Hardware

– Matt Nelson

KCRG-TV9’s Ballparks of the Midwest has been recognized by the National Press Photographers Association for two stories. The ballpark story on Clinton’s Alliant Energy Field took 3rd Place in the Central General Pool 2nd Quarter News Feature category. The ballpark story on West Michigan’s Fifth Third Ballpark received Honorable Mention in the Central General Pool 3rd Quarter News Feature category.

While the Midwest League Schedule has been out for quite a while, it probably won’t be until sometime in January or February that I start plotting my travels to cover the other 8 ballparks that I haven’t been to. I find that’s a pretty good time to think baseball…when there’s 8 inches of snow on the ground!

2010 MWL Schedule Is Out

– Matt Nelson

The 2010 schedule for the Midwest League is out and available on the league’s official site. You can find it by clicking here, it’s a Microsoft Excel document that is under the “Schedule” tab.

The addition of Lake County and Bowling Green to the league means that the scheduling changes a bit. Those two teams are in the Eastern Division so there will be 8 teams in each half of the league.

The schedule is unbalanced, for instance Cedar Rapids will play three games at Bowling Green, but will not host the Hot Rods. The Kernels will also host Lake County for three games, but won’t play at the home of the Captains.

Time to start planning for Season 2 of “Ballparks of the Midwest!”

Recommended Reading : A Midwest League Field Guide

– Matt Nelson

New for 2009 is a book on the Midwest League that covers just about every corner of the league.

Dave Hoekstra’s “Cougars and Snappers and Loons (Oh My!) – A Midwest League Field Guide” is a compilation of stories written for the programs of the Kane County Cougars through the years. Hoekstra writes for the Chicago Sun-Times and his Cougar magazine column is called “The Glove Compartment.”

This book is easy to pick up and put down as it is comprised of 4-5 page stories. Many of them are on the Cougars, which isn’t surprising, but every team in the league is included.

A Midwest League Field Guide is really a great way to get a sense of the teams, communities, and personalities of the Midwest League. Personalities both past, and present.

I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to sit down and read great stories from througout this minor league!

The book is available here, from the publisher, Can’t Miss Press.

Recommended Reading: Waterloo Diamonds

– Matt Nelson

At the age of ten in 1990 my dad took me to my first Midwest League baseball game. It was the Kenosha Twins against the Waterloo Diamonds at Municipal Stadium in Waterloo, Iowa (I grew up in Grundy Center, Iowa). After my first exposure to the minors I went back, and back, and back again in ‘91, ‘92 and ‘93 to Municipal Stadium. After that, it was many years before I again saw a Midwest League game.

In 1994 the Waterloo Diamonds moved to Springfield, Illinois. After two years there, they moved to Lansing and have been the Lugnuts since 1996. Waterloo has never again had professional baseball, although the Waterloo Bucks of the Northwoods League (Summer Collegiate) have a good following and play to this day at Municipal Stadium.

“Waterloo Diamonds” by Richard Panek profiles the 1992 Waterloo Diamonds season and finishes with a few pages on the 1993 season. The book came out in 1995, but I just read it for the first time. It’s currently out of print, but you can find it in used condition all over the internet.

I assume that the initial plan for Panek was just to follow a minor league team for a season, profiling what life was like in a small town, and that sort of usual stuff. What this book really encompases is, the death of the Waterloo Diamonds. The book paints the picture of a struggling community, struggling franchise, and struggling ballpark. The perfect storm for losing a team. The fact is, the city of Waterloo never made any real attempt to keep the team in town.

In the city’s defense, they had all sorts of problems at the city level, and the 1990 Professional Baseball Agreement significantly raised the ballpark standards for the start of the 1994 season (this was later pushed back a year to 1995). This agreement is why there was so much franchise movement and so many new ballparks built from the mid-1990’s through today. It basically became an “arms race.”

