Lookouts

Lookouts
A GREAT view of the field at AT&T Park in Chattanooga during their pre-season open house!

Friday, March 29, 2013

Wild Pitches

Morgantown West Virginia will be getting a NYPL team!  I think it is cool that West Virginia will have teams in the New York Penn League AND the Appalachian League (not to mention the South Atlantic League)- which are very similar leagues in my books.

http://www.milb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20130326&content_id=43326810&fext=.jsp&vkey=news_milb&sid=milb




Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Virgil Trucks

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/virgil-fire-trucks-dies-threw-two-no-hitters-in-one-season-detroit-tigers-032513

I am sure you have heard that Virgil Trucks has passed away.  I am very sad to hear this, but I am glad that he lived such a long and productive life.

I did correspond with him a little, and I did write a review of his book back in early 2010.  Here is the link:

http://kentuckybaseball.blogspot.com/2010/04/book-throwing-heat-life-and-times-of.html

Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Rocky Cherry- Cubs and Orioles

Rocky Cherry played for the Cubs and Orioles between 2007 and 2008.  He signed a Camden Yards postcard for me recently, adding a fun note.

Friday, March 15, 2013

Wild Pitches

Not to deviate too far off the topic of baseball but.....

Have you read this weeks "Point After" column in Sports Illustrated yet?  Even when they don't talk about baseball, I love reading it.

Steve Rushin has one of the wittiest ones yet with his "Morality Players."  Go pick up this weeks issue (there is an interesting article on Stanford's Mark Appel that will justify a baseball fans purchase of SI this week).

Anyway, Rushin has some of the best lines ever in this article about being a moral sports fan.  He asks if NASCAR fans are unintentionally supporting the gun lobby (as an upcoming race is sponsored by the NRA).

He describes the phrase "student-athlete" as Orwellian (well done Mr. Rushin!).

Steve is getting a great point across in his article (in the same way Seth MacFarlane gets a point across in any episode of Family Guy).  You really MUST read the entire article.  If you aren't crying with laughter by the end of it, you aren't alive.

Allow me to quote my favorite line from the article, "And we tell the angel on our shoulder to lighten up, to give us a break, that it's O.K. to eat a chicken taco at a baseball game without knowing whether the poultry in question was farm-raised, hand-fed or homeschooled."

A+

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Terry Collins

 I sent a note to Mets manager Terry Collins this year at Spring Training.  He obviously has a lot on his plate this year, but I still got a nice form letter from him!  I thought that was pretty cool!


Saturday, March 9, 2013

Minor League FOOTBALL in Kentucky

If you are like me, you are going crazy waiting for the minor league baseball season to begin!  Make sure you check the Kentucky teams web sites (linked on the right side of this blog).  Most are scheduling fan fests and other fan events linked to the start of the season.

Until then, don't forget that Kentucky has THREE CIFL football teams playing!  Actually, the regular season goes through April, so there is plenty of time to catch a game or two in Owensboro, Louisville, and Pikeville.

I have started a blog myself devoted to the Owensboro Rage.  Check it out- owensbororage.blogspot.com.

Just like many of the indy league baseball teams, these are scrappy talented players with a lot to prove.  The owners investing in these teams have a LOT to lose and little to gain.  They truly appreciate your support.


Tuesday, March 5, 2013

Favorite Minor League Parks

Benjamin Hill at milb.com does a great and fun job of reviewing minor league parks.  I always read his postings.

Recently, he posted about his favorite parks.  Check out his reviews here:

http://www.milb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20130227&content_id=42079540&fext=.jsp&vkey=news_milb

Oddly, I have only been to two parks that he mentions (Durham Bulls Athletic Park and Modern Woodmen Park).  I totally agree with him that these are two of the best.  You cannot beat the view at Modern Woodmen at all.

Like Ben, I find it hard to rank the parks I go to.  Plus, I always have a great time just being at a minor league ballgame!

Off the top of my head, I would say that my best game day experiences have been in Florence Kentucky, Indianapolis Indiana, Sevierville Tennessee, Lake County Ohio, Mahoning Valley Ohio, Pawtucket Rhode Island, Omaha Nebraska, New Britain Connecticut and Charleston West Virginia.  I know I am leaving some great places out.  I also know that I might come up with an entirely different list if you asked me to name my favorites tomorrow.

Friday, March 1, 2013

Wild Pitches

We are just a month or so away from the start of the season!  I don't know about you, but I always get excited this time of the year, thinking about road trips to various parks!

I was talking to a friend the other day.  He is getting close to retirement age, and he is thinking about trying to visit all of the major league parks.

I love this idea, but I asked him about seeing some of the minor league parks.

He has not been to PNC in Pittsburgh at all, but hopes to get there this year.  I told him that that park is probably my all time favorite.  Then I told him that my second favorite (majors or minors) would be Victory Field in Indianapolis.  I encouraged him to make sure he gets to Indianapolis for his pilgrimage too, even though it belongs to a AAA team.

There are so many ways to rank and judge a park though.  I know some people like the very modern parks, and some like the more traditional feel.  Some people think that there are only 29 parks in the US and 1 in Canada.

Sure, I hope to visit all of the MLB parks at some point in my lifetime (I am about halfway there), but I am even more proud of the fact that I have visited about 70 minor league parks.

What do you think?