Family and Baseball: Day 9

Day 9

Williamburg VA --> Aberdeen, Maryland (223 miles)

Game: Asheville Tourists (Houston High A) vs. Aberdeen IronBirds (Baltimore High A)

Every story has a beginning.

The story of our family's journey through the minor league stadiums of the East coast starts in Aberdeen Maryland.

If you have even driven down I-95 South you might have noticed a baseball stadium on the west side of the road. I know I did. What you are passing on your way through Maryland is Ripken Stadium, home of the Aberdeen IronBirds, Single A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles. Once I noticed the stadium I knew that one day we would see a game there. That came in 2016 on our way back from our last trip to Atlanta. In addition to the minor league stadium, the complex is home to the Ripken Experience which hosts Little League tournaments as well as two Marriott hotels situated between the two ball fields. We have visited another two times since our first trip, staying at one of the hotels and enjoying a game where all that separates you and your bed is a five minute walk...a bonus for a father thirsty from a long day of driving.

We weren't supposed to be here today.

Our original plan had us finishing our trip with a drive from Williamsburg. While this drive would have been lengthy on a summer Saturday, the lack of air conditioner in our car made it nearly impossible (oh yeah our AC has been busted since last Sunday morning and the $2,000 price tag wasn't going to help us out). With this in mind, we check availability at the hotel near that park on I-95 and when we found it, we booked it. Keep the party rolling which includes...

The Good

-Tonight's game offered one of the experiences that make these minor league game great. For half an hour before first pitch, me and the boys got to play catch on the field. We moved around the outfield, took grounders and fly balls. Another memory generated.

Playing catch

The Lads...

...with dad

-IronBirds players went out of their way to sign autographs and the boys got a bunch. After each one signed I pulled the team roster up on my phone to see who the player was. One was the #2 overall pick in 2020 while another went to Xavier University. As he walked by later, I shouted "Go Musketeers!" (the name of Xavier's sports team) and he came over to ask if we were from Cincinnati. We told him we were not but instead we also went to a Jesuit university and always supported a fellow Jesuit grad. He thanked us and walked away. Later when he was finishing his warm ups, I shouted "Ball for a Jesuit??" while pointing to Francis. He recognized us and threw us a ball. Cheers to you Chris Givin.

-Out of the seven games we attended we managed to go to three with promotional giveaways. At this game we got a shirsey of Adley Rustchman, former IronBird and current Oriole who played for Aberdeen the summer after he wast drafted #1 in 2019. Most t-shirt give aways feature a shirt that's oversized and featured a terrible sponsorship somewhere on the back. Not in Aberdeen! We had our choice of size (M-XL) and no sponsor. One of the best giveaways I have ever seen. Well done IronBirds.

Top notch giveaway

-A 2.5 hour game and the aforementioned five minute walk back to the hotel allowed us to watch the last Little League game of the day, under the lights. It was an 11u game that saw a team from Wantagh blow an 6th inning lead but come back to walk it off.

-We got to see the Asheville Tourists again, who we saw last Sunday at their home field in North Carolina. This time they won.

This is how you mascot. Wool E. Bull take notes

-We love it here.There's a Little League tournament happening here, turning the whole site into baseball paradise. 

After baseball, more baseball featuring an 11u Wantagh walk off

However, not all things were good with that...

The Bad

There's about 100+ Little League players in this hotel and their acting like clowns. I saw more parents boozing outside than I did checking on their kids as they bound up and down the hallways screaming. I have to watch other people's kids as a part of my job but that ain't now. Note: I stopped typing after this sentence to menacingly stand in front of my door after hearing kids screaming in the hallway. I showed those children who's boss.

-Bugs! The infestation of spotted lanternflies that we heard about before we left appeared all over the stadium. Based on permission from officials back home, we killed those suckers.

Serving the farmers of Long Island from 200 miles away

The Ugly

Last game of the trip. It's been a hell of a run.

Tomorrow: back to the Manor and one last blog.

Family and Baseball: Days 7&8

Days 7&8

Charlotte, NC --> Williamsburg, VA (335 miles)

Game: Binghamton Rumble Ponies (NYM AA) vs. Richmond Flying Squirrels (SF AA)

We've come to Virginia many times. Kate's sister lives in Richmond, my cousin Eileen in DC and my Aunt Eileen lives in Williamsburg.