Panek sums it up best when he notes that the most “succinct summary of what cost Waterloo pro ball: ‘Playing facilities and market. Pro ball in Waterloo was a ruin, and the stadium a relic.”

Those who remember the old Waterloo Diamonds will certainly enjoy remembering those days through this book. “Waterloo Diamonds” is a very interesting look at minor league baseball in the early 1990’s and how one city lost professional baseball. Look around and it usually makes lists of “best minor league baseball books.”

From Ballparks to Stadiums

Photo by Jonathan Woods/The Gazette (That's me in the gray t-shirt)

– Matt Nelson

Many people will soon be moving from the ballpark to the football stadium. After all, the college season kicks off in just a couple of weeks.

I got an e-mail from a group of Wisconsin residents who have ambitious plans to see a game at every football stadium in the Big 10 this fall.  Check out the Big 10 Football Tour by click here.

They’ll see the Hawkeyes twice this year, the night game at Kinnick vs. Michigan, and the November road trip to Columbus, Ohio.

As someone who’s been to 9 Big Ten stadiums, I highly recommend a football tour like this:)

Ballparks of the Midwest Show on KCRG-TV 9.2

– Matt Nelson

Starting this Wednesday, August 19, we will be running a 30-minute special recapping Season One of Ballparks of the Midwest on KCRG-TV 9.2. That is KCRG’s digital subchannel.

You can get that channel in Eastern Iowa with your digital antenna, or on Mediacom Digital Cable Channel 109 in Eastern Iowa. The show debuts at 6:30 on the 19th and will also be shown for the next few days. Here is the full air schedule, thanks for watching!

 

(Each night at 6:30pm on KCRG-TV 9.2)

Wednesday, August 19^th

Thursday, August 20^th

Friday, August 21^st

Monday, August 24^th

Tuesday, August 25^th

Thursday, August 27^th

Friday, August 28^th

Fifth Third Ballpark – Comstock Park, Michigan

– Matt Nelson

(Click here to watch the video reports from Comstock Park!)

Don’t confuse Fifth Third Ballpark with Fifth Third Field in Toledo, Ohio (I was there this summer on vacation). Or with Fifth Third Field in Dayton, Ohio (a 2010 Ballparks of the Midwest visit). Fifth Third Ballpark is the home of the West Michigan Whitecaps, the Detroit Tigers affiliate in the Midwest League.

The ballpark was built in 1994 when the team moved to town from Madison, Wisconsin, and is located in the suburb of Comstock Park, which is about 5 miles north of Grand Rapids. While the location is easy to get to, just off a major highway, there isn’t much atmosphere surrounding the park. Just parking lots and a go-kart track. It’s too bad that they didn’t build downtown, but the organization says the owners ran into several roadblocks when they tried to do just that. The ballpark was privately built, so give them credit for that.

On the exterior Fifth Third Ballpark doesn’t necessarily stand out, but the field is at street level. Most parks built today have the field level below street level meaning you usually walk right in at street level. However at Fifth Third Ballpark the street level field means a climb to get up and into the ballpark from behind home plate.

Once inside the ballpark, fans find themselves in one of the largest Midwest League stadiums. Seating capacity is about 10,000 people. With the addition of a Stadium Club and other outfield specialty seating the capacity has actually dropped a little bit from what it was.

Easily the coolest historical feature of the ballpark is the set of four Tiger Stadium seats about 10 rows behind home plate. These were added in 2008 and can be bought specifically (click here for the info). The seats do not have numbers, but instead are named for legendary Tiger names: Cobb, Gibson, Kaline, and Harwell. What a great idea to make use of some historical artifacts, and appeal to all of those Tiger fans in the western parts of Michigan!

