July 29, 2016

Bats & Birthdays Vol. 2

Louisville Bats vs. Indianapolis Indians (International League)

Louisville Slugger Field-Louisville, KY: The second part of our birthday adventure took us to the Bats game, as they hosted the rival Indians. Hey, if it’s my birthday, then why is Brian the one who gets to meet Buddy Bat and ride the merry-go-round??!

It was another hot one, in the mid-nineties, as we settled in under the sun. In all honesty, we only lasted there for a couple of innings before finding some seats in the shade.

The Bats have been playing good ball lately, and this was another solid game for the home team. Louisville was lead offensively by Hernan Iribarren, who went 2-5 with an RBI and two runs scored. Also having a good day at the dish was Donald Lutz, who contributed and RBI going 2-4. Jermaine Curtis and Jesse Winkler each went 1-3 with an RBI and run scored, respectively.

On the bump, Robert Stephenson each the victory for the Bats. He pitched six innings, only giving up two hits, while striking out four and walking five. J.J. Hoover ended up earning the save. FINAL: Bats 6, Indians 4.

A fun game, despite the heat, and an all around good birthday. I always feel very blessed and lucky to be able to have these experiences with my kids. It was a long day for all of us, especially in the sun, but we all had a great time. We hope to be back at Louisville Slugger Field next month when the famous Chicken will be here entertaining the crowd! Until then, here’s a little game video:

Video and photos property of Minoring In Baseball

July 22, 2016

Bats & Birthdays Vol. 1

Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory-Louisville, KY: While the Louisville Slugger Museum was celebrating its 20th birthday, I was celebrating one of my own. It seemed like a perfect fit for both of us to celebrate together, so the boys and I made a trip to the city for a day of baseball fun.

We arrived, and got into the factory tour right away. They don’t allow any photography during the factory portion, but it was interesting seeing how the bats were made. Trevor and I had been here before way back in 2009, but it was still fun for him to see it all again, and understand it now that he’s a bit older. And of course Brian ate it all up, and loved seeing the whole bat-making process.

After the tour, we checked out the permanent exhibits at the museum. There are many relics and bats from the all-time greats of this sport! Below, Brian looks good with Hank Aaron’s bat, and he’s grown up with stories of ‘Shoeless’ Joe Jackson, so he was a little in ‘awe’ of ‘Black Betsy’.

Here’s Trevor with the Sultan of Swat himself, along with Babe’s best bat ‘Darlin” below that. I still have a great pic of the two when Trevor could barely see over the bat stand!

Trevor and the Babe

As a Tiger fan, I don’t think the Justin Upton signing was a great deal, but I do love his flame-tempered bat! And below that, the third bat down was used by the greatest Tiger of them all, one of the best hitters in history, Ty Cobb.

And now Bri is hanging out on this big glove…

Next we hit the cage! Brian did his best Hammerin’ Hank impression.

Then I tried to do a little laser show myself…

Next we checked out the Ripley’s Believe it or Not Oddball exhibit, which is here in Louisville temporarily. It contains some cool stuff, but not everything in it pertains to baseball. The photos are of Yankee Stadium made of toothpicks, and a real ‘double-header’, a two-headed calf. I highly recommend this factory tour and museum for any baseball fan in the area. It’s definitely worth going out of your way for, also, as it’s one of the best baseball places I’ve been to, second only maybe to the actual Hall of Fame. The history of the company is so rich, especially all of the great players who have swung Louisville lumber. I’m glad the museum and I could celebrate our birthdays together!

Photos property of Minoring In Baseball

July 16, 2016

The 2016 Y’All Star Game

East vs. West (Frontier League)

UC Health Stadium-Florence, KY: This week was the annual All-Star Game for the Frontier League, nicely dubbed Y’All-Star Game this season due to it being held down here in Kentucky. This was our first game in Florence, and in my opinion, they have a nice little stadium.

When we entered, we were met with a barrage of mascots! We got to meet Big L from the Lexington Legends (South Atlantic League), Wild Thing from Washington (Frontier League), and, of course the lovely Rosie Red from Cincinnati!

Big L-Lexington Legends

Wild Thing-Washington Wild Things

My dream girl, Rosie Red!

