A 'lil HooHaa

Messing with the blogging world since 2005

minor league

Summer of Baseball: Hagerstown gives you an old-school baseball setting

It’s nice to know there are some throwback baseball stadiums out there.

As baseball’s minor leagues get more and more popular, some places are having a hard time holding onto their teams. Take for example Oneonta in my area — the longtime Yankees and then Tigers short-season A affiliate bolted town before the 2010 season when new owners took over and lied about how long they’d stay to “try and make it work.” Instead, they moved the team to Connecticut where, yes, attendance went up but makes one wonder if it was worth it for the large bump in rent.

The moon over Municipal Stadium during a game.

But, I digress.

Hagerstown is that throwback. A stadium dating back to 1930 with not a lot of bells and whistles. It feels old in there. There isn’t a lot of pomp and circumstance and, if you’re there for the baseball, then it’s going to give you the experience you want.

I’ve found, in time, that some of these stadiums are hard to visit. But Municipal Stadium has gone through enough renovations to keep it nice, yet still keep its old-school charm.

What’s nice here is the ambiance of the park as a whole. The older “feel” to the ticket booth and the souvenir stand, as compared to a store. The fan services are also being a stand, rather than walking in somewhere. I loved that not all the food was out of a stand, rather having one spot where you could get something grilled right on the spot.

There were also two beers made locally — one for the team — which gave it a cool feel.

Sight lines are good as it didn’t seem there was a bad seat in the house. There weren’t a lot of fans that night, so I didn’t feel squeezed anywhere. People were friendly (including a few fans I had interactions with) and, overall, it was a nice experience.

The night I was there, they announced an attendance of 704, and that was probably being quite kind. It’s a shame, too, It’s a baseball experience that is going quickly by the wayside. With newer stadiums popping up with many amenities, these smaller stadiums and towns are bolting for bigger areas in the hopes of making more money. We can hope baseball will stay in areas like this, but it’s getting harder and harder for teams to maintain their presence.

Though my ratings are average, and I enjoyed myself and my trip to Hagerstown. I’d visit again if given the opportunity. If you have the chance, check it out in case it eventually is too late.

Park Notes:  

Municipal Stadium
Hagerstown, Maryland
Home of the Hagerstown Sun (Single-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles)
Visited on: July 20, 2016
Opponent: Columbia Fireflies (Single-A affiliate of the New York Mets)

Ratings (out of 10)

  • Stadium: 7/10
  • Concessions: 7/10
  • Parking: 9/10
  • Ambiance: 6.5/10
  • Friendliness: 8/10

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!

Summer of Baseball: Portland a good place to catch a game

Hadlock Field is one I’ve wanted to get to for a few years now. It’s also one of those fields kind of all by itself (Maine has one affiliated professional team), so going just for a game isn’t necessarily the easiest thing to do, despite Maine being an amazing state.

So, let’s break it down.

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Hadlock Field, built in 1993, is a solid minor league park. Though I’m not a fan of aluminum bleacher flooring, it’s a pretty comfortable all-around park. The ambiance is solid, which seems to be a pretty good trend when it comes to Boston Red Sox affiliates. The site lines in the park are good and the seats are decently comfortable.

The night we were there was cool, too, as it was a Seinfeld-themed night. Though not the biggest Seinfeld fan, John O’Hurley (who played J. Peterman) threw out the first pitch. It’s always neat to see things like that.

Anyway…

The park has an older flavor to it as the concourse is under the seating bowl. The concourse is decently wide but was definitely crowded. The team store is small, which shocked me, if not just because it’s a Boston affiliate. I think I hold the idea that Double-A and above would have better team stores, and despite seeing many smaller ones, it still shocks me.

The food selection was solid and the hot dogs were really good. I will say I didn’t have the food selection on the minor league food fight as it was this amazingly huge ice cream sundae sort of thing … and well, my blood sugar went up just looking at what it included, let along eating it. So I just went with a regular old ice cream and it was solid. Beer selection was pretty strong, too.

The stadium itself is pretty nice. A “monster” in left field is a nice tough, and I like the scoreboard. The elevated bullpen in right field was a  very cool setup, too. I think overall, it’s hard to not go here and have a good time. That being said, I have to pull off some points for the aluminum flooring because it’s really tough, at times, to pay attention to the game when there’s so much stomping on that flooring.

Parking is decent and not far from the stadium. The area felt safe and after, it was easy enough to get out, which is always a positive.

