Closest team is 200 miles away, so it’s not very likely unless I’m invited. Even when I lived nearby it was only once every few years.
Didn’t see an option for 0-1 games this year. If I do happen to catch a game, it would likely be either a minor league or possibly an independent league game. Will probably watch less than a dozen games all year on television. Not really a baseball guy.
6 or 7, if previous years are any guide. Most, if not all, minor league, and the low minors at that (but affordable, and fun, and close by).
Friends just picked up their first season of season tickets, making it easier to piggyback on them for decent seats to any games, not that I couldn’t attend SOMEWHERE in the Park, since it’s just the O’s.
I may even go down and check out the Nats’ stadium this year.
Ooh, and I just remembered that I want to check out Rockies tickets this year, since I’ll be in Denver for two weeks in August.
6-10 still seems a reasonable guess for me.
Update: Rats. Figures that the weekend I’ll be staying over in Denver, they’re on two away series back to back.
Oh, don’t get me wrong, I love Minor League baseball, but I can’t remember the last big deal prospect I saw play in a AAA game.
I saw a few games with Justin Morneau, but in his Minor League days he was just a promising young player and not “the future” like someone like Joe Mauer (who only played a handful of AAA games) was.
Almost all propects play AAA ball. It’s become common to believe that most big prospects are kept at AA and skip over AAA, but how that belief came to be so widespread I don’t know; it’s not true and never has been.
Of course, there’s a strong inverse correlation between major league stardom and the number of minor league games played at all levels. Superstars generally zip through the system fast and will often play for only a partial season at a given level. Albert Pujols barely had time to unpack his bags at AA and AAA.
So which is it? Do most players play at AAA and it’s not true and never has been that they mostly skip over it? Or do they only play a handful of games at AAA and then move up to the Majors?
Look at this list of top Twins prospects. One is projected to spend a significant amount of time at AAA this year.
http://www.twinstarget.com/2010-archives/january/top-15-twins-prospects-1-aaron-hicks.html
For the first time I can remember, probably none. My grandad’s brother went to the original Texas Ranger stadium when it was still under construction back in '71 or so, scouted out what he thought were the best seats and for every year since the family has had those 4 seats. Nolan Ryan sits in those same seats on the other side of the plate. They were front row right next to the visitors batting circle, so we were within arm’s reach of near everyone in the league. Needless to say I went to as many games as I could, even when I moved from the Dallas area.
However, last year in the new stadium they added two rows in front extending even closer to the field. We opted to move forward and stay on that front row but the price, already expensive, tripled. Now they’ve gone up again. I’m not going to say what it is for those four tics for a game lest you think me positively insane. It’s finally gotton too much though, it’s just effin’ crazy. So I’m opting out of our share. They’ll stay in the family and I suppose maybe once every couple of years I’ll give in but MLB salaries and stadium constructions and owner profits have finally driven me over the edge. Bummer but as many know in many respects it’s more business than game now.
If we do any travelling this year to a city with a park I’ll still do that though. I still enjoy that experience but as of now nothing’s planned. My nephew plays college ball (JuCo Nat’l Champs last year) and we’ll definately see a few of his, though for this poll they don’t count.
Hopefully I’ll make it to half a dozen or so Cubs games this year.
Sorry, how do those things contradict each other? Almost all prospects play at least some games at AAA. The better the player, the fewer minor league games they will play at all levels- but they’ll usually play at most of them, especially the top levels. (High-talent prospects will often skip Rookie League.)
Unless I get to Cinci to visit when the Reds are playing at home, I likely won’t see a MLB game this year. I do, however, manage to get to a half dozen or so minor league games at Greer Stadium most seasons.
Go Sounds!