Summer in New England – Minor League Baseball

Going to a Boston Red Sox game is fun, but damn, it’s pricey.  I often wonder how people can afford to go to games more than once or twice a year.  I read an article a while back saying that it costs an average of $350 to take a family of four to a Sox game.

But did you know that there are many, many minor league alternatives in the area?  You can see the stars of the future, including future Red Sox players, for a mere fraction of the cost of going to see the big club.  So you don’t need to try to earn a second income by participating in the top affiliate programs on your website or blog to be able to afford them!  Not only are the tickets much cheaper, but so are concessions and parking.

Here is a list of the minor league ballparks here in New England that I have personally visited:

• Pawtucket Red Sox – McCoy Stadium is an hour or so south of Boston in Pawtucket, RI, the PawSox are the Triple-A affiliate of the Red Sox.  This is where you can see players right before they get promoted to the big club.  Tickets are cheap…as low as seven bucks for General Admission ($5 for kids and seniors), and $11 for all reserved box seats.  Parking is free if you get there early enough for the lot or a space on the street, but even privately owned lots are never more than five bucks.  If you have kids, bring a bucket with a rope tied to it, and something for players to autograph.  The dugouts are set in such a way that they are BELOW the seating bowl, and so kids lower the bucket with their baseballs or whatever down to the dugout, and then reel them back up to see who signed their stuff.  This is only allowed before the game, not during.  But that’s the rule with autographs anywhere.
• Portland Sea Dogs – Located up in beautiful Portland, ME, Hadlock Field is about two hours north of Boston.  The Sea Dogs are where players in the Red Sox minor league system go before they get promoted to the PawSox, they are the Double-A affiliate of the Red Sox.  General admission tickets are $7 for adults, $4 for kids and seniors, reserved seating is $8-$9, depending on where they are.  Parking is mostly in privately owned lots for $5; on-street parking is hard to find and risky.  The City of Portland does indeed tow any illegally parked cars, so just pony up the five bucks for a lot.  We’ve gotten our first looks at players like Jacoby Ellsbury, Josh Beckett, and Kevin Youkilis at Hadlock!
• Lowell Spinners – The Spinners are the short-season Single-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox.  A lot of these guys are kids just out of college, many are still in college.  They play at LeLacheur Park in Lowell, MA.  Seats prices range from $6-$10, they will also sell standing room tickets for $5, but only after all the seats sell out, which they usually do.  The Spinners are a huge draw for young families, and as such, there are more kids running around wild than we’ve seen at other ballparks.  We don’t care for it.  But it is what it is.  We avoid going there, but if you have little kids, it’s great.  Parking is available on the street for free if you get there early enough, and there are also some private lots that charge maybe five bucks.
• New Hampshire Fisher Cats – Our favorite minor league team, they play in MerchantsAuto.com Stadium, on the banks of the Merrimack River in beautiful downtown ManchVegas.  The Fisher Cats are the Double-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays.  Ticket prices start at $6, the most expensive seats are $12.  To attract families, they have a special where you can get four tickets, four soft drinks, four hot dogs, and four bags of chips starting at $30, a small fraction of the $350 it would cost to take the family to Fenway.  There is metered parking on the street, which is just $1 for night and weekend games.  Bring quarters, the meters don’t take paper money.  If you have to park some distance away from the ballpark on Commercial Street, take advantage of the free Auto-City shuttle bus, which will pick you up anywhere along Commercial Street where it is safe to do so, and will drop you off right at the front gates.  They’ll take you back to your car after the game is over, as well.  If you’re lazy, parking can be had to close lots for $10.
• Brockton Rox – The Rox, who play at Campanelli Stadium in Brockton, MA are not affiliated with any major league team, they are a part of the independent Can-Am League.  Owned in part by actor/comedian Bill Murray, their motto is “Fun Is Good”.  And they are known for some crazy promotions and gimmicks.  Once they tried to set a world record for the world’s quietest ball game, complete with librarians working as ushers for the night to shush people. Another time, they had Biff Henderson from the David Letterman show pay a visit, and he even played for an inning.  I was not at that game, but Biff’s participation was shown on Letterman’s show.  You never know what these guys will come up with next!  Ticket prices range from $5 to $15…the $15 tickets are SuperBox seats, and they come complete with servers who will bring you food and beer, and you never have to leave your seat unless you have to go to the bathroom,  They can’t do THAT for you!  As of last year, parking in the neighboring Brockton High School lot was $4.  Not much street parking at all.
• Worcester Tornadoes – Another member team of the Can-Am League.  They play at Hanover Insurance park at Fitton Field, in Woostah, MA.  A big draw is their manager, former Red Sox catcher and lifetime Woostah resident Rich Gedman.  Ticket prices range from $6 for general admission ($5 for kids and seniors), to as high as $18 for Executive Box seats.  We usually go for the ten buck seats, they are perfectly good.  There is limited parking on the street, but the best bet is the garage, last year it was $3, if I recall correctly.  We haven’t been there yet this year, we’ll be there this coming Sunday.
• North Shore Navigators – The Navs are part of the New England College Baseball League, and play in Fraser Field in Lynn, MA.  This is college-level ball, but they play very well.  All tickets are general admission and are $6.  The last time we went there, we parked free in the lot, have no idea if it costs anything now.  There is also some on-street parking for free.
• Sanford Mainers – Another team in the NECBL, they play at Goodall Park up in Sanford, Maine, about an hour and a half north of Boston.  A good thing to do if you are up that way on vacation this summer.  All tickets are general admission, and cost $5 for adults, $3 for kids and seniors.  Free parking in the lot across the street.  Get there early or else you wont get a parking space, or a seat.

