Back in Tennessee and the surrounding area to finish up the rest of the Appalachian League. Today’s first game was at Howard Johnson Field, home of the Johnson City Cardinals. The Cardinals are obviously the affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals, and over the weekend they had the World Series trophy on display from the 2006 World Series. It looks exactly like it does on tv, and although I wasn’t able to touch it, I was told it weighs about 30 pounds. Did you know—the trophy was first awarded in 1967, when the St. Louis Cardinals defeated the Boston Red Sox.

Howard Johnson Field is a nice older ballpark that is over 50 years old. The most interesting feature about the ballpark is the hill located in right field. If you are familiar with the ridiculous hill in center field at Minute Maid Field in Houston, the hill at Howard Johnson Field is somewhat similar except for the fact that it stretches across the entire right field wall, and is at least 20 feet deep. Players have to spend a few games getting used to “how to play the wall”, as it can be quite tricky to run up the hill and catch a fly ball.

Afterwards we headed just 10 minutes down the road to see the Elizabethton Twins, who later did win the Appalachian League Championship on August 31, 2007. I’m not surprised that they won, as this was the same team who won a game by the score of 22-3 against the Greeneville Astros just a few weeks back. How good are the Elizabethton Twins? They haven’t had a losing season since 1989. Recent notable Major Leaguers that have played in Elizabethton include Justin Morneau and Joe Mauer.