Twittered Baseball Roadtrip #3: Yankee's Fan Minor League Baseball Roadtrip

Dates: July 17, 2009 through July 19, 2009
Primary Destination: Day trips to Trenton, NJ,
Staten Island, NY, and Moosic, PA

Twitter Address: http://twitter.com/Wtriebel

Games Attended:

Game 1: Portland Sea Dogs vs. Trenton Thunder, July 17th, 7:05PM, Waterfront Park, Trenton, NJ
Game 2: State College Spikes vs. Staten Island Yankees, July 18th, 7:05PM, Richmond Country Bank Park, Staten Island, NY
Game 3: Gwinnett Braves vs. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees, July 19th, 5:05PM, PNC Field, Moosic, PA

Summary:

A number of the Major League Baseball teams have single-A, double-A, and triple-A minor league affiliate teams in the Northeast or Mid-Atlantic States. Many of the New York-Penn, Eastern, and International League teams are conveniently located to the New York, Boston, and Philadelphia metropolitan areas. For this reason, it is possible for fans of some teams, such as the Yankees, Red Sox, and Phillies, to make day trips to see their minor league teams play at their home stadiums.

I have called this baseball excursion the “Yankee’s Fan Baseball Minor League Roadtrip.” This trip is planned to attend games at the following New York Yankee minor league affiliates:

• Staten Island Yankees, New York-Penn League, Short-season Single-A (A)
• Trenton Thunder, Eastern League, Double-A (AA)
• Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees, International League, Triple-A (AAA)
  

Games of these three teams were attended on consecutive days from my home in Wayne, NJ as separate day trips. The drives to the stadiums ranged from approx. 1 hr to see a Staten Island Yankee game in Staten Island, NY to just over 2 hrs to Moosic, PA for the Scranton Wilkes-Barre Yankees game.

To add a summer vacation theme to the roadtrip, I tweeted some family entertainment opportunities and other attractions in NJ and PA that could be used to fill out a day trip. For instance, I have suggested the Adventure Aquarium, Camden, NJ and CamelBeach Water Park at Camelback Mountain Ski Area in PA. These destinations may serve as a good en-route daytime activity to include with an evening Trenton Thunder or Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankee game, respectively.

Similar to the earlier Twittered Baseball Roadtrips, I have tweeted pregame information, such as the record and standing of the home and visiting teams in their league; in-game activity like the inning-by-inning score and highlights, and post-game results: winning team, final score, and winning/losing pitchers.

Along with this Twittered Baseball Roadtrip, I have tweeted recommendations for a Yankee Fan Minor League Roadtip at later dates. In addition, I planned and suggested how Mets, Red Sox, and Phillies fans could do a similar roadtrip to see their affiliated minor league teams. All three of these MLB teams have a minor league affiliate in both the International and Eastern Leagues, but only the Mets and Red Sox also have a team in the New York-Penn League. For example, the Red Sox minor league teams are:

• Pawtucket Red Sox: International League (AAA)
• Portland Sea Dogs: Eastern League (AA)
• Lowell Spinners: New York-Penn League (A)
  

This Red Sox Fan Roadtrip could potentially be done as a series of day trips from the Boston area. However, due to distances between the Mets affiliated minor league teams from the metropolitan New York City area, the Mets Fan Roadtrip would require overnight stays.

As a single-A team for the Phillies Fan Roadtrip, I have chosen the Lakewood BlueClaws, in Lakewood, NJ. The BlueClaws are a member of the South Atlantic League. The three Phillies minor league teams are relatively close to Philadelphia; therefore, this trip could possibly be taken as a series of day trips.

Twitter Roadtrip Information:
Total Number of Tweets: 110
Time/Date of 1st Tweet: 2:43 PM Jul 14th
Time/Date of 110th Tweet: 9:21 AM Jul 20th

Roadtrip Planning Resources:

The web resources used for planning this Yankee’s Fan Baseball Minor League Roadtrip are as follows.

