Today was a huge day for us. We arrived at the Great American Ballpark early today for the 12:30 Reds-Astros game because we were throwing out the first pitch. We were able to set it up where I was pitching and Chris would be catching. This was the first time that we were going to be throwing out the first pitch at the Major League game, so we tried to come prepared. Last night we had a catch in the parking lot and tried to break in Chris’ new glove. So when it came time to throw the pitch, let’s just say things didn’t go exactly as planned. I decided to throw a slight curveball that started down the middle and eventually curved across the outside corner of the plate. Chris wasn’t quite expecting it, and the ball hit off the tip of his glove and ricocheted directly to the right side of the backstop.

Before you watch the video, let me add this disclaimer. I had to take off my Phillies hat (due to the fact I’d be on the Reds JumboTron), and even though it looks like I’m throwing a Tim Wakefield knuckleball in terms of speed, I actually threw around a 50+ MPH curve, which isn’t too shabby. And yes, the camera is positioned perfectly to capture this semi-failed first pitch. At least there were only 30,000 people in attendance and not 40,000.

A special thanks to Kim for organizing everything for us today at the game! We got a quick tour around the park, and the major addition to the ballpark is the huge Riverboat Party Deck that was built out in center field. It offers a great view of the whole stadium, and is a great place to take large groups. Here is a picture of us (or at least our shadows) taken from the Riverboat.

A couple of interesting things to note on the Reds team—for instance, the new centerfielder, Josh Hamilton. He is showing so much promise that the Reds moved Ken Griffey Jr. to right field so he can play center. A recent article on Yahoo! Sports talks about Hamilton’s long journey to the Majors. Interesting read. As for the game, both Adam Dunn and Ken Griffey Jr. belted home runs leading the way to a Reds victory over the Astros.

After the game we split down the road towards Louisville. We’ve been looking forward to this day for awhile because Louisville Slugger has been the presenting sponsor of our Tour this year. We met up with Rick, our contact at Louisville Slugger, and he gave us a brief tour of the offices and set us up to see the factory tour. (The factory tour is mind-blowing, and I’ll write more about it later.)

Later that night we saw the Louisville Bats squeeze out a victory over the Phillies triple-A affiliate, the Ottawa Lynx. We even got to see Phillies fan-favorite, catcher Chris Coste, who I believe just got called back up to the Phillies. The Bats stadium was hopping at the outfield deck all night long due to the cheap beer and nice views of the field. This is the first stadium I’ve been to where kids have a chance to ride a carousel while watching the game. If you took all of the games and rides from a some of the Minor League ballparks we’ve seen so far, you would have one rockin’ carnival.

Although it was a doubleheader day, today was pretty light due to the fact that we weren’t able to set anything up in either stadium. Tough front office crowd, I guess. This morning the Legends hosted the local kids for another Education Day, and I have to say there is something surreal about hearing thousands of kids sing along “OOO-WOOO, EEEE-OOO” to Gwen Stefani’s “The Sweet Escape” as it blasts over the sound system. The Lexington Legends’ most recognizable player is Coby Clemens, son of Roger, who actually played a game last year with his dad when he was getting ready to rejoin the Astros in mid-season. Thanks to Eric for getting us tickets for the game.

The Dayton Dragons’ stadium, Fifth Third Field, is THE place to be in Dayton, OH. This team packs in the crowd, averaging 8,375 fans per game, or 116% of capacity. Earlier in the season, the team reached a milestone in terms of attendance—they had their 500th consecutive sellout, which is supposedly the longest streak in all of sports. Even more impressive is the fact that the Dragons have only been in Dayton since 2000. We headed out shortly after the game to Cincinatti in order to prepare ourselves for the busy day ahead of us.

Consumerist.com has some good tips for getting tickets for your favorite baseball team. Here is an excerpt:

Bonus tip: Rules are made to be broken.

“We’d have people come in with unused tickets from months ago or rainout tickets that were way past their exchange date (even from previous years). Despite what you’d be told if you called up the general ticket line, we could help you if we wanted. Be nice and you might get free tix to an upcoming game in exchange for your worthless pieces of paper.”

Read the full post “Lines Are For Suckers: How to Get into a Baseball Game” at consumerist.com.