We had great seats in the front row, and I’m glad we didn’t sit behind the dugouts. It’s my pet-peeve, and really the only negative about this ballpark is that the netting wraps all around the ends of each dugout, which doesn’t give a great view of the game.

The Y’All-Star Game also had some guests, with Jake the Diamond Dog being the first. Other than being just a cute dog, he could fetch bats, balls, and brought the umps some water.

It started out as a pretty hot day, but as the game started we got a little cloud cover and a breeze that made it a perfect night for baseball. I tried to get some better photos while we still had sun-light, though.

And here is the second special act of the night, Myron Noodleman, who was absolutely hilarious!

Here is a video of him:

And this is Y’All Star, the Florence Freedom mascot for this season. I think their mascot is usually an eagle, but he wasn’t present at this game. Maybe they’ll bring him back next season. Y’All Star is based on the famous water tower by the Florence Mall:

Here is Andrew Godbold, the Frontier League’s home run derby champion from the night before, and a member of the Freedom:

In the game that was going on, the East was actually winning 3-1 for most of the game, until the West hit their stride in the seventh inning. Here’s a quick video I did before the wheels fell off for the East.

But before I get to that, lets insert a selfie of Trevor and I. Like I said, we had really good seats:

It was a huge inning for the West, as they scored seven in the seventh, with help from the Evansville Otter’s Nik Balog who hit a three-run blast to put his team in the lead.

We also got to see Scott Patterson, from our old team up in Michigan, the Traverse City Beach Bums:

The West added on a couple of more runs, and the East just couldn’t get back into it. Sorry I don’t have more names and stats for the game listed, but if you’re interested you can read the full review from the Frontier League’s website HERE. Below, the West celebrates their Y’All Star Game victory! FINAL: West 11, East 4.

And here is Balog receiving his Y’All Star MVP trophy:

This was simply a fun night, and I really enjoyed the show the Frontier League put on. They really didn’t have anything exciting going on before the game, but they did make it into a three-day event. I could only get this night off work, so we missed out on the softball game vs. the Chicago Bandits and the home run derby the nights before. We’re definitely planning another trip to Florence for a game. I’ll leave you with a video of part of the fireworks show that I shot on our way to the car:

Videos and photos property of Minoring In Baseball

July 8, 2016

Welcome

Lucky number seven! It was seven years ago tonight that I was sitting at work on the midnight shift, not enough to do, and came across the MLBlogs network. I thought it would be fun to start my own blog, and keep track of some of the fun baseball things that the kids and I were doing at the time. There were some really nice people that welcomed me to the MLB ‘blogsphere’ and made me want to keep this hobby going. I’ve seen a lot of blogs and baseball fans come and go over this time, too many to mention, and for that I might have to write an entry all it’s own. A lot has changed for us as a family in the last seven years, also, as Brian has grown from a spunky one-year-old to Little Leaguer, and we now live in a much more baseball friendly area. As sort of a birthday present, I decided to change things up a bit and change the theme for M.I.B. I’m still working on it, but would love any feedback. I decided to take a step back from the MLB themes and see how it goes. As this seventh year has been good to us, I look forward to many more. It’s almost scary to think about what the kids and I will be up too in another seven years, but it should be a fun ride! And thank you to anyone who’s stopped by to read a post or two.

Minoring In Baseball

Welcome to ‘Minoring In Baseball’. On this blog I will be covering mostly the West Michigan Whitecaps and some other of my favorite Minor League Teams. Every year I go on a baseball trip that takes me to wonderful ballparks around the midwest and gives me the opportunity to meet the great fans that frequent those parks every summer. I’ll be starting out by playing some ‘catch up’ on games and events that have already gone down this season.

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June 29, 2016

14 Forever

Cincinnati Reds vs. San Diego Padres (National League)

Great American Ballpark-Cincinnati, OH: What a day for fans of Pete Rose! And what a weekend, for that matter. We were lucky enough to be in attendance when the Reds retired Pete Rose’s #14 on Sunday. It was a hot day, but worth to be in the presence of some of the greatest players in history, including Rose, Johnny Bench, Joe Morgan, Tony Perez, and Barry Larkin. His induction into the Reds Hall of Fame, and his jersey retirement were a long time coming, so the crowd was pretty hot for Pete, also. Rose gave a great speech, and was very humble, and thankful to his teammates, manager Sparky Anderson, and especially to the fans. Here is the video I took of his speech:

Here are some more photos of the ceremony. The Hit King looks calm and cool as always, even in the 95 degree heat! I like the one where he’s about to give Bench a good bro-hug!