Official Website of the International League:
http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/index.jsp?sid=l117

Official Website of the Eastern League:
http://eastern.league.milb.com/index.jsp?sid=l113

Official Website of the New York-Penn Baseball League: http://www.minorleaguebaseball.com/index.jsp?sid=l127

Current Standings of the Teams in the International League:
http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?t=l_sta&lid=117&sid=l117

Current Standings of the Teams in the Eastern League:
http://eastern.league.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?t=l_sta&lid=113&sid=l113

Current Standings of the Teams in the New York-Penn League:
http://www.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?t=l_sta&lid=127&sid=l127

Official Websites of the Home Teams:

• Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees: http://www.minorleaguebaseball.com/index.jsp?sid=t531
• Staten Island Yankees: http://www.siyanks.com/
• Trenton Thunder: http://www.trentonthunder.com/
  

Home Team Game Schedules:

• Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees: http://www.minorleaguebaseball.com/schedule/index.jsp?sid=t531
• Staten Island Yankees: http://www.siyanks.com/schedule/schedule/
• Trenton Thunder: http://www.trentonthunder.com/schedule/zScheduleDisplayYearGameCalendar.asp?pYYYY=2009
  

Official Websites of the Visiting Teams:

• Gwinnett Braves: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/index.jsp?sid=t431
• Portland Sea Dogs: http://portland.seadogs.milb.com/index.jsp?sid=t546
• State College Spikes: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/index.jsp?sid=t1174

Twittered Baseball Roadtrip #2: New York-Penn League and Lake George Roadtrip

Dates: July 5, 2009 through July 8, 2009
Primary Destination: Lake George Village, NY

Twitter Address: http://twitter.com/Wtriebel

Games Attended:

Game 1: Lowell Spinners vs. Staten Island Yankees, July 5th, 4:00PM, Richmond County Bank Park, Staten Island, NY
Game 2: Brooklyn Cyclones vs. Tri-City Valley Cats, July 6th, 11:00AM, Joseph L. Bruno Stadium, Troy, NY
Game 3: Staten Island Yankees vs. Hudson Valley Renegades, July 8th, 7:00PM, Dutchess Stadium, Wappingers Falls, NY.

Summary:

The New York-Penn league is a short-season, single A baseball league affiliated with Major League Baseball. Most of its teams are located in the Northeast with 10 of its 14 teams residing in the states of New York or Pennsylvania. A few teams are in other states, including Maryland, Massachusetts, Ohio, and Vermont. Here are some of the teams in the league:
Staten Island Yankees: affiliated with the New York Yankees
Brooklyn Cyclones: affiliated with the New York Mets
Williamsport Crosscutters: affiliated with the Philadelphia Phillies
Lowell Spinners: affiliated with the Boston Red Sox
Aberdeen IronBirds: affiliated with the Baltimore Orioles

During this four day New York-Penn League and Lake George Roadtrip, we attended three baseball games; stayed in the vicinity of Lake George Village, NY for two nights; and had one extra day for vacationing in the Lake George area of the Adirondack Mountains. Lake George is approx. 60 miles from the metro Albany, NY area, which is home to the Houston Astos affiliate of the New York-Penn League: the Tri-City Valley Cats. During this roadtrip, we saw five New York-Penn League teams play: the Staten Island Yankees, Lowell Spinners, Tri-City Valley Cats, Brooklyn Cyclones, and Hudson Valley Renegades.

The first game, Lowell Spinners vs Staten Island Yankees at Staten Island, NY, was attended as a day trip from home in Wayne, NJ. On the other hand, the Valley Cats game was seen en-route to Lake George and the Renegades game as a stop on the return trip to NJ. As part of the twitter stream for the roadtrip, I provided a number of traveling tips, including stadium addresses, travel distances and times, and a potential en-route rest stop.

This roadtrip is an excellent combination vacation/baseball trip for people located in the metropolitan NYC area. The stadiums for the Tri-City Valley Cats and Hudson Valley Renegades are close to the New York Thruway. So the games can be attended without deviating significantly from the route between Northern NJ/NYC and Lake George. I have included tweets that suggest a wide range of lodging options in or around Lake George Village, places to dine out, and a variety of summer family entertainment attractions available in the Lake George Region of the Southern Adirondacks.

As for all Twittered Baseball Roadtrips, I have tweeted pregame information prior to the game, such as the record of the teams, their current standing in the league, and the starting pitchers. As part of the in-game activity, I tweeted the inning by inning score, highlights as runs are scored, and other in-game activity. After the game, post-game tweets give the winning team, final score, and sometime additional information.