There are many more minor/indie/college league baseball teams in New England, these are just the ones we’ve personally been to.  There’s also the Cape Cod League (college), the Pittsfield Colonials (Can-Am League), the Newport Gulls and all the other teams of the NECBL, the Connecticut Tigers and the Vermont Lake Monsters of the short season single-A New York-Penn League.  And then there are the New Britain Rock Cats, double-A affiliates of the Minnesota Twins (Eastern League).  And these are just the teams that I know about!

I’ve linked to websites of all teams in this article, please do go and check them out for more info, to buy tickets, get directions, and more.  I hope this will encourage you go get out there and enjoy all of the inexpensive baseball that New England has to offer!

The Good Beer Guide To New England

Whether you live in one of the Six Great States, or are planning a vacation here, if you love good beer, you need this book:  The Good Beer Guide To New England, by Andy Crouch.  I picked this book up recently at the beer gear shop connected to the Portsmouth Brewery, along with a T-shirt with the Smuttynose seal on it, that said HOPS underneath it, a clever take-off on the iconic Barack Obama HOPE poster.  A most awesome shirt.

The book is organized by state, and lists pretty much every craft brewery and brewpub in New England.  Each listing offers a description of the brewery, their flagship beer, and the author’s opinion of what that brewery’s best beer is.  There is also contact information, as well as additional attractions in the area where the brewery is located.  If it’s a brewpub that serves food, there is also a brief description as to what to expect when you go.

Interspersed throughout the book are short articles about beer styles, the craft brew movement in America, and a list of eleven great beer bars in New England, which includes my personal favorite, The Great Lost Bear in Portland.

Beer is definitely more approachable than wine in many ways, but tasting and food pairings are just as important.  Often, when you go to a wine tasting dinner, you have to get all dressed up, perhaps in tuxedo jackets for the men and evening gowns for the women.  Not so at beer dinners, they tend to be much more laid back.  And if you still think that American beer is just watered-down swill like Budweiser, Coors, and Miller, think again!  Get this book, try out some of these places, and you will never look back!

This book was not designed, however, to be a tasting guide.  If you want a book like that, I suggest Randy Mosher’s Tasting Beer.  For the definitely guide on food and beer pairings, look no further than The Brewmaster’s Table by Garrett Oliver.  All of these books should be a part of every beer lover’s library, along with the works of Michael Jackson (no, not THAT one, this was a British guy, sadly no longer with us, who wrote many books about beers of the world).

