Baseball Stadiums: MiLB Mascot Mania

A few weeks ago, I mentioned write a post about my experiences with Minor League Baseball mascots.  After taking some time to gather my photographs and put things into a spreadsheet, I can report that I have photographs with 22 MiLB team mascots over the past four seasons.

I've had my picture taken with mascots at almost all levels: Triple-A, Double-A, Class A Advanced, and Class A.  I do not have any pictures with me and mascots from Class A Short-Season or Rookie level teams.

My first photograph with a mascot happened by circumstance.  In 2011, I attended a Tacoma Rainiers game will in Seattle for the AAG Annual Meeting.  I don't remember the situation, but I was exploring the stadium when Rhubarb the Reindeer walked by, and I jumped on the chance to get my photo taken with him.

Me with Rhubarb the Reindeer.

Although I have been attending MiLB games since the early 1990s, I never sought out photo opportunities with mascots until 18 months ago.  I was teaching in the geography department at Oklahoma State University, and decided to add some life to my first day of class slides and incorporated photos of me with mascots.  If students guessed where I was based upon the picture they got a bonus point, and it helped me learn names with faces, too.

So the first time I did that, I included the my photo with Rhubabr and some others that I accumulated during the 2012 season.  In order, I got photos with the Arkansas Travelers mascot Shelly (put out to pasture since the team's rebranding in 2014), the Montgomery Biscuits mascot Big Mo, and the Memphis Redbirds mascot Rockey the Rockin' Redbird.

Me with Shelly at Dickey-Stephens Park.

Me with Big Mo at Riverwalk Stadium.

Me with Rockey the Rockin' Redbird.

During the Spring 2013 semester before I went to Los Angeles for the AAG Annual Meeting, I had a student ask if I was going to get my picture taken with any mascots at the games I planned to attend.  That's when something that started by happenstance turned into a hunt to get my picture with as many mascots as possible.

On that trip, I attended two Minor League games and got my picture with Tremor from the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes and Thunder from the Lake Elsinore Storm.

Me with Tremor at LoanMart Field.

Me with Thunder at the Lake Elsinore Diamond.

During the summer, I visited the Dayton Dragons while in Cincinnati, Ohio, for the AP Human Geography Reading.  So I got my picture taken with all three of the team's mascots: dragons Gem and Heater, and Wink, an ogre.

Me with Gem and Heater during a rain delay at Fifth Third Field.

Me with Wink at Fifth Third Field.

Before my move from Oklahoma to Alabama, I did some sightseeing in in the Ozarks and got my picture taken with the both mascots for the Northwest Arkansas Naturals, Strike and Sinker, and the Springfield Cardinals duo: Louie and Fetch.

Me with Strike at Arvest Ballpark.

Me with Sinker the Lake Creature at Arvest Ballpark.

Me with Louie at Hammons Field.

An extreme closeup of me with Fetch at Hammons Field.

During the 2014 season, I got nine pictures with mascots from eight teams.  The first three mascots I saw came during the AAG Annual Meeting in Tampa, Fla.  I got pictures with Phinley from the Clearwater Threshers, Marty from the Bradenton Marauders, and Blue from the Tampa Yankees.

Phinley try to eat me at Bright House Field.

Me with Marty at McKechnie Field.

Me with Blue at George M. Steinbrenner Field.

After the AP Human Geography Reading I made two stops on my way back south, and saw the Bowling Green Hot Rods and Nashville Sounds.  I got photos with both mascots from the Hot Rods, Axle the Bear and Roscoe the Grease Monkey, and I got a picture with the Sounds' mascot Ozzie.

Me with Axle the Bear at Bowling Green Ballpark.

Me with Roscoe the Grease Monkey at Bowling Green Ballpark.

Me with Ozzie at Herschel Greer Stadium.

In July, I went to a Gwinnett Braves game and got my photo with their mascot, Chopper.  I had been to a G-Braves game prior to this season, but did not get a picture with the groundhog.  So I made sure to my picture with him this time.

Me with Chopper at Coolray Field.