My mom was one of two daughters born to my grandparents. Coming from the same parish but living on opposite sides of the Shannon River, they did not know one another until they came to America. They had two daughters, Eileen and Maureen, who they raised in Queens. I  never got to know my grandfather but Nana Rynagh was a big part of my life growing up, as was my Aunt Eileen and her family; my Uncle Henry and cousins Michael, Thomas and Hank (who we visited in Durham last week) Aunt Eileen moved down to Williamsburg about 15 years ago and on each trek south we try our best to visit. These visits have become increasingly more important, not only as my aunt advances in age (87 years and going strong!) but also since my mom passed back in 2012. My boys never got to know their Grandma Maureen and it is one of the holes in my life that will never be filled. With only one sister, Aunt Eileen is the closest thing that my boys can get to meeting their grandma. We arrived in Williamsburg on Thursday, had drinks at her house and then went out to dinner with her and my cousin Thomas. Kate pointed out the mannerisms, voice and looks that my mom and her sister share. It made me feel good to have that hole close over, even for just a few hours. We got back to the hotel and enjoyed a quiet night with no baseball; only the second one of those over the previous seven days.

The Family

Then of course the a new day dawned this morning and after some historical tourism around Yorktown, we went to a baseball game.

An hour drive back east on 64 lies The Diamond, home to the Richmond Flying Squirrels. Having come to visit Kate's sister many times, I have seen this stadium from I-95. To be honest I have never been too impressed by the sight of the stadium as it looks like someone took a slice out of a 1980's multipurpose stadium (think The Vet in Philadelphia or Three Rivers in Pittsburgh) and not a traditional minor league stadium. I'm happy to report...

The Good

-The stadium was pretty darn cool. Not many minor league stadiums have a second deck (Syracuse is the only one I can think of) but The Diamond's offered nice views of the field.

Great sky

Richmond is the Giants AA affiliate. Love this logo citing the connection between the two cities

Behind the plate

From the second deck

-Francis and I had an amazing night (it was just the two of us after a long day with Eoin that would be better suited for a parenting blog). On our way in a security guard called us over and gave Francis a ball then as we scanned our tickets a staff member asked Francis if he wanted to participate in a between inning race. He agreed and after the top of the first we were brought under the stadium, through the Binghamton bullpen and onto the third base foul line. The race was sponsored by a super market and pitted Francis (dressed as a banana) vs. three other boys. Two were smaller and offered little competition but an 11 year old in a pea costume looked to be a legit athlete. The race started and Francis took off, "running as fast as I ever have" and he won the race. As I sit here typing this, we've watched the video five times, each time garnering a response from Francis ranging from "That was the best minute of my life" to "I still can't believe that happened." Must watch video is up on my FB and IG. Permanent memory generated. 

Security Guard bringing FK in for a ball

Said ball with kid and dad

Top Banana

Those vegetables had no idea what was coming

-$2 beers....enough said

The Bad

Still think Richmond deserves a better, modern minor league stadium. 

The Ugly

Ugly play from Binghamton. Back to back inning ending double plays on fly balls where the runner lost track of the out and got picked off. This included the best prospect on Binghamton Ronny Mauricio who is super talented but very raw and in need of more minor league polishing.

Tomorrow: Surprise addition of Aberdeen, MD where our love of minor league baseball was born

Family and Baseball: Days 4 & 5

Days 4&5

Asheville NC --> Atlanta, GA (208 miles

Game: New York Mets vs. Atlanta Braves

There is a practice in teaching known as "backwards planning".

The basic idea is that you start with the end in mind and build backwards 

from there. For example if I want students to create podcast on World War II, 

I know that when I plan my unit I need to teach not only the content of the

event but also the skills needed to create the podcast. Once I have the big 

picture then all of my day to day lessons can fall in line after.

For this trip, Atlanta was the final product.

The Mets would be in town to play the Braves and Kate has family down there. Our trip was born.

I know that Kate could write a loving tome on the McDonnell side of her family.and as an outsider it's clear why. They are a kind and generous bunch that feature great golfers, a naval officer, a bevy of engineering brilliance forged at Georgia Tech and just plain good people.. I never had the pleasure of meeting Kate's dad, but in spending time with his nieces and nephew it's clear that he, and they, are a special group.

Kate's cousin Eileen graciously hosted us and not only provided us with a beautiful home but also a dog (Penny helped to fill the Nellie sized hole that has been missing in our lives) and a pinball machine (that filled a carbon steel ball sized hole that was created when we visited the Asheville Pinball Museum on Sunday.)

Now to as why we found ourselves in Georgia's capital in the first place...

