Since 2010, the start of spring means that I am traveling to a new city to attend the
AAG Annual Meeting. The 2014 conference was in Tampa, Fla., which was a slight letdown because Tampa doesn't scream "tourist destination" to me. However, I was optimistic that I could see the
Tampa Bay Rays play at Tropicana Field and maybe catch a few minor league games.
As it turns out, MLB's schedule makers had the Rays on the road during my conference. However, with five teams within an hour drive of downtown Tampa I had the opportunity to visit my choice of minor league ballparks. The first stop was Clearwater because I had a New Year's resolution to get my photo taken with the
Threshers' mascot,
Phinley, after casting many ballots for him during the 2013 Mascot Mania contest.
As the conference approached, I made sure to circle a Threshers' game on the schedule. I ended up going on the day that I arrived, and went to the game with a pair of fellow geographers. We arrived at the stadium just as the National Anthem began, and got fantastic seats behind home plate for $10.
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| Main entrance to Bright House Field with the sculpture called "The Ace" by Kevin Brady. |
Per my planning before taking any kind of trip that involves attending a Minor League Baseball game, I checked out Ben's Biz for pointers about enjoying the stadium experience. So for anybody who regularly reads his pieces, you'll see some similarities to his 2012 visit to
Clearwater.
As I attended a Tuesday night game, I didn't get to enjoy any special giveaway item, but I did get to enjoy
floridacentral Credit Union $1 Tuesday.
We didn't make it into the stadium for first pitch, but I was able to get my customary photo from behind home plate. Unfortunately, I just missed getting a photo with the first batter for the
Tampa Yankees at the plate.
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| The view from behind home plate. |
Over the past few years my interest in getting my picture taken with baseball mascots has grown, and it's become of a bit of an obsession when it comes to minor league games. Thankfully one of my travel companions, knows about this interest and quickly pointed out Phinley approaching as we neared home plate. So he encouraged me to get my photo with the landshark. So I was quickly able to fulfill one of my MiLB resolutions.
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| After a standard photo of me next to Phinley, he insisted upon a picture with him trying to eat me. I love it! |
Whenever I go to a baseball stadium, I always try to find something unique to that stadium/city/region to eat. My preference is to find an encased meat, such as a hot dog, bratwurst, or sausage of some kind. However, in Clearwater that was not going to be the case. From reading Ben's Biz I had seen that
Bright House Field served Philly cheesesteaks from
Delco's Original Steaks and Hoagies, which has locations in Dunedin, Fla., and Chadds Ford, Pa. On dollar beer night, I opted for what one of my companions calls his "cheap beer" of choice and paired the cheesesteak with a Yuengling Lager.
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| My Delco's cheesesteak that I topped with a variety of pickled hot peppers. |
The cheesesteak was pre-wrapped, and adhered to the original cheesesteak recipe and used only onions. However, these were diced onions and were not sauteed to my liking, and I wanted a bit more spice to my dinner so I topped it with a variety of hot peppers. I'm not a cheesesteak expert, but it was a great meal and the provolone cheese was melted into the meat to offer a creamy taste.
Like many ballparks in Florida, Bright House Field also serves as a Spring Training facility. The Philadelphia Phillies have trained in Clearwater since 1947, and moved into Bright House Field in 2004. As a Spring Training site, the stadium has just as much Phillies branding as it does Threshers marks.
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| Aisle seat with a palm tree and a variant of the Phillies logo. |
As a Spring Training facility, Bright House Field has a much larger seating capacity than a standard High-A stadium. However, it also has a few more amenities than other ballparks at that level. While many minor league stadiums are getting newer and bigger video scoreboards, there are still some at the lower levels that do not have this feature. I can't say for sure whether the Threshers would or would not have such a scoreboard without playing at a Spring Training site, but they do and in addition have a nice outfield berm.
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| The scoreboard with part of the outfield berm next to the home team bullpen. |
Perhaps my favorite part about the ballpark's amenities was the tiki bar in left field. It is sponsored by
Frenchy's, which is a local chain of restaurants noted for their grouper sandwiches.
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| I didn't have any food at Frenchy's, but enjoyed another $1 Yuengling Lager. |
In front of the tiki bar is a large seating area, and even though it was a bit chilly that night it didn't dampen the crowd's spirits. The crowd wasn't too raucous, even though Phinley was fraternizing with the locals.
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| Phinley having fun with people by Frenchy's tiki bar. |
After the three geographers bellied up to the bar, I asked the people in front of us to take a picture of the trio together. I got my camera back, although it seemed like I may have harshed the woman's buzz.
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| Fred Shelley, Jonathan Leib, and myself enjoying drinks at Frenchy's. |
Not far from the tiki bar, we found an advertisement promoting the upcoming summer concert schedule. While I understand it's minor league baseball, I got a laugh that Jamie Lynn Spears was promoted as "(Sister of Britney Spears)," as if music fans wouldn't know her otherwise. Seriously, if I lived in the area I would probably attend the concerts on May 30 and June 20. I genuinely like Journey, and absolutely love funk music.
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| We just missed watching Jamie Lynn Spears (Sister of Britney Spears). |
Like most minor league stadiums, Bright House Field has an extensive kids' play area. In addition to the playground, it has a ball toss apparatus that attracted a handful of kids.
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| The random head is from a kid trying to see whether he tossed a home run from long range. |
The game ended with the Threshers' rally falling just short in the 9th inning, but the night concluded with a launch-a-ball contest. It's become common fare at minor league stadiums to sell tennis balls and allow fans to throw them onto the field aiming for targets to win a variety of prizes.
While the weather was overcast and a little nippy by Florida standards, it was a great experience. The food was reasonably priced, the workers were friendly and the stadium had a plethora of entertainment options. It's also important for me to say that while I'm not a Phillies fan because I grew up in the Atlanta area cheering on the Braves in the early-'90s, I am definitely a fan of the Threshers and their friendly landshark.
