Ballpark Road Trips in Review: 2013
Over the past nine seasons, I have visited 174 Minor League ballparks (many of them more than once). This is the fourth in a series of posts, providing a season-by-season account of my “On the Road” Minor League Baseball experiences.
Previous posts in this series: 2010; 2011; 2012
2013
In didn’t seem like it at the time, but 2013 was a season of distinct forward progress.
I finally obtained a smart phone, resulting in improved pictures and videos as well the ability to have a real-time social media presence (I could not yet embed tweets in the blog however, and many of my Vine videos have been lost to time).
It was the first full season in which I recruited Designated Eaters, the individuals tasked with consuming the ballpark cuisine that my gluten-free diet prohibits.
It was the first season in which I announced my entire itinerary ahead of time, as opposed to cobbling together my trips one by one.
And as the season wore on, I finally began to write standalone MiLB.com feature stories that set themselves apart from the material on the blog.
So, yes, it was a year of progress. But there was still a long ways to go.
Trip #0: Spring Training in Altoona
Before I announced my 2013 road trip itinerary, I embarked on a late March warm-up trip to Altoona’s Peoples Natural Gas Stadium to see the Curve take on their parent Pittsburgh Pirates. This remains the only MiLB team vs. MLB team exhibition game that I’ve ever attended.
Blog: We Are Family (Part One); We Are Family (Part Two)
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On April 17, I finally announced my itinerary for the season. I only scheduled three trips, but they were all pretty substantial.
TRIP #1: Southern Sojourn
CLICK HERE TO READ ALL BLOG POSTS FROM THIS TRIP
May 8: Bowling Green Hot Rods (Bowling Green Ballpark)
MiLB.com: Hot Rods an anchor in revitalized area
May 9: Nashville Sounds (Greer Stadium)
MiLB.com: Technology transforming scouting
May 10: Tennessee Smokies (Smokies Ballpark)
MiLB.com: Faster than a speeding chicken
May 11: Asheville Tourists (McCormick Field)
MiLB.com: Tourists pioneered popular beer promo
May 12: Savannah Sand Gnats (Grayson Stadium)
MiLB.com: Critters, paninis in historic Savannah
May 13: Augusta GreenJackets (Lake Olmstead Stadium)
MiLB.com: Fans line up for free food in Augusta
May 14–15: Birmingham Barons (Regions Field)
MiLB.com: Old meets new in Barons’ Regions Field; Colton, Odom recall summer of ‘64
ONCE AGAIN: CLICK HERE TO READ ALL BLOG POSTS FROM THIS TRIP
Trip #2: Lake Michigan Excursions
CLICK HERE TO READ ALL BLOG POSTS FROM THIS TRIP
June 21–22: Wisconsin Timber Rattlers (Fox Cities Stadium)
MiLB.com: Rattlers relievers dish on quarters game; Rattlers’ Mehring an icon of the Midwest
June 23: Beloit Snappers (Pohlman Field)
MiLB.com: On the road in Beloit, with bells on; On the Road: Beloit’s Whitewall Ninja; Spelius remains a fixture of Midwest
June 25: Great Lakes Loons (Dow Diamond)
MiLB.com: Loons aside, Midland has art, history
June 26: Lansing Lugnuts (Cooley Law School Stadium)
MiLB.com: Lugnuts’ bullpen keeping things fun
June 27: West Michigan Whitecaps (Fifth Third Ballpark)
MiLB.com: Devoted fans in Michigan
June 28: South Bend Silver Hawks (Stanley Coveleski Memorial Stadium)
MiLB.com: Silver Hawks’ store restores majesty
ONCE AGAIN: CLICK HERE TO READ ALL BLOG POSTS FROM THIS TRIP
Trip #3: Way Out West
CLICK HERE TO READ ALL BLOG POSTS FROM THIS TRIP
August 3: Bakersfield Blaze (Sam Lynn Ballpark)
MiLB.com: Getting into ‘it’ with the Blaze
August 4: Visalia Rawhide (Rawhide Ballpark)
MiLB.com: Rawhide embrace ‘curse of the alligator’
August 5: Fresno Grizzlies (Chukchansi Park)
MiLB.com: All signs pointing toward Fresno; Fresno boasts rich taco culture
August 6: Modesto Nuts (John Thurman Field)
MiLB.com: Ballhawk Badders inspired by Hample
August 7: Stockton Ports (Banner Island Ballpark)
MiLB.com: In Stockton, hidden gems abound
August 8: Reno Aces (Reno Aces Ballpark)
August 10–11: Hillsboro Hops (Hillsboro Ballpark)
MiLB.com: Parr’s Hops homer a disputed souvenir
ONCE AGAIN: CLICK HERE TO READ ALL BLOG POSTS FROM THIS TRIP
