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Monday, July 25, 2011

Baseball Without the Millionaires-Minor League Baseball

 
About 15 years ago the Major League Players went on strike for a greater share of the profits of the baseball franchises.  The owners wanted to keep as much of their profits as possible and the baseball season was lost.  No World Series.  All I could see was millionaires fighting for more money with billionaires but both forgetting the fans supported these teams and made them rich.  I said I would never buy a ticket to a major league baseball game again. As a family we had enjoyed seeing Oriole games and our girls were big Cal Ripkin and Brady Anderson fans.  I have kept to this boycott of major league games except for attending the games that Cal Ripkin tied and broke Lou Gehrig’s consecutive game streak.  I was too big a Cal Ripkin fan to miss that.

This boycott has led me to discover a better alternative to enjoying professional baseball and that is attending minor league games.  We are fortunate to be an easy drive from the Oriole minor league teams in Frederick and Bowie.  The best thing about minor league baseball is that you can decide to take in a game the same day, arrive at the park 30 minutes before the game, park for free, sit in seats that only season ticket holders would have at Camden Yards and not pay outrageous prices for a ticket or food.  Now the level of play is not major league quality and you probably won’t know much about the players unless you follow the Orioles drafts and know their up and coming players.  That is a small price to pay to see the future Oriole stars at an affordable price.  The Orioles future projected star third baseman, Manny Machado, is now playing with the Frederick Keys.  It is fun to see this potential future super star early in his career. So forget the hassle of driving to Camden Yards, paying for expensive seats in the upper deck, watching the Orioles lose another game to some overpriced team like the Yankees or Red Sox.  Try the minor league teams for a much more satisfying evening. 

They actually appreciate that you have come.

2 comments:

bosoxbrent said...

One of the main reasons that I moved to Elkridge was for the easy access to Camden Yards. Although the strike bothered me, I guess I'm too much of a baseball fan to keep it away from the park. I just can't get enough, whether that is minor league or major league.

Just out of curiosity, if the O's maybe played a decent season in the last 15 years, do you think you might have been more willing to show up at the stadium by now? I'm sure their lackluster performance on the field has kept a lot of fans away.

-Brent

hoco Connect said...

A winning team might make me more likely to follow the Orioles on TV more than I do now but probably not get me to buy tickets. I just think the price of tickets to professional sports has just gotten to much for many of us. Too much greed in sports today.