They like their foodin the Grand Rapids area. The team has been well known for its “swimming pig” sandwich. That was a pork chop covered in barbecue sauce, onions and other stuff. In fact, one of the mascots is…Franky…a swimming pig. (The original mascot is “Crash” who has never won the mascot race, quite the losing streak Crash has, going back to 1994)

However in 2009 the Whitecaps outdid themselves and the swimming pig. The FifthThird Burger has taken the minors by storm. Nearly 5,000 calories including five burger patties, it costs $20 and is available down the third baseline. The burger is also topped with Fritos and chili. It is a monster.

Many people choose (wisely) to share the burger. Others take it on by themselves. For those who eat the burger during the game, a referee awards them a “Call 911 I ate the Fifth Third Burger” t-shirt, and a photo for the wall of winners. When I was there the Travel Channel’s Man vs. Food had just been in town. The record for eating the burger at the time I visited Comstock Park was 13 minutes!! No, I didn’t try it, but the video is very entertaining, I promise. Be sure to check it out!

On the field, the Whitecaps have been very successful during their time in Grand Rapids. Five Midwest League Championships between 1996 and 2007!

Fifth Third Ballpark is a nice facility, but there aren’t too many things that really stand out about it. The one that does, is the team’s commitment to making sure that no one goes home hungry. They love their food at Whitecaps games!

(Click here to watch the video reports from Fifth Third Ballpark)

A few miscellaneous Grand Rapids notes…

- If you’re in the area be sure to visit the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum (he’s buried there too). It’s located right downtown and provides a lot of interesting info and artifacts on the 38th President and his short White House tenure, but longtime connections to Grand Rapids. Plus for sports fans, he was an All-American football player at Michigan.

- Did you know that one Major League Baseball game has been played in Grand Rapids? It was on May 24, 1903  at Ramona Park in East Grand Rapids and the Detroit Tigers were the home team. You can find the site today near a lake on the east side of town, a very nice part of the city over there. Grand Rapids has also been host to Negro League games through the years as well as the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League Grand Rapids Chicks.

2009 Pocket Schedules

– Matt Nelson

I always find it interesting how Minor League Baseball teams market themselves. One of the big ways they do that is through the pocket schedules you can always find at the ballpark and throughout the communities the teams call home.

Here’s a look at the pocket schedules of the eight cities I visited for Ballparks of the Midwest in 2009 (click on the picture to see a bigger version).

Craziness in CR

 

Like the shirt?

– Matt Nelson

The lesson of the story is, you never know what you’ll see when you buy a ticket at the ballpark.

Having a Monday off from work, noticing that the Kernels had a Nooner, and noticing that they were playing Beloit (MWL affiliate of my beloved Minnesota Twins), I decided to premiere my new “Ballparks of the Midwest” t-shirt at Perfect Game Field at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Cedar Rapids.

I was really here for the visitors

The highlight of the day was this bizarre happening in the Bottom of the 7th inning with Alexi Amarista at bat for Cedar Rapids. I can’t do it justice, check out Gazette sportswriter Jeff Johnson’s account here. My scorecard read “?” after that play. Now I’ll know for the next time.

It was enjoyable to check out some of the Twins prospects. Beloit is not a very good team this year. They are currently last in the MWL West Division Overall Standings at 45-69. However they do have outfielder Angel Morales (Baseball America ranked Morales the Twins 10th best prospect prior to 2009). Bobby Lanigan was the starter and Baseball America says he has the best slider of any prospect in the Twins organization.

Michael Harrington

Also, it was interesting to see Eastern Iowa native Michael Harrington as well as Jon Waltenbury,both of whom I saw play at Rookie League Elizabethton in 2008.

The strikeout, withoutthe actual strikeout, is definetely the most memorable experience of this trip to the ballpark. Gotta love umpires.

Programming Note:The last segment of “Ballparks of the Midwest” airs this Wednesday, August 12 at 6:00 on KCRG-TV9. Check out my visit to Comstock Park, Michigan and the West Michigan Whitecaps. The 5,000 calorie Fifth Third Burger will not disappoint, I promise!

