In a city like Chicago, with so many different choices when it comes to sports and sports teams, why would anyone want to spend the time going out to the suburbs to view a minor league game?  Certainly the quality of play cannot be as good, right?  Plus, there is the majesty and pageantry of the larger stadiums and all of that is missing.

Well, the fact is that most of that is pure bunk.  In fact, if you want to get the essence of most sports, you really need to look past the flash and bang of a major league game.  You need to push aside the major league celebrities with their major league egos.  You need to look past the major league salaries and the quickly-switching loyalties that come with major league players.

So, what is it about the minor leagues that make them so much more fun, so much better, than attending the major league games?  Well, funny you should ask.

Price

Let’s face it.  It costs a lot of money to take just yourself to a major league baseball game.  In the city of Chicago is costs even more to take yourself to a major league hockey game.  This is not the case with the minor league teams. 

Let’s take a look at the Schaumburg Flyers.  They are probably still my favorite minor league baseball team (followed closely by the Windy City Thunderbolts) in this area.  They are located in a very convenient location, not too far from Woodfield Mall.

The parking there is free and it is in an actual paved parking lot.  At some minor league stadiums around the country (and even here, just see Elfstrom Stadium where the Kane County Cougars play) you end up in a gravel lot.  The Flyers even have police there to direct traffic.  It is right across the street from the stadium.  It is also yards away from a Metra rail line so you could take the train if you didn’t want to drive.

The reserved club seats at the Flyers game is $10.50 and there isn’t a seat with a bad view of the field in the place.  A regular reserved seat is $9.50.  The seats on the lawn are $5.50.  The price for the bleacher seats are also $5.50.

So, you can easily find a place to park.  You can walk a short distance to the stadium.  You can pay less than ten dollars per ticket and get your whole family into the stadium with a minimum of fuss and few dollars.

Alexian Field even has a restaurant, the Schaumburg Club, that is on the upper level of the stadium, with gorgeous views of the field.  At a place like U.S. Cellular Field or Wrigley, you would have to reserve that kind of place in advance and pay through the nose.  Here you just need to have a ticket and anyone can enjoy the food.

Compare that to a trip to Wrigley.  First, there is no actual parking lot for Wrigley. You either have to take the EL or you need to pay some guy to park in his garage.  That guy can pretty much charge anything he wants. 

Upper deck reserved seats, where you can barely see the field, cost $16.00.  Club box seats in the infield will cost you $56.00.  On prime dates, the cost of both goes up.  It is very possible that you could end up sitting behind or right next to a pole that holds up the upper deck.  Even the bleacher seats at Wrigley, originally intended to be the cheaper seats, cost $32.00 for regular games.

The cost of tickets near the ice at a Blackhawks game will cost you nearly as much as a down payment on a car.  I spent less than $30 at a Wolves game and practically sat on the ice. 

Fan Friendly

The minor league teams rely on fans.  That means they want to make the experience as fan friendly as possible.  That starts by making things affordable, as discussed in the price section above, but it continues throughout the game.

Speaking of games, every minor league team, especially in baseball, has games that are played between innings.  Whether it is grown men dressing up like Hooters girls at the Flyers stadium or grown men trying to guzzle a milk shake a the Windy City Thunderbolts stadium, there is something to watch. 

The minor league teams also have giveaways like you wouldn’t believe.  I have gotten hats of amazingly good quality from minor league team giveaways, for example.  Most of them now have bobblehead nights and getting them is usually fairly easy.

The prices of food are also generally reasonable at these games.  The price of beer still tends to be high, but I think that owes more to the beer companies than the teams.

The stadiums are arranged so that there is hardly a bad view anywhere in the place.  Even at Hawk Ford Field, with its upper deck, it is impossible not to see almost the entire field.  The seats are comfortable and there has never been a problem, at least with me, at finding plenty of legroom.

It is a place where you can easily meet the players.  I know that at Flyers’ stadium it is not uncommon to see kids right up against the dugout and for players to come out before and after the game and sign autographs.  You also see the player throwing balls into the stands, particularly to the lawn seats in the outfield. 

Family Friendly

Minor league teams know that their biggest dollar is to sell the experience to families. As such, they do whatever they can to attract those family dollars.   Some of the ways they do that cross over to the ways already discussed.  For example the price and fan-friendly atmosphere which you see talked about above.

The thing is that you can take your children to a minor league baseball game and not have to worry about your kids being bored.  If they want, they can easily have access to players.  If they are younger, each minor league team has a mascot that wanders the stadium throughout the game.

Again, going with the Flyers, they have Bearon.  Bearon is a bear with a Flyers jersey and aviator hat, goggles and scarf.  He plays games throughout the course of the game.  He also signs autographs for several innings at a designated spot.

In addition to that, many of the games played between innings are directly for kids and kids are the people chosen to play.  Nearly every baseball team has a before-game running of the bases with the mascot.  This usually takes on the appearance of a supposed footrace between the mascot and a very young child.  Of course, somehow the mascot always manages to trip or wander off course so the child wins.

There are plenty of seating arrangements to choose from.  The Flyers and Cougars have lawn seats that are like lawn seats at a concert venue.  They are on sloping hills that end at a chain-link fence right next to the field.  These are perfect for an entire family to bring a blanket, spread out and enjoy the evening.

I know that at the Flyers stadium you will see kids hurtling themselves down those hills to catch either fly balls or just for the sake of doing it.  Again, they are never bored.

The Players

In general, the quality of play is excellent.  I have never been disappointed in the level of play no matter which team I have visited.  You quickly, very quickly, forget you are at a minor league team and not sitting in a Wrigley or U.S. Cellular field.  I won’t even mention the dismal affair of watching the Blackhawks play.
The thing about the minor league teams is that the players are not in it for the money.  The Flyers team members are lucky if they make $800 a month for the entire season.  I have no idea what the managers and coaches make, but I am betting it is not much more.

The independent leagues play at roughly the level of a Single-A minor league team affiliated with a major league team.  The Kane County Cougars ARE a Single-A minor league team with a major league affiliation, so you really could be seeing the stars of tomorrow playing right now, at the start of their careers.

The problem with the minor leagues is that the players can be fleeting.  Many do get called up to play on major league teams, particularly in the are of pitching.  This is true even with the independent leagues.

However, while the players are there they play very hard.  They are playing because they love the game and they want to impress someone with the hopes of moving on.  In short, this is sport at its most fundamental, where egos and salaries are not getting in the way of playing the sport for the sake of playing the sport.
For me, that last reason is why I love the game.  As a baseball fan, seeing players play just because they want to, is a great treat.  They appreciate the fans more.  They know who their audience is and they behave in a way that makes sense for families.

Sure, you get the occasional aberration like the minor league manager who threw  fit on the field, bit in a way, that also adds to the fun.  You can never tell for sure what’s going to happen, and when it does, you are right there, almost on the field or ice, and can see it happen for a fraction of the cost.

For my money, the minor league teams are worth the time, effort and energy needed to find them, reach their stadiums and watch a game.  It is sport at its most basic.

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