For this Twittered Baseball Roadtrip, I outlined and tweeted information for a number of similar roadtips. They are designed for Yankee and Red Sox fans to see the Staten Island Yankees or Lowell Spinners, respectively, play away games against two other New York-Penn League teams on consecutive days. The dates and locations of the games were selected to enable them to be part of a vacation trip to the Lake George area of the Adirondacks. Lake George Village is centrally located to the stadiums where the Tri-City Valley Cats and Vermont Lake Monsters play.

Twitter Roadtrip Information:
Total Number of Tweets: 139
Time/Date of 1st Tweet: 12:02 PM Jul 3rd
Time/Date of 139st Tweet: 7:31 PM Jul 9th

Roadtrip Planning Resources:

The following are the web resources used for planning this NY-Penn League Baseball Roadtrip.

Official Website of the New York-Penn Baseball League: http://www.minorleaguebaseball.com/index.jsp?sid=l127

Current Standings of the Teams in the New York-Penn League:
http://www.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?t=l_sta&lid=127&sid=l127

Official Websites of the Home Teams:

• Staten Island Yankees: http://www.siyanks.com/
• Tri-City Valley Cats: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/index.jsp?sid=t577
• Hudson Valley Renegades: http://www.hvrenegades.com/
  

Home Team Game Schedules:

• Staten Island Yankees: http://www.siyanks.com/schedule/schedule/
• Tri-City Valley Cats: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/schedule/index.jsp?sid=t577&m=06&y=2009
• Hudson Valley Renegades: http://www.hvrenegades.com/schedule/
  

Official Websites of the Visiting Teams:

• Lowell Spinners: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/index.jsp?sid=t558
• Brooklyn Cyclones: http://www.brooklyncyclones.com/

Entertainment in Boston

While visiting the Boston area there are many fun things to do in the city. I would recommend checking out the area near Fenway Park during a Red Sox game. Some good bars in the area by Fenway Park include: Cask' n Flagon, Game On! , and Boston Beer Works. These bars usually get crowded on days when the Red Sox have a game so I would suggest arriving a few hours before the game starts. The Harpoon Brewery offers tours and is another fun place to visit. If you're interested in doing some shopping while in Boston, head over to Newbury Street. This street has a lot of wonderful boutiques, restaurants, and salons. Some of my favorite restaurants on Newbury Street include: Sonsie and 29 Newbury Restaurant & Bar. Another great place for shopping and dining is Faneuil Hall Marketplace. If you decide to check out this area, I would suggest visiting Cheers Boston. The Faneuil Hall Marketplace area is also walking distance to the North End which has a lot of interesting Italian restaurants. Most of these areas are accessible via Boston’s subway (T). A map of the T system is available at: mbta.com

Twittered Baseball Roadtrip #1: Canadian American (CanAm) League and Beantown Roadtrip

Dates: June 24, 2009 through June 26, 2009
Primary Destination: Boston, MA

Twitter Address: http://twitter.com/Wtriebel

Games Attended:

Game 1: Brockton Rox vs. Worcester Tornadoes, June 24th, 7:05PM, Fitton Field, Worcester MA

Game 2: American Defenders of New Hampshire vs. Brockton Rox, June 25th, 6:35PM, Campanelli Stadium, Brockton MA

Game 3: Worcester Tornadoes vs. New Jersey Jackals, June 26th, 7:05PM, Yogi Berra Stadium, Little Falls NJ

Summary:

The Canadian American Association of Profession Baseball is an independent league with six teams located in the United States and Canada. The league was formed in October 2004 with the first season on play in 2005. Five of the six teams are located in the US, with two teams in New Jersey, two in Massachusetts, and one in Maryland. The sixth franchise is in Canada and resides in Quebec City, Ontario. The leagues is also known as the CanAm Baseball League.

This CanAm Baseball League and Beantown Roadtrip is three days in duration with a two-night stay in the Boston, MA area. During the trip two games were attended in the metropolitan Boston area and a third game was attended upon return to my home in New Jersey. Three of the six CanAm league stadiums (Fitton Field, Worcester MA, Campanelli Stadium, Brockton MA, and Yogi Berra Stadium, Little Falls NJ) were visited and four of the six teams (Brockton Rox, Worcester Tornadoes, American Defenders of New Hampshire, and New Jersey Jackals) participated in the games. The other two CanAm league teams are the Sussex Skyhawks, who play their home games at Skylands Park, Augusta, NJ and the Quebec Les Capitales who's home field is Le Stade de Québec in Quebec City, Ontario, CA. Finally, the American Defenders of New Hampshire play there home games at Holman Stadium in Nashua, New Hampshire.