We got an early start today because we had to exchange our rental car due to the fact it had too many miles on it. It was a bit sad to say goodbye to our not so beloved Pontiac G6 with the poor paint job, but we got over it as soon as we found out we were getting upgraded to a Chrysler 300. This car is a bit more spacious and comfortable—and it can actually accelerate when you step on the gas. As a bonus, it comes with Sirius radio, which is good because Chris and I have exhausted our playlists on our iPods and Zunes. The only bad thing about the car is the actual size. I feel like I’m driving a float in a parade on the highway.

We had some time to kill before we went to see the Indianapolis Indians, so being the culture vultures we are, Chris and I were able to visit the Indianapolis Museum of Art. They had a small but rich selection of contemporary art, such as Robert Indiana’s infamous LOVE orginal print and sculpture, a few Andy Warhols, and some other solid pop art. If you are ever in Indianapolis, Chris and I gave the museum two thumbs up. Highly recommended.

Now turning back to baseball, the Indianapolis Indians play their games right downtown at Victory Field, which is located next to the RCA Dome. There are smoke stacks to the right of the stadium, which adds to the view. Victory Field also provides fans with a few games behind center field that reminded me of a carnival—the water pistol gun game, and shooting basketball hoops through a most unforgiving rim. The Indians exploded in the 7th for 7 runs and beat the Syracuse Chiefs, 9-7.

Next time we go to Indianapolis, we are definitely checking out the Heroes Museum. How cool does that look?

This morning we headed to Midland to see the Loons, who recently located to Midland after calling Battle Creek, MI their home for the past decade. Apparently the team (then known as the Southwest Michigan Devil Rays) had such a hard time getting people to the ballpark. At one time they even tried giving $1 to every person who attended the game one night, but it had little effect on attendance numbers. What is interesting about this team is that they are now owned by a non-profit—The Michigan Baseball Foundation. The MBF moved the team to Midland and constructed a $28 million dollar new stadium with the help of none other than famed sports complex architects, HOK. Operating as a non-profit, any profits the team has at the end of the year will be redistributed to the local community in the form of grants and other kinds of donations.

The Loons stadium, Dow Diamond, just opened last month and is designed nicely to accommodate all different types of fans. It’s got all the bells and whistles you would expect from a brand new stadium, plus a few extras (for example, LCD tvs in the concession areas.) Similar to the Montgomery Biscuits ballpark, there is a 360 degree concourse with multiple grass areas to sit with lawn chairs or blankets. The playground in right field was packed all game due to the fact it was an Education Day. The power of 3,000 screaming kids did not help the Loons, as they fell to the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers.



That night, we traveled back down to Lansing to see the Lugnuts. Oldsmobile Park was built a decade ago, but there have been a few improvements this past off season that has helped spruce up the look of the park. The crowd was a bit small, but then again it was a Monday night in Lansing. Thanks to Justin for getting us a table and items for our online auction. Chris and I participated in our first ever double potato sack race, and we were crushed by two local characters (see picture above) who talked a big game and then easily defeated us during the race. Unfortunately video does not exist because Chris’ camera battery was dead, and I think it was for the best. It was quite the embarrassing spectacle. In addition to our two potato sack racing comrades, we also met Robbie, who is a Granger guy at Oldsmobile Park. While he is in charge of maintaining the upkeep of the stadium, Robbie belts out tunes as he walks around. You can hear his voice echoing throughout the stadium during the course of the game. Here he is doing a short promo for our website.

Brrr! South Bend was a bit chilly on Sunday, but a decent sized crowd came out to see the SilverHawks play. We had a chance to talk with Swoop the mascot before the game, and he was kind enough to autograph a Swoop bobblehead for our raffle. Thanks to Amy for getting us such great prizes! The Silver Hawks pla their games at Coveleski Regional Stadium. Built in 1987, it has been suggested that it helped start the trend of building new ballparks for aging Minor League stadiums. We were able to fundraise a solid amount before we headed out to Eagle, Michigan for the evening.