Some folks are also born as fans of good baseball teams. For the large majority of my life I have not been one of them but so far 2022 has been different. Also for the majority of my life, Atlanta has been an absolute place of horror and defeat for my New York Mets but so far 2022 has been different. I was cautiously optimistic as we approached Truist Park on Monday.

Scratch that...I was sick to my stomach. I knew what was coming. So let's feel nice and start with...

The Good

-We took Eoin to a game around his birthday and he asked if he could get a James McCann shirsey. Eoin has a fondness for goalies in hockey and catchers in baseball (I think it's the blunt force trauma they endure each game that our sweet brute is attracted to) so when he asked for the shirt I wasn't surprised but was annoyed. James McCann? To put it nicely, he hasn't been good. To put it more accurately he has been terrible. I asked if he wanted Alonso instead. No. Lindor? Nope. Scherzer? No chance. I begrudgingly bought it for him and he wore it to the game. A game in which it finally paid to get that poorly chosen shirt. Our seats were near the bullpen and as McCann arrived there to warm up I gave him a shout. "HEY MCCANN MY KID IS WEARING YOUR JERSEY!" He looked up, Eoin turned around to show him and next thing you know we had a ball. He was probably relieved to hear someone yell his name without a profanity preceding it. 

Eoin with his treasure

-Lots of good family time in Atlanta. In addition to staying with Eileen, we met cousin Bobby for dinner and mini golf (look out for a PuttShack near you) and got to see Kate's sister, brother in law and nephews for a day at the lake. 

Cousins on the Lake

Cousins at the game

Cousins at the Putt-Putt

-Truist Park is another modern, beautiful baseball stadium. Even better is the area around it, known as The Battery. Between bars, restaurants and hotels it's essentially a neighborhood built around the stadium. Would love to see something similar over the next decade in the area that has been cleared out around Citi Field. My favorite part of the stadium was the Monument Garden located behind home plate. It's beautifully designed, quiet space that highlights the greats that have played for the Braves organization from Boston through Milwaukee and now Atlanta.

The Bad

Truist Park is also completely unnecessary. Mets fans sat in Shea Stadium from 1964 - 2008. Despite the romanticized memories of Shea that I hear fans wax poetic about, Shea was a borderline dump after 40+ years and it was time to go. While I never went to Turner Field, it was a mere 21 years old when the Braves left it, along with the city that is stitched across their chest.

The Ugly

Good lord this game. Home runs, missed pop ups, that mustachioed cry baby shutting down the offense (to be fair the dude can pitch) this was a typical Atlanta nightmare for the Mets. Silver lining was that we left before it got to 13-1 due to an hour long rain delay. Small victories I guess.

Next up: Charlotte

Family and Baseball: Day 6

Day 6 (8/17/22)

Atlanta, GA --> Charlotte, NC (242 miles)

Game: Syracuse Mets (NYM AAA) vs. Charlotte Knights (CWS AAA)

Note: an Atlanta blog is in the drafts but those were two long days and

did not get a chance to finish. Posted soon!

I graduated from Fordham University in 2002.

When August came around for most of the following decade,

whenever I would notice college students moving back for the 

school year I would get envious.

I loved college.

Like really loved it. In a way that someone who took more 

advantage of the social opportunities than the academic ones

would have loved college.

We left Atlanta today at 9:00 AM. Our wonderful host Eileen 

(and Penny) bid us adieu and we headed north on our old 

friend I-85.

About halfway between Atlanta and Charlotte (our final destination)

is Clemson, South Carolina. My niece Caitlin has been enrolled 

at its namesake university since 2020. She has excelled as both

a student and a leader and I have enjoyed our text

conversations on football game days.

Meanwhile her younger sister, my god daughter Cara, has been

back at home doing wonderful things. Earning the Gold Award

from Girl Scouts, working with the Henrik Lundqvist Foundation

(from which she earned a college scholarship) all while excelling

academically has been part of her life since her big sister went 

down south.After going through her college process, Cara was admitted

to the Honors College at Clemson and decided to bring her talents to 

South Carolina and become a Tiger. 

Today was move in day and Cara started her new adventure as a 

college student. Sometimes life has a way of working out. Clemson 

happens to be the exact midpoint between Atlanta and Charlotte so halfway 

through today's trip we made our way to Clemson. After a stop

at the team store to pick up our Tiger gear we met Cara, Caitlin

my sister and brother-in-law for lunch. We enjoyed a meal together,

far from home, and soon left Cara on her way. I am incredibly proud

of Cara and can't wait to see where she goes as she embarks on

her college journey.

