From L to R Row 1: Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp, Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs, Louisville Bats
Row 2: Albequerque Isotopes, Amarillo Sod Poodles, Biloxi Shuckers
Row 3: Jupiter Hammerheads, Lake Elsinore Storm, Jersey Shore Blue Claws
Row 4: Kannapolis Cannonballs, Richmond Flying Squirrels, Aberdeen Ironbirds
I was listening to the radio on the way to work, scrolling for something worth listening to, when I heard the words ‘monkey rodeo’. Of course, I immediately went back to the station because hearing ‘monkey’ and ‘rodeo’ used in the same sentence is the aural equivalent of a great meme. Turns out, the hosts were remembering when they had seen Whiplash the Cowboy Monkey performing at a minor league baseball game. Sadly, it appears Cowboy Monkey Rodeos may be a thing of the past, but there’s all kinds of other cool reasons to spend a nightwatching the Boys of Summer do their thing…
Does your town have team? If not, you can follow one of the 120 clubs spread across Triple A, Double A, High A, and Single A leagues. Twenty teams can be found west of Texas with the other 100 scattered across the middle and eastern parts of the US. I feel badly for teams like the Salt Lake Bees, which is the only MiLB team in Utah. Can you imagine having to get to Maine to face the Portland Sea Dogs one week, then turning around and heading to Washington state to face the Everett Aqua Sox the next? It’s really admirable when you think about it. These guys aren’t making big bucks and they aren’t flying first class. They put up with the all-night travel in cars and buses, bad road food and worse coffee, and sleeping 4 to a room in Motel 6’s across the country, all so they can chase their dreams while playing a game they love. You gotta cheer for that!
One of my favorite things about MiLB are the team names, which pay homage to everything from sailing ships (the Columbus Clippers) to playing cards (the Reno Aces). There are tons of teams named after animals, including fish (the Tampa Tarpons), fowl (the Toledo Mud Hens), and flying critters (the Great Lake Loons and the Richmond Flying Squirrels). And it seems truly fitting that teams are named after food, like the Montgomery Biscuits and the Modesto Nuts, since eating things like hotdogs, peanuts, and crackerjack are as much a part of part of baseball as the bats.
The names make me smile but it’s the theme nights, promotions and after-game fireworks that make the games so much fun to attend. You’ve got nights which honor our military, teachers and first-responders. Your kids could be recognized for doing well in school. You could win a prize for the goofiest mustache, craziest Hawaiian shirt, or best mullet. The first few thousand in the door almost always score free swag, going home with ballcaps, bobbleheads, t-shirts and towels. There are nights where your dog is welcome to attend, like the Springfield Cardinals Woof Wednesdays (but sadly no nights where your cat, or monkey, are welcome as of yet). And then there are the nights focused on food, like the Amarillo Sod Poodles ‘Calf Fry’ nights. Pause here to appreciate the ironic humor in honoring a food made from bull testicles at a ballgame.
For me, it comes down to some of my favorite summertime memories involving hanging out at the ballpark with my family and friends, cheering on the Nashville Sounds or the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs, people watching and cheering on the team while eating pretzels and sno-cones and hoping my raffle ticket is drawn to win that trip to Acapulco! I’m already making plans for traveling up and down the Atlantic next season to see some more games, make some more memories, and if I am lucky enough, get to see at least one monkey cowboy rodeo! Take me out to the ball game indeed.
The Grey Goddess 