99 Bottles of Beer. 99 Luftballons. 99 Problems. And now, this: Ben’s Biz Beat Newsletter No. 99. Let’s talk about Minor League Baseball. |
Goodness me. Today marks the start of the MLB season and then tomorrow Triple-A begins, followed by the rest of Minor League Baseball on April 5. There’s a lot going on. I’m not going to get to it all, but I’ll get to as much as I can. Starting with… |
TAKE IN A GAME AT THESE “MUST-VISIT” MINOR LEAGUE STADIUMS
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The start of Minor League Baseball season marks the start of Minor League Baseball ballpark road trip season. Every MiLB stadium is worth visiting, of course, but it’s tough to include all 119 within the confines of a single article. Therefore, my curmudgeonly comrade Josh Jackson and I undertook the fools’ errand of choosing one “must-visit” ballpark for every Major League organization.
The link to the full article is below, but I’ll now make this errand even more foolish by narrowing it down further. Here are four teams that play in what I now declare to be ultra-super-must-visit ballparks, one from each level of play:
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Angels: Smith's Ballpark (Triple-A Salt Lake Bees)
Charlotte has the best city view in the Minors, but for natural beauty the choice is clear: Salt Lake's Smith's Ballpark, which offers a top-notch Wasatch Mountain tableau. 2024 marks your last chance to take in a game at this downtown location, as the Bees are slated to move into a new ballpark in 2025. Smith's Ballpark is an elevated experience no matter which way you're looking, as the ballpark is located 4,230 feet above sea level. |
Rockies: Dunkin’ Park (Double-A Hartford Yard Goats)
The Yard Goats' stadium offers that rarest of combinations in Minor League Baseball: a great skyline view and live goats on site. Any night at Dunkin' Park is a great night, but savvy fans are already planning a trip for May 14, when the Yard Goats are giving away a Bouncing Pickle Bobblehead to 1,000 fans. Why a bouncing pickle? Well ... it's a weird story.
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Astros: McCormick Field (High-A Asheville Tourists)
McCormick Field, which opened during the Coolidge administration, is celebrating its 100th birthday this season. There's always a lot to celebrate when it comes to this scenic ballpark, which is situated on a small patch of ground amid one of Asheville's many hills. Take it all in while enjoying a discounted beverage -- McCormick Field is the original home of Thirsty Thursday, and the Tourists have trademarked the term. |
Rangers: Grainger Stadium (Single-A Down East Wood Ducks)
All good things must come to an end: 2024 will be the last season in which Grainger Stadium hosts Minor League Baseball, as in 2025 the hometown Down East Wood Ducks will relocate to a new ballpark in Spartanburg, S.C. Located in the small town of Kinston, N.C., Grainger is a charming, no-frills facility that hearkens back to the era in which it was constructed (1949). Grab a hot dog and a beverage and take a seat within a quaint covered grandstand. What more does one need from life?
READ THE ENTIRE “MUST-VISIT MINOR LEAGUE BALLPARKS” ARTICLE HERE
I plan to visit at least one of the above ballparks in 2024. Thing is, I haven’t finalized my road trip itineraries yet. I hope to share those with you next week (two weeks at the latest). In the meantime: What ballparks are you planning to visit? What else are you looking forward to this season? Do you believe that other forms of life exist in distant galaxies? As always, I can be reached at benjamin.hill@mlb.com.
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This is Josh Jackson, coming out of the woodwork to bark at you for just a moment. You know me as host of Ghost of the Minors, the segment on The Show Before the Show podcast in which I challenge you to spot the real historical Minor League Baseball team or player hidden among a pair of fakes.
Last time, we flexed with Ken Strong. This week, I ask you which of these teams knew how to work it in the Minors of yesteryear:
A. The Wichita Jobbers
B. The Tulsa Clockpunchers
C. The Saginaw Shiftpullers
For the answer, check out the next Ghosts of the Minors on The Show Before the Show!
