Scene on the Road

There are a lot of good reasons to hit the road: Spring Break, death or divorce, a midlife crisis. I have friends who are trying to visit the birthplaces of all 43 US presidents, and as I've already bragged here, I've been to all fifty states. But one of THE most popular excuses for a road trip is built around America’s favorite pastime - taking in home games at professional baseball stadiums.

As if I need an excuse, I figure the All Star break is a great time for a minor league journey, so I head south on US Highway 40 toward Ripken Stadiumin Aberdeen, Maryland, home of the Baltimore Orioles single-A league IronBirds. The stadium is right off I-95, but parallel to the freeway is a section of US 40, a classic pre-interstate cross-country route, one of the original 1920s highways. After leaving Atlantic City, it used to go all the way to San Francisco, before I-80 was built and absorbed it in Utah. More on the road later, now it's "Play Ball," as the game starts with a parade of little leaguers on the field.

Cal Ripken, Jr. and his family (with some help from their hometown of Aberdeen) built the fan-friendly 6,000 seat stadium modeled after Baltimore's Camden Yards, where Cal played his entire career. Just like at most Minor League games now, the staff interacts with the crowd, and brings fans onto the field for contests.

Tonight, between innings as the IronBird's are beating the Phillies Williamsport Crosscutters 15-10, there are tee shirt tosses, "hillbilly horseshoes" (toilet seat tossing) and dance and sports trivia contests. There is a Picnic Plaza and a Kid Zone near left field has batting cages, pitching speed booths, and an inflatable moon-walk. Most home games become sold out, but standing room tickets go for $5.

Besides the IronBirds There are a whole bunch of professional league teams in our tri-state region. Here are links to their websites: Atlantic City Surf; Camden River Sharks; Harrisburg Senators; Lakewood BlueClaws; Lancaster Barnstormers; Newark Bears; New Jersey Jackals; Reading Phillies; Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees; Sussex Skyhawks; Trenton Thunder ; Williamsport CrossCutters; Wilmington Blue Rocks; and the York Revolution.