Jon Waltenbury

Oldsmobile Park – Lansing, Michigan

– Matt Nelson

(Be sure to check out the video reports on Oldsmobile Park!)

The home of the Lansing Lugnuts (Toronto Blue Jays affiliate in the Midwest League) is Oldsmobile Park. It’s Oldsmobile Park, at least for now.

Lansing, Michigan joined the Midwest League in 1996 when a ball club moved to town from Springfield, Illinois. That Springfield club was actually in Waterloo as the Diamonds through 1993. I find this to be a piece of my childhood as my first introduction to the Midwest League was going to Waterloo Diamonds games at Municipal Stadium as a kid in the late 1980’s and early ’90’s. (Click here for the 1990’s MWL Franchises)

Oldsmobile Park opened in ‘96 and is the largest ballpark in the Midwest League with a seating capacity of about 11,000. At one time Fifth Third Ballpark in Grand Rapids was right in the same ballpark (pun intended) with regards to capacity, but the Whitecaps have actually reduced capacity in recent years.

Just a few blocks down Michigan Avenue from the state capitol is where you’ll find Oldsmobile Park. You can see the Michigan State Capitol among the other downtown buildings from inside the ballpark. It should be noted that this is the only state capital city in the Midwest League.

A very nice fountain and some even nicer statues greet visitors to the ballpark. The entrance is impressive and is even on the cover of the 2009 Great Lansing Convention and Visitors Bureau Guide.

Also on the Lansing skyline…a giant lugnut. Yep, that’s right, a giant lugnut. It sits across the street from the ballpark on an old smokestack and is certainly a signature to this stadium, even if it’s not in the stadium. What a great way to draw attention to the team and make a visit to Oldsmobile Park unique!

The playing field has a few quirks at Oldsmobile Park. The left and right field lines are short to the foul pole at just 305 feet each. The outfield wall then angles out with a very high wall down the line making homers a bit more difficult if hit directly down the line. The deepest part of the park is out in right center field where the depth gets as great as 412 feet. I’m told the ball can really fly out of the ballpark, but of course on the night I was there, it was a pitcher’s duel!

Oldsmobile Park is sandwiched in between a couple of streets that run alongside it, and the result of that is netting down the foul lines to keep stray balls from ending up in people’s cars.

The thing that really stands out about Lansing is the Lugnuts name. Before each game they play the Lugnuts song (yes, you can download it from the team right here, no iPod is complete without it, right?). Fans love dancing to it, and it’s clear some of them dance to it every night.

A retail store with the great name, “Nuts and Bolts,” does big business. I stopped in twice on my visit and the place was crammed with people. The Lugnuts are annually in the top 20 in all of Minor League Baseball in retail sales. As retail manager Matt Hicks told me, “It’s not a bird, it’s not a bear, it’s not a dog. We have a car part.”

Lansing is of course the Lugnuts because of the area’s huge automotive industry. Obviously in recent times, that industry has struggled…big time. More than 14 million Oldsmobiles were made in Lansing until production ceased in 2004. General Motors kept paying the naming rights for Oldsmobile Park, but with the corporation’s bankruptcy, the park will have a new name for 2010.

Oldsmobile Park is a very nice ballpark that holds the big crowds the Lugnuts draw. Newer parks have gone bigger and better than the one in Lansing, but Oldsmobile Park is kept up well and is a perfectly good place to watch a ball game in a downtown setting.

While the Lugnuts name will likely live on for years due to its immense popularity, it’s too bad the region has been hit hard by the automotive struggles, and that the ballpark will soon have a new name on its gates.

Please make sure to check out my video reports from Lansing. You can find them here.

Also, Lansing area resident Joel Dinda runs an absolutely fantastic Midwest League site called “A Fan’s Guide to the Midwest League.” He puts 20 hours a week into the site and it has tons of information. I talked to him while I was in Lansing and you can find that as one of the two video reports from Lansing. You can find Dinda’s site here.