04.29.09 #2 Clinton Lumberkings vs. Fort Wayne TinCaps

Game #2 found me driving west, out to Clinton, Iowa to see the Lumberkings host the TinCaps. Clinton also happens to be the new home of my friend Erik Johnson and we planned on meeting up at the game. Before I get into the game, many of you know I have a thing for lighthouses. Who knew that Clinton was home to three "lighthouses". As seen in the picture below Clinton is home to three "lighthouses" actually known as the Singing Towers. These structures were built in the 1930's and had speakers in the top to play music for people along the banks of the river. They are not actually lighthouses, however they look pretty cool and if you look closely, you can see all three of them in the picture.

After snapping a few pictures of the Singing Towers. I parked my truck and met up with Erik (free parking and plenty of it). We headed into Alliant Energy Field to get ready for the game. Alliant Field is home to the Lumberkings, the Single A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners and one of the oldest teams in the Midwest League.




We stepped up and purchased our tickets. Only $6.00 tonight and we opted for general admission after Erik informed me only the front three rows were reserved seats. Programs were $1.00. Good bargain as I found out later.

Sadly, there was no special promotion but they did have team magnet schedules still available so I grabbed one to add to the collection.

We walked in and scoped out our seats. While I thought attendance at Beloit was low, I realize this may be a trend, especially early in the season when the weather is cool. We took seats just a bit to the first base side of home plate and settled in for some Single A baseball.

The managers came out to deliver the lineup cards to the umpires and I actually took notice that only two umpires work Midwest League games.

Louie the Lumberking strolled the crowd, but didn't generate as much response as Snappy had at Beloit. According to the program, he was rated one of the top minor league mascots last season. Must have been in a slump.

The game started to cool overcast skies and the TinCaps jumped to an early lead. Here's Alan Dykstra playing first for the TinCaps. I checked, and he is not Len Dykstra's son.

"He's safe!"

Erik and I at the game. This could be you if I come to your town and see your team.

Erik and I needed some dinner so I ordered the much ballyhooed Garbage Pail. The Pail includes every fried food they serve at the park. Onion rings, jalapeno poppers, cheese curds, chicken tenders, waffle fries and mini tacos and only costs $5. Washed it down with a nice 32 oz Leine's Summer Shandy for $5.75.

Playing with the new camera and its settings and thought the colors in this next picture came out nicely. Much nicer than the final of the game which the home Lumberkings lost 3-6.

PA Announcer: "Can I have everyone's attention. Please turn to page 51 of you program and if your page is signed by any of the Lumberking players, please come to the Customer Service office" Wouldn't you know, I had a lucky signature in my program and was the winner of a free movie rental at Mr. Movie. I obviously gave that to my host to use.

Before hitting the road, for home, you have to hit the bathroom. Nice touch with an individual cup holder at each urinal.

Here is the Lumberkings team hat. Quite a bit more character than the Major League hats. That will pretty much be a theme this summer.

I will probably be making a return trip, since the Midwest League is holding its All Star game in Clinton so there will probably be more to report on the return trip.

Kevin

04.16.09 #1 Beloit Snappers vs. Burlington Bees

First stop on the Minor League Summer tour found me traveling a few miles north of the Rockford I-90 project where I was working and across the Wisconsin border to Beloit, home of the Beloit Snappers. The Snappers are the Class A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins and compete in the vaunted Midwest League.

This game also happened to be the home opener for the Snappers. My co-worker George and I arrived at the ballpark at 6:00 ahead of the 6:30 first pitch. We purchased box seats for the game day price of $8.50 and got seats in the fifth row, right behind home plate. With seats like these, I think I can get into this minor league thing pretty quickly.

As it was the home opener, we were treated to complimentary magnet schedules. Clearly the first of many promotions I will experience in the promotion heavy minor leagues.

We grabbed hot dogs and beers before we headed to our seats. Luckily we were there on Thirsty Thursday and all 20-oz beers were $3. I opted for the Capital Amber from a brewery up the road in Madison.

We settled into our seats and watched the Bees, fully decked out in high cuffed pants and stirrups dominate the hometown Snappers. The final score was 9-2 and it wasn't even that close.
Delivering the lineup cards to the umpire

First Pitch

Under the lights
Scouts with radar guns, will probably see a lot of this during the summer

Part of the fun of a minor league game is experiencing a new stadium in a new place and this proved to be the case. A couple guys in the cheap seats had a tuba of some sort and like the drum beating fans in the movie Major League, they sounded off for the few positive things that the Snappers did. They also were quick to get on the home team, actually heckling their own starting pitcher before he even got his first batter out. I am guessing it may be a long season in Beloit.

To close, here is the team hat, the first of many I plan on purchasing this summer to commemorate my adventures.

The Summer of Minor League Baseball

Well, I have decided to give this summer a theme. At first I thought "Summer of Weddings" since I will be attending at least six weddings in the coming months. After I thought about that for a while, I found that to be rather cliche and really more of a statement of obligation rather then a theme. Then a few things started happened that led me to my theme. Some of the factors that contributed to my theme include:

• I got assigned to the I-90 Reconstruction project in Rockford, IL and spent the better part of four months living with my friends Mike and Alicia Heuser in Huntley.
• My friend Erik Johnson took a job at Ashford University and moved to Clinton, Iowa and I decided I would need to visit him.
• I have plans to attend Phi Kappa Psi's Woodrow Wilson Leadership School in Buffalo, New York in June
• I have a summer full of weddings in various locations, including Illinois, Ohio, Michigan and Indiana.
• I enjoy random roadtrips and meeting up with friends, especially those I haven’t seen in a while.
• The cost of attending baseball games at that Wrigley Field continues to escalate out of control.
• I like to take pictures and I bought a new camera.
• While living with the Heusers, we watched a lot of Guy Fieri's show Diners, Drive-ins and Dives on the Food Network and his roadtrips looked fun.
• I felt like taking a step back and smelling the roses and doing some new things.

You may be wondering what all these things combine to create as a theme. Without further ado, I present to you "Minor League Summer". Yes indeed, minor league baseball will consume me this summer. I have done research and learned all kinds of things I never knew about the minor leagues. I have printed out countless schedules and checked mileage to remote outposts. I will be hitting some games in the immediate Chicago area after work, while other games will be tied in with planned vacations. The remaining games will require weekend mini-roadtrips. I hope to have friends join me at all games and am working on setting that up.

So pack up the truck, rent Summer Catch starring Freddie Prinze and Jessica Biel (mainly for Jessica Biel), grab a copy of Jim Collins' book The Last Best League: One Summer, One Season, One Dream, grab my camera and an atlas (actually my new Magellan GPS unit) and get ready to hit the backroads of the Midwest and beyond. I am hoping to make it to 15-20 parks. Depending on how the summer goes, that number may rise. I plan on posting a write-up and pictures from each game and ballpark. I also plan on purchasing the team hat from each team to commemorate my Minor League Summer. Wish me luck and stayed tuned for my scouting of minor league talent.