Itineraries part two: Foggy mountain breakdown
So who wants to go on a trip this summer? Here's a suggestion.
Last week I told you I would give you some summer travel ideas just like I did the last two years. I enjoyed it so much that this year we do round 3.
This is the second of three excursions (here’s the first) which are based on the various 2025 minor and major league baseball schedules. There are a few ground rules I tried to follow with these potential trips:
The trip lasts from July 31- August 10.
Each of these trips has at least one game from each professional level: MLB, AAA, AA, Advanced-A, A, and independent leagues.
I made every effort to keep daily trips under 250 miles “as the crow flies.” In reality this may be about 300 miles, but that should be about a six-hour trip or less.
Where I could I had at least one “doubleheader day” where there was a day/night combo of games. I did not have game times for all the games, so I assumed on original compilation the minor league contests were in the evening.
This trip goes up and down the Appalachians with the finale being Sunday, August 10. What I did differently this time, though, is begin the trip with Delmarva on the road at Kannapolis - a destination that, as it happens, is rather easy to reach from Salisbury by air as they have nonstop service to nearby Charlotte. Like last season, you’ll see quite a few Shorebird rivals on this trip as we travel through the heart of the Carolina League. So rent a comfy ride and let’s go!
Thursday, July 31: Delmarva Shorebirds (Orioles) at Kannapolis Cannon Ballers (White Sox) (Class A, Carolina League.) It’s Margaritaville Night at Atrium Health Ballpark, which begs the question: is that really healthy? In this case, we see our hometown team in their road grays as we start this journey down south in a fairly new venue, the newest in the CL, on the site of a onetime textile mill.
Friday, August 1: Rochester Red Wings (Twins) at Charlotte Knights (White Sox) (Class AAA, International League). This is Harry Potter Night at Truist Stadium in the very heart of downtown Charlotte. They’re doing a Hogwarts hat giveaway as well as fireworks postgame, so an interesting Friday night in downtown Charlotte - an area thought to be a possibility for MLB expansion down the road to join the Carolina Panthers NFL team and Charlotte Hornets of the NBA in making this a major league city. We travel just 28 miles in 33 minutes to go from sleepy factory town to big metropolis.
Saturday, August 2: Salem Red Sox at Lynchburg Hillcats (Guardians) (Class A, Carolina League.) It’s fireworks both on and off the field as these two close rivals tangle on a Saturday night. We go from the midtown feel of Charlotte to the hillside views of Bank of the James Stadium, a throwback to a bygone era as it was opened in 1940 - fifth-oldest stadium in the minor leagues. (Only Fenway Park and Wrigley Field were in existence among current MLB stadiums at the time.) The trip takes us right by our first stop in Kannapolis and runs 203 miles in 3:10.
Sunday, August 3: York Revolution at Charleston Dirty Birds (independent Atlantic League.) We did Harry Potter the other night, so why not Wizard Night at GoMart Ballpark? The home of the former West Virginia Power in the old SAL, it’s become the home for the Atlantic League team that took over once baseball resumed in 2021. So duck if toast comes at you and enjoy the rowdy atmosphere at one of two stadia on this tour with a FieldTurf surface. It’s a 229 mile trip in 3:50 as we cross the border into West Virginia.
Monday, August 4: San Francisco Giants at Pittsburgh Pirates. PNC Park goes to the dogs on this night, which is Pup Night. Once again we get to enjoy the view of downtown Pittsburgh, which may be better than the game on the field with the woebegone Pirates being involved. The run up I-79 takes 3:25 to travel 228 miles, but the trips get shorter from here.
Tuesday, August 5: Hartford Yard Goats (Rockies) at Altoona Curve (Pirates) (AA Eastern League.) The AA equivalent of the Pirates may be better than the MLB version, and PNG Field also has a roller coaster overlooking it, sort of like Brooklyn on my last trip. This is Western Night, which means a rare midweek fireworks display set to country music. There’s also 2-for-1 hotdogs and popcorn, which means more beer sales. We go just 97 miles east from Pittsburgh, taking 1:45.