27648924610_4b1f9af768_z After the ceremony, the game got underway. It was a good one for Reds starting pitcher Anthony DeSclafani. He pitched eight scoreless innings, while scattering only five hits, and struck out five. DeSclafani even knocked in a run to help his own cause! Closer Tony Cingrani came into the game to close the door, and ensure Cincinnati’s first shut-out of the season.

Another big winner of the day, was Mr. Redlegs during the mascot race:

The Reds were led offensively by Jose Peraza, who went 2-4 with a run scored and a stolen base. Catcher Tucker Barnhart pitched in as well, going 2-3 with a walk and an RBI double. Jay Bruce also added a solo home run in the win. FINAL: Reds 3, Padres 0.

Despite the heat, it was a fun day at Great American Ballpark. I’m glad I was there to witness Charlie Hustle’s jersey retirement, and a rare Reds win. I was only able to score tix for the upper level to this game, but made sure my buddy and I were in the first row, so I was able to get some decent photos. On my way home, I went up and down the dial, but just couldn’t find WKRP on the radio…

Video and photos property of Minoring In Baseball

June 26, 2016

We Are the Champions!!!

Walsh Park-La Grange, KY: I honestly don’t know where to start! First off, I guess we can congratulate the Mariners on winning the North Oldham Little League Rookie Division championship! It was not an easy road, and there were many good teams in this league. The Mariners finished third in their division and received a first round bye. They faced the Indians in the quarter-finals, and won by the score of 4-2, with Brian getting the game-winning RBI. In the semi-finals, they went against the Royals, a team they haven’t beat all year. The Mariners won a tough battle, however, winning 6-4 on a hot 90 degree day at noon, to head to the championship. The Mariners were down 5-0 in the first, then battled back for the win. Their opponent in the final game was the Padres, the team that won the division in the regular season. This time it was the Mariners who jumped out to a lead, 3-0 in the first, then added a pair in the middle innings. The Padres stormed back in the fifth, scoring four runs, but the M’s held them off in the sixth for a 5-4 championship victory! Here are a couple of shots of Brian in the final:

The championship aside, though, I still believe this team was the best fit for Brian. The coaches never preached winning, but focused on having the kids be positive, work hard, and have fun playing the game of baseball. From there, the winning just sort of took care of itself. I really think Brian learned more about being part of a team and earning something you’ve worked hard for, as much as he did about the game of baseball. Their coach told the boys to enjoy this, as it may be the only championship they ever win, and he could be right about that. My last year in Little League was the one and only time I’ve seen glory in all my years of playing. I’m glad he’s tasted victory, but if he keeps on playing and loving this game, it’s sure to break his heart at some point. But that’s something I’ll start preparing for next year. This big win sparked him to want to play Fall Ball and to keep working hard at the sport, so that gives us something to look forward to in a couple of months.

It’s all about the hardware!

Here’s a video of the final out! You can see Brian charging in from the outfield ready to celebrate!

Video and photos property of Minoring In Baseball

June 21, 2016

Father’s Day Fun

Louisville Bats vs. Pawtucket Red Sox (International League)

Louisville Slugger Field-Louisville, KY: Well, first off this Father’s Day was all around a good one, but things simply didn’t go as planned. The first thing to not go as planned, was the notification I received from the Bats that game time was 6:05. Sunday games are usually at 2:05, and I’m not sure when they did the switch or why. If it’s because we’ve been battling 90 degree plus heat, then I do understand, but it messed with our plans as Brian had a baseball practice slated for 6:00, and we had planned to go to Kentucky Kingdom afterwards. If this was any other day, I would have cancelled our trip to the game, but this is Father’s Day, dammit, and I wanted to see some baseball! Brian’s mom and sister agreed to take him to practice, and Trevor and I headed to Louisville Slugger Field. And…I’ll take the kids to Kentucky Kingdom some time this week. I promise. For our second speed bump, you’ll notice how crappy my photos are, and that’s because I left my good camera in the van, and you’ll just have to suffer from the below average iPhone pics.

