Many moons ago, way back in the ancient days of yore, when men were men and cleats were sharp, I was but a wee lad with an insatiable baseball jones. Fortunately, I grew up only about 15 minutes from Space Coast Stadium, home of the Brevard County Manatees. I’ll admit, I still have a bit of a soft spot for the Manatees. Even though I live a few hours away, completely on the other...
Mascots
Meet the Midwest League; Revised
While we’re sure you’ve grown to love and cherish our higgledy-piggledy random posting style, this year we got together and decided to present minor-league baseball with a certain regard for structure. That means each guy got a classification or two to focus on throughout the season. That’s in addition to whatever higgledy-piggledy stuff each of us does, because we value our freedom. My focus will be on Low-A and Short-Season A ball. For starters,...
Bus Leaguers Work on the 4th
We here at Bus Leagues have the usual thanks to hand out on Independence Day. Thanks to the Founding Fathers for having a dream of freedom. Thanks to the farmers and merchants who answered the call and fought against overwhelming odds to realize that vision. Thanks to everyone who has fought to preserve that freedom, with pen or sword, since then. I was thinking today, as I considered whether to take my family out...
You Want Mascot Stories? I’ve Got Mascot Stories
Yesterday, Extra P brought us the story of Jacob Osterhout and his audition to be the mascot for the Brooklyn Cyclones. Jacob’s story made me laugh, yeah, but it also caused some seriously scary flashbacks. As I’ve mentioned on here a time or ten, I used to work for a professional baseball team (I think this is the first time I’ve talked about it this season, so if you had May 7 in the...
It’s Hard Out There for a Seagull
Some of you may know that I spend my winter months talking college hoops at Storming the Floor. One of the best things that happened to the site last season was technically a bad thing. Sports Illustrated columnist Jacob Osterhout was part of the reduction in staff at SI, and his popular column The Dean’s List became homeless. STF’s founder, Marco “It-can’t-hurt-to-ask” Anskis, shot an email to Jacob and asked him if he’d like to...
Potomac Nationals at Lynchburg Hillcats – 4/10/2009
My son was on spring break last week, so it was a perfect time for us to take in our first game of the season. Since the Braves flew the coop in Richmond, Lynchburg is the nearest minor-league town to ours, and we go there often. This time out, I was excited to see the Pirates’ top new prospect, former Vanderbilt star Pedro Alvarez. Alvarez went 0-5, but knocked in a couple of RBIs....
Franchise Switcheroos
I spent a little time the other day cleaning up our team affiliations page. Teams switch organizations every year, so it’s a crucial maintenance task. A few have even changed locations. Here are a few of the notable changes. The Gwinnett Braves – Atlanta pulled their triple-A franchise from Richmond, VA and moved it to the Atlanta suburbs. That makes it a short drive for anyone who gets called up, certainly. I’ve always wondered...
Minor League Merchandise at ESPN: the Magazine
As you may know, one of your intrepid Bus Leaguers has the good fortune to write a little for the ESPN: the Magazine website. This week, minor league merchandise managed to sneak onto the pages for the mouthpiece of the Worldwide Leader, and we wanted to share it with you: Tina Gust is the Director of Licensing for Minor League Baseball. She has seen merchandise sales grow along with record-setting ballpark attendance over the...
This Week in Bobbleheads Part 12
The dog days of summer continue especially for the Brooklyn Cyclones this week! Here’s a look at the week ahead: Cleveland Indians 8/11/08 Jhonny Peralta (Mini) – Fine Indians shortstop converts to miniature form. Brooklyn Cyclones 8/11/08 Maverick The Wonder Dog (Mascot) – I wonder where they got this dog from? He doesn’t even participate in anything onfield, yet he’s a bobble. Fort Myers Miracle 8/11/08 Presidential Bobble Election – Fans Vote – The...
Photos: Akron Aeros @ Altoona Curve 7/24/2008
What the heck was Extra P. doing in Altoona, PA? It’s a direct result of this site, actually. The primary goal of my trip to Pennsylvania was to visit my brother, who lives in Pittsburgh. There are much quicker ways to get there than to go through Altoona. But I knew that the Altoona Curve (Pirates) have a cool ballpark, and when I saw that there was a noon game against the Akron Aeros...
Bus Leagues Photos
2012 05 14 Scranton Wilks Barre/ Empire State Yankees vs Pawtucket Red Sox
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