Minor League Baseball-Major League Fun

[Cubbie Bear]

Since my alleged "Big League" team has Steve Goodman's "I don't know where I'm going but I'm going nowhere in a hurry blues" And my Clinton Lumberkings sit on top of their division in the Midwest League with a 23-14 record. I thought it might be fun to share our local minor league baseball teams with each

For those of you that don't know, I spent parts of 11 years operating minor league baseball clubs. I was the General Manager of The Clinton Giants, Assistant General Manager of the Chattanooga Lookouts in their Championship year of 1988 (and proudly wear the ring every day) Then I was Vice President of a group that operated clubs all over and I ran The Welland Ontario Pirates, Penisula (Hampton VA) Pilots, Columbia (SC)Mets (1991 SAL Champions) Kenosha (WI)Twins, Ft Wayne Wizards (preliminary help) never lived in but helped manage, the South Bend White Sox, Memphis Chicks.

After getting out of baseball, my "burn-out" level was so high, I barely could sit though a game. Now I am back and loving it (for several years)

Anyway, our own Nutmeg is a proud fan of the brand new Great Lakes Loons of the Midwest League and I had the opportunity of watching my L-kings pummel them a couple of weeks ago. Nuttie and I are going to do a little souvenir exchange, I'm going to send her something Lumberkings and she is going to send me something Loonie

If anybody else wants to get involved in a Souvie Swap, sign in let us know your team and I will randomly put people together, much like the Christmas gift exchange.

Otherwise, if you just have some Minor League Baseball stories, let us know. Because Ryan Dempster ended my major league season (at least for today) when he blew a four run lead yesterday

[pair8head]

Cool Idea Cubbie, I myself don't really follow any minor league teams and can only name two that belong in the Mariners org. Tacoma Raineers and the Everette Aqua Sox.

I did here about an interesting promotion in Portland though. The Portland Beavers are gonna have a bobblehead night on Aug 18th. This particular bobblehead night is gonna be a bit different though as the person who is being honored with his face on it hasn't been selected yet. They scoured the country for guys named Bob L. Head and then asked them to tell them why it should be them. They have narrowed it down to 3 guys and you can read about them and vote for them here. http://www.portlandbeavers.com/promotions/boblhead/

[Skibo]

I haven't been to a Major League game since the last strike but became a huge fan of Minor League baseball. The Reading Phillies were my team (AA Eastern League) I had season tickets for many years. They have a great stadium with awesome views. The free parking and constant promotions are a blast also. I didn't even mind the advertising on every square inch of the stadium. It was so hokey that it didn't seem like big time corporate intrusion. I loved the Lookouts hats.

[OttoCal]

Guess we better hit some games this summer!

We are in driving distance of the Syracuse Skychiefs, except I think they went back to being just the Chiefs this year, the Binghamton Mets & the Auburn Doubledays.

I like the atmosphere at Doubledays & B-Mets games much better than up in Syracuse, just didn't like the crowds up there, they were mean & heckled the other players instead of cheering on their own fans.

My own special Yankees fan is already plotting a trip down to Scranton to try to catch Roger pitch, but we'll see if that actually pans out for us.

?? Can ya tell I'm just in it for the hotdogs & beer??
Oh- they serve Speides at B-Mets games- fabulous.

[chippewa]

Love minor league ball! Seen games in Toledo (great downtown stadium), Battle Creek (now the Midland team), Lansing & Traverse City. Great value, lots of fun for the $$. We make Buffett Night at the Lugnuts game almost every year, this year it's August 16th--although it's still called Corona Buffett Beach Party?

Mark Prior and Prince Fielder are two players that I remember seeing on their way up, I'm sure there were many others.

[RinglingRingling]

Got the Columbus Clippers here, formerly a Yankme's AAA affiliate; now a Nationals farm club. But.. I have to say, I would love a Fort Myers Miracle souvenir to go with some pics and a ballcap I have from the 2006 "Pitchers and Catchers" first day in the park...

[Tequila Revenge]

The Sacramento River Cats are a minor league baseball team based in Sacramento, California. The team plays in the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and is the Triple-A affiliate of Major League Baseball's Oakland Athletics.

The River Cats play in Raley Field, located in West Sacramento, California. The team began play in 1978 as the Vancouver Canadians, and played their home games at Nat Bailey Stadium until the 1999 season. Following that season, the team was purchased by a group led by Art Savage and moved to Sacramento for the 2000 season.

