Wild Pitches

Yeah, I know it has been a while......  But I did want to say hello during this very dormant non-baseball season.  There are a few things going on.......

First off, CONGRATS to former Florence Freedom Manager, Fran Riordan!  Fran has been hired by the A's organization to manage their Beloit team.  This is a very big deal and I love hearing about Frontier League players and managers getting picked up by affiliated teams

Also, Skylands Stadium in Augusta New Jersey will once again have a team playing in the Can-Am League!  I think this is great news.  We have been through that area several times, and really love it!  We stopped by and saw the New Jersey Cardinals of the New York Penn League back when they played there.  This is a very scenic area, and the fact that they once again have a pro-ball team gives me another excuse to visit!

I do hope to have a few more posts over the next few weeks!

Florence Freedom 1st Pitch

My young friend Owen recently got to throw out a first pitch at a Florence Freedom game!

VOTE FOR Kentucky's own STEVE DELABAR!!!!!!

I wanted to take a moment to mention that former Florence Freedom pitcher (and current member of the Toronto Blue Jays) Steve Delabar is in the running for a final spot on the American League All Star Team!

Steve VERY briefly played for the Freedom in 2008 and he was out of professional baseball by 2010 (he was a school teacher in Elizabethtown at that time).  In 2011 he found his way back in to professional baseball and he has made it to the majors!

Anyway, click on the link to vote for Steve!

http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/events/all_star/y2013/fv/ballot.jsp?tcid=ASG13_HP_MW

Frontier Greys

I was able to catch the Frontier Greys playing against the Florence Freedom this weekend!

There is something so odd about a league's "traveling team".  It has no home.  It is pretty much expected to lose most of its games.  There is no real hope of making the playoffs.

I do love the fact that this team is in the league because it is a tribute to the 1st Frontier League championship team from 1993, the Zanesville Greys.

The Greys looked impressive to me against the Freedom.  I looked over the roster, and there are some impressive names that have spent time in affiliated ball.

I saw some good base running and smart plays in general from this team.  Outfielder Mark Micowski went all out going after a ball and tripped over the VERY short outfield fence.  Talk about giving 100%.

Anyway, its great to see the Greys back on the field again.

Freedom vs the Freedom

The Frontier League's season has started!

I did make it to Florence to check out one of my favorite teams, the Freedom!



Rent One Park- Marion IL, Frontier League Championship

We made our first trip to Rent One Park in Marion Illinois this weekend!

I have already mentioned the Championship Series between the Southern Illinois Miners and the Florence Freedom- but I was thrilled to have my first visit to this park occur during this exciting time.

The Miners did a great job of trying to get the local fans interested and excited.  They opened their parking early lot for tailgating and if you got to the park soon enough, they waved their parking fee.

I am starting to find myself in Illinois a bit more these days, and the state is growing on me.  There are some nice small communities, college towns, and historic areas.  I like driving through these days.

I was exciting about visiting Marion and Carbondale on this trip.  I had a great time in both areas before the game.

Back to the game.....

We did get to the park before the gates opened and there was a very festive vibe going on.  Players and staff mingled pleasantly with the fans.

As fans waited in line to get in, coach John Lakin passed through the crowd on his way in.

"Thank you all for coming out" he said loudly.

AND that is why minor league baseball is so good.  More specifically, that is why the Frontier League is so good.  A coach will thank fans for coming out to support the team.

The Miners have several mascots.  I love them all.  They do have "The Green Man".  He is a guy in a green costume covering his entire body.  He danced around and interacted with the fans.

Like Florence, the Miners also have an eyeball race.  I love this.  It is just weird and fun to watch.

The Miners have a well stocked team shop but their prices are on the high end.  Then again, maybe they are just waiting to mark things down after the season ends.

Hats off for the merch selection though.  They did have a team set of cards (something many indy teams have stopped selling), shirts, jerseys, etc.

The Miners have a rally crew too, like most teams these days.  These guys were totally pumped up for the game.  They were cheering and dancing all through the game, and even in the parking lot before the game.

Most rally groups like this save their excitement for between innings.  These guys were dancing on the dugouts between EVERY batter.  They did slow down a bit around the 3rd inning.  It did distract from the game but they get an A for their enthusiasm.

