a Timber Rattler is thrown out by a wide margin. Not good base running here. However, the Rattlers had enough runs to outlast the Bees 10-8 before the announced crowd of 617.
This picture was taken out along left field. This had to be one of the most unique things at the park. The regulars actually have their own named standing room only spots along the wall. One of the guys had his net with him to gather up foul balls. I just love that.
In a small, local community owned park is a scoreboard that you would expect. No gigantic jumbo tron here. Just basic baseball where the game is the main attraction.
Burlington attendees: Myself and Erik Johnson. Johnny appears happy here as he just attended his fourth game and continued to extend his lead. Through 13 games, Johnny has managed to attend four of the games, although he has managed games in only one state, Iowa. We sat next to a season ticket holder for the Quad Cities River Bandits who assured me I will love that park when I visit it in August.
Team home hat. New Era 5950 with the current Bees logo. I also managed to pick up the Midwest League Media Guide for $5. Not sure how I didn't already have a copy.
After the quick, long weekend, we got back to Johnny's and I took a picture form the porch out in the country. This will probably be my last trip to Iowa until a Quad Cities trip the last week of the season.
A current look at the Midwest League standings. I have pretty much adopted the Midwest League as my new home league. Sadly, only one of the Chicago teams is in the Midwest League.
Community Field has a covered area for eating, and is somewhat reminiscent of a high school football stadium. The facilities are new and well maintained though.
Again, not a true signature dish, but the locally produced beef jerky was a quick purchase. Good thing too, the jerky was fantastic and went good with the Landshark Lager we ordered.
Since I passed on food at Big Muddy's, I opted for the pork tenderloin sandwich at the park. Growing up in Indiana, I appreciate a great tenderloin sandwich, especially one form the Acme Bar in Fort Wayne. This one, was just okay. Not going to give a good Indiana one a run for its money.
Here is the view from behind home plate. Like Eastwood Field in Niles, Ohio, the backdrop to the field is punctuated by the green canopy of trees.
The managers turn in the lineup cards and I noted that both teams go with the high cuffed look. The Bees don the old school stirrups and the Rattlers go with the newer look solid colored socks.
A closer look at the trees behind the outfield wall during the playing of the National Anthem.
Community Field has a Hall of Fame Suite available for groups. $200 for 16 tickets and $25 sandwiches. That is a deal worth planning a road trip.
The Timber Rattlers at bat.
The Bees take to the plate.
Buzzy the Bee participates in the mascot race and as is the case throughout the league, the mascot loses the race to the young fan. I think the mascots need to get on a program if they ever want to win a race.
As I peered into the home dugout, I noticed one guy had a different colored uniform on. It appears the parent club Royals, sent a roving instructor down to the A team to dispense a little knowledge to the young prospects. Sadly it was not George Brett, Hal McRae or any other famous Royal alumnus.
Since the program signaled that both pitchers had ERA's north of 5.50, it was not a surprise when the runs started coming in at a rapid fire pace.
However, not everyone scored easily. Here a Timber Rattler is thrown out by a wide margin. Not good base running here. However, the Rattlers had enough runs to outlast the Bees 10-8 before the announced crowd of 617.
This picture was taken out along left field. This had to be one of the most unique things at the park. The regulars actually have their own named standing room only spots along the wall. One of the guys had his net with him to gather up foul balls. I just love that.
In a small, local community owned park is a scoreboard that you would expect. No gigantic jumbo tron here. Just basic baseball where the game is the main attraction.
Burlington attendees: Myself and Erik Johnson. Johnny appears happy here as he just attended his fourth game and continued to extend his lead. Through 13 games, Johnny has managed to attend four of the games, although he has managed games in only one state, Iowa. We sat next to a season ticket holder for the Quad Cities River Bandits who assured me I will love that park when I visit it in August.
Team home hat. New Era 5950 with the current Bees logo. I also managed to pick up the Midwest League Media Guide for $5. Not sure how I didn't already have a copy.
After the quick, long weekend, we got back to Johnny's and I took a picture form the porch out in the country. This will probably be my last trip to Iowa until a Quad Cities trip the last week of the season.
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