Coca-Cola Park - Lehigh Valley IronPigs

Rochester Red Wings (WAS) @ Lehigh Valley IronPigs (PHI)

May 25, 2024

IronPigs 6, Red Wings 3

W: David Parkinson
L: Jackson Rutledge

HR: Travis Blankenhorn (ROC), Carter Kieboom (ROC)
Attendance: 10,100
Time of Game: 2 hours, 20 minutes

Stadium Facts

Location: Allentown, PA
Opened: 2008
Capacity: 10,178
Level: Triple A
League: International

When I originally scheduled out this Eastern PA trip, I was unaware that the NCAA Men's Lacrosse Final Four would be going on in Philadelphia that same weekend.  Once I learned that was the case, I decided I would try to squeeze in a lacrosse game on this trip should defending champion Notre Dame qualify.  They did indeed, so I made the relatively short trip from Reading to Philadelphia on Saturday morning for the national semi-final game between Notre Dame and Denver.  To say I'm a casual lacrosse fan would be an understatement.  This was my first ever in person game at any level.  But I'm very glad I was able to make this game as it was fun watching my Irish dominate it on their way to the title game.  They would go on to win their second straight national championship on Monday afternoon.

Soon after the lacrosse game, I drove up to Allentown for an evening game at Coca-Cola Park, home of the Lehigh Valley IronPigs.  Due to a passionate fan base, the close proximity to the parent club in Philadelphia, the large population of the area and the quality of the stadium, the IronPigs routinely lead all of Minor League Baseball in attendance.  Similar to Reading, this stadium is located on the edge of its home city of Allentown, a fair distance from downtown which I never actually saw.  This is definitely one of the nicest minor league parks I have visited.  Its the first one on this tour that has a second level with a decent amount of seating and a premium seating area right behind home plate.  There is a very large party deck and patio area in left field and ample GA lawn seating in left-center.  The concourse circles the entire stadium and provides standing room viewing areas pretty much everywhere.  This came in handy for me as there was a light rain for a few innings late in the game.  This park has an impressive array of concession options throughout.  With a team name of IronPigs, yes, bacon and pork are heavily featured at these stands.

This was my first AAA game in many years.  It was a nice reminder how different the rosters tend to be at that level, a mix of prospects on the verge of making it to the big leagues and MLB veterans just trying to hang on and get another shot.  Rochester, the Nationals' AAA club, only had two players in their starting lineup without MLB experience.  One of them was Darren Baker, son of recently retired long-time MLB manager Dusty Baker.  Dusty was in the house for this game.  I had hoped to get my first look at one of the top prospects in baseball in this game, Rochester outfielder James Wood.  Unfortunately, he went down with a hamstring injury a couple days earlier and missed several weeks of action, causing me to miss him in both this game and my later trip to Rochester.  Yesterday, news broke that he will be called up by the Nats for Monday's game in DC.  I happen to have tickets for that game, so I should finally get to see Wood play then.  As for this game, Rochester wasn't able to do much against Lehigh Valley's starting pitcher David Parkinson.  The lefty pitched 6 2/3 innings with the only damage done on solo home runs by former big leaguers Travis Blankenhorn and Carter Kieboom.  Red Wings' starter was former Nats first round pick Jackson Rutledge, who has struggled in his couple cups of coffee in the majors.  He was cruising in this game until the fifth inning when it all fell apart.  In consecutive innings, he was unable to put away hitters and got knocked around a bit.  Iron Pigs' outfielder Cal Stevenson had a two run triple in the fifth to take a 3-1 lead.  They scored three more runs in the sixth, highlighted by an Esteban Quiroz RBI double.  That would be more than enough for Lehigh Valley.  Rochester added a couple of runs late to make it a 6-3 final.

If judging ballparks simply by what is within the walls, this might be the nicest minor league stadium I have been to.  Some others have arguments to be made based on location and external scenery though, including the one I would visit the following afternoon a bit up the road in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre area.

Photo Album

Next ballpark:  PNC Field in Moosic, PA

FirstEnergy Stadium - Reading Fightin Phils

Binghamton Rumble Ponies (NYM) @ Reading Fightin Phils (PHI)

May 24, 2024

Rumble Ponies 2, Fightin Phils 1 (10 inn)

W: Wilkin Ramos
L: Carlos A. Francisco

S: Paul Gervase

HR: Wyatt Young (BNG), Bryce Ball (REA)
Attendance: 7,723
Time of Game: 2 hours, 45 minutes

Stadium Facts

Location: Reading, PA
Opened: 1951
Capacity: 10,000
Level: Double A
League: Eastern

I got my Memorial Day holiday weekend off to an early start by driving up to Reading, PA for a Friday night game at one of the oldest professional ballparks in the country.  Originally opened in 1951 as Reading Municipal-Memorial Stadium, FirstEnergy Stadium has been the home of the Phillies Eastern League affiliate since 1967.  It is located on the outskirts of Reading, which I am coming to discover is fairly common for minor league parks, as opposed to most MLB stadiums which are usually situated downtown or in busy neighborhoods.

This ballpark has a charming classic look to it with its red brick exterior.  Inside, it is an interesting mix of old and new with a narrow concourse underneath the main grandstand that was quite congested on this night with a very good sized crowd.  It gives off a nostalgic feel with old photos and other tributes to past Reading players throughout and short tunnels leading out to the seating area like most bygone ballparks had.  But there are also many modern amenities that have no doubt been added as the years have gone by.  The main entrance leads into an open area with a wide assortment of concessions and a stage area for pregame entertainment.  On this night, it was what I assume was a local high school band performing various recognizable hits.  Like the Class A stadiums I visited on my first trip, this stadium has just one level of seating.  But it is able to accommodate far bigger crowds as that seating area extends all the way down each baseline and the main grandstand is much larger.