The departure point for the trip is Yogi Berra Stadium in Little Falls, NJ. As part of the twitter stream for the roadtrip, I have provided a number of traveling trips, including stadium addresses, alternate directions, travel distances and times, a potential in-route eating stop (Rein’s NY Deli), and a number of suggestions for arranging lodging.

Even though no time was set aside for an extended stay in Boston, this is a perfect baseball roadtrip to be incorporated into a family excursion to visit Boston. For this reason, I have tweeted information for an in-route stop at Old Sturbridge Village in MA and a wide variety of Family Entertainment and Attraction options available in the city of Boston, MA.

The twitter for each of the games attended includes pregame tweets with the record of the teams, their current standing in the league, and the starting pitchers. During the game, tweets announce the inning by inning score, highlights as runs are score, and other in-game activity such as pitching changes. At the end of the game, post-game tweets give the winning team, final score, and additional information like the winning and loosing pitchers.

Twitter Roadtrip Information:

Total Number of Tweets: 131
Time/Date of 1st Tweet: 9:49 AM June 21st
Time/Date of 131st Tweet: 7:04 AM June 28th

Roadtrip Planning Resources:

The following are the web resources used for planning this "CanAm League" baseball roadtrip.

Official Website of the CanAm Baseball League: http://www.canamleague.com/

Current Standings of the Teams in the CanAm League: http://www.canamleague.com/standings.php

Official Websites of the Home Teams:

• Worcester Tornadoes: http://www.worcestertornadoes.com/
• Brockton Rox: http://www.brocktonrox.com/
• New Jersey Jackals: http://www.jackals.com/home.asp

Home Team Game Schedules:

• Worcester Tornadoes: http://www.worcestertornadoes.com/tickets/schedule
• Brockton Rox: http://www.brocktonrox.com/schedule/schedule
  
• New Jersey Jackals:http://www.jackals.com/schedule.asp

Official Websites of the Visiting Teams:

• American Defenders of New Hampshire: http://www.americandefenders.us/

What is a Twittered Baseball Roadtrip

The roadtrips that I have twittered are 1-day, 2-days, or 3-days long. During the trip, baseball games are attended at multiple destinations. In general, the intent is to see a game each day, but in some cases there has been a day off between games to accommodate other activities. Moreover, on some one day trips I attend two games: a game at one destination in the afternoon and a second at another location in the evening. Some multi-day trips include an overnight stay at the primary destination; but others are done as a series of day trips.

The plan for the roadtrip is announced via tweets on twitter prior to departure; in-game tweets track the action of the game (end of inning scores, game highlights, and post game results). After the trip is complete, I post recommendations for similar roadtrips on twitter.

Some of the longer roadtrips are intended to include time set aside for vacation. For this type of roadtrip, I tweet lodging information, travel tips, and information about additional entertainment/recreation opportunities.

Layout of a Typical Blog Posting for a Twittered Baseball Roadtrip:

Twittered Baseball Roadtrip (Number): (Name)
Dates: (Departure date) (Return Date)
Primary Destination: (City, State)

Twitter Address:http://twitter.com/Wtriebel

Games Attended:

Game 1: (Visiting team) vs (Home team) (Date) (Time) (Stadium) (Location) (Website-link)
Game 2: (Visiting team) vs (Home team) (Date) (Time) (Stadium) (Location) (Website-link)
Game 3: (Visiting team) vs (Home team) (Date) (Time) (Stadium) (Location) (Website-link)

Summary:

(xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx)

Twitter Roadtrip Information:

Total Number of Tweets: (xxx)
Time/Date of 1st Tweet: (xxx) (xxx)
Time/Date of Last Tweet: (xxx) (xxx)

Roadtrip Planning Resources:

A listing of the web resources used for planning the twittered baseball roadtrip.

