Since my trip, I've been ruminating on the events of that week and would like to offer these random thoughts:
The best new ballpark food: Gateway's "Baseball's Best Nachos" - following up on their Krispy Kreme Cheddar Burger and their Deep Fried Slider, the Grizzlies have put together a teeming nacho plate with a Philly cheese steak flair. My doctor gave me strict instructions before I headed to the road to avoid such fare, but they went unheeded, at least at GCS (oh, and at River City's T.R. Hughes Ballpark with an O'Fallon Brewery root beer float).
Most athletic mascots: Traverse City's Suntan and Sunburn - these furry alter egos are manned by two former college football players who can actually dance it up. There is a routine early in Beach Bums' home games where the music changes rapidly and the duo has to adjust its hoofing style. Outstanding! Honorable mention goes to Kalamazoo's Lulu who does a mean Cupid Shuffle.
Busiest broadcaster: Kalamazoo's play-by-play announcer John Leahy not only does every game solo, he also runs the team's video webcast and simultaneously updates the comments section on the webcast page. The most remarkable part is that he does all of that while having to listen to the Lefler-Zerban comedy hour.
Fittest general manager: Evansville's Liam Miller is constantly walking the circular Bosse Field to monitor the activities on game night. The native Alaskan, who graduated from Indiana State in Terre Haute (don't they all), is a whirling dervish. I did notice that he prefers to proceed counter-clockwise around the stadium - must be a Juneau thing.
P.A. moment: The Frontier League is blessed with outstanding P.A. announcers. My favorite public address moment on the trip was the anticipation in the press box for the deep voice of Wild Things' announcer Bill DiFabio to pronounce Midwest relief pitcher Arshwin Asjes' name. To the delight of the multitude, Bill hit the mark perfectly.
Most pillows on a team hotel bed: River City's Hilton Garden Inn in O'Fallon, Missouri had more pillows than it is possible to use. I took an extra nap so that none of them felt cheated. By the way, the number of pillows matched the number of stars I would give this hotel. Great service, great room, all without an expensive mini-bar.
Now that I've had a chance to get my breath, I am planning for the next road trip. I'll probably head somewhere this weekend to enjoy the Fourth (ballpark fireworks are the best) and then begin preparing for the All-Star Game and accompanying festivities in Rockford. Stay tuned!