Coincidentally, this was my second straight game featuring a Mets affiliate visiting a Phillies affiliate.  In the month that passed between those two games, Ryan Clifford was promoted from Brooklyn to Binghamton and was in the lineup again in this game, but played first base this time.  This was a pitching dominated game.  Binghamton starter Tyler Stuart threw five strong innings, striking out nine.  Reading starter Lachlan Wells was equally impressive, going six innings with five strikeouts.  Both pitchers allowed just three hits and one run, with the runs coming on solo home runs.  Those homers were hit by players of much different stature.  Reading's 6'6" first baseman Bryce Ball got the scoring started with a solo shot in the bottom of the 4th.  In the top of the 6th, Binghamton's 5'6" shortstop Wyatt Young tied the game with a homer.  As a quick aside, Ball wasn't the tallest player in the Reading lineup.  That was Carlos De La Cruz.  At 6'8", he might be the tallest position player I've ever seen in person.  He had a rough night, taking the golden sombrero with four strikeouts.  Anyway, after those solo home runs, neither team would score again in regulation, though Binghamton did have runners thrown out at the plate in both the 7th and 8th innings.  With all the whiffing going on by hitters on both teams, this was a rare instance where I was happy about the free runner at second to start extra innings.  Young came up big again for the Rumble Ponies with a RBI single in the top of the 10th.  The Fightin Phils failed to convert in the bottom half, handing Binghamton a 2-1 victory.  In total, Reading hitters struck out 16 times, with four different players striking out at least three times.  Binghamton batters were only better by comparison, recording 11 strikeouts as well.

I really enjoyed this throwback stadium with a great crowd on a Friday night.  My weekend was just getting started though with another game in Lehigh Valley the next night, and a lacrosse game thrown in between.

Photo Album

Next ballpark:  Coca-Cola Park in Allentown, PA

ShoreTown Ballpark - Jersey Shore BlueClaws

Brooklyn Cyclones (NYM) @ Jersey Shore BlueClaws (PHI)

April 21, 2024

Cyclones 5, BlueClaws 2

W: Ben Simon
L: Alex Rao

S: Joshua Cornielly
Attendance: 3,107
Time of Game: 2 hours, 47 minutes

Stadium Facts

Location: Lakewood, NJ
Opened: 2001
Capacity: 6,588
Level: High A
League: South Atlantic

Having decided to skip going to a MLB game in Philadelphia the day after the stop in Wilmington, I instead chose to go watch the Phillies High A affiliate, Jersey Shore, in Lakewood, New Jersey, about a 100 mile drive Northeast from Wilmington.  In addition to getting my minor league tour off to a more robust start, adding Jersey Shore to this trip also gave me some flexibility to change some of my plans for later in the summer.

Jersey Shore is a bit of a misnomer for this team.  ShoreTown Ballpark is a solid 10 miles from the actual shore.  In fact, I did not see the Atlantic Ocean on this trip.  Previously known as the Lakewood BlueClaws, I thought maybe they made the name change to latch onto the popular MTV show by that name.  However, I was surprised to learn that this change just happened in 2021, which was well after Snooki and crew ceased to be relevant.  I suppose it was done in an attempt to be the community team for a wider swath of that part of New Jersey.

While Lakewood is a fairly densely populated city, there is not a whole lot in the immediate vicinity of the ballpark.  Once inside the stadium though, there is plenty to do.  In what I assume is an attempt to recreate some of the atmosphere of the Jersey Shore boardwalk in the ballpark, the outfield is filled with carnival type games, beach chairs and even a mini-golf course.  I've never been to the Jersey Shore, so I can't comment on how representative this actually is.  And maybe a slightly chilly afternoon in April isn't the best time to fully judge the atmosphere they are going for here.  But it does present a nice slew of entertainment options around a concourse that circles the entire ballpark.  Like Wilmington, there is a single main seating level with private boxes above the concourse in the infield area.

I was hoping to get my first look of the year at a MLB Pipeline Top 100 prospect in Phillies/BlueClaws outfielder Justin Crawford, son of long time MLB outfielder Carl.  Unfortunately, he was not in the lineup this day.  Brooklyn's Ryan Clifford was though.  The outfielder (in this game) was one of the players the Mets received from Houston in the Justin Verlander trade.  Clifford showed off the tremendous plate discipline he is known for, walking in four of his five plate appearances and scoring three runs.  Brooklyn's starting pitcher in this game, Brandon Sproat is also a prospect of note.  He was probably on an early season pitch count as he only threw three innings and 50 pitches in which he was solid but not dominant.  Spoiler alert, Clifford and Sproat have since been promoted to AA where I saw both of them play again for Binghamton recently.  This game was tied at 1 going into the 5th inning, when former Notre Dame reliever Alex Rao took the mound for the BlueClaws.  Unfortunately, it was a rough game for him as the first four batters he faced all reached base, on a pair of walks, a single and a hit batter.  Jersey Shore catcher Jordan Dissin also had a rough day allowing a couple passed balls, both of which caused runs to score.  After a three run fifth, Brooklyn cruised to a 5-2 win.  While the Cyclones only recorded five hits, they also took an incredible 11 walks, which was pretty much the game in a nutshell.

That wrapped up my first trip of the season.  Next up was a Memorial Day Weekend jaunt through Eastern Pennsylvania.

Photo Album

Next ballpark:  FirstEnergy Stadium in Reading, PA