A 'lil HooHaa

Messing with the blogging world since 2005

south atlantic 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!

Championship celebration

A celebration at any level of professional sports is pretty fun to watch.

In minor league baseball, championships don’t come every year because people move up the chain and faces change. This year, the Lakewood Blueclaws (Phillies)had a great run and made it to the South Atlantic League championship series, where they eventually lost to the Rome Braves.

I was on hand for the deciding fourth game as Rome earned a 3-1 series win.

The seats were in a great location (behind Rome’s bench), thus giving an excellent vantage point to the celebration. Here are a few of those photos:

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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: Lakewood gives fans many options

For the first time in several years, Lakewood was on the calendar for a visit.

For those who love minor league baseball, Lakewood is a great place to visit. The BlueClaws and FirstEnergy Park put on a solid experience. From the food and the activities, to the action on the field, it’s a top-notch place to visit.

Though this trip did have a small disappointment, but with a good ending. So allow me to get that out of the way.

The seats we had were slightly down the third-base line and the last row in the section. When we got there, people were in our seats, but despite grumbling, they moved. We sat down and the game was soon to begin.

Grabbing a few signatures in the passport.

Grabbing a few signatures in the passport.

We stayed in the seats for about an inning and a half, give or take.

I’m not sure what was going on, but people continually went up and down the aisle. And a lot of times, it was the same people. Up and down. It didn’t matter if it was in the middle of the inning, if there were people to bat or anything like that. Up and down. Ushers didn’t nothing about this, either.

In many stadiums, ushers will make sure people wait to go, at least, down the aisle. That way it doesn’t take away from other people enjoying the game. The usher near our section basically said there wasn’t anything he could do about it.

Eventually, one of the people in our group went and complained to the ticket window. To give credit, one of the managers (or somebody like that) who my friend talked upgraded our seats to an area where it was much better and we were able to enjoy the game. Kudos to the BlueClaws for that, but it’s a lesson to be learned here in regard to making sure all fans have a chance to … well, watch the game.

Back to the stadium.

Parking at FirstEnergy Park is easy and close. It’s pretty easy to get to as well, which is nice.

Once inside, there’s a lot of choices. The field features a full concourse that goes around the whole stadium. There are numerous choices for food and drink, which is a good thing. Prices are decent, but remember you are at the Jersey Shore — in the summer.

The team store is pretty big, especially considering it’s a Single-A team. The store has plenty of options and items for all fans.

Walking away with a ball.

Walking away with a ball.

There’s a friendly vibe here, which is good. The atmosphere is decent, but realize that not everybody is here just for baseball. With so many other things to enjoy, some come for the full social aspect — hence the up and down in the aisles. That aspect of things can hopefully be fixed by the team.

I do love stadiums that have the full concourse. Though I am one who usually stays put in my seat (I keep my own book, after all), I usually like to go for a stroll one inning a game. I peek around the park, watch the game as I walk, grab some food etc. Lakewood is a perfect place to be able to do this.

It also helps that I am a Phillies fan, so getting to see people in the minors is always a bonus.

Side story — and this doesn’t go against the stadium or the team because this can, and does, happen all over. But we had the human encyclopedia behind us this night. See, this guy knew everything about baseball. And he’d be fresh to tell you what kind of signing bonus people had or that they wouldn’t make it to the majors because of the round they were picked in (tell that to Mike Piazza, big guy), and he was quick to hit his smart phone to Google something.

Thankfully, he didn’t stay the whole game.

It is always amusing when people talk a little extra louder to their friends to act like they know more than they do. More than once I mentioned to those I was with how the guy was fully wrong and had no clue. Alas, I didn’t say much more and they left after six or so innings, which goes to show you how big of a fan motor mouth really was.

Side note two — one of the group ended up with a foul ball that game, which was cool.

In the end, a great night for a game. It’s always fun to visit a game at the Shore and see the BlueClaws play and I look forward to my next trip down.

Park Notes:  

FirstEnergy Park
Lakewood, NJ
Home of the Lakewood Blueclaws ( Single A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies)
Visited on: July 10, 2015
Opponent: Hickory Crawdads (Single A affiliate of the Texas Rangers)

Ratings (out of 10)

  • Stadium: 8.5/10
  • Concessions: 8/10
  • Parking: 8/10
  • Ambiance: 7/10
  • Friendliness: 9/10

I am continuing the Summer of Baseball from 2014 and hope to blog about each new stadium I visit in 2015. Ones visited in the past can be viewed linked up in the 2014 version.

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