Itineraries part three: Back on the road again 2025
So who wants to go on a trip this summer? Here's a suggestion.
For the last two weeks I have given you some summer travel ideas. As if by happenstance, the fine folks at milb.com came out with their Minor League Ballpark Guides, which were a big help in compiling these.
Here are the ground rules I followed with this trip. You’ll notice two major differences between this and my other trips.
The trip lasts from July 31 - August 10, and this one starts in my hometown of Toledo, Ohio.
Because I’m starting there I have to waive one of my longstanding rules: I can cover MLB, AAA, AA, Advanced-A, and independent leagues, but there is no low-A league in that section of the country.
I made every effort to keep daily trips under 200 miles “as the crow flies.” In reality this may be about 250 miles, but that should be about a five-hour trip or less. My efforts bore fruit this time, as you’ll see.
This trip runs around the Midwest, using Toledo as a home base rather than here in the Salisbury area.
Thursday, July 31: St. Paul Saints (Twins) at Toledo Mud Hens (Tigers) (Class AAA, International League.) This is a game where the Hens will play as the Mud Crawlers, as they are preparing for Jeep Fest over the weekend. (In case you didn’t know, Toledo is the home of the Jeep. If you own a Wrangler, chances are it was made about three miles as the crow flies from Fifth Third.) So Fifth Third Field will be rocking all things Jeep, as likely will the entertainment district next door. This will be the start of this final long journey.
Friday, August 1: Erie Seawolves (Tigers) at Akron RubberDucks (Guardians). (AA Eastern League). To make this trip work for picking up AA ball I had to go as far west as the Eastern League goes, and that’s the unusually-shaped Canal Park in Akron. This evening is an appearance by the ZOOperstars, and for the second night in a row the home team is playing with a new identity - in this case it’s Akron’s turn to be the Malmo Oat Milkers. Not only that, but there are fireworks this night on the fringes of downtown Akron. I’ve made this trip before so I know this leg is 138 miles and nine minutes beyond two hours.
Saturday, August 2: Washington Wild Things at Lake Erie Crushers (independent Frontier League.) Crusher Stadium is a staple for my Midwest trips, and it’s the site of the MAC baseball championship this week. Tonight it’s fireworks in Avon, perhaps onfield between these rivals doing a home-and-home series but definitely off the field postgame. This trip is just 59 miles and takes only 57 minutes.
Sunday, August 3: Great Lakes Loons (Dodgers) at Fort Wayne TinCaps (Padres) (Advanced-A Midwest League.) For the third time in four days, we have an alter ego as the TinCaps become the Manzanas Luchadoras, or Fighting Apples for the Hispanic Heritage Game at Parkview Field, and the Padres’ future stars will be available for postgame autographs. It’s another of those parks built in the city’s downtown area, with a concourse that also doubles as a walking path for the adjacent park. The trip, ending with a pleasant ride down U.S. 24 through God’s country along the Maumee River, which is created near Parkview Field by the confluence of the St. Mary’s and St. Joseph rivers, is 184 miles and 2 hours, 53 minutes on the expressway route or 2 miles shorter (but 12 minutes longer) if you take U.S. 6 through the rural parts of northern Ohio.
Monday, August 4: Minnesota Twins at Detroit Tigers. It’s the “gritty Tigs” at CoPa (a.k.a Comerica Park) in my lone MLB stop on this tour. Get used to Michigan as we do a few days in the Great Lakes State. For the third time going by Toledo, it’s 162 miles and 2:36.
Tuesday, August 5: Lansing Lugnuts (Athletics) at Great Lakes Loons (Dodgers). (Advanced-A Midwest League.) An interstate rivalry takes us for the first time to Dow Diamond in Midland, situated not far from Michigan’s “thumb.” It’s Hometown Heroes Night, where first responders and military get a coupon for a free meal, and everyone else can sit around the fire pits - it might be August but that part of Michigan can get cool sometimes. From Detroit it’s 127 miles and 1 hour, 51 minutes.
Wednesday, August 6: Cedar Rapids Kernels (Twins) at West Michigan Whitecaps (Tigers) (Advanced-A Midwest League.) For the third time on this trip, we see a variant of the Twins against a variant of the Tigers on a Silver Sluggers Night. (That sounds familiar.) To add to the familiarity, they have apparently built a 360-degree concourse years after the park was opened. This trip is 110 miles and takes 1 hour, 55 minutes through rural central Michigan. No interstates in that locality.
Thursday, August 7: Fort Wayne TinCaps (Padres) at South Bend Cubs (Advanced-A Midwest League.) Our tour of the Midwest League continues as we check out the Cubs at Four Winds Field. (I had the same matchup last season, as a matter of fact.) Turns out the Malmo Oat Milkers have caught up to us again, but you can certainly drink something stronger than oat milk - like many other parks, this is a Thirsty Thursday but included in the discounts are several selected craft beers. Another relatively short leg, this one is 124 miles and takes an hour and 55 minutes near the shore of Lake Michigan.
Friday, August 8: Evansville Otters at Windy City Thunderbolts (independent Frontier League.) If you are a Swiftie, well, you are in luck this night at Ozinga Field. As they describe it, “Music videos, sing-a-longs, themed contests and Taylor music will also be part of the night. After the game stick around for our world famous fireworks show!” They also have a pretty sweet food deal for the Chicagoland folks - and even better, they have free parking and allow pregame tailgating. It’s pretty much a straight shot west from South Bend, taking 1:35 to go 84 miles.
Saturday, August 9: Omaha Storm Chasers (Royals) at Indianapolis Indians (Pirates) (AAA International League.) On this night, Victory Field has a Circus at the Ballpark, and it’s also the end of State Fair Foods Week, which sounds very good but not necessarily good for you. If I recall correctly from following the Mud Hens there many years ago, many of their food stands face the field so you can watch while you’re waiting. It was a nice park that Toledo learned from in designing theirs. This is the second-longest trip in the itinerary, but it’s only 174 miles and 2:45.
Sunday, August 10: Lake County Captains (Guardians) at Dayton Dragons (Reds). (Advanced-A Midwest League.) The final stop is just east on I-70, Dayton’s Day Air Ballpark - a place that always sells out. Kids can be a Baseball Buddy and run the bases for this game. I guess the rest of us enjoy the game before heading back to T-town, and we get the full complement of stadia currently or formerly named by Fifth Third Bank with this last stop. (The other of the three is West Michigan.) It’s 117 miles and 1:54 to Dayton and the return home on Sunday evening to the home base of Toledo would be 149 miles and 2 hours, 11 minutes.
Tale of the tape
Games: 11 in 11 days.
Leagues: 5 (all levels but single-A)
States: 4 (Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Illinois.) Games in all four states.
MLB teams/organizations: Athletics, Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati, Cleveland (twice), Detroit (four times), Kansas City, Los Angeles Dodgers (same team twice), Minnesota (three times), Pittsburgh, San Diego (same team twice). Plus four independent teams.
Mileage: 1,428 miles
Driving time: 22 hours, 41 minutes
Regrets: Actually, this may be my favorite long trip because the drives are pretty easy - no trip longer than three hours. But it’s hard to put something together with all the parameters I’ve set, so next season I’m going to do 3-day weekend jaunts over the summer in three or four posts.
I may ask for some help, though. If you’ve ever noticed, I’ve used song titles or lyric snippets as subtitles - my Midwest trip was always the hard-rockin’ Back On The Road Again by REO Speedwagon, who hails from Illinois. So what I’d like are suggestions for songs I can use to put together new trips. (They don’t have to be baseball-related; in fact, that may make it more interesting.) For example, one I will likely use is Never Been Any Reason by Peoria-based Head East and start the trip in that area - they have a minor-league team. If I do a Toledo one, it will be called Every Dog Has Its Day based on the song and album by the Toledo-based ‘80s metal outfit Damien. (As well, I suppose I could always pick a tune by the band Sanctus Real.)
Next week I get back to regular stuff, but, let me tell you, this was a lot of fun to put together and dream about.
In the meantime, though, you can Buy Me a Coffee, since I have a page there now.
If you were making this trip I’d join you a couple of days in my back yard — Akron and Erie. Don’t forget we have a draft team in Niles, Ohio, the former MY Penn League Mahoning Valley Scrappers.