Ballpark Road Trips in Review: 2014
Over the past nine seasons, I have visited 174 Minor League ballparks (many of them more than once). This is the fifth 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
2014
In 2013, I embarked on three trips, totaling 20 ballparks (21, if you count a late March jaunt to Altoona to see an exhibition game between the Curve and the parent Pittsburgh Pirates). Heading into 2014, I distinctly remembering that I could, and should, do more.
I did do more, and in retrospect, it was too much. That season, I went on five trips and visited 30 teams. I also stayed current on “Promo Preview” (writing a column every week) as well as “Crooked Numbers” (a monthly oddities column), in addition to a bevy of on-the-spot news stories. It’s no wonder that I ended up with a perpetual backlog of material, not finishing my “On the Road’ blog posts until Nov. 3. Speaking of those blog posts, they are uniformly massive. I didn’t split them into segments, resulting in 2000-plus word, photo-packed missives that covered every aspect of the game-day experience (including Designated Eaters). This was also the first season in which I was able to embed tweets into posts, but my primary video outlet remained six-second Vine clips. These, unfortunately, have largely been lost to history.
Here’s how it all went down.
Trip#1: Southwestern Sojourn
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April 28: Albuquerque Isotopes (Isotopes Park)
MiLB.com: From celluloid to infield with the Isotopes
April 29–30: El Paso Chihuahuas (Southwest University Park)
MiLB.com: Greetings from Southwest University Park
May 1: Midland RockHounds (Security Bank Ballpark)
MiLB.com: ‘Hounds part of surging Midland economy; Campbell and crew keep RockHounds rolling
May 2: San Antonio Missions (Wolff Stadium)
MiLB.com: San Antonio mascots serve up layers of fun
May 3–4: Off days, as a result of deciding not to go to Mexico
May 5: Corpus Christi Hooks (Whataburger Field)
MiLB.com: Hooks celebrating 10th season in style
May 6: Round Rock Express (Dell Diamond)
MiLB.com: Express duo re-engineering ballpark fare
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Trip #2: Down South Once Again
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June 4: Chattanooga Lookouts (AT&T Park)
Due to a scheduling snafu, I arrived in Chattanooga after they had already played an 11:05 a.m. game. This made me 0-for-2 in seeing the Lookouts, as when I visited in 2010 the game was rained out.
On the positive side: I toured AT&T Field and also, for the second time, visited (and wrote about) historic Engel Stadium.
MiLB.com: Patience a virtue for Engel Field restorers
June 5: Huntsville Stars (Joe Davis Stadium)
This game was rained out, meaning that I missed my final chance to see a Stars game before the team moved to Biloxi.
MiLB.com: Catching up before the close
June 6: Rome Braves (State Mutual Stadium)
MiLB.com: Holy Roman Matrimony
June 7: Gwinnett Braves (Coolray Field)
MiLB.com: Going racing in Gwinnett
June 8: Hickory Crawdads (L.P. Frans Stadium)
MiLB.com: Hungry? Take the CLAWlossal Challenge
June 9: Charlotte Knights (BB&T Ballpark)
MiLB.com: Charlotte trio broadens broadcast audience; Waddell a witness to old and new Knights
June 10: Kannapolis Intimidators (CMC Northeast Stadium)
MiLB.com: Kannapolis ‘Uh-Huh Guy’ a ballpark regular; Kannapolis couple opens hearts to players
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Trip #3: Ohio and Then Some
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July 18: Akron RubberDucks (Canal Park)
MiLB.com: A LeBron-sized burger in Akron
July 19: West Virginia Power (Appalachian Power Park)
MiLB.com: ‘Toastman’ a ballpark icon; Power’s ‘Rowdy’ fans preach tough love
July 20: Columbus Clippers (Huntington Park)
MiLB.com: Baseball history lives in Clippers’ Santry
July 21: Indianapolis Indians (Victory Field)
MiLB.com: Indianapolis takes to Twitter to find fans
July 22: Louisville Bats (Louisville Slugger Field)
MiLB.com: Scorekeeping becomes a passion for Bats fan
July 23: Lexington Legends (Whitaker Bank Ballpark)
MiLB.com: Cobb makes name for himself
July 24: Dayton Dragons (Fifth Third Field)
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TRIP #4: New York State of Mind
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August 22: Batavia Muckdogs (Dwyer Stadium)
MiLB.com: MuckDogs’ tradition alive thanks to Wings; Batavia fan keeps passion alive with cards
August 23: Rochester Red Wings (Frontier Field)
MiLB.com: Rochester’s Mr. Baseball; Costello keeps sweet tune in Rochester
August 24: Jamestown Jammers (Russell Diethrick Park)
MiLB.com: In Jamestown, loyal fans left heartbroken
August 25: Erie SeaWolves (Jerry Uht Park)
MiLB.com: Startup combines love of baseball, art; Dr. Batboy does it all for Erie SeaWolves
August 26: Buffalo Bisons (Coca-Cola Field)
MiLB.com: Buffalo beer vendor Girot loved by fans; Bisons look north of the border for new fans
August 27: Syracuse Chiefs (NBT Bank Ballpark)
MiLB.com: Chiefs fan finds a passion for heckling; In Syracuse, iconic Durkin can sell it all
August 28: Auburn Doubledays (Falcon Park)
MiLB.com: A historian’s passion runs deep in Auburn
August 29: Tri-City ValleyCats (Joseph L. Bruno Stadium)
August 30: Hudson Valley Renegades (Dutchess Stadium)
MiLB.com: Sisters a familiar sight in Hudson Valley
August 31: Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (PNC Field)
MiLB.com: Rakuten trio travel far to learn the trade
ONCE AGAIN: CLICK HERE TO SEE ALL BLOG POSTS FROM THIS TRIP