I’d definitely visit again, as long as it was encompassed with other aspects. For me, it’s a hard trip to pull off just for a game, but it’s definitely not a bad place to take in a game.

Park Notes:  

Hadlock Field
Portland, Maine
Home of the Portland Seadogs (Double-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox)
Visited on: July 15, 2016
Opponent: New Hampshire Fisher Cats (Double-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays)

Ratings (out of 10)

  • Stadium: 7.5/10
  • Concessions: 7/10
  • Parking: 7.5/10
  • Ambiance: 8/10
  • Friendliness: 8/10

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!

Summer of Baseball: Sussex County felt a little dusty

As the World Series is underway, I thought it was time to continue the Summer of Baseball posts and reviews. With going to 75 games this summer, I saw a lot of new stadiums and I have a lot to catch up on.

We’ll start the return with the Can-Am League, which is an independent professional league based in the Northeast and Canada.

Sussex County was the second Can-Am game of the year, following a trip to the Rockland Boulders. The experiences were extremely far apart.

The Sussex County Miners grabbed me with their cool logo and such, so it was a Sunday afternoon trip down. I did pick up a hat, for the record. Once there, it was easy to find parking (there were no more than 150-200 people there the day we were there — tops) and in we went. It was hot as could be that day, so we basically were looking for shade. The ticket person was an excellent help and set us up.

In we went.

First impressions go a long way though, and the impressions weren’t positive. The team store was decent, but was based outside the actual stadium. The inside area for team items wasn’t bad, either. Food choices were average and normal for baseball.

The field had seen better days, that’s for sure.

sussexcounty2

I did grab a ball…

Let me preface that by saying we were in a drought, but I’ve played on bad softball fields that were better than this field — and that’s saying something. It was dry all over and just didn’t have the feel of a “professional” team.

I realize, too, that I’ve been spoiled going to Atlantic League games. But Rockland County’s stadium and such was excellent as well, so I was shocked at how downtrodden Sussex County seemed to be.

Skylands Stadium, in Augusta, New Jersey, isn’t the newest of stadiums, being built in 1994. Still, it’s only a little beyond 20 years, so it shouldn’t feel this down. The seats are the ones that are already down and boxy, so that usually just irritates me, too.

I couldn’t get a vibe, either. Of the workers I spoke with, I thought there was a friendly aspect. But at the same time, you have to wonder how many of them enjoyed being there through a game like that with nobody in the stands.

It was in the mid 90s that day — and I only saw one or two people go to the ice cream vendor on the main concourse in the stands. The poor girl kept searching for shade when nobody was there.

Kids did run rampant, dashing all over the field for foul balls and such. That can get annoying when nobody is in the stadium because they don’t care where they go in search of the ball.

Let me give an example — with the full story. When we got there, we checked out where we were sitting and then went for a snack and to walk around. When we came people we in our seats. I wasn’t going to create a stink over it, so we just went to the aisle across from where we were sitting. In the second inning, those people got a foul ball.

That stunk.

Later in the game — in the fifth or sixth inning — an elder lady (probably in her 80s) slowly walked up the steps. We were sitting in the top row. She informed us that I was sitting in her seat.

They say fans in Los Angeles show up late?

Anyway, we decided to pack up and head to the main bleacher area (where like five people were sitting) because it was now in the shade. So I told the lady to give me one moment as I packed up my stuff. As I did, a foul ball came flying up, hitting the “luxury” suites over me and then dropped right in front of me. I picked it up, packed the rest of my stuff and started walking down the steps.

Then came the mad rush of 10 kids rushing for the ball asking where it was. All the while it was in my bag.

Look — I don’t mind if you give a ball to a kid who is sitting near you and acting nice all game. But kids who are running all over the stadium, jumping over seats, and not caring about other people for one — they ain’t getting it.

Not to mention the section we were in was one where a lot of people were because there was shade.

Anyway, that’s my story.

In the end, the experience was that of a baseball game on a sub-par field. The action wasn’t the best that day, which made it worse. Overall, it was a below average experience and one I likely won’t look to replicate. The lack of a crowd didn’t help, either, as the ambiance was basically non-existent. It seemed like a group of people were there for when one of the original Batman helicopters landed and made a dust storm. I was actually shocked it left before the game started as it didn’t seem like it was going to.

The hot dogs were pretty solid, though, so that’s a good thing. The hat I got was excellent as well. Prices, as it seems to be in independent ball, were a little high all around, making the subpar experience a little more of a sting.

