Why Minor League baseball is more fun than Major League baseball

I am a baseball fan and Yankee fan since 1981. It took me five more years to attend my first baseball game though. From that moment on I am addicted to the best game in the world. In 1995 I attended my first MLB game. I went to a game at Dodger Stadium between the Dodgers and the Phillies. I was lucky enough to see phenom Hideo Nomo pitch. I sat right behind the plate at the first deck. Awesome. In 2005 I attended my first Yankee game. I spent a vacation in California (again) and the Yankees were on a road trip and visited Anaheim. Despite the loss, I enjoyed it so much to see my heroes: Derek Jeter, Hideki Matsui, (then still) A-Rod, Randy Johnson, Bernie Williams, etc.

But in 2004 I discovered the website of Minor League baseball. Soon I found the website of the Montgomery Biscuits. I loved their jersey and cap and most of all their stadium. From that moment on they were my favorite Minor League team.

In 2008 I attended my first ever Minor League game. It was a game at Stater Bros Stadium in Adelanto, home of the High Desert Mavericks. From that moment on I was sold on Minor League baseball. The experience was great. Everything is on a much smaller scale. The stadiums are rather small (10,000 – 11,000 seats at most (at AAA level)). There is a lot of entertainment between the innings. It is more family and kids oriented than in the MLB and (back then I thought) the players are playing for the love of the game. Now I know that their salary is merely a starvation wage and that they stay afloat thanks to the help of their folks.

To me it seems that in an MLB stadium you are nothing more than a number. In a MiLB stadium, they pay much more attention to their fans.

It seems to me that MiLB teams are much more in the community than MLB teams. Almost every minor league player is willing to give you his autograph. I hardly see that happen in the Bigs.

I realize that MiLB teams move in a blink of an eye when the owners can get a new stadium elsewhere. But I learned that a move in the minors is not as easy as we all may think. First of all all owners of clubs in the same league must approve the move, then the owner needs an approval of the MiLB commissioner and last but not least he needs an approval of MLB as well.

Overall I attended three Minor League games:

High Desert Mavericks

Rancho Cucamonga Quakes

Las Vegas 51s

To me the Epicenter, home of the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes is the most beautiful minor league stadium that I visited so far.
It is maintained very well and it is clean. The stadium is about twenty years old now but still in pristeem condition. A look at the following pics will make you understand.

The game that I attended in this stadium was attended by about 3,000 fans. There was a lot of entertainment between the innings. And kids got a lot of attention. Not only by the animation team in the stands and on the field but also by the two mascots. At that night there was a Quakes cap promotion sponsored by US Bank.

There are a lot of similar promotions in the minors, most of the time sponsored by local businesses. In Adelanto the players threw soft baseballs into the stands, sponsored by a local bank. Most of the players interacted in a great way with the fans that night. My daughters were allowed to throw out the first pitch and they were allowed to run the outfield at the end of the game. During the seventh inning stretch, they could join a big group of kids on the field to sing take me out to the ballgame”.

This is just an example of what MiLB teams are doing to entertain the fans. And they have to. Minor League teams are always depending on the players that they get appointed. One year the team can be very good and the other year it can be crap. Therefore they need to attract fans with other things than the game itself.

Overall attending a minor league game is an affordable day out for a family. When I attended the game of the 51s at Cashman Field in Las Vegas, I was there with my nephew and one of my nieces. We had front row seats right behind homeplate. It cost me $20.00 for three great seats.

I hope that this makes clear that Minor League Baseball is a lot more fun than Major League Baseball. Of course I am venting my own opinion here. I realize that there will be many who will not agree with me. But that is the great thing about writing an own blog. You can write down whatever you want. It is your opinion.

For now I’d like to wish you a Happy New Year. May 2015 bring you whatever you want. And may your favorite team win the World Series as long as they are not the Red Sox, the Marlins, the Nationals and the Dodgers. 😉