It was another hot day in the ‘Ville, as Trevor and I settled in, but it was an entertaining back-and-forth ball game. The Bats took a 1-0 lead in the first, as Scott Schebler hit a towering dinger into the left field stands. The PawSox battled back, however, tying the game in the third, and then hitting a home-run of their own to take the lead. It was the Bats turn to regain the lead now in the fifth, on a Juan Perez RBI double, and a Jermaine Curtis home run. On the mound, starter Stephen Johnson went five innings, giving up two runs on four hits, while striking out three. Surprisingly, it was relief pitcher Jumbo Diaz who took the loss, giving up two runs on three hits in one inning of work. Diaz had a franchise record going of 35 2/3 consecutive innings without giving up a run snapped. Well, aren’t we just good luck… Making a rehab appearance was Michael Lorenzen, who pitched a scoreless ninth inning giving up no and striking out two. FINAL: Bats 4, PawSox 5.

It was a fun game to watch, but a tough loss to take. And the last thing that didn’t really work as planned, is that the Bats advertised to ‘play catch with dad on the field’ after the game. As it was Sunday, the kids also are able to run the bases after the game. Unfortunately for us, the organization doesn’t have the foresight to have two different lines and entrances onto the field after the game. Trevor is too old to run the bases, and we just wanted to play a little catch. However, we were told we’d have to wait in the same line as the kids, which was 30-40 minutes JUST TO GET ONTO THE FIELD! Trevor and I decided just to play catch at home, and I am disappointed that we couldn’t make it onto the field. I hate to be negative, but the Bats can certainly do a better job of organizing this event. When we bring Brian with us, we’ll either have to wait in line that long, or miss the last two innings of the game waiting in line on the concourse. Anyway, it was still a good Father’s Day because of the kids, and we did have some fun. And despite the bad photos, I did remember to make a quick video during the game:

Video and photos property of Minoring In Baseball

June 15, 2016

Back to the Beach (Bums)

Traverse City Beach Bums vs. Joliet Slammers (Frontier League)

Wuerfel Park-Traverse City, MI: While back visiting family in Michigan, we decided to take in a Beach Bums game, the defending Frontier League champions. It seemed like we brought some of the southern heat with us, as the temps were pushing the upper 80’s, but the nice cool breeze off of Lake Michigan turned it into a perfect night for baseball. Brian remembered that the Slammers gave him a baseball last year, so he was actually rooting for the visitors.

The way the game started out, I thought it would be a high scoring affair, but then the pitchers settled in, and the game moved by pretty fast. At one point, 10 Beach Bum players were retired in a row. Lucky for TC, Jacob Lanning was on the mound, as he pitched a complete nine inning game for the win. He gave up only one run in the first inning, on seven hits, and he struck out two.

Also during the game, Brian was able to catch up with both Beach Bum mascots, Suntan and Sunburn. Be honest…doesn’t it look like the red bear is flipping me off??!!

SUNTAN

SUNBURN

Anyway, the Beach Bums scored one run in the first inning on a Will Kengor RBI double that scored Jose Vargas. Then in the fifth inning, Jeff DeBlieux hit a double of his own, this time scoring two to put TC in the lead for good. It was good to be back in Michigan, if only for a few days, and I’m sure this isn’t the end of us enjoying some games up here. We look forward to our next game in Kentucky, though! FINAL: Beach Bums 3, Slammers 1.

Photos property of Minoring In Baseball

June 7, 2016

Seeing Reds

Cincinnati Reds vs. Washington Nationals (National League)

Great American Ballpark-Cincinnati, OH: I have a new best friend, and it’s name is Seat Geek. It’s nice to live in an area where you don’t have to make plans too far out, as there are many places to catch a ballgame, and some days you have choices. When I woke up early Sunday morning, I checked out my app, and found fourth row tickets to the Cincinnati Reds game for only $9 each. I know the Reds aren’t exactly having the best season, but this was still a good deal in my mind, since it’s a ballpark we’ve never been to before. It was a day game, so God forgive me, we missed church, and drove just over an hour to Newport, KY. Now, Newport is a nice little town right on the Ohio River right across from Cincy, and after lunch were able to take a boat shuttle across the river to the game. It was pretty awesome, and only $5 a person. It’s better than paying and dealing with a parking garage, anyway.