One of the cheer squad members did sing our national anthem before the game.  Usually I am not a fan of all of the extra notes added these days.  I like hearing it delivered in a traditional way.  Well, the girl who sang it Saturday night added the extra notes but she did it melodically AND in tune.  She wasn't forcing her voice to do things it shouldn't.  Her voice was very capable of hitting those notes most cannot.  This was possibly the best performance I saw all season.

AND congrats to the Miners for winning it all this year!  Sure, you beat MY Florence Freedom to do it, but you did it with style!

I was glad to see a group of maybe 20 fans cheering for the Freedom too.  I was a bit surprised that a nice group made the journey down for the game!

Florence Freedom- Frontier League Championship

The Frontier League Championship Series JUST ended in Marion Illinois!  I personally attended game 2 in Florence and game 3 in Marion!

It was great seeing the Championship trophy in the team shop at both parks.  To the left is my photo from Florence.  I will have a photo up from Rent One Park (home of the Southern Illinois Miners) probably tomorrow.

If you followed this series at all, you know that it was very exciting.  Except for game 2 they were all close, and they all featured tense situations in the 9th (or 12th)!

AND, how many championships have been decided by a walk-off walk?

This was a VERY exciting series, and it gave me the opportunity to squeeze in a few more games before the minor league season ended!

The Florence Freedom are one of my all time favorite teams, and I was pulling for them, but then again, I love the entire Frontier League.  I would have loved for the Freedom to win it, but there was no shame in falling to the Miners.  They are a tough team.

Frankly, I didn't get to attend as many games this year as I usually do.  I especially didn't get to see the Freedom much, so I was really happy to have the chance to squeeze a couple more in.

If you have ever attended a championship game in the minors, you know that the feel can be a little under enthusiastic.  I think most casual fans are unaware that a few extra games have been added for the season.  Crowds can be a bit unimpressive.

I thought both venues drew good crowds.  There was more enthusiasm in Marion than in Florence, but that might have been because of their teams dominance starting in game 1.

I know in some ways, staff may be exhausted form the season.  Some people may have been excited about the season (and work) ending, just to find out that a few more games have been added.  Its great that they stick around to keep the season going for just a little bit longer.....



Wild Pitches

The Southern Illinois Miners are playing the Florence Freedom in the Frontier League Championship!

Anyone in the northern part of Kentucky or the western part of the state should be able to catch one of these games.  Marion, IL, the home of the Miners, is not too far out.

I have mentioned before that I really love this league.  I was at last nights game in Florence, and I am hoping to be at Saturday nights game in Marion.  I will get photos up soon.....

On a different note......

I enjoy all of minor league baseball, but I am getting really frustrated with the affiliate teams' web sites.  They are bad.

It seems to me that this season they really went over the top with advertisements.

First of all, I am going to their sites to literally see an ad for their product.  If I wanted to read about a university or a car, I would search that product's site.

When I really got interested in baseball several years ago, I loved the purity of the minor leagues. 

Sure, you have sponsors, company names on the outfield wall, etc. and I am OK with that.

But ads on top of ads on the web site- I don't like that.

I will still go to a lot of games each season, and I will still frequently check sites linked to milb.com...  but that love of minor league baseball is just a little bit less right now.

Florence Freedom

Congrats to the Florence Freedom!  They are currently having a VERY successful post season right now!

I have mention how much I love this team before and I am so happy about their recent success!

2012 Florence Freedom

I was able to get to one of my all time favorite parks a few days ago for the first time this season!

I really love the Florence Freedom and the Frontier League.

The who atmosphere is just a lot more casual than at even some single A parks I know.  The staff and the players are more calm and cool.

The players have more to prove too and they play a bit more aggressively.

The Freedom play at such a cool park.  There are funny paintings on the walls in the bathrooms and their between inning stunts are a bit more entertaining than at some parks.  I love the eyeball race.  I love their mascots too!


The park in Florence is another one of the great lower league parks where yo are still in an urban area, but you feel like you are not.  The outfield area overlooks the very green area of town.

Plus, I like Florence.  They have a nice mall, several nice food places close by, and they now have a Half price Books!

On the day i went, the Freedom were playing my other favorite Frontier League team, the Washington Wild Things!  Washington's coach, the legendary Lenny Randle was hamming it up and entertaining the crowd before the game!  He very kindly jumped the fence at one point and went to the stands to sign autographs!

This is easily one of my all time favorite teams and parks.  I think a lot of people over look the indy and smaller league teams which is sad.

The Freedom offer great deals on tickets, have great promos and affordable food items.


http://www.florencefreedom.com/