Tigers: Old and New

On to baseball...

Game five, our fifth in six nights as we make our way home. Luck was

on our side and the Syracuse Mets were in town to face the Charlotte

Knights. While we missed Brett Baty (who made our reverse trip

today and proceeded to have dream debut with the big club) we still

got to see Francisco Alvarez and some former Flushing folk (see

Dom Smith and Travis Jankowski).

The Good

-Truist Field (not to be confused with Atlanta's Truist Park) is perfectly

situated in downtown Charlotte. A classic, modern AAA park with 

excellent seating options and a 360 degree walkway.

Brothers

From right field

-Great game. The Mets fell behind 7-2 and rallied to tie it. Although the 

Knights hit a go ahead turned game winning home run in the eighth it

was still a great game to watch. Shout out to Khalil Lee who hit a home

run well out of the stadium. Plus we got to see the #1 prospect in baseball.

Next time we see Alvarez will be in Queens.

Our next star

-Homer the Dragon. We've talked about the role that mascots play in our

games and Homer did a great job. Resplendent in our Mets gear, Homer tried

his best to block the boys Mets jerseys. Eoin responded by putting a wrist

lock on him. Great job by all.

Note the technique from Eoin

Enemy eliminated

The Bad

Where is everyone? We stayed about a 10 minute walk from

the stadium which confirmed what we already knew about cities outside

of New York: these cities sleep. At 6:30, the walk to the ballpark featured

us and 7 other people.

The Ugly

Nothing to see here. This is the Queen City after all.

Tomorrow: Williamsburg, VA.

Family and Baseball: Day 3

Day 3 (8/14/21)

Durham, NC → Asheville, NC (227 Miles)

Game: Rome Braves (Atlanta High A) vs. Asheville Tourists

(Houston High A)

McCormick Stadium/Asheville, NC

My 42nd Birthday

On the road again.

But first a stop at Waffle House.

When my family and I drove to Atlanta for the Olympics in 1996, my

sisters and I had a game counting the signs for Waffle Houses on the way.

Not only had we never been to one, as Yankees we had never even heard

of one which made us that much more amazed as sign after sign on the

highway featured the black and yellow, all caps font calling us to the

WAFFLE HOUSE.

Over the last 26 years, if we ever go far enough south to once again

see those signs we are sure to stop in for an American classic, each

time being sure that we ordered too much food and it might not fit on

the table.

This morning there was no better place to start my 42nd birthday as

well all took down a feast of eggs, waffles, grits and hash browns

(Smothered, Covered and Chunked). As I sat drinking my coffee

I again thought about how badly I wanted my own Waffle House

mug but alas they were not for sale. For Waffle House prose

check out this Bourdain clip

In all of it's morning glory

We headed off while still digesting our morning feast, westward

for Asheville on I-40, the ONLY Interstate that spans the entire 

state, east to west (thanks Ike!)

Since we headed straight to the stadium, let's start with the baseball.

Before this trip I was unaware of just how many minor league teams 

there are in North Carolina, particularly along the aforementioned I-40.

Greensboro, Winston-Salem and Hickory are all homes to teams in

the South Atlantic League before you reach Asheville, home of the

Tourists for the last 107 years, with baseball here in Asheville going

further back than that with the Asheville Moonshiners founded in 1897.

South Atlantic League standings

The Good

-A lot to say here, starting with the golf cart (complete with Tourists logos)

that magically appeared when we got out of our car at an overflow lot to

bring us to the stadium.

-Minor league games are always good for a cheap ticket and we "splurged" 

to get these seats behind the plate fo $14 a piece. Great view of a unique,

small field (297 down the right field line only 370 to dead center). Sitting

that close to the field is always a different experience when you see just

how fast these guys throw, even at this level.

Today's View

-The stadium was great as well. Small but charming and seemingly cut into 

a mountain. That actually seems like a good description of Asheville as well.

To connect last night's game, one of the final scenes of Bull Durham was 

filmed in McCormick Stadium and Crash Davis is highlighted as a former

player of the team.

Crash Davis setting the all time minor league

home run record in Asheville

Obligatory entry pic

-Mascots....thank god. After last night's Wool E. Bull debacle we were

thrilled to meet not one, but two mascots: Ted E. Tourist, a bear that dates

back to an earlier logo and Mr. Moon who is featured on current uniforms.

The boys got pictures and autographs, teaching their in state minor league

colleagues a lesson on class.

