OT: Minor League Baseball teams near you/parks you've been to
Major league games are great, but they murder your wallet and you probably aren't going to a handful or more of them a year unless you're affluent.
I love going to minor league games. I have a stadium that just got built in my hometown within walking distance and there's one I live a short drive from for 9 months a year when at school.
I've been to
- Fifth Third Field in Toledo (Hens killed Columbus 10-0 tonight)
- Fifth Third Ballpark in Comstock Park
- Great Lakes Loons in Midland
- Pensacola Blue Wahoos
- Jimmy Johns Field in Utica, MI
I've got the Lexington Legends (single A, KC Royals affiliate) near me. Haven't been to a game yet but the ticket prices seem more than reasonable. ($20-25 for the best seats)
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The new Jimmy John's field in Utica is only 10 minutes from where I live. Been meaning to check it out, but with a 10 month old at home, finding time's been tough.
but the St. Paul Saints just opened a new stadium, and everyone raves about the experience. Bill Murray owns the team, so they've got that going for them, which is nice.
I've been to the MiLB ballpark in Great Falls, Montana. Went there a bunch when my dad was stationed in Great Falls with the Air Force.
I've also been to the MiLB ballpark in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. That ballpark was pretty sweet. Right downtown and a AAA team to boot.
Have been to see the Lansing Lugnuts, Midland Loons, and Salem Red Sox. Got to play 3 games in Oldsmobile park when I was in high school. It was awesome.
Durham Bulls new and original, hard to beat either in my opinion.
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been to both myself (obvsly).
The old one had great nostalgia, but the new one is a really nice place to spend an evening.
Been to both. One of the things I miss about living there.
Fort Myers Miracle season ticket holder (Twins A). They play at Holman stadium. Been to 7 other Florida state league parks (Lakeland, Port Charlotte, Bradenton, Tampa, Clearwater, Dunedin, Jupiter/Palm Beach). Will be in Michigan in August. I may check out Lansing and Traverse City.
I've been to a miracle game! Sat through a rain delay to enjoy it.
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Mud hens, Tennessee smokies, Richmond flying squirrels, white caps, durham bulls,and south bend cubs. My fave is white caps or south bend.
my parent's temp apartment overlooks the stadium, which was pretty neat.
BB&T park was pretty nice!
I've attended Vermont Lake Monsters games here in Burlington. They play in one of the oldest ballparks in America! The Lake Monsters are the Class A short season affiliate of the Oakland A's. What's also nice is that my Yankees have a team in that league, so I've had a chance to scout the team's prospects (I track Yankee prospects in the minors daily).
Nashville Sounds have a new stadium that is an excellent experience. Highly recommend it for all you Yanks when you visit down South
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I've been to the 1 2/3 ballpark in GR a handful of times. Love the lawn and the much cheaper beers vs. the majors.
(lansing). nice. easy in, easy out. try to make a game or two every year. as much as i like seeing the tigers once in a while, it is a whole lot easier going to the minor league stadiums and the kids enjoy it just as much.
Whitecaps and silver sox/silverhawks in SB plus a surprisingly awesome Gary Railcats experience a couple times. Wonderful park. Fun independent league action
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Mudhens, Akron Rubberducks, Columbus Clippers (in John Cooper Stadium), Louisville Bats, Indianapolis Indians, Fort Wayne Tincaps. Some nice parks, most in downtown locations.
Not sure if sarcasm, but Cooper Stadium was not named after John Cooper
I went there on a night when they were giving out bobbleheads of former players. I wanted a Drew Henson and everyone around me that got one offered to trade.
Lansing Lugnuts, Great Lakes Loons, Durham Bulls.
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I live in Fort Wayne and have been to many Fort Wayne Tincaps games. Great venue.
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is a lot more fun than many people first expect. Haven't been to a game this season yet, but usually try to take in a few games each season.
First minor league game I ever attended was somewhere in the Phoenix area about 35 years ago but I was so drunk on 50¢ beers that I didn't care where I was.
Since then I've gone to games at FifthThird Ballpark (Whitecaps), Dow Field (Loons), Coveleski Stadium in South Bend (SB Silver Hawks ---before they switched to the Cubs), and C.O.Brown Stadium (the now-defunct Michigan Battle Cats) in Battle Creek. Met and shook hands there with Ernie Harwell.
For convenience, because it is only a 40-minute drive from Romulus, we find ourselves at Fifth Third in Toledo a few times a year and it is how I have managed to get the kids at least somewhat into baseball because they like that atmosphere moreso than Comerica. It is a nice place for an inexpensive family outing.
I've also caught minor league games in Akron, Columbus, South Bend, Louisville, Indianapolis and a few other places.
