MiLB - worth watching?

[Nathan]

Does anyone here go to the minor league games?  Are they fun and enjoyable to watch?

I've never been to an actual baseball game (excluding little league ), and I'd have to plan a trip to DC to see the Nats.

I'm thinking about going to some Suns games since I live less than 20 minutes away from Hagerstown.  Tickets are dirt cheap, so it seems like it could be a fun cheap night to go out to see a game.  Plus there is a chance to see Storen pitch, which would be cool.

So, worth it or a waste of $7?

[HalfSmokes]

Does anyone here go to the minor league games?  Are they fun and enjoyable to watch?

I've never been to an actual baseball game (excluding little league ), and I'd have to plan a trip to DC to see the Nats.

I'm thinking about going to some Suns games since I live less than 20 minutes away from Hagerstown.  Tickets are dirt cheap, so it seems like it could be a fun cheap night to go out to see a game.  Plus there is a chance to see Storen pitch, which would be cool.

So, worth it or a waste of $7?

Minor league games are great. The baseball isn't always the best, but the atmosphere usually is. When I was in high school, my father was stationed in Charleston. Riverdog games used to be great, they were a yankees A affiliate so the quality of the game wasn't always there, but the food was cheap and and good and noone cared where you sat

[Minty Fresh]

Does anyone here go to the minor league games?  Are they fun and enjoyable to watch?

I've never been to an actual baseball game (excluding little league ), and I'd have to plan a trip to DC to see the Nats.

I'm thinking about going to some Suns games since I live less than 20 minutes away from Hagerstown.  Tickets are dirt cheap, so it seems like it could be a fun cheap night to go out to see a game.  Plus there is a chance to see Storen pitch, which would be cool.

So, worth it or a waste of $7?

It depends on what you're watching for.  If you love the game, you'll love the minors.  If you want a game driven by big stars, you'll be disappointed.  

My local team puts on a pretty good show.  We are a short season, single-A club so most of, if not all of, the players are under 23.  You will see some mistakes made, some questionable decisions, etc.  You will also rarely see a pitcher go more than 5 innings - that sort of thing is dictated by the parent club.  But what you will see are great athletes with a ton of raw talent that has yet to be harnessed.

I've never been to a AA-game, but I have seen a ton of AAA-games in Durham, NC and in Pawtucket, RI.  AAA can be depressing because a majority of those rosters are guys who are older and still hanging on and holding out hope for that call-up and the rest are the kids on the 40-man roster of the parent club.

As a fan of baseball first and the Nationals a close second, I will attend any baseball game anywhere.  I love watching the game.  And the minors intrigue me because the games really are layed differently than they are on the major league level.  It takes some getting used to, but IMO - it's WELL worth the $7.00.

Plus, the beer is cheaper too and the parking is probably free.

EDIT:

IMO, the stadium helps too.  I've been to some real dumps since not a lot of money is poured into minor league clubs.  I am extremely lucky now that N.Y. State Senator Joseph L. Bruno passed legislation through the Senate to build a park in his district a few years ago and the atmosphere is unbelievable. 

http://www.ballparkreviews.com/troy/troy.htm

Kid friendly, fan friendly, lots of space on the concourse, lots of parking, luxury boxes, lots of local vendors for concessions.  It's the crown jewel of the NYPenn League.

[NFA Brian]

Minor leagues? What are those? Never heard of them

[Minty Fresh]

Minor leagues? What are those? Never heard of them

You should try them sometime.  You'd actually get to know quite a bit about the parent club.   

[Nat of the Living Dead]

Nationals Park in Washington D.C. has the best minor league experience you can get.

All jokes aside, going to Minor League games is just plain fun. Grab a few brews, sit back, relax, and enjoy the show.

[DPMOmaha]

All jokes aside, going to Minor League games is just plain fun. Grab a few brews, sit back, relax, and enjoy the show.