Ted E. Tourist: all class all the time

Mr. Moon (cousin of Mac Tonight?)

The Bad

Nothing. Might just be my birthday, might be the excellent local beers I had

at the game but I have nothing bad to say about the day with the tourists.

The Ugly

Nothing bad but one BIG ugly. The Rome Braves took a 3-2 at the end of 6th 

and routed the Tourists bullpen with six in the 7th and four more in the 8th. In

addition to the humiliation this delayed the boys running the bases after the 

game. 

Town thoughts...

The worse part of our hectic schedule is not being in places for too long. 

Durham was nice but from the small glimpse we got, Asheville is pretty 

awesome. Situated right at the entry point of the Blue Ridge Mountains

there is a lot going on here with big time hipster hot spot energy. Great 

food, local breweries and a pinball museum which is really just an awesome

arcade that we spent an hour in playing pinball and a variety of video

games from arcade to Nintendo. I can definitely see us coming back in the 

future.

Family vs. Shredder

You have absolutely no idea how dominant Kate is at Super Mario 3

Of course he picked Bart

Just an absolutely wonderful day. I even got a great present from Kate....

The perfect gift does not exi..

Tomorrow: Atlanta

Family and Baseball: Day 2

Day 2 (8/13/21)

Washington DC → Durham, NC (269 Miles)

Game: Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp (AAA Miami) vs.

Durham Bulls (AAA Tampa)

Shout out to all the Virginians going to their beach destinations this morning for

adding almost two hours to this morning’s ride!

Today we hit the first family portion of the trip. When people who know me hear about my family, they default to my father’s side. This is with good reason as it’s more of a redwood than a regular tree. While the McCaughey side is large the equally important Coughlin side is quite small. My mom had one sister who had three boys: Michael, Thomas and Hank. Michael passed in 1993, Thomas and his wife Cindy live in Virginia and Hank and his wife Linda live in Durham. Their house was our destination.

We had a wonderful lunch with them, my cousin Beth and their puppy Nellie

(GREAT name for a dog). It was wonderful to catch up with them, hear about

their lives in retirement and Hank’s adventures as he attempts to hike all 2,200

miles of the Appalachian Trail. We are looking forward to visiting my Aunt Eileen

in the latter half of our journey.

Family

Onto the baseball...

We’re back in the place we love the most: the minor leagues. While the big

league parks are fun there is nothing quite like a minor league baseball experience

because you truly never know what you will get. For example: there’s a team named

the Jumbo Shrimp?? Absolutely!

As is the case with the AAA stadiums we’ve been to, Durham Bulls Athletic Park was a

beautiful, updated facility (this is one step from the Show of course). 

Ballpark Thoughts

The Good

There is no other place to start than Ripken the Bat Dog. I’ve been to a lot of

games and have never seen anything as amazing as Ripken, the dog who

collects the bats from home plate after the hitter makes an out or reaches base.

I clearly miss our Nellie, but Ripken made the night. Watch Ripken via his GoPro here

Ripken ready to roll

                                                                              

Ripken at work

Beautiful stadium. A Green Monster style wall with the bull on top (reachable at a paltry

303 down the left field line), 360 degree walking and a beautiful exterior all make the park

a great spot.

    303 down the line

From the Batters Eye

First Base Dugout

Walking Out

Excellent food including Carolina style BBQ and a great range of beers. Mobile ordering

from the seat made it that much better.

The Bulls and their fans fully embrace their movie name sake. From the T Shirt Squad

(the Lollygaggers) to a replica of the giant “Hit Bull Win Steak” the team does a great job

incorporating the movie into the game experience.

The Bad

Honestly? Nothing bad. I was a little confused as to what all the buildings are around the stadium as it

would've made sense if they were apartments but most seemed to be office space. Also seems like a

missed opportunity for bars and restaurants I’ll save my criticism for…

The Ugly

As someone who has now been to a dozen plus minor league stadiums with two kids, the value of accessibility is immense. You can sit close to the field for cheap, be near the players and meet the mascots. This is super important for Eoin who can be an absolute brute at times (like most times) but has a soft spot for stuffed animals and sports mascots (and the combination which he gets at nearly every game, the stuffed mascot) After missing out on mascots at our last minor league games we were happy to see Wool E. Bull making the rounds. Unfortunately this anthropomorphic bovine straight blew us off for a photo with the boys not once, but twice. Needless to say, I almost won a steak.

Had to settle for a fake Wool E. (Eoin disapproves)

Long day but great day.

Tomorrow: Asheville, NC