Fifth Third Field in Dayton for the Dragons is always a good time. One of the most successful minor league franchises in terms of ticket sales - 1000 consecutive sellouts or something crazy like that. My dad and I had season tickets when they first opened when I was a kid in the early 2000s. Always a fun time!
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Whitecaps a bunch of times, one game in Toledo and Round Rock (Texas) and 4-5 at the Scranton AAA Yankees.
Lansing Lugnuts
Went to many Indianapolis Indians games as a kid. Razor Shines was a legend/local hero with that team around that time. I go to a couple of Gwinnett Braves games a year now.
Bush Stadium was legendary.
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After I made the post I looked up Bush Stadium to look at some pictures of it and it's apparently been remade as lofts.
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I'm not sure I agree with the premise that major league games murder your wallet. It's easily the cheapest pro sport to attend. Or are you talking about sitting right behind home plate?
Compared to a minor league game, the MLB definitely murders your wallet. For example, I recently went to an Erie Seawolves game (AA affiliate of the Tigers).
Tickets are $9-$12. Three hot dogs, 2 sodas, and a 12 oz beer cost me a grand total of $6 that evening because there was a special promotion. On a normal night, it would have still cost less than $20.
What would that cost even at the cheapest MLB park?
I might be in the minority here, but I don't need to do concession stands at sporting events. So yeah, that can make any event expensive. "Going to a Tigers game" is different than "having dinner at a Tigers game." I went to the Dodgers game last night with my wife and two kids and we spent less than $50 I bet. That's not dirt cheap or anything, but I certainly wouldn't call it "murdering my wallet."
Most pro baseball games are on par with seeing a movie in the theater.
You gotta get hot dogs and drinks at a baseball game. It's a rite of passage.
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Nah. My parents smuggled in sandwiches and snacks. So do I. The dogs are ok occasionally but not necessary. And I hate beer at the ballpark. I always buy water and peanuts outside and that gets me through. I'll save money for a good dinner and good brews after the game.
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Rite of Passage? Maybe if it's the first MLB game you've ever attended...
MLB games are relatively cheap once you realize you don't have to let yourself get gouged for stadium food/beer/pop.
I had free tickets in the on deck circle to the Tigers game last Sunday. I brought $80 and came home with $20.
It was HOT. $5 for frozen lemonade, $5 for water, $18 for hotdogs and pop, $20 for chili cheese fries in the Tiger Den lounge before the game and then however much dinner was after.
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That's literally as much food as most people eat in an entire day, so yeah, that's going to get expensive. I can't imagine how you would need two hotdogs, chili cheese fries and "dinner" over the course of a 3 hour period.
As best as I can remember:
New Britain Red Sox (now the Rock Cats)
Harrisburg Senators
Schaumbugh Flyers (now the Boomers, apparently)
Kane County Cougars
Erie Seawolves
Binghampton Mets
Bridgeport Bluefish
Long Island Ducks
Richmond Braves
I watched Jay Bruce and Joey Votto when they were playing for the Dayton Dragons.
SI did a story a few years ago about the Dragons, super tough ticket to get. Too drunk to link from mobile.
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Somerset Patriots
Pensacola Blue Wahoos
Nashville Sounds
Oh and the Lehigh Valley Ironpigs
My hometown. I was at the stadium for the 4th!
Just saw a game this Saturday. Traverse City Beach Bums of the Frontier League, an independent league. Had an amazing time and saw a W!!
I've got the Connecticut Tigers by me (part of the Detroit farm system) and got to see Verlander's little bro and Leyland's son play on the team a few years ago.
The Birmingham Baron's (White Sox AA) have a new stadium that's located downtown and built next to a recently built public park.
It's really nice, and has helped spur a lot of new development in the area. They have since broken the attendance record that was first set when Michael Jordan played here for that one season.
My 12 yr old son watched "Space Jam" for the first time this weekend. The Barons are forever memorialized now. Funny that the baseball team will always be known for its basketball player.
Is it true tho, as they showed in the movie -- when MJ was with the Barons, his handler was Newman?
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I live in Midland which has the Loons as you indicated. Usually go to a few games a year. The stadium is very nice for a minor league park. Ironically, I'm on vacation at the moment on a lake in northern Wisconsin. I can hear a loon out on the lake at 10 PM.
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I absolutely love going to Minor League games. I watched Barry Zito of the Nashville Sounds pitch at First Tennessee Park in its opening weekend last year, and I played on the Myrtle Beach Pelicans field in travel ball circa 2004. I was a big Rafael Furcal fan growing up so it was surreal pitching on the same field where he developed his game.
I also have watched the Mobile Baybears at Hank Aaron Stadium in Mobile, Alabama.