In early August, I made a trip through the Tennessee River Valley and visited the Chattanooga Lookouts and Huntsville Stars.  The primary purpose of the trip was a reunion with former Stars coworkers, as the team has been sold and is supposed to move to Biloxi for the 2015 season.  While I had been to a Lookouts game at AT&T Field many years ago, I had not blogged about my experience and wanted to be sure I got my photo with the Lookouts mascot Looie.  With the Stars set to move, I felt compelled to get my photo with Homer the Polecat.

Me with Looie at AT&T Field before I competed in musical chairs.

Me with Homer the Polecat at Joe W. Davis Stadium.

I have a few places in mind that I hope to visit in 2015, but it's too early to predict how much I may get to travel next season.  I know that I will be in the Chicago area in late April for the AAG Annual Meeting, but many Minor League teams have yet to release their 2015 schedules.  Closer to home, I'm hopeful that I can see the minor league teams in Georgia and Alabama that I have not visited yet, which would add four teams to my tally and theoretically six mascots to my picture collection.

Baseball Stadiums: 2014 Recap

As the Minor League Baseball regular season comes to a close with the Labor Day weekend and the Major League Baseball regular season concluding at the end of the month, it is only appropriate that I post an update about the stadiums I've visited this season.

I visited five new stadiums this season, re-visited five ballparks, and blogged about nine of them.

The stadiums I had never visited before are:

Bright House Field in Clearwater, Fla. (home of the Clearwater Threshers)
McKechnie Field in Bradenton, Fla. (home of the Bradenton Marauders)
George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, Fla. (home of the Tampa Yankees)
Regions Field in Birmingham, Ala. (home of the Birmingham Barons)
Bowling Green Ballpark in Bowling Green, Ky. (home of the Bowling Green Hot Rods)

The ballparks I've visited previously, but had not blogged about are:

Herschel Greer Stadium in Nashville, Tenn. (home of the Nashville Sounds)
Coolray Field in Lawrenceville, Ga. (home of the Gwinnett Braves)
AT&T Field in Chattanooga, Tenn. (home of the Chattanooga Lookouts)
Joe W. Davis Stadium in Huntsville, Ala. (home of the Huntsville Stars)

The lone park I visited, but did not blog about is:

Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati, Ohio (home of the Cincinnati Reds)

Most of my visits were done in clusters as I made other trips.  I visited the three Florida stadiums while in Tampa for the AAG 2014 Annual Meeting.  I visited Bowling Green and Nashville while returning from Cincinnati, Ohio, after attending the AP Reading.  I visits AT&T Field and Joe W. Davis Stadium because I attended a reunion of former Huntsville Stars employees.  My excursions to Regions Field and Coolray Field were solo trips to visit with friends.

These trips now bring my tally to:

• MLB = 20 (13 active)
• AAA = 9 (8 active)
• AA = 18 (14 active)
• High A = 5 (5 active)
• Low A = 4 (2 active)
• Short-Season A = 6 (5 active)
• Independent = 5 (4 active)
• Spring Training = 10 (9 active)

Depending upon how you count Joe W. Davis Stadium in Huntsville, my count for active Double-A stadiums is 14 or 13.  As the Stars will play in this season's Southern League playoffs, the stadium is active as of this post.  Additionally, as the opening date of the team's new stadium in Biloxi, Miss., is up in the air it is possible the Stars franchise may play part of the 2015 season in Huntsville.  Until the team's move comes to fruition, I am going to count Joe W. Davis Stadium as an active facility.

As of this post, I have seen professional baseball games (including Spring Training) in 27 states, the District of Columbia, and one Canadian province (British Columbia).  I did not visit stadiums in new states this season, but attended games in six states (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Ohio, and Tennessee).

As a geographer, my life isn't complete without a map.  So for those who want to see my stadium visits in a map, you can check out this active map I created using Google Maps.

In my quest to get a picture with as many Minor League mascots as possible, I probably should discuss the mascots I got pictures with this season.  However, I'm going to save that for another post when I can take the time to tally the photos I got during the 2014 season along with the mascots I got pictures with in previous years.