Sacramento has led all of minor league baseball in attendance during each of its first seven seasons at Raley Field.

The PCL franchise in Sacramento for many years was the Sacramento Solons, a charter member of the PCL which was founded in 1903. Three different versions of the Solons represented California's capital city in 1903, 1905, from 1909 through 1914, from 1918 through 1960, and from 1974 through 1976.

MLB Former Rivercats

Danny Ardoin
Mark Bellhorn
Joe Blanton
Freddie Bynum
Eric Byrnes
Bobby Crosby
Justin Duchscherer
Mark Ellis
Ron Flores
Chad Gaudin
Esteban German
Aaron Harang
Rich Harden
Chad Harville
Eric Hinske
Dan Johnson
Mark Mulder
Mike Rouse
Kirk Saarloos
Huston Street
Nick Swisher
Luis Vizcaino
Barry Zito


Back to back PCL DIvision Titles in 2003 and 2004

Now for the bad news.... the have a DH

[Staredge]

Started watching baseball with the AAA Astros affiliate Tucson Toros. Saw guys like Biggio and Caminiti come up through the minors. Remember well the night Biggio got sent to the show. Glad he made it.

Now it's the Nationals low A affiliate Hagerstown Suns (South Atlantic League) Nothing like a night at the ballyard. Old stadium. Has a hand operated scoreboard, which they recruit fans to hang. Plenty of goofy promotions. Can't think of a better way to watch a game.

The other nearby team (1/2 hour) is the Orioles High A affiliate Frederick Keys. Haven't been to a game this year.

I'm willing to swap souvenirs if anyone's interested.

Hey CB, just remember. Next year we'll get 'em

[chippewa]

Shouldn't BN adopt these guys as the "home team"?

[Wino you know]

In 1982, when I was living in Hawaii, I saw Tony Gwynn play minor league ball for the Hawaii Islanders, then the Triple-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres. He played something like 40 games, then the Padres called him up and you know the rest of the story.

In 1984, after the Islanders had changed their affiliation to the Pirates, Barry Bonds played for them for a couple months before being called up permanently by the big club.

In my hometown of Cedar Rapids, some of the more well known names who've gone through here are Rocky Colovito, Tommie Aaron (brother of Henry), Rick Rueschel, Eric Davis, Rob Dibble, and Paul O'Neill, among others.
I absolutely LOVE minor league baseball. $7.00 for a box seat, free parking, beer for $2.50, hamburgers for $1.75, bratwurst for $2.00, and a general overall closeness to the players and fans.
Greatest show in town.

[7lords]

Does the Northwoods League count? If so, I'm in.

http://www.northwoodsleague.com/Home.asp

It's a summer league for college kids - the team here in Madison averaged 6,000 fans a game last year. Goes from Memorial Day to Labor Day.

http://www.mallardsbaseball.com/home/

[pojo]

There is a Northwoods Team in Green Bay... I can't remember the team name...

Otherwise when I was back home I followed the WI Timber Rattlers (formally the Appleton Foxes)... Yup, another Midwest League Team

[TommyBahama]

Growing up I had the Bristol Red Sox....Saw Lynn, Rice,Hobson and other great Red Sox Players come through......Also Had The Waterbury Pirates w/ Barry Bonds....Then The Waterbury Dodgers...Then The Waterbury Reds....all within a 20 minute drive...Now We have the New Britain Rock Cats about 45 minutes away..They are the Twins AA team and a lot of the current Twins went from here to the Parent club and are there now.....Got to see David Wright there and a week later i saw him in Atlanta making i think his 2 or 3rd Major League game....Before they were the Rock Cats they were the Red Sox...with Clemens and Nomar!!....a cheap night out and some fun baseball...great for kids!!

we also have here locally NECBL...Torrington Twisters....Its a wood bat college league similar to the Cape Cod League ..but not as good....we have a couple of guys that have passed threw and playing in the Majors Sean Burroughs and Lance Parrishes Son!!