Park Notes:
Skylands Stadium
Augusta, New Jersey
Home of the Sussex County Miners (Independent)
Visited on: June 26, 2016
Opponent: Quebec Capitales (Independent)

Ratings (out of 10)

  • Stadium: 4/10
  • Concessions: 7/10
  • Parking: 9/10
  • Ambiance: 4/10
  • Friendliness: 7/10

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook!

Summer of Baseball: Erie gives an intimate experience

This summer has been full of baseball, that’s for sure.

As of me writing this review, I’ve been to 50-plus games, and I’ve loved every inning of it. I don’t even want to think about how many miles I’ve been to watch these games. But it’s totally worth it.

With all the new stadiums I’ve been to, I’ve gotten behind on the reviews. On a hot summer day, finishing up the trip to Cleveland, we hit up Erie on the way home.

Jerry Uht Park is the home of the Double-A SeaWolves, an affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. In the past, I used to keep a lot of tabs on this team because of when I covered the short-season Single-A affiliate of the Tigers. In the past few years, it’s because they are in the Eastern League and I’ve attended many EL games.

Erie can now be crossed off.

This was an interesting park, that’s for sure. The park opened in 1995 is located in Erie. Originally home to a New-York Penn League (short-season A) team, the SeaWolves moved to Double A in 1999. According to the team’s website, more than 3.5 million fans have been to games since the team started in 1995.

Stamped in at Erie.

Stamped in at Erie.

This park is definitely right in the city. It’s tucked in nicely and we came on a Sunday afternoon game, so the attendance was sparse at best. We had called ahead and found out where there might be some shade and we ended up in the second level on the first-base line, which was named one of MiLB’s top 10 “seats” in 2008.

The park has some quirks, which makes it cool. Remember those second-level seats? Well the ones on the first-base side and third-base side are nothing alike. As I noted above, the stadium is built within a pre-existing city block, so it’s a little tight. The third-base side is more traditional with the seats leading up. Those first-base side ones, though, are stacked on top of the concourse and the back row of the lower seats. It’s a pretty cool place to watch a game from as you overlook the infield and don’t feel distant, despite being in the second level.

In left field, there’s an arena and it’s basically part of the wall for the baseball field.

Not many people were in attendance the day we were there, so we had the chance to sit back and watch. The sight lines are solid and you can walk around the field some and still see what is going on. There isn’t a full wrap-around concourse, but there’s plenty of space on the other concourses.

One thing, though, is when we were there, not all of the concession stands were open. It makes sense with the crowd they had, but we’re taking June. I can understand not having everything open if attendance is not doing well, but it seemed almost like a ghost town in parts of the stadium – including the stands. Still, people were friendly and helpful when needed.

The heat didn’t help that weekend, that’s for sure. And it was also Father’s Day, so that could put a damper on the attendance.

The team store is definitely more like a short-season A one as it’s barely something to walk into, and it has some rolled out areas and then the check out. Still, there were some good selections of items and it was easy to find the Passport stamp, which is good.

Free programs were also a positive and it seems like many teams are catching on to this idea, which is good. People don’t want to have to pay $2-$5 each game they go to for a program. Many teams sell the same program each game. In fact, one other Eastern League team sells the same program each game (no updates) and doesn’t insert stats/standings – you only get those if you are a season-ticket holder. Many teams who do the free programs make them smaller, and some even update them every home series or month, depending on the team.

The food selections seemed decent. We had already eaten that day, so I got the normal hot dog (above average) and souvenir cup soda. I didn’t try the MiLB food fight item because, honestly, I was way too full to try it. They had real ice cream that you could easily find (not just dippin’ dots), which is always good.

In the end, Jerry Uht Park was a positive experience and a stadium worth checking out. The ambiance wasn’t great, but there weren’t many people there. So I rate it a little lower in that category, but have a feeling it’s better when there are people in the stands. We parked across the street in a parking garage, but there didn’t seem to be an overabundance of parking. I wonder how this place would be on a night when they drew a good crowd. I imagine it could be tough.

It’s a good stadium worth checking out if you are close.  Plus, Double-A ball is usually pretty solid to watch.

Park Notes:  

Jerry Uht Park
Erie, Pennsylvania
Home of the Erie SeaWolves (Double-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers)
Visited on: June 19, 2016
Opponent: Bowie Baysox (Double-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles)

Ratings (out of 10)

  • Stadium: 8/10
  • Concessions: 7/10
  • Parking: 8/10
  • Ambiance: 7/10
  • Friendliness: 8/10

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook!