Baseball Stadiums: McKechnie Field

While in the Tampa region for a conference, I aimed to visit as many of the area Minor League Baseball stadiums.  From downtown Tampa, where I stayed for the conference, there are five minor league teams within an hour drive.  So after committing to watching a Clearwater Threshers game (more on that visit here), I had to choose between the other ballparks to visit.

Eventually I decided to make a trip to the south end of Tampa Bay, and visit the Bradenton Marauders.  I decided to visit Bradenton for a few reasons.  1: It is near DeSoto National Memorial, and visiting NPS sites is another one of my traveling objectives.  2: The Marauders are a Pittsburgh Pirates affiliate, and with my family roots in Pittsburgh it felt appropriate to visit a Bucs' farm team.  3: I've read and heard stories about McKichnie Field being a great venue.

McKichnie Field has a unique history because it has hosted Spring Training games since it was built in 1923, but did not have a minor league team for several years because the stadium lacked lights.  Lights went up in 2008, and in 2010 the Marauders came into existence.

Unlike many of my other recent Minor League Baseball stadium visits, I did not have anything to prepare me for the visit because Benjamin Hill from MiLB.com has not visited Bradenton yet.  I was excited about exploring a place that Ben hasn't visited, and it guaranteed that I would be getting to the stadium as soon as the gates opened so I could explore as much of the ballpark as possible before the game began.

Main entrance.

The stadium is at the intersection of two major roads, so it lacks the parking lots that have become commonplace with ballparks.  In my case, a colleague told me that parking was limited and encouraged me to park far enough away from the stadium to avoid having my car struck by a foul ball.  As I wrapped up my visit to DeSoto National Memorial around five o'clock, I knew that I would have some time to kill before the gates opened.  Along 9th Street I unexpectedly found Motorworks Brewing, and stopped in for a couple of beers to kill the 30 minutes before the gates opened.  After asking the bartender how much further to the stadium, he said I could leave my car in the lot and walk the three blocks.  Not everybody may be as lucky, but I saw that some small lots surrounding the stadium charged $5 for parking.

Walking up to the stadium there are a series of banners.

Bradenton will be hosting its first Florida State League All-Star Game this year.

The second set of banners...

McKechnie Stadium has hosted Pirates Spring Training since 1969.

Like many facilities that host Spring Training, McKechnie Field has decor that promotes its springtime residents: the Pittsburgh Pirates.  The box office reflects this with markings for the Pirates and Marauders.

The box office and main gate.

One of my first stops at a stadium is the gift store to get something for my friend's 3-year-old son.  Usually I buy a soft baseball or the mascot depending upon what the store carries.  The gift store at McKechnie Field is small, so I didn't bother taking a photo of it.  However, just outside the store was the up-to-date Florida State League standings and the night's starting lineups.

The night's starting lineups along with directions to the Clubhouse Store.

While the Marauders don't have a large gift shop, I had a great experience mostly due to the team's general manager, A.J. Grant.  In addition to looking for a soft baseball and the mascot, I wanted to get a polo shirt with the Marauders logo on it.  The store didn't have any polo shirts on display, but after I asked the workers for help A.J. quickly tracked down a selection of shirts.  I opted for a black shirt with the alternate logo, and I'm hopeful the team will introduce a shirt with the stylized B on it.

After completing my most important task, I explored the selections at the concession stands.  First up was the Pirates Cove Grill...

Pirates Cove Grill concession stand.

Just down from the Pirates Cove Grill was the Yuengling Plaza Bar, so no food but a variety of beer choices.

According to the bartender, it is packed during Spring Training.

The Yuengling Plaza Bar has one especially unique tap: Pirate Brew Reserve.

Pirate Brew Reserve a.k.a. Pabst Blue Ribbon.

As I hadn't found any really unique food, I continued exploring the ballpark and ventured out to the Kona Bar built by NDC Construction in right field.  However, before I got there I encounter the Marauders' mascot, Marty.

I ran into Marty as I was heading to the Kona Bar built by NDC Construction, so I got my mascot photo done early.

After getting my picture taken with Marty, I made it to the Kona Bar built by NDC Construction.  It was Thirsty Thursday, so there were a lot of people already hanging out at the Kona Bar.  While I don't consider myself a beer snob, I wasn't excited about the prospects of $1 Bud or Bud Light so I was standing at the bar waffling before a couple in their 20s came up and the guy offered to buy me a Bud.  I wasn't about to refuse a free drink, so it was Buds all around!

The Kona Bar built by NDC Construction was a popular spot on Thirsty Thursday.

As I talked with the couple, I told them I was a geography professor at The University of Alabama, which was met with a groan from the guy.  He was a graduate of Auburn University, and was a bit dismayed about buying me a beer in hindsight.  However, he was gracious about it and the pair recommended I ask for a deep fried hot dog at the main concession stand if I wanted something unique to eat.

After finishing my beer, I continued walking around the stadium and made sure to get to my seat so I could catch the first pitch.

First pitch between the Palm Beach Cardinals and Bradenton Marauders.

Before hunting down the deep fried hot dog, I watched a few innings from my seat right behind home plate.  It allowed me to take this photo...

Palm Beach designated hitter Alex Mejia taking swings on deck.

When I got to the stadium, I asked workers what they considered the most unique food item that I should eat and all of them said that there wasn't anything unique or special that I had to eat.  The menu choices were not bad, but just the standard ballpark fare.  When I went back to Pirates Cove Grill, I asked for the manager and requested a deep fried hot dog with nacho cheese.

Deep fried hot dog with nacho cheese and pickled jalapenos.

The hot dog was good, but not great.  I would have it again though.  I later found A.J. Grant and asked him about why the stadium didn't have Primanti Brothers sandwiches, which are a famous Pittsburgh food item and available at PNC Park.  Grant said that Primanti Brothers would only open a location if they could get the bread specifically used for their sandwiches, so until Mancini's Bakery makes their bread available in the Tampa Bay area there will be no Primanti Brothers available at McKechnie Field.

Moving along from food, I took a few shots of game action to capture a fuller sense of the ballpark.  So as I walked around a bit during the game, I snapped this shot...

Palm Beach starting pitcher Mike Mayers delivering the pitch to Bradenton designated hitter Max Moroff.

I also got a different view of the Kona Bar built by NDC Construction.

The Kona Bar built by NDC Construction with the batter's eye.

And this view of the stands in left field....

The left field bleachers were nearly barren.

Along the exterior of the seating bowl, a variety of banners promote the Pirates, Marauders, and their sponsors.

Banners on the backside of the seating bowl.

While McKechnie Field may not have a signature food item, it certainly has a variety of unique beers.  In addition to Yuengling being served at the stadium, a concession stand called The Pitt-Stop had a wide variety of beers.

The Pitt-Stop and its selection of beers.

The selection at The Pitt-Stop was great.  The stand had a wide variety of imported beers, domestic craft beers, but most importantly it had some Pittsburgh staples like Iron City and I.C. Light.  As a good son of Pittsburghers, I had an Iron City Beer while enjoying the game.  Even if fans don't want an Iron City there are lots of options for beer connoisseurs.

Like many minor league games I have attended, the Marauders conclude the night's festivities with launch-a-ball.  I'm used to hearing it called tennis ball toss, but regardless of the moniker the result is the same.  Fans get an opportunity to throw tennis balls onto the field aiming for a selection of targets to win prizes.

Marty checking the tire to see if anybody won the launch-a-ball contest.

There were no winners from the launch-a-ball contest, but I certainly came away a winner after my experience in Bradenton.  Yes, I was disappointed that there were no unique food items that I "had" to eat.  No, the lack of a marquee food item did not deter from my enjoyment at McKechnie Field.

Yes, the stadium has a wide selection of quality beers.  What the Marauders lack in the food department, the beer offerings more than make-up for it.

Most importantly, the hospitality of the staff stands out.  Every staffer that I spoke with about food or while perusing the Clubhouse Store was extremely helpful, and made sure that I found anything I wanted.  It was great that someone attending the game as a fan, and not a member of the media was able to talk with the team's general manager when running into him on the concourse or while getting help looking for a polo shirt.