An enthusiastic, irreverent, but exhaustive guidebook to all the stadiums of Minor League Baseball, following up on the success of the first Ultimate Baseball Road Trip book, which was dedicated to Major League stadiums.
The most entertaining and comprehensive guide to every baseball fan’s dream road trip—including every new ballpark since the 2004 edition—revised and completely updated!
The perfect travel guide for baseball fans who want to see more of the great ballparks in America’s heartland, this handy guide gives you the tips for best lodging, great restaurants, and local attractions for the Major League and minor league cities and towns that dot the Midwest. With details about every ballpark from Major League Baseball to the Frontier League, this travel companion tells you the best places to sit, the best ballpark food to eat, and the best places to go around town when you are not at the ballpark. From taking in a AAA game with the Iowa Cubs in Des Moines and visiting the Field of Dreams to knowing how to best experience Target Field in the Twin Cities, Baseball Road Trips: The Midwest and Great Lakes is all you need to plan a dream baseball road trip.
Grab a Zweigle's White Hot at Dwyer Stadium (built in 1939) and cheer on the Batavia Muckdogs. Join B.B. the Bluefish as he warms up the crowd at Bridgeport's Ballpark at Harbor Yard. Take in the view of Coney Island from the upper deck of MCU Park, home of the Brooklyn Cyclones. Watch from a box seat in Pawtucket as top Red Sox prospects try to make it to the bigs. . . . It's all part of minor league baseball in the Northeast. This book conveys the essence of the sport--from the sublime (summer nights under the lights cheering for a hometown team) to the ridiculous (racing bagels, cowboy monkeys, garish "alternate" uniforms--by visiting 27 minor league ballparks through the Northeast. It offers both a visitor's guide and an appealing narrative, covering the particulars of each venue--who plays there and when, how to get there, where to sit and what to eat--and describing what makes each park, and each team and town, special. It also offers a bit of history of the parks--the legends who played there and the great games they hosted. From Portland, Maine (home of the Sea Dogs) to Altoona, Pennsylvania (home of the Curve), this book features Triple-A, Double-A, and Single-A action from every part of the region.
Baseball Vacations34 Unforgettable Family Trips to 110 of America's Most Fan-Friendly Minor League and Classic Major League Ballparks "Jam-packed with suggestions in a user-friendly format that guides the reader to the diamond-shaped heart of America." -- David Lynch, "The Cedar Rapids Gazette "One of the finest travel books of the season...a terrific selection of the best baseball around the country." - Everett Potter, "The New York Times News Service Want to know which team has the funniest mascot? Which ballpark has the best contests for fans? Which stadiums serve loganberry juice, buck-a-bone BBQ, and buttermilk pie? And what you can do before and after the game? (How about whitewater rafting, rollercoastering, listening to live country music, or riding the steepest passenger railway in the world?) The authors cover the Baseball Hall of Fame and travel from the Cape Cod Leagues to California's Rancho Cucamonga. The fresh, lively anecdotes and compelling baseball lore that fill every chapter are sure to amuse -- even if the family favorite doesn't win. To help you create years of great ballpark vacations, the Adams family, parents, and children tell all: How to get foul balls, collect autographs, and save money on ticketsFamily-friendly diners, cafeterias, and restaurantsWhere the visiting team staysWhere to sit, where to park, what to eatThe best giveaways and contests
Matt McCarthy never expected to get drafted by a Major League Baseball team. A biophysics major at Yale, he was a decent left-handed starter for a dismal college team. But good southpaws are hard to find, and when the Anaheim Angels selected him in the 21
Named a Best Book of 2020 by NPR and Lit Hub. A Los Angeles Times Bestseller. A New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice "In The Cactus League [Emily Nemens] provides her readers with what amounts to a miniature, self-enclosed world that is funny and poignant and lovingly observed." --Charles McGrath, The New York Times Book Review An explosive, character-driven odyssey through the world of baseball Jason Goodyear is the star outfielder for the Los Angeles Lions, stationed with the rest of his team in the punishingly hot Arizona desert for their annual spring training. Handsome, famous, and talented, Goodyear is nonetheless coming apart at the seams. And the coaches, writers, wives, girlfriends, petty criminals, and diehard fans following his every move are eager to find out why—as they hide secrets of their own. Humming with the energy of a ballpark before the first pitch, Emily Nemens's The Cactus League unravels the tightly connected web of people behind a seemingly linear game. Narrated by a sportscaster, Goodyear’s story is interspersed with tales of Michael Taylor, a batting coach trying to stay relevant; Tamara Rowland, a resourceful spring-training paramour, looking for one last catch; Herb Allison, a legendary sports agent grappling with his decline; and a plethora of other richly drawn characters, all striving to be seen as the season approaches. It’s a journey that, like the Arizona desert, brims with both possibility and destruction. Anchored by an expert knowledge of baseball’s inner workings, Emily Nemens's The Cactus League is a propulsive and deeply human debut that captures a strange desert world that is both exciting and unforgiving, where the most crucial games are the ones played off the field.
