Reasons I Love Minor League Baseball

I have always been a sports fan. As a kid, I remember going to Washington Senators games with my father. It was always special to be at the ballpark. Back in those days, we basically had two choices locally, the Washington Senators or the Baltimore Orioles.

These days it is so expensive to try to take a family out to a ball game. I consider myself fortunate that the choices have improved greatly since I was a kid. In addition to the Orioles and the Washington Nationals, there are probably four or five minor league teams in the area, one of which is in my home town of Bowie. It's a good thing too, because my son loves going to the games, and the cost of a minor league ticket is so much more affordable than the big league teams.

Aside from the financial aspect of the cheaper ticket price, there are a lot of other reasons why I prefer minor league ball over the majors these days. It is such a family friendly atmosphere, and that is so important. You don't hear a lot of taunting or heckling at a minor league game like at the big league level. There is always something going on before the game and between innings to keep you entertained. Here are just a few of them.
Recently, prior to a Baysox game, the Chesapeake and Potomac Baseball Club gave an exhibition of vintage baseball. It was kind of cool to watch baseball how it was played in the 1860's. No gloves and totally different rules. They had an announcer explaining the different rules during the exhibition.
Another thing that I like is that ordinary people get to have the opportunity to go out on the field for a ceremonial first pitch. Here a young man with Downs Syndrome got to participate in the activity. I am sure it was a thrill for him because I know how I felt when my son got to go out on the field several years ago to throw out a pitch. He was so excited.
Then there are all of the between inning activities. Here, three kids from the crowd get to participate in a horse race.
The sumo wrestler challenge is one of my son's favorite activities. While this is going on, he is usually pretending to sumo me by jumping on top of me.
Another, and certainly not the last nor least reason, it the friendliness of the Baysox front office staff. They get to know a lot of the fans, and here one of them takes the time out of their busy game day schedule to pose for a picture with my son.