Summer of Baseball: Mahoning Valley leaves a sour taste, despite a nice stadium

I’m torn on Eastwood Field in Niles, Ohio.

There were a lot of good things about the stadium. But at the same time, there were some things that really ruffled my feathers, so to speak. And it’s just small things. But when you have enough of them, it adds up.

To be fair, it was opening night in the New York-Penn League. So I can chalk some of my issues up to that. But some of the others, well, I just think are silly and not necessary. Let me explain with this review what was good and what was bad.

You walk in, you pay.

You walk in, you pay.

First, the stadium. It’s extremely easy to get to and there’s ample parking. But this is where I have issue No. 1. It’s next to a mall, which means a ton of free possible parking. Except, well, if you park over there, you get charged to walk in.

No, I can’t make this up.

If you walk to the stadium, you get charged $3 per person. So I wonder if somebody lives a little ways away and just wants to walk… they have to pay $3, too? This, to me, is unacceptable. You are charging people an entrance fee no matter if they walk or park. How about this? Up your ticket prices a little and can the fee. It’s stupid and uncalled for. Or, work something out with the mall where you rope things off so people can’t park at the mall and walk in. Or work it with the mall where you can charge people to park there and give them a cut. There are so many ways around this. But to charge $3 for a person to walk into the area? Come on. It’s short-season Single-A baseball.

That made the night start off not-so-good. If a uniformed cop hadn’t been there, I can guarantee one of the two of us would have walked through without paying the fee (not me, I’m unfortunately too nice). Alas, that didn’t matter as there was one there and we paid.

See, here’s the other issue — I’m doing a review on the stadium and I’ve just spend that much time talking about a negative thing. Seriously. Oh, by the way — if we parked in the stadium area, it would have been $3 total in a gated area.

OK, onward.

It took us a few to get the tickets because the lines were huge. We saw no fewer than three people get visibly angry because they had been told they were in the wrong line, get to another spot and be told to go back to where they were. Thankfully, the will-call window I had to go to was a short line. In we went, and it was fine and all but … my lord it was a zoo. Again, I realize opening night, but it’s not like it’s the first time the team had been through this.

Glad I stamped in for this one as I'm not sure I'll get back.

Glad I stamped in for this one as I’m not sure I’ll get back.

Lines were immense throughout the whole game. Again, I get with opening night and a lot of people, things might be slower. But this was slow. Like, get in line and miss an inning or two long. I’m there to watch baseball, not sit in line for food. Thankfully, a vendor came around with hot dogs later in the game. I’ll chalk this up to opening night, but it shows me they weren’t prepared.

OK, the field. It’s excellent. I like the feel of the place. The ambiance was pretty solid. Fans seemed into the game, for the most part (though, people in seats next to ours had to move because they double-sold the seats — can’t make that stuff up), and it was a good place to catch a game. The sight lines are solid and you can see the field from pretty much all angles. You’re also pretty close to the action, which is always a nice thing when you are at a baseball game.

The concourse is like many other smaller stadiums in that it’s behind the main area, and not open. Therefore, if you go searching for food and are in line, you can’t see the game. Bathrooms are easy enough to get to and the team store, for a Single-A team, isn’t bad. You actually get to walk in, unlike a few others in the NY-Penn, so that’s a welcomed situation.

One final note, though. I came across many people who worked for the team and I was a little shocked that it felt like it would be a chore to smile or say hi. I said hi to several people and they just kind of looked at me. I asked a few questions and each person acted like they were doing me a favor to answer. Several walked by groups of people with their heads down and didn’t say a word or smile. This wasn’t everybody, but it was enough where I felt like it wasn’t the most friendly place in the world.

In the end, I’d go back to the stadium to see a game, but I’d do it on a slower day and I’d still not be happy about having to pay if I walked in. Like I said, a few of the items I chalk up to opening day (not that I think it’s right), but some of the things just left a sour taste in my mouth.

Park Notes:  

Eastwood Field
Niles, Ohio
Home of the Mahoning Valley Scrappers (Single-A affiliate of the Cleveland Indians)
Visited on: June 17, 2016
Opponent: West Virginia Black Bears (Single-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates)

Ratings (out of 10)

  • Stadium: 8/10
  • Concessions: 6.5/10
  • Parking: 5/10
  • Ambiance: 7.5/10
  • Friendliness: 6.5/10

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook!