Take Me to the Ball Game
Photo: Kent Harris
Written by Gary A. Seidman
SwitchYard Media, Inc. - contact | website
Designed and produced by Kent Harris
Tin Can Rocket, LLC. - contact | website
A production of SwitchYard Media, Inc.
Photo: Courtesy of the Cubs
Iowa Cubs
Des Moines, home of the Cubs has had professional baseball in its blood since 1887. In the early days, there were the Hawkeyes of the Western Association, and the Prohibitionists.
From 1969 to 1981 there were the Iowa Oaks, which have evolved into the Cubs, the Triple A farm club of the Chicago Cubs. Before getting called up to Wrigley Field, ballplayers such as Greg Maddux and Rafael Palmeiro honed their skills in Des Moines.
The Cubs play in Principal Park, built in 1992 on the site of the 1947 field, Pioneer Park.
LEAGUE: Pacific Coast League
AFFILIATION: Chicago Cubs
STADIUM/CAPACITY: Sec Taylor Stadium (10,800)
FAMOUS ALUMNI: Greg Maddux, Kerry Wood
Durham Bulls
Bull Durham, the 1988 movie about love and baseball, put this Triple A team on the map with people who had never even heard of the minors. The film starred Kevin Costner as "Crash" Davis, a veteran catcher assigned to prepare rookie pitcher "Nuke" LaLoosh for the majors. On the way, a groupie played by Susan Sarandon, participates with some coaching of her own.
The real life Durham Bulls, have had a pretty colorful history in their own rights, dating back to 1902, when they took the field as the Tobacconists. Before they could complete their first season, the league folded and so did the team. It took until 1912 to re-organize as the Bulls.
Now the Bulls, which have been in the Triple As for a decade, are the farm team of the Tampa Bay Rays.
LEAGUE: International League
AFFILIATION: Tampa Bay Rays
STADIUM/CAPACITY: Durham Bulls Athletic Park (10,000)
Photo: Courtesy of the Red Wings
Rochester Red Wings
Rochester baseball dates back to 1877, and the Red Wings are professional baseball's oldest and longest running minor league team. The current franchise began in Rochester in 1899 as the Bronchos and has fielded.
For 33 years, from 1928 to 1960, Rochester was the farm team of the St. Louis Cardinals, hence the name Red Wings. Then from 1961 until 2002, they were associated with the Baltimore Orioles, producing such alumni as Cal Ripken, Jr. -- who clearly learned a thing or two about persistence in Rochester. The 19-time All-Star played in a record 2,632 straight major league games. He also, by the way, was a Red Wing when the team was on the losing side of that 33-inning loss to Pawtucket in 1981.
Today, the Red Wings are the Triple A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins.
LEAGUE: International League
AFFILIATION: Minnesota Twins
STADIUM/CAPACITY: Frontier Field (10,868)
FAMOUS ALUMNI: Cal Ripken, Jr., Eddie Murray
Photo: Courtesy of the Rainiers
Tacoma Rainiers
Alex Rodriguez, Mark McGwire and Jason Giambi are a few of the sluggers who've donned a Tacoma jersey. But well before those 21st century stars trod onto the field at Cheney Stadium, this port city 40-miles south of Seattle had a long and distinguished baseball tradition.
Way back in 1904, the Tigers -- a forerunner of today's Rainiers -- were the Pacific Coast League champions, repeating the feat many times during the next century.
Over the years, Tacoma has swapped leagues and names several times. There were the Tacoma Giants in the early '60s, then the Cubs, Twins, Yankees, Tugs, and back to the Tigers again in 1979. In 1995, inspired by Mount Rainier, which looms over this western Washington port city, the city donned the name Rainiers.
LEAGUE: Pacific Coast League
AFFILIATION: Seattle Mariners
STADIUM/CAPACITY: Cheney Stadium (9,600)
FAMOUS ALUMNI: Alex Rodriguez, Mark McGwire
Photo: Courtesy of the PawSox
Pawtucket Red Sox
Rhode Island's Pawtucket Red Sox -- or the Pawsox -- are famous for playing the longest game in professional baseball history. On April 18, 1981, in a game against the Rochester Red Wings at Pawtucket's McCoy Stadium, the two teams played to a 2-2 tie until the game was suspended at 4:07 a.m. at the end of 32 innings. The game was resumed on June 23 when Rochester returned to Pawtucket, and it took only one more inning for the Pawsox to secure a win.
Pawtucket, which is the Boston Red Sox Triple A team, originally was the Toronto Maple Leafs. Today, the Pawsox still play at McCoy and draw a solid crowd through the season. The stadium, which was built in 1942, was renovated in 1999 and seats 10,000.
LEAGUE: International League
AFFILIATION: Boston Red Sox
STADIUM/CAPACITY: McCoy Stadium (10,031)
FAMOUS ALUMNI: Roger Clemens, Nomar Garciaparra
Photo: Courtesy of the Sidewinders
Tuscan Sidewinders
In 1998 Tuscon became the minor league franchise for the Arizona Diamondbacks and changed its name to the Sidewinders from the Toros. The team has produced a number of major league standouts over the years, including seven-time All-Star Craig Biggio, pitcher Curt Schilling and base-stealer Kenny Lofton.
Both the Diamondbacks and the Chicago White Sox play their Spring Training home games in the Sidewinders' Tucson Electric Park, making Tucson the only Triple-A team to share a stadium with a Major League franchise.
LEAGUE: Pacific Coast League
AFFILIATION: Arizona Diamondbacks
STADIUM/CAPACITY: Tucson Electric Park (11,000)
FAMOUS ALUMNI: Kenny Lofton, Luis Gonzalez
Photo: Courtesy of the Sky Sox
Colorado Springs Sky Sox
When Denver was awarded a major league franchise for the 1993 season, the Colorado Rockies tapped the Sky Sox as their Triple A farm team. For the previous four years the Sox had been associated with the Cleveland Indians.
The Sox date back to the 1950s when they were affiliated with the Chicago White Sox and played in the Western League. But when the league folded in 1958, baseball in the Rockies region went with it. It took 30 years for the Sox to return. Today, the Sky Sox play in 8,500-seat Security Service Field, which holds the distinction of being teh highest altitude professional ballpark in the country, sitting 6,531 feet above sea level.
LEAGUE: Pacific Coast League
AFFILIATION: Colorado Rockies
STADIUM/CAPACITY: Security Service Field (9,000)
FAMOUS ALUMNI: Todd Helton, Jim Thome
Photo: Mike Martin Photography
Sacramento River Cats
Raley Field in West Sacramento is the most popular destination in the minors. In 2007, the River Cats averaged about 10,000 fans per game, and during the last eight years, the Cats have been kings of minor league attendance.
Sacramento has fielded teams for more than a century, dating back to the Solons, one of the charter members of the Pacific Coast League in 1903. The River Cats, however, are relative newcomers to California, emigrants from Vancouver, British Columbia, where they played as the Vacouver Canadians from 1978 until 1999.
LEAGUE: Pacific Coast League
AFFILIATION: Oakland Athletics
STADIUM/CAPACITY: Raley Field (14,111)
FAMOUS ALUMNI: Barry Zito, Mark Mulder
Photo: Courtesy of the Mud Hens
Toledo Mud Hens
The Mud Hens have a storied history dating back to the 1890s. But much of America was introduced to the colorful Ohio team in the 1970s by Corporal Max Klinger, who often wore Mud Hen hats and shirts on the television show M*A*S*H. Klinger was played by actor Jamie Farr, a Toledo native and fan of the Triple A Hens.
Today, the Hens play in Fifth Third Field, one of the premier minor league stadiums, built in 2002 in virtually the same downtown location as Toledo's first ballpark. During the 1896 season, the team played its Sunday games at Bay View Park outside of the city limits. The ballpark, the first in the city, was located near a marsh that was home to the American coot, a bird that was also know as a mud hen. Hence the name.
LEAGUE: International League
AFFILIATION: Detroit Tigers
STADIUM/CAPACITY: Fifth Third Field (10,000)
FAMOUS ALUMNI: Kirby Puckett, Jim Thorpe, Casey Stengel
Photo: Courtesy of the Bees
Salt Lake Bees
The Bees, formerly the Buzz and later the Stingers, are the Triple A farm club of the Anaheim Angels. In 2006 the team renamed itself the Bees in recognition of Utah -- the "Beehive State" -- and to commemorate the baseball club that played here from 1915-1970.
The Bees of the Pacific Coast League play their home games at Franklin Covey Field, a 15,500 seat stadium opened in 1994.
Salt Lake has had its share of teams over the years. The Pioneer League Salt Lake Trappers of 1987 are one of the more memorable, setting an organized baseball record by winning 29 consecutive games in June and July. The previous record of 27 had been set by the 1902 Corsicana Oilers of the Texas League and 1921 Baltimore Orioles of the International League.
LEAGUE: Pacific Coast League
AFFILIATION: Anaheim Angels
STADIUM/CAPACITY: Franklin Covey Field (15,500)
FAMOUS ALUMNI: Tony Lazzeri, Torii Hunter