If this is the attitude you go to the park with, you'll have a great time.  If you go with the expectation of a well-played competitive game, you probably won't enjoy it as much.  Just go and enjoy a nice evening and you'll have a great time.

[Minty Fresh]

If this is the attitude you go to the park with, you'll have a great time.  If you go with the expectation of a well-played competitive game, you probably won't enjoy it as much.  Just go and enjoy a nice evening and you'll have a great time.

I find that to rarely be the case.  It's not that the play is sloppy and unprofessional it's just the way the games are managed.  I don't like that a pitcher has a no-hitter going but is pulled after five innings or a lineup is rarely the same from game to game because everyone needs the ABs.

I find the level of play to be very professional but the occassional dumb mistakes crop up because they are still just kids.

[DPMOmaha]

I find that to rarely be the case.  It's not that the play is sloppy and unprofessional it's just the way the games are managed.  I don't like that a pitcher has a no-hitter going but is pulled after five innings or a lineup is rarely the same from game to game because everyone needs the ABs.

I find the level of play to be very professional but the occassional dumb mistakes crop up because they are still just kids.

Exactly, they're still learning to play, that's the point of the milb, to teach and prepare.  I don't actually know that I've never been to a game below AAA actually having worked at an AAA stadium for five years I've been to my fair share and it was awesome to be around ex-big leagues with some up and coming young guys.  It really was pretty close to a MLB level but not quite.  Loved every second of it.

[CALSGR8]

Definetely!  You can sit so close to the players.  One player actually walked up to a kid before taking his practice swings, and talked to the kid.  At least at Potomac, sometimes you think, why can't the NATS make plays like that?  There is some good baseball in the minors. 

Little contests between innings make it fun for kids.  The mascots have a worse record than Teddy because they race kids around the bases and of course the kid has to win!

Hagerstown is one of the oldest franchises.  Formerly an Orioles and Mets and Toronto farm club.  Its South Atlantic League which is a lower level than Potomac.  The stadium is old, but many people like its old fashioned "charm".

Our Farm System in this area from Low A is like this:

Hagerstown
Potomac
Harrisburg

[Nathan]

Yeah, I just want to see some baseball, I'm not expecting a great game with 0 errors.  Hell, you don't get that with a Nats game!

I might try to see the Suns when I'm off work next week.  I might also try to see the P-Nats when they play at Harry Grove stadium against the Keys in August.

[sportsfan882]

go see Derek Norris play before he is moved up.

[Nathan]

go see Derek Norris play before he is moved up.

Yeah, I'd like to see him and Storen play.

[KnorrForYourMoney]

I went to a Suns game and enjoyed it fairly well.  The stadium is really underwhelming, but it was interesting watching the different players down there.  It's really easy to assess talent at that level - it's fun to kind of get a real-life idea of who you think might be able to cut it and who couldn't.  Chris Curran, for instance, is really impressive to watch in the field.  I ended up hoping that he'd magically develop a bat some day because he'd be special if he could.

I disagree with Minty about guys not being sloppy, though.  At least that wasn't the case at the Suns game I attended. That game had some of the worst fielding I've ever seen in my life.

[tomterp]

Minor league games are great. The baseball isn't always the best, but the atmosphere usually is. When I was in high school, my father was stationed in Charleston. Riverdog games used to be great, they were a yankees A affiliate so the quality of the game wasn't always there, but the food was cheap and and good and noone cared where you sat

Joe Riley Park (Riverdogs) is pretty sweet, isn't it?  Sits out on the edge of a marsh and the Ashley River, very scenic and yet just outside downtown Charleston.  Terrific park.

[Eddie the Expos fan]

I've been going to minor league games for years here in Upstate NY.  It's been great that the Nats AAA team is in Syracuse.  I've seen the Chiefs play in Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse and Cooperstown.  Ticket prices are only $10 to $11 for box seats.  If your into autographs, like I am, you'll have a great time in all of these AAA towns.  From short season A ball to AAA, Upstate NY is a baseball fans dream.