(Photo Source: fortune.com)

A Day At The Baseball Stadium Is A Fun Family Day On A Budget

A doubleheader. Seats right behind the catcher. $9 tickets and free parking.

You have to love minor league baseball.

Other than Kody Clemens, the son of pitching great Roger Clemens, there wasn’t a recognizable name on the field Wednesday night at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium in Jupiter, Florida. And Kody’s Lakeland Flying Tigers are not headed for the Florida State League playoffs. Nor are the Jupiter Hammerheads going anywhere, though it has been fun watching first baseman Lazaro Alonso swing a hot bat in recent weeks and pull his average up to .291.

There’s a game every night in Jupiter, where the ‘Heads share the stadium with the Palm Beach Cardinals. The Cardinals are affiliated with the St. Louis Cardinals as their Class A-Advanced affiliate; the Hammerheads are part of the Miami Marlins’ farm system.

You don’t like crowds? On a midweek night, you won’t see one. Couldn’t have been 200 people in the stands – the stadium holds around 6,000 – by the middle of the second game. But if you like a great view – you can sit anywhere – and baseball played by young hopefuls, this provides a great evening.

It would be nice if Major League Baseball cared a little more. The players earn about $1,500 a month and really put in a lot of time. There’s a bit of shabbiness about this as well. Several players were wearing torn pants during Wednesday’s games. The uniforms are fairly drab.

And yet it’s fun. The team mascot can make personal visits to nearly everyone. Hammy the Hammerhead happily poses for pictures and dances atop the dugout. Lines at concession stands are nearly non-existent. There’s no traffic getting in or out.

Only a couple of weeks remain in the season. No playoffs for the Hammerheads or Cardinals. Gonna miss these guys.

 
 
Post By: Larry Weisman, a longtime sportswriter for USA TODAY, blogs for Twistity.com. Follow him on Twitter @MrLarryWeisman