We made it to Fort Wayne, but barely. Coming from Richmond, VA the previous night, we were faced with an 11-hour drive starting at 10pm on Friday night. We had to be in Fort Wayne by 3pm the following day. You do the math. We had an abbreviated slumber party at a Maryland Holiday Inn, and then headed out at 5am Saturday morning en route to Fort Wayne, Indiana.

The Peoria Chiefs were in town to play the Fort Wayne Wizards—but the main attraction was the Chiefs manager, former Cubs Hall of Fame 2nd baseman Ryne Sandberg. By the time we arrived at the stadium, a huge line of Cub fans (who had come from near and far) had formed waiting for the gates to open. Before the game Ryne was kind enough to sign autographs for the horde of Cubs fans who had showed up just to see him. Did you know… Ryne was originally drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies. However, the Phillies did not see potential in Ryne so they traded him to the Cubs along with Larry Bowa for… none other than shortstop Ivan DeJesus prior to the 1982 season. At the time, DeJesus had battled just .191 in 1981 for the Cubs. (See his career stats.) What a deal for the Phillies! Moving on…

The weather was a bit overcast with a few spots of rain here and there. It was also not the warmest day in Fort Wayne, so many of the fans were bundled up and had blankets with them in the bleachers. The crowd was also mainly made up of Cubs fans, who at times heckled us for raffling off a Fort Wayne Wizards team signed ball. They will just have to wait until we come to Peoria in late August for Cubs memorabilia. There were even a few fans that sported Harry Caray glasses.

This is an appropriate time to show you a clip of Will Ferrell doing a spot-on imitation of Harry Karay. Ask yourself: if you were a hot dog, and you were starving, would you eat yourself? I know I would…

We arrived in Richmond in the late afternoon just in time to get a quick bite to eat before heading to “The Diamond.” Built in 1964, it went through some major renovations in 1985. The stadium reminds me of the huge concrete bowl structures that were oh so popular in the 1970s, such as the Vet and Three Rivers Stadium. It’s unlike many of the other stadiums in that you can definitely feel the separation between the fans and the players on the field. Currently the city is in talks of constructing a new stadium but not much has come from those plans.

We were able to raffle off a solid prize tonight—thanks to Ben, Sarah, and Leah for getting everything together for us during the course of the night. Here is a picture of our lucky winners, Darrick and Michaiah, who chased us around the stadium and bought a bunch of tickets from us. Thanks guys!

A month into the Tour, and we celebrate it by having our game in Lynchburg rained out. The game last year in Lynchburg was also rained out, so it seems as if Mother Nature is not our friend in Lynchburg, VA.

On a plus note, we got to stay in Broadway, VA with Cari and Tim and their dog, Copper. Broadway, VA is exactly like Broadway in NYC, except without any people, tall buildings, or signs of life. It’s more of an “up and coming” kind of place. Thanks guys for being such gracious hosts!

First off, I think the Intimidators is a great name for a baseball team. Up until ten years ago, they were the Peidmont Phillies and the Peidmont Boll Weevils. In 2000, Dale Earnhardt purchased a share in the team’s ownership. It was then that the name was changed to the Kannapolis Intimidators, in honor of Earnhardt’s legendary nickname. Unfortunately for the home team, the Augusta GreenJackets were not all that intimidated and snuck out of Fieldcrest Cannon Stadium with a 7-6 victory. As you probably guessed by now, it was Education Day at the ballpark. We made the best of it by giving out some Louisville Slugger Tour for the Cure mini-bats to the kids. This picture sums up the crowd perfectly:

We headed to Zebulon, NC to see the Carolina Mudcats later in the evening. If you have never heard of Zebulon, don’t worry, you are not alone. The Mudcats play their games at Five County Stadium, named for Wake, Franklin, Nash, Johnston Counties and the nearby Wilson County. What is a Mudcat? It’s a type of catfish. And for that reason, the team does not sell tickets to games, but rather fishing licenses to see the team play. Thanks to Lindsay for getting us fed, and giving us a great item for a raffle. Five County Stadium is two-tiered stadium that offers great views from both levels. My favorite part of the stadium was the giant speed pitch sign in the outfield.

Chris, as usual, made some friends at the ballpark. He helped Lois (who runs the Customer Service booth), by opening doors for her and she carried boxes back and forth. Here is what Lois had to say about Chris: