A 'lil HooHaa

Messing with the blogging world since 2005

Baseball

A journey to ballparks helps create a web presence

There’s something to be said about a baseball journey, as compared to other major sports.

Though attending other sports live is a great thing, baseball stadiums seem to draw people more than, say football, basketball, or hockey. Those other sports have great venues, but do people make trips just to see the stadium or arena?

I’m not so sure.

Maybe for the atmosphere. Or for tailgating. Or in a few instances, the history. But none of them compare to baseball.

Malcolm MacMillan, founder of Ballpark Guide, at a recent game in Binghamton.

For many baseball fans, wanting to see as many stadiums — in the majors or minors — is a goal many will share.

One big goal is to his every Major League stadium. Others just like to go to different stadiums and see what is offered.

Stadiums are unique in most instances and often have different dimensions and looks. It’s part of what makes baseball so great.

Then there are people who chronicle these trips. Some will give reviews, or just talk about their trips, or share tips and such. It might be just using social media. It might be something bigger like a blog or a website dedicated to these journeys.

This allows readers and followers to get a sense of what you were seeing and experiencing on your baseball trip.

For Malcolm MacMillan, the journey includes visiting parks, and doing all of the above — social media, a website, and a blog — to share is love and fandom of visiting baseball parks around the United States and Canada.

To make it even more interesting, though, MacMillan is a Canadian who lives in Eastern Ontario, so it’s not the easiest to try and plan longer trips because of travel time.

“I was interested in seeing games in as many stadiums as possible,” MacMillan said during a recent trip to Binghamton to see the Double-A Rumble Ponies. “As a writer, I wanted to try and turn it into a website. It snowballed from there. … It’s a long-term project for sure.”

MacMillan, who has a background in newspapers, has developed a following for his social media and blogs. He takes photos, selfies, and shoots videos talking about his trips.

For some people, though, trips aren’t too hard. They can get to many stadiums at the minor or major level in just a couple of hours. But for MacMillan, it takes some more in-depth planning, considering where he travels from.

“I enjoy looking at a map and schedule and figuring out a route,” he said. “It’s a challenge to get six teams in a row, all in a reasonable drive.”

That’s also part of the fun as he gets so share his trip with those reading his website, blog, and social media site.s. It allows people to follow along what he is doing.

For something that isn’t a career, it’s done as love. He loves the game of baseball, as well as meeting and chatting with people along the way.

Take for instance one story where MacMillan retrieved a home run ball and had one heck of a whirlwind where the ball eventually ended up back to the player who hit the ball and the two developed a friendship. It’s much easier for you just to read his account of everything.

Stories are what trips like this are about, though. As are the people and the games. MacMillan has visited more than 60 stadiums, chronicling his travels along the way.

“You find stories about travels,” he said. “Baseball seems to be the sport you want to see as many stadiums as possible. You don’t have to be glued to your seat. I like to share that experience.

“One thing I love is you never know what to expect,” he said. “They all have their own experiences. It’s always an adventure at a ballgame.”

To see more about MacMillan and his travels, see his information below:

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” A ‘lil HooHaa on Facebook! You can also follow me on Twitter @softball29!

Can of Corn Challenge: Best baseball movie (June)

“A good friend of mine used to say, ‘This is a very simple game. You throw the ball, you catch the ball, you hit the ball. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, sometimes it rains.’ Think about that for a while.”

This question has been posed to me more than once and I’ve never wavered from my answer.

Bull Durham.

There are some great baseball movies. Field of Dreams. The Natural. Pride of the Yankees. Bad News Bears. The Sandlot. Major League. For Love of the Game.

Then there’s Mr. 3,000. Oh wait … I went too far with that one.

But then there’s truly Bull Durham and it stands above all other baseball movies, bar none.

Years ago, when I was starting out my career at a daily paper, I had to write a column during the MLB playoffs. I wasn’t much of a column person then, so I needed to dig deep. I ended up writing a top-10 picks of baseball movies.

It wasn’t even close.

Bull Durham is a classic in every form. It’s funny. It’s semi raunchy at times. It has a good story. The actors are fantastic.

And it has baseball.

The movie is full of quotes, too, which makes it even better. While it’s true it’s probably not for younger fans, the movie has withstood the time. On a visit to Durham last year, the team store had a bunch of things related to the movie. It’s very cool in that regard.

A quick story about this movie, though.

Years ago, we were playing at a softball national tournament. While there, I met up with an old college friend who was playing with another team. After our games were done, a bunch of us were standing beyond the outfield wall of another game, having a few cordials and chatting. At some point … the quotes started.

And though we couldn’t go through the whole movie, it seemed like between the whole crew, we covered every quotable part of the movie. It was pretty cool.

The movie is just about the perfect baseball movie, and with that in mind, I’ll leave you with this quote:

Skip: You guys. You lollygag the ball around the infield. You lollygag your way down to first. You lollygag in and out of the dugout. You know what that makes you? Larry!

Larry: Lollygaggers!

Skip: Lollygaggers.

If you are a baseball fan and have never seen this movie … I am not sure what you are waiting for. Make sure you go see it … and realize why it’s so amazing!

If you are taking part in this month’s Can of Corn Challenge, link up below and visit any others who might be doing the same! You can see the remainder of the themes for this summer (and join us in any that you would like) by clicking here.

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” A ‘lil HooHaa on Facebook! You can also follow me on Twitter @softball29!

Can of Corn Challenge: Swing and a miss (May)

Even Mighty Casey did it.

Baseball is a funny sport. So is softball, for that matter. If you break it down to its simplest terms, baseball can be explained quite easily.

Somebody throws a small round object at you and you are trying to hit it with a stick. It could come at high velocity, or slower and moving all over the place. If you should happen to hit the ball, the idea is for somebody else to catch it and get you out, either by catching it in the air, or by throwing the ball to another person to get you out.

Simple.

Or is it?

Strikeouts are a way to for pitchers to, sometimes, show some dominance. The idea, of course, is for batters to swing and miss … and then pitchers know they’ve done an excellent job.

Strikeouts come at all levels of baseball. I remember many of mine, be it in baseball or softball. I always prided myself on behind a good hitter and being able to make contract. Still, strikeouts happen — and often it’s a swing and a miss that gets you.

Think about this — the top 10 pitchers in MLB history have combined for 40,726 strikeouts. Let that sit in for a bit. That’s a ton of strikeouts and, most likely, a lot of those have a lot of swing and misses.

I’ve played softball for more than 25 years. That’s a long time to play modified pitch softball. Yes, I’ve struck out. I even remember a few games where I struck out more than once.

It’s all part of the game.

As much frustration a batter gets when he or she swings and misses, remember that more often than not, batters make contact with the ball. So think of the frustration a pitcher must feel!

Back to Mighty Casey, though. Let me leave you with this YouTube video of James Earl Jones reading the famous story of Mighty Casey.

If you are taking part in this month’s Can of Corn Challenge, link up below and visit any others who might be doing the same! You can see the remainder of the themes for this summer (and join us in any that you would like) by clicking here.

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” A ‘lil HooHaa on Facebook! You can also follow me on Twitter @softball29!

The Chiefs make you want to get on board

It’s time to get on board.

As a fan of minor league baseball, I love having several teams to choose from within a couple of hours. From the Binghamton Rumble Ponies, to the Syracuse Chiefs, to the Tri-City ValleyCats, to the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, there are plenty of options.

But one team sticks out as one that has turned a pretty good corner over the past several years – the Chiefs.

One of the major reasons for the changes is general manager Jason Smorol and his staff, which is among the smallest in Triple-A baseball, according to Smorol.

My first interaction with Smorol came during his first year. I had gone to the team store in search of the Baseball Passport stamp. The people couldn’t find it, but said they’d track it down and took down where I was sitting. A couple of innings into the game, the stamp was found.

Who delivered it?

Smorol.

Smorol with Syracuse’s NBT Bank Stadium in the background.

Since then, when I go to games in Syracuse, I still see Smorol doing his thing. He gets out and talks with people. He remembers fans. He makes connections. For being a step away from the majors (Syracuse is the Triple-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals), he still seems to carry the type of feel you’d get from a general manager at a much lower level of play. He still pops by our seats, too, remembering who we are and where we sit.

“Talking to people is super important to me,” Smorol said on a sunny early spring day, as his team played a double-header for its second and third games of the year. “We need to connect with fans.”

Not everybody thinks this way.

On a road trip last year, a couple of us visited a park of a team in a very low-level Single-A league. The stamp, again, couldn’t be found. But the GM wouldn’t be bothered, so the store manager tried to help us. It wasn’t found.

In my years in newspapers and covering minor league baseball for six years, not all GMs in the Single-A league I covered were this way (though, to be fair, I only dealt with a handful of them).

Baseball is a business, though. The year before Smorol took over the Chiefs, the team was $1.2M in the hole. Last year the team turned a profit of $67,000. That might not seem like a ton, but obviously Smorol and his staff are doing something right to have that kind of turnaround in fewer than four full seasons.

“We’re still here,” he said. “Each year has gotten better. It’s selling fence signs, getting more groups, and having more promotions.”

Attendance has also been on an increase in his three seasons, and the numbers seem more legit than in the past. Of the games I’ve been to, the announced attendance seems to be – give or take – about right, when you factor in all variables.

In 2016, the Chiefs drew an announced 274,427, which is about 28,000 more than in 2013.

It seems people are getting on board, which is the slogan for the team.

“We’re the choo-choo Chiefs,” Smorol said. “We needed a call to action. Get On Board. This train will not stop. It gives you something to ask the fans.”

Syracuse’s franchise has a long history with Syracuse. Smorol, who is a Syracause-area native and who has served as the neighboring Auburn Doubledays general manager several years ago, knows and appreciates the history and what the team means to the area.

“We want to be here,” he said of the community owned team. “This is good for the community.”

Despite the more than two-hour trip to get to Syracuse, I have over the past few years attended a bunch of games. There’s a good energy. There are really good promotions and concessions. And there’s truly not a bad seat at NBT Bank Stadium. This season, I opted to buy a 10-ticket flex pack, so I’ll be getting to a bunch of games this year.

Smorol said he is happy with the progress the team has made and knows there is still a lot of work to be done. In a dream world, Smorol says this is would be his final stop for his career.

“I knew it would take 3-to-5 years, but I thought it could be quicker,” he said. “I’m proud of our staff. What we are able to do with our budget and staff – I couldn’t be prouder. I don’t know if anybody thought we’d still be here. There are a lot of people pulling for the Chiefs.”

I’ve gotten On Board with the Chiefs – the question is, are you?

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” A ‘lil HooHaa on Facebook! You can also follow me on Twitter @softball29!

Can of Corn Challenge: An early baseball memory (April)

My father wasn’t much of a baseball person.

I don’t recall a lot of memories many young boys have with their fathers in regard to baseball. I am pretty sure we might have gone to a minor league game or two as a kid. But I remember being in Philadelphia and left behind when my father and grandfather took my older brothers to a game at the Vet. I do recall getting a Larry Bowa giveaway shirt, though.

1982 champs!

I don’t have memories of playing catch with my father, though in later years, there are some fond memories on the golf course together.

But I do have a pretty vivid baseball memory of him. It was 1982 and I was 8 and playing in the younger division of the local “little league.” My father was the chief of police in town, so he usually worked during the days and such.

For the 1982 season, though, he coached our little league team with another father or two. I do remember him at games, wearing a cap, in jeans and a short-sleeve shirt and doing the best he could as coach. I can still picture him, when the tattoos he got when in the Air Force (on his arms) were a little more vivid and vibrant. I can see him watching the game as it unfolded.

As an 8-year-old on that team, it was an important memory.

I think what is even cooler, though, was that we won the championship that year. I still have the tiny plaque we received for winning that year (something I again experienced five years later – but my father wasn’t the coach of that team), and it’s something I’ve though back on several times.

So despite never learning how to score a game, or have daily catches in the summer with my father, there’s an important memory as a youngster where I shared baseball with him.

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” A ‘lil HooHaa on Facebook! You can also follow me on Twitter @softball29!