A quick video:

The Great American Ballpark is a beautiful stadium, and it has a great baseball atmosphere. We were able to poke around a bit before the game, as there is lots to see once inside. Brian liked the play area, and especially the little fan ball field that he was able to play on.

We made it to our seats, and I was more than happy with our view! These are the kind of seats I’m used to at the Minor League venues. The boys were pretty much in ‘awe’, as this is the biggest stadium that they have ever been to.

Brian has a new best friend, too, and his name is Eugenio Suarez. When he was in the Detroit system, we saw him play as a member of the Single-A West Michigan Whitecaps, and Brian just happened to be wearing a ‘Caps shirt. Suarez noticed it (I’m guessing, really, don’t know for sure, but..) he looked at Brian and threw him a game ball. Not bad, kid, a ball at your first MLB game!

Brian made another friend, too, as he noticed Mr. Redlegs up on he concourse, and of course, we had to run up there for a photo op with him!

Brian with Mr. Redlegs

Oh, yeah, and all this time, there was a ballgame going on, too. The Reds actually jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the 2nd inning. Pitcher Jon Moscot couldn’t hold the lead for his team, however, as the Nationals got all over him in the fourth inning scoring five, then the Nats scored five more over the next two innings. Moscot got the hook, but Daniel Wright didn’t do much better, giving up three runs in 1.1 innings and he ended up taking the loss.

The Reds really made a comeback, however, scoring three runs in the seventh and one in the ninth to cut the lead to one. Tyler Holt lead the way offensively, going 3-5 with two RBI’s. Jay Bruce chipping in, going 1-3 with two RBI’s and two runs scored, while Brandon Phillips added three hits and an RBI. FINAL: Reds 9, Nationals 10.

I also have to give a shout out to Kyle Waldrop, who we saw play in Louisville last month:

Also, I didn’t forget to take another video of the game and ballpark. I can’t wait until our next game here!

Photos and video property of Minoring In Baseball

May 25, 2016

STAR WARS NIGHT-Episode VI: Return of the Bats

Louisville Bats vs Columbus Clippers (International League)

Louisville Slugger Field-Louisville, KY: It’s that time of the year again, and a change in venue couldn’t keep me from taking my scruffy-looking nerf-herders to Star Wars night. This year is our first here in Louisville, and they put on a pretty good show for the kids. Due to an accident on the freeway, we got to the game about a half hour late, so Brian missed out on his free light-saber (not that he doesn’t have an arsenal of them at home..). But, the weather was perfect, and my friend Darryl visiting from Ohio got us great seats behind the first base dugout. They had the Star Wars characters on the field before the game, and throwing out some first pitches.

We watched a few innings of the game, which turned out to be a pitchers duel, sort of… Chad Rogers got the start for the Bats, and he ended up pitching four shut-out innings. He gave up only five hits on the night, while walking two, and striking out three.

When the Star Wars characters started making their way to the concourse, the boys and I decided to join them. First of all, Brian was really happy just to finally meet the Bat’s mascot, Buddy Bat!

Brian and Buddy Bat

We then were able to see some of the Star Wars guys, with Brian getting in with an Imperial Speeder Bike Trooper, and Trevor and I were happy to see Boba Fett, who is our favorite and we missed him last year.

Back to the game. A 0-0 tie doesn’t sound all that exciting, but this was a great game to watch. Both teams had runners in scoring position multiple times without being able to push a run home. Louisville actually had the bases loaded with no outs in the sixth, and were unable to score. Pair that with a gorgeous night for baseball, and we didn’t mind at all going into extra innings! The game finally came to an end in the 11th, when Seth Mejias-Brean smacked a two-run homer to win the game and send the crowd home happy. Relief pitcher Wandy Peralta picked up his first win of the season, and Kyle Waldrop added a pair of doubles in the game. FINAL: Louisville 2, Clippers 0, 11 innings.

This game was as much fun at a ballgame that I’ve had in some time. It was a great time spent with the boys and my best friend, and it’s always good to be surrounded by other knowledgeable baseball fans. If the weather could be like this every game, I would be more than happy. I’m sure we’ll be making another trip to Louisville Slugger Field, too, and to some other teams in the area. I did remember to take a quick video, too, hoping the Bats would win it in the ninth.