And then there is the Cape Cod League.....which is great to watch and Free.....and a ton of players have passed through there

If any one is looking for a trade of something from the twisters let me know...or the Rock Cats

http://www.torringtontwisters.org/index.asp

[TommyBahama]

NECBL Players who have made it to the Major Leagues

Player NECBL Team Major League Team Year
Joe Nathan RHP Fairfield Stallions San Francisco Giants/Minnesota Twins 1999
Chad Paronto RHP Middletown Giants Cleveland Indians 2000
Scott Chiasson RHP Eastern Tides Chicago Cubs 2000
Alfredo Amezaga SS Keene Swamp Bats Pittsburgh Pirates 2002
Earl Snyder 1B/OF Danbury/Middletown Boston Red Sox 2002
Mike Smith RHP Middletown Giants Toronto Blue Jays 2002
Mark Malaska LHP Danbury Westerners Tampa Bay Devil Rays/Boston Red Sox 2003
Matt White LHP Danbury Westerner Boston Red Sox 2003
Pete Zoccolillo OF Danbury Westerners Milwaukee Brewers 2003
Jason Szuminski RHP Newport Gulls San Diego Padres 2004
David Parrish, C Torrington Twisters New York Yankees 2004
Jeff Keppinger 2B Keene Swamp Bats NY Mets 2004
Val Majewski OF Eastern Tides Baltimore Orioles 2004
Keith Reed OF RI Reds Baltimore Orioles 2005
Tim Stauffer RHP Keene Swamp Bats San Diego Padres 2005
Jason Bergmann RHP Danbury Westerners Washington Nationals 2005
Chris Denorfia OF Manchester Silkworms Cincinnati Reds 2005
Charlton Jimerson CF Torrington Twisters Houston Astros 2005
Doug Clark LF Middletown Giants San Francisco Giants 2005
Steve Stemle RHP Danbury Westerners Kansas City Royals 2005
Andre Ethier OF Keene Swamp Bats Los Angeles Dodgers 2006
Kurt Birkins LHP Torrington Twisters Baltimore Orioles 2006
Sean Green RHP Torrington Twisters Seattle Mariners 2006
Zach Jackson LHP Manchester Silkworms Milwaukee Brewers 2006
Jeff Fulchino RHP Keene Swamp Bats Florida Marlins 2006
Chris Iannetta C Newport Gulls Colorado Rockies 2006
Brian Wilson RHP Keene Swamp Bats San Francisco Giants 2006
Jonah Bayliss RHP Manchester Silkworms Pittsburgh Pirates 2006
Brian Slocum RHP Danbury Westerners Cleveland Indians 2006
Rajai Davis CF Middletown Giants Pittsburgh Pirates 2006
Mike Rabelo C Torrington Detroit Tigers 2006
Joe Smith RHP North Adams New York Mets 2007

[jonesbeach10]

Don't really follow minor leagues that much, but Long Island has the Long Island Ducks out in Islip, which is an independent league team. They're owned by former Met Buddy Harrelson, and they have a few former big leaguers on the team (Richard Hidalgo and Danny Graves at least) as well as Pete Rose Jr. There's also the Brooklyn Cyclones, which are a Single-A affiliate of the Mets in the NY-Penn League.

[Elrod]

One of my little league coaches took the team to see the Decatur Commodores play in 1971. The first professional game I remember seeing.

I listened to the St. Louis Cardinals on the radio as a kid and then moved to a suburb of Tulsa - home of the Cardinals AAA affiliate Tulsa Oilers.

After the Cardinals AAA club moved out of Tulsa, the Texas Rangers had a AA club there for 25 years. That affiliation ended a few years ago and the Drillers are now the AA affiliate of the Rockies. A lot of future major leaguers came through that club!

Several years ago I bought some stock in a (now delisted) company that owned Skylands Park - a baseball stadium in Augusta, New Jersey - and a fraction of the stadium's tenant the New Jersey Cardinals. A team cap and t-shirt cost more than my stock was worth.

I always wanted to take a vacation and see a game in every park in either the NY-Penn League or the South Atlantic. Roger Kahn's Good Enough To Dream is one of my favorite books.

[7lords]

There is a Northwoods Team in Green Bay... I can't remember the team name..

The Bullfrogs

http://www.greenbaybullfrogs.com/

[ragtopW]

I wish they had kept the Solons name..



I know I know.. but you know me..











Tradition!!!!!

[chippewa]

More than a dozen posts, and a Sox fan hasn't brought up the minor league team playing in Yankee Stadium?

::running and ducking::

[pair8head]

btt