Welcome to the Baseball Traveler newsletter, arriving in your inbox on National Moonshine Day. I'm sad to report that the Bowling Green Hot Rods are on the road tonight, as they play as the moonshine-smuggling Bootleggers every Thursday home game. Here's proof. |
HOLY CATS! VETERAN VOICE RECOUNTS VIRAL CALL |
Larry Ward, the longest-tenured broadcaster in Double-A baseball, has served as the voice of the Chattanooga Lookouts since 1989. In fact, that's his nickname: The Voice. He started calling games for the Lookouts at historic Engel Stadium and then remained with the team for the entirety of their run at AT&T Field (2000-25). Ward can now be found in the broadcast booth at Erlanger Park, a beautiful new facility located in a former industrial site in southwest Chattanooga. Over the course of those 37 seasons, Ward has pretty much seen it all. "It's been an adventure," he said, "to say the least." |
It doesn't matter how long you've been around when it comes to baseball, as you never know what you'll see at the ballpark. This cliché applies to what took place at AT&T Field on April 23 of last season, with Ward's enthusiastic and somewhat baffled reaction resulting in something that had never happened before: He went viral. All it took was the combination of a bizarre play and his long-time catch phrase. Holy cats! The Lookouts, Double-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds, were hosting the Columbus Clingstones (ATL) at AT&T Field. With runners on first and third and two outs in the fifth inning, Columbus' Chandler Seagle shattered his bat on a slow roller to short. The bat flew into the infield and the ball ricocheted off it before Lookouts shortstop Dominic Pitelli could make the play, resulting in one of the most unlikely RBI singles in baseball history. "I have never, ever seen that in my 45 years of calling baseball,” said Ward, trying to make sense of it all. "Holy cats!" |
The play quickly made the rounds on social media and in online news articles, with Ward's call becoming part of the story as well. "Holy cats, have you ever seen this before?" went one typical headline. Ward doesn't quite know the origin of "Holy cats!" He speculated that it was something he said when he was a kid, growing up on a ranch in eastern Oregon, that "stayed in the back of my mind." |
"What's really strange is that I've said, 'Holy cats!' for years," said Ward. "And all of a sudden when I come in for the next game [after the viral call] the people in the office say, 'Hey, you're a pretty popular guy. … They ended up [making] a shirt for me with my signature on it. I sent T-shirts to family members. 'Holy cats, dad, how did you do it?' It's been fun. It's just one of those things that happened." |
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Ward is now settling into the Lookouts' Erlanger Park era. Tune in to a broadcast and, if the situation calls for it, you might hear him say "Holy cats!" "I love the fact that people enjoy what I say and when I say it in describing the game of baseball," he said. "That's my job." |
A NEW MONTH MEANS A NEW PROMO PREVIEW! |
Promo Preview is a monthly column featuring 10 of the best promotions taking place throughout Minor League Baseball. June highlights include sweat-stained jerseys, mascot politics and nationwide brain rot. But my favorite is this, courtesy of Minor League Baseball’s largest small crustaceans: |
Marc in the Park Night
Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp (Triple-A MIA), June 10
You've heard of Bark in the Park Night, in which dogs are allowed in the ballpark. The Jumbo Shrimp are tweaking this concept with Marc in the Park Night, in which they'll be "celebrating anyone with the variation of a 'marc' sound in their name." The man in the below photo is Jumbo Shrimp front office member Marc Spera, who deserves the credit, or blame, for this unprecedented endeavor. Marc it on your calendar.
READ THE JUNE EDITION OF PROMO PREVIEW HERE
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TWO NEW ALTERNATE IDENTITIES! |
It's not too late to announce an alternate identity for the 2026 season. To wit, this pair of new looks were both unveiled Monday. Ozarks Snipe Hunters -- Springfield Cardinals (Double-A STL)
Ever gone on a snipe hunt? If so, you were probably the butt of a practical joke. Generations of impressionable young campers have been sent off to catch them, but one has yet to emerge. Springfield's Ozarks Snipe Hunters identity pays tribute to these mythical creatures; the logo features a man named Grandpa Clyde who, as the story goes, caught a snipe that vanished as quickly as it appeared. More » | Shop » |
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Augusta Soul -- Augusta GreenJackets (Single-A ATL)
From James Brown to Sharon Jones, Augusta, Ga., has a rich musical legacy. The GreenJackets' Augusta Soul alternate identity is "a tribute to the artists who moved the world, the places that shaped the sound and the fans who give this community its rhythm today." More » | Shop » |
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