Wednesday, August 6: Portland Sea Dogs (Red Sox) at Harrisburg Senators (Nationals) (AA Eastern League). For this night the Sens are the Mayflies, an alternative identity sure to boost merch sales. It’s also Educator Appreciation Night and Wet Nose Wednesday, so there will be barking at the park, or FNB Field in this case. (What is it about PA and its initials for park names?) We go off the interstate for this 122 mile trip, which only takes 2 hours and 13 minutes.
Thursday, August 7: Athletics at Washington Nationals. Earlier in this trip we went from the bigs to AA with the Pirates, now we take the opposite turn with the Nationals who host the surprising (well, to this point anyway) nomadic Athletics at Nationals Park. This is a getaway day businessperson’s special 12:05 start so there may be time for a late-afternoon Capitol tour or appointment with (in my case) a gender-dysphoric Congressman. The trip is just 120 miles south, taking 2:04.
Friday, August 8: Long Island Ducks at Hagerstown Flying Boxcars (independent Atlantic League.) After a near-miss on last year’s tours, I finally got a date in Hagerstown’s year-old Meritus Park as they open a quick homestand with the Ducks on Friday Happy Hour and Upside Down Night, which may become right side up if you get too happy. Just enjoy the fireworks and the fact the trip is only 74 miles out of DC, taking 1:24.
Saturday, August 9: Wilmington Blue Rocks (Nationals) at Aberdeen Ironbirds (Orioles) (Advanced-A South Atlantic League.) After making the 108-mile, 1:42 trip, you may want to catch the Ironbirds while you still can, because rumor is the Aberdeen franchise may be on the move. On this evening Ripken Stadium is hosting AUG-tober Fest, which means beer drinking may be involved - although I wouldn’t put pumpkin spice out of the question either. (Maybe it’s a little of both if the pumpkin-infused seasonal beer is ready.) Aside from the Field Turf, their stadium reminds me a little of my final stop, which is just 139 miles and 2:21 away for us tourists, but a bummer for a player.
Sunday, August 10: Fayetteville Woodpeckers (Astros) at Delmarva Shorebirds (Orioles) (Class A, Carolina League.) Returning home to see the Shorebirds in their Perdue Stadium nest on a Strike Out Hunger Sunday, their regular feature where you can exchange canned goods for a voucher good for a future Sunday game. It’s also a deal for active and retired military, who get a reduced-price ticket for Sunday Military Day. And as always kids run the bases after the game, which is no big deal when the team is always off on Monday.
Tale of the tape
Games: 11 in 11 days.
Leagues: 6 (all six levels)
States: 6 (North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware) plus the District of Columbia. Games in all but Delaware.
MLB teams/organizations: Athletics, Baltimore (three times), Boston (twice), Chicago White Sox (twice), Cleveland, Colorado, Houston, Minnesota, Pittsburgh (twice), San Francisco, Washington (three times). Plus four independent teams.
Mileage: 1,348 miles. If you drove from Salisbury to Kannapolis for the first stop, add 436 miles.
Driving time: 22 hours, 27 minutes - add 7:16 if you drove to stop one.
Regrets: I would have preferred to get Fredericksburg on the jaunt instead of DC, and I couldn’t get a side trip over to Tennessee for the AA Southern League to work - it’s farther away from my starting point than I thought and Asheville wasn’t available as a jumping-off point to make it to/from Pittsburgh in the limited time. It’s got me thinking about revamping itineraries next year into shorter three-day weekend chunks that cover only a short distance from a home base, like, say 300 miles total travel. This allows me to use all parts of the country, too. I could also do one MLB stop with two minor league stops or three minor league games. The possibilities are closer to endless (plus, to be honest, more realistic for a working stiff like me.)
In the meantime, next week I’m going home for one last long trip.
In the meantime, though, you can Buy Me a Coffee, since I have a page there now.