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Created by:
Jeff LeCrone
Fans
The fans are an integral part of any sporting event, but at the minor league level, as I found out, sometimes their involvement can get pretty deep.
| Have you ever thought about how you'd like to celebrate your 98th birthday? How about by throwing out the first pitch at a ballgame? That's exactly what Irene Spell, of Altoona, PA, did on August 15, 2001 at Blair County Ballpark. Click here for a special page on Irene's special day! |
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Richard Eyrich is enough of a baseball fan to be a season ticket holder - twice. He holds season tickets for both the Reading Phillies and the Harrisburg Senators. And when neither of those two teams is in town, sometimes he hits the road to follow them. So far, he's seen his teams play in four other stadiums. "All that traveling gives you a little bit of a feel for what the players go through," he says. |
| As teachers in Tyrone, Pa.,
Larry and Linda Strong have the ability to follow their favorite team, the
Altoona Curve, on road games. This year, they have an extra reason
to do so. During the 2000 season, they are hosting Curve players
Luis Figueroa and Humberto Cota in their home. "It's like
having kids in the house again," says Linda. Along with hearing
a lot of stories of what goes on in the clubhouse, they also get a lot of
in-depth explanations for some of the strange things that happen on the
field.
Update: The 2001 season has been the year of the pitcher for the Strongs. They are hosting three of them: Mike Gonzalez, Roberto Manzueta, and Mike Chaney. They also hosted Mike Ayers (another pitcher) until he was released earlier in the year. |
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The Montreal Expos had a single-A ball club in Salisbury Maryland for just a short time, but while they were there, Mickey Buck and her husband formed strong relationships with Jeremy Powell and Troy Mathews. "They're like sons to us," she told me. Both players have moved on, but Mickey and her husband still follow the two minor leaguers. When I met her, she had traveled several hours to Harrisburg to see Matthews pitch for the Senators. The bond formed between these players and fans is part of what makes minor league baseball special. |
| Michael Mavrogiannis, seen here after we ran into him at Bowie's Prince George's Stadium, has been to a lot of ballparks. Like me, one of his hobbies is going to minor league ballparks and taking photographs. When I asked Michael what his favorite park was, he said, "The next one I haven't been to yet!" A man after my own heart! |
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"When I was a kid, I thought Stan Musial was God." Since childhood, however, Marlin Wertman has become a bit more disillusioned with the huge salaries, ticket prices, and player attitudes at the major league level. Now, he's a bigger fan of the minor leagues, especially his hometown Williamsport Crosscutters. But he doesn't just stay at home to follow his favorite sport; he's been to games in Lansing, Toledo, Scranton, Allentown, Elmira, and Harrisburg, which is where I met up with him. |
| Blood and baseball both run thicker than water. While at a game in Norwich, I ran into Bob Cuddyer, left, who is the cousin of New Britain Rock Cats third baseman Mike Cuddyer. Bob and his sons had traveled from Boston that night to see Mike play. They've seen Mike in several parks in New England, and hope to see him in some of the other parks in the Eastern League. |
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I never got these kids' names, but this photo speaks for itself. I suspect these kids are having just as much fun in Norwich as they would in any major league park. |
More to come ...