Minor League Parks and Teams

[Chin Diesel]

My hometown has the AA affiliate of the Reds and a beautiful stadium on a Bay overlooking the Gulf of Mexico.

I'm out in Cali for work and I'm watching the Astro's A team, Lancaster Jet Hawks. Real nice stadium with grass berms along both baselines and a kids area along right field line.

Walked up and got a $10 ticket behind visitor dugout. They have a local microbrewery area at 3rd base. Much better. $6 for a 16oz microbrewery. Can't beat it.

As much as I enjoy MLB you can't beat the price to fun ratio of MiLB. The game is an after thought. The two asshats in the crowd trying to heckle are worth ticket price alone.

 

[Dove]

I used to love heckling in New Britain. One time the Sea Dogs were in and Lars Anderson was in the batting circle. Kept yelling for him to go back to Sweden. No one around me got it but I was laughing.

 

[60'sfan]

My hometown has the AA affiliate of the Reds and a beautiful stadium on a Bay overlooking the Gulf of Mexico.

I'm out in Cali for work and I'm watching the Astro's A team, Lancaster Jet Hawks. Real nice stadium with grass berms along both baselines and a kids area along right field line.

Walked up and got a $10 ticket behind visitor dugout. They have a local microbrewery area at 3rd base. Much better. $6 for a 16oz microbrewery. Can't beat it.

As much as I enjoy MLB you can't beat the price to fun ratio of MiLB. The game is an after thought. The two asshats in the crowd trying to heckle are worth ticket price alone.

I'm with you on this. At least once a year I venture up to Lake Elsinore, Ca. to watch the Padres advanced A team play. The ball park is beautiful, the tickets are inexpensive and the seating is good everywhere. In 2008 I attended a game versus the then Red Sox affiliate Lancaster. On the roster for the Sox that day were Daniel Nava, Josh Reddick and Lars Anderson.

 

[UofMemphis]

Memphis is Cards territory, so it makes sense Memphis got the Cards AAA program, The Memphis Redbirds...they play at wonderful AutoZone Park in downtown Memphis...they serve local Ghost River Beer and Rendezvous BBQ.

Holds 13,000

reviews of AutoZone Park
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attracti...-Reviews-AutoZone_Park-Memphis_Tennessee.html

 

[dsturdy5]

LaLacheur Park in Lowell, short season A affiliate of the Red Sox is 20 minutes from my house. I take my son there on a whim a few times per season. Two tickets, parking, food and drinks is less than one ticket to a Sox game. The beer selection is top notch and the prices for the beverages can't be beat.

Not sure if this is still the case but the Portland Sea Dogs used to hold "scout" seats until a few days before a game and then release them once they knew who was coming. In 2003 I went up there with a buddy who knew the secret and he had grabbed two tickets behind home plate, fifth row. We sat behind Theo Epstein as the Sox had two relievers on rehab assignments.

 

[Adios]

I was heckling Carl Everett at a game in Bridgeport, yelling not to to strikeout and break his bat. Dude hits a home run and stares at me as he runs towards home plate. Heckled Pete Rose, Jr. at the same game (if I am recalling correctly), saying he'll never be like his father. He hits a single.

Harbor Yard is very underappreciated, IMO.

 

[huskyblooz]

Will go to about 5 minor league games this year, as opposed to NO major league games. My sons follow their favorite team's affiliates and want to see their top prospects. The prices are excellent and I love the atmosphere.

Harbor Yard is a very nice ballpark, but I dont want to see 30+ year olds hanging on. I'd rather see 21 year olds on their way up. If the Bluefish were a MLB affiliated franchise, I would go often. But I'd rather drive to Wappingers Falls or Pawtucket.

 

[DarthGrumpy]

I used to travel a lot for work and instead of going to bars afterhours, I went to sport games, especially baseball in the summer. Just a great way to relax after work, get some fresh air and have a cold beer all at a reasonable price. Thus, I have seen a lot of minor league stadiums on the road and at hoem when I take my boys

· Bridgeport Bluefish – Stadium is OK and the talent is a notch below AA/A ball easy to get to; but, not a place to walk around before and after the game
· Buffalo Bison – Another nice downtown stadium, I think it was designed to be expanded to MLB size if the opportunity arose.
· Great Lake Loons (Midland MI) – Went when it first opened about 10 years ago. Nice stadium in a very small town with the intent to give the employees of Dow Chemical something to do
· Frisco Roughriders – OK stadium off of a highway way north of Dallas, good family thing to do as they are a lot cheaper than the Rangers
· Indianapolis Indians – Indy has an underrated downtown that knows how to entertain sport fans, OK park
· Lansing Lugnuts – Another decent downtown stadium in a city that does not really have an attractive downtown, thus everyone after the games heads over to E Lansing
· Lowell Spinners – Decent stadium, traffic in Lowell is a pain though and not much close by as the stadium for all intent is on UMass Lowell’s campus. A popular team, too, games do sell out (Manchester is a good alternative not too far away)
· Manchester Fisher Cats – Good stadium, easy to get to with some decent food located nearby
· New Britain Rock Cats – Good crowd, getting in and out is a hassle though
· Portland Sea Dogs – I love Portland and it gets a good (annoying – I am a Yankees fan) crowd; but, the stadium is so-so and it is crammed into an odd location.
· Rochester Red Wings – Nice stadium, somewhat close to downtown Rochester, which is a very good minor league city
· Rockland (NY) Boulders – Best stadium I have been to, plenty going on inside the stadium; but, nothing around it and there are a lot of shady politics surrounding how the stadium was done
· Round Rock (TX) Express – A AAA team located in a decent stadium that is showing some age located in a suburb of Austin, should have been built in downtown Austin
· San Antonio Missions – Another Texas baseball team located off a highway instead of downtown and San Antonio has a great downtown, draws a lot of Air Force families from Lackland
· South Bend Silver Hawks – Ok stadium on the edge of a small downtown area, guess folks have to do something when the Irish are away on summer break
· Toledo Mud Hens – Decent downtown stadium in a city that has seen better days; but, Klinger was still doing promos 10 years ago
· Tri-City Valley Cats (Troy NY) – Nice stadium; but, stadium is in a somewhat remote location and not much around it as it’s on a community college campus
· West Michigan Whitecaps – Good stadium and easy to get to; but, it should have been built downtown Grand Rapids, which is getting a big upgrade, instead in the burbs

 

[IMind]

I grew up going to New Britain Red Sox games... loved it. I usually go to five or six games of the Phillies AAA affiliate the (horribly named) IronPigs here in the Lehigh Valley. Great stadium only a few years old. Not a bad seat in the place. Tickets are dirt cheap, concessions are a bit pricey, but good. It's not really in Allentown so it's pretty easy to get to. Easy drive from NJ and even eastern CT.