• Official Website of the Baseball League(s): (League) (Website-link)
• Current Standings of the Teams in the League(s): (League) (Website-link)
• Official Website of the Home Team(s): (Team) (Website-link)
• Home Team(s) Game Schedule: (Team) (Website-link)
• Official Website of the Visiting Team(s): (Team) (Website-link)
  

Roadtrip Information Posted on Twitter:

1. Overview of the baseball roadtrip including:

• Game(s) to be attended.
• Address of the stadium(s) (for use in MapQuest or a GPS).
• Website-link to information and photos of the stadium(s).
• Route details and travel tips, such as distances, travel times, alternate directions, and places to eat.
  

2. Information about additional family entertainment/recreation along the route and/or in the vicinity of to the primary destination.

3. Information about lodging that is conveniently located to the primary destination, ballpark(s), and/or places with family entertainment/recreation.

4. Game summary including:

• Pregame updates: team records, standings, and starting pitchers.
• In-game updates: inning by inning scores, highlights about how runs scored, pitching changes, etc.
• Post game updates: winning team, final score, and winning/losing pitchers.
  

5. Recommendation for taking a similar trip including:

• Home and visiting teams.
• Game dates and times.
• Address of stadiums.

About Me: As a Baseball Player

As a youngster I was a better than average player and always ready to play hardball, stick ball, or softball. Like many other youths of the 50’s, I dreamed of someday being a professional baseball player like Duke Snider.

I was quite a good and versatile baseball player with the ability to play all infield positions, the outfield if required, and hit to an average better then most of my peers. However, the bad news (or good news depending upon how one looks at things) was that my baseball skill peaked at around 14 years of age. Others passed me by and my dream of being a baseball player came to an end. My interest and enjoyment of the game continued on through the years and has remained strong.

About Me: As a Fan

I have been an avid fan of baseball from the age of about 7 years old. The first professional baseball game I attended was a New York Giants game in the early 1950s at the Polo Grounds in the Bronx, NY. My brother and I were part of a group of neighborhood kids that were taken to the game by Clifford Shea who lived 3 houses from us.

In the early 1950s, I was a dedicated Brooklyn Dodgers fan and my favorite baseball player was their center fielder, Duke Snider (1947-1962). During these early years, we had no television and I would listen to their games on radio.

On September 17, 1955 my father took my brother and I to Ebbetts Field in Brooklyn to see the Dodgers play the New York Giants. I still have the original Official Program and Score Card (cost 10 cents) for this game in which I kept the inning by inning score. During this game we saw two of the famous New York center fielders of the day play—Willie Mays of the Giants and Duke Snider of the Dodgers. Carl Furillo, right fielder for the Brooklyn Dodgers, hit a 2-run homer in the 3rd inning. Bobby Hofman hit a 2 run home run for the Giants in the top of the 1st and Mays hit a solo home run in the 5th inning. The final scores was Giants 8 and the Dodgers 5 (Box Score: http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/BRO/BRO195509170.shtml)

The next season, 1956, we went to Ebbetts Field on August 15th and Yankee Stadium on September 8th. For both games I scored the game using the Official Program and Score Card, which now cost 15 cents. Again the Dodgers played the Giants and according to the score card we saw Willie Mays hit another homer. The final score was Gaints 1 and the Dodgers 0 (Box Score: http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/BRO/BRO195608150.shtml). The Yankee game was versus the Washington Senators and on that day we got to see the third famous center fielder of the New York area—Mickey Mantle—play the outfield. In this game, Roy Seavers of the Senators homered, but the Yankees still won by a score 0f 16 t0 2 (Box Score: http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/NYA/NYA195609080.shtml).

When the Dodgers left Brooklyn for the west coast at the end of the 1957 season, they remained my favorite team for a number of years. However, soon after the New York Mets joined the National League in 1962, I began to follow them and eventually they became my new team.

This transition was partly influenced by the fact that in their first few seasons the Mets added many of my favorite Dodger players from the 1950s to their team so that they may finish their careers in New York. The list included, but was not limited to Charlie Neal (2B), Gil Hodges (1B), Clem Labine (P), Roger Craig (P), and even “The Duke” in 1963. During my years as a Met fan, my favorite player was their left fielder, Cleon Jones (1965-1975).

During the late 1980s my team allegiance changed one more time. Starting then and continuing through today, I remain a New York Yankees fan. My inspiration for evolving into a Yankee fan was driven by my fascination with Manager Bill Martin’s commitment to “the team.” During the early days, Don Mattingly was my favorite Yankee player and today it is Derek Jeter. Each of my Yankee favorites identify with the image of a “team player.”