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SEA DOGS BROADCASTER ADDS NEW ROLE: MOM |
When Emma Tiedemann was hired by the Single-A Lexington Legends prior to the 2018 season, she became just the second female broadcaster in Minor League Baseball. She moved on to the Double-A Portland Sea Dogs in 2020, and three seasons later joined with Rylee Pay to form the second-ever all-female broadcast booth in the Minor Leagues.
Tiedemann is taking on a new challenge in 2023, juggling her broadcast duties with being a new mom. She and her husband, Sea Dogs director of ticket operations Jesse Scaglion, welcomed Lucy Ruth into the world last month.
On last week’s episode of The Show Before the Show podcast, Emma (and Jesse and Lucy) spoke with Tyler Maun, Sam Dykstra and myself about navigating her pregnancy during the 2023 season and her plans for what is sure to be a memorable, albeit difficult, 2024.
If you prefer reading to listening, I also wrote a feature story based on our interview with Emma. Choose your own adventure:
LISTEN TO EMMA TIEDEMANN AND FAMILY ON THE SHOW BEFORE THE SHOW PODCAST HERE
or
READ THE STORY HERE
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TAKE FIVE: EVEN MORE ALTERNATE IDENTITIES FOR THE 2024 SEASON |
The season is imminent and yet new alternate identities just keep on coming. Here are five recent entries to the Minor League scene: |
Soon after the release of their Tobacco Beetles identity, the Winston-Salem Dash added another new animal to their on-field kingdom. Hype Hens has an interesting backstory, as it “a nod to the success of the recent ‘Fowl Ball,’ a dance party for chickens that was hosted on-field at Truist Stadium.” How was I not aware of this? The Dash also announced that they are “debuting their very own chicken coop for fans to interact with all season long. The coop will house five chickens, one of which fans will have the chance to name via social media.”
Left unsaid is that “Hype Hens” closely resembles Hyphens, an alternate identity that the Dash debuted last season (because the dash between Winston and Salem that inspired the team name is, in actuality, a hyphen).
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Biloxi Shuckers: Beach Chickens
Speaking of Spring fowl-iage, the Shuckers will play four games as the Beach Chickens this season. A beach chicken is another name for a seagull, which are prevalent on the Gulf Coast and, in fact, can always be found at Biloxi’s MGM Park in the form of team mascot Schooner. Beach Chickens comes on the heels of the Shuckers’ King Cakes identity, a tribute to Biloxi’s long-running celebration of Mardi Gras.
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Lehigh Valley IronPigs: Cats
The IronPigs have declared that April 27 is "Caturday," during which the usually porcine International League entity will transform into the Cats. Fans are invited to bring their feline friends to the game, and local cat rescue organizations will be in attendance as well.
“I realized we were dog-centric for years and how irresponsible it’s been to not recognize the thousands of cat-lovers we have in the Lehigh Valley,” said IronPigs president and general manager Kurt Landes, in the press release. “It was a CATastrophe that needed fixed, and this was the purrrfect solution.”
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Columbia Fireflies: Grits
The world can now live in peace and hominy, as the Fireflies will play as the Grits on six occasions in 2024. This is the team’s first food identity and they seem really excited about it. The press release waxes quite rhapsodic regarding South Carolina’s love of grits, noting that “they are so embedded in the history of our state that in 1976, a motion was passed to make grits the state food of South Carolina, quoting them as ‘a symbol of its diet, its customs, its humor, and its hospitality.’” The Grits debut on April 26, which is highlighted by a Grits figurine giveaway featuring a bobble spoon. Butter up!
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Chattanooga Lookouts: Wreckers
The Lookouts have finally dipped their “tow” in alternate identity waters, as they’ll be suiting up as the Wreckers on six occasions this season. Why? Because Chattanooga is “the birthplace of towing.” The vintage orange wrecker featured in the logo is a tribute to Ernest Holmes, inventor of the tow hitch. Today the city is home to Miller Industries (“The World’s Largest Manufacturer of Towing and Recovery Equipment”) as well as the International Towing and Recovery Museum. It’ll be tough to pull this one off without a hitch, not that the Lookouts would even want to.
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OK, gotta go! Happy Opening Day, everybody. Get in touch if you’d like; I’d like it if you did: benjamin.hill@mlb.com. |
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