Minor league baseball is quintessentially American: small towns, small stadiums, $5 tickets, $2 hot dogs, the never-ending possibility of making it big. But looming above it all is always the real deal: Major League Baseball. John Feinstein takes the reader behind the curtain into the guarded world of the minor leagues, like no other writer can. Where Nobody Knows Your Name explores the trials and travails of the inhabitants of Triple-A, focusing on nine men, including players, managers and umpires, among many colorful characters, living on the cusp of the dream. The book tells the stories of former World Series hero Scott Podsednik, giving it one more shot; Durham Bulls manager Charlie Montoya, shepherding generations across the line; and designated hitter Jon Lindsey, a lifelong minor leaguer, waiting for his day to come. From Raleigh to Pawtucket, from Lehigh Valley to Indianapolis and beyond, this is an intimate and exciting look at life in the minor leagues, where you’re either waiting for the call or just passing through.
This comprehensive visitor's guide to the teams of baseball's South Atlantic League lays out the methods needed to plan efficient, cost-effective and rewarding road trips to see home games at ballparks throughout the league. It provides carefully planned travel routes, including lists of interesting eateries and attractions (both baseball-related and otherwise) in or near each team's city. The text traces the history of the league, profiles each current team in detail, describes each ballpark and identifies players who have led the league in batting or pitching. Team profiles list more than 300 players who played with a South Atlantic League team and went on to have a successful major league career. Information about nearby teams outside the SAL is also included for travelers wanting to broaden their baseball road trip experience.
Just as baseball is at the heart of America, so too is Route 66. This book is a photographic tribute to the national pastime along the artery that stretches from the shores of Lake Michigan, close to where the Cubs play, to the Pacific Ocean at Santa Monica, where baseball memories and players abound. Among the players who will guide readers on the journey will be baseball greats George Brett, Billy Hatcher, Alex Bregman, and Ryan Howard. Leading off will be Johnny Bench of Binger, Oklahoma, and cleaning up will be Jim Thome of Peoria, Illinois. In Grassroots Baseball: Route 66, photographer Jean Fruth weaves more than 250 full-color images of the national pastime along the historic highway into a tapestry that reminds us of the heart and soul of America. Route 66 passes through eight states in its journey to the Pacific, and each chapter opens with a first-person essay by a baseball legend from that locale recounting his early memories of playing the game, and what it was like growing up along the Mother Road. That highway took stars like George Brett, Billy Hatcher, Alex Bregman, Adam LaRoche, and Ryan Howard to faraway places they only dreamed about as kids. Each chapter documents the route they took, from sandlots, ranches, and beaches to ballparks at every level of organized baseball, from Little League games to the World Series. With an introduction by Johnny Bench, a foreword by Mike Veeck, a preface by retired Hall of Fame President Jeff Idelson, and an afterword by Jim Thome, this book touches all the bases for any and every baseball fan.