The Good Beer Guide To New England was published in 2006, so some of the info may be outdated.  For example, the original Sebago brewpub near the Maine Mall is no longer in business, and they are working on a new brewpub located in Kennebunkport, Maine, set to open sometime this coming spring.  So, it’s always best to call or check the brewery’s websites for the most up-to-date information.  But for the most part, the book is still accurate; eventually I hope the author will come out with a revised and updated edition when it becomes necessary.

This is an excellent overview of the craft beer scene in New England.  Highly recommended!  Cheers!

The Encyclopedia of New England

So we went to the Candlelight Stroll thingy at Strawbery Banke Museum on Saturday night.  It was a fantastic time in Portsmouth, NH…before we went to the stroll, we went to the Portsmouth Brewery for some great food and craft beers.

Although it was freezing cold outside, the stroll was great.  It would have been a bit much to have had to walk from the big parking garage in downtown Portsmouth, but thanks to the free trolley service that’s a part of Portsmouth’s Vintage Christmas events, we didn’t have to.

The bookstore at the museum was offering extra discounts on stuff this weekend.  This ginormous book, The Encyclopedia of New England, caught my eye, first of all because of the cool clam pic on the cover.  Yeah, it’s a huge book and a bit pricey, and I was debating whether or not to buy it..but the book won.  And what helped win it?  This blurb from Boston Globe sportswriter Dan Shaughnessy…

“What took so long? It”s amazing no one thought of this before. No library in the six great states will be complete without The Encyclopedia of New England.” – Dan Shaughnessy, author of Reversing the Curse

Hey!  I have a blog called Six Great States (you’re reading it now!), and I’m sure I thought of that name before I read anything about anyone else calling New England that!  I seriously busted my hump trying to find a good domain name for a blog about New England.  Glad that Mr. Shaughnessy thought of it, too…but no, he can’t have this domain, it is mine, ALL MINE!  LOL!  He probably doesn’t want it, anyway!

In any case, this is an awesome book, from what I’ve seen of it so far, and no doubt it will make for great blog fodder here.  But not now…I am wicked tired, getting dark circles under eyes, need to sleep already!

Anyhoo, both the Strawbery Banke Candlelight Stroll, and the Christmas by Candlelight (at Old Sturbridge Village) holiday events will run through one more weekend, so if you want to enjoy the holidays in a unique and fun way, don’t wait!  Tickets for both events are available online at the museums’ websites, or at the door.  Enjoy!

Don’t mess with The Vermonster!

So I’ve been devoting a lot of Tweets, Facebook posts, and a couple of blog posts about the whole Rock Art Brewery legal fiasco.  You can read my blog posts here and here for all the details.

Basically, Rock Art received a *cease & desist* letter from the makers of Monster Energy Drinks, demanding that they stop using the name of *Vermonster* for one of their beers.  Their argument was that people might confuse the two drinks.  This, of course, was absolutely ridiculous, as the labels look NOTHING alike!  One would have to have consumed many, many Vermonsters to be drunk enough to not notice the difference!

Now, if you know me, you know how much I love craft beers, as well as being supportive of the little guy over huge corporations.  So it brings me great joy to tell you that Rock Art has won the battle!

Basically, Rock Art gets to keep calling their high-octane barleywine “The Vermonster” if they promise to stay out of the energy drink business.  That will be easy, as Rock Art’s owners, Matt & Renee Nadeau, never had any intention of doing so in the first place.  All they want to do is brew beer!

Also the Monster people have agreed to pay any legal fees incurred by Rock Art in this whole mess.  That has to be a HUGE relief for Matt & Renee, as they do not have the deep pockets of a multi-billion dollar corporation.

What is really amazing about this whole thing is how quickly people came together to show their support.  I first learned of Rock Art’s plight on Facebook, on the fan page for Smuttynose Brewery, of Portsmouth, NH.

Although I had never even heard of Rock Art Brewery before, I was outraged enough to take action.  I blogged, Facebooked and Tweeted it.  I signed an online petition.  I contacted Hansen, the parent company of the Monster drinks, to let them know of my displeasure.  I contacted a few Massachusetts liquor stores that specialize in hard-to-find beers, such as Yankee Spirits, and asked them to order Vermonster and other Rock Art beers so that I could buy them.  And I called the brewery to order their *Save The Vermonster* T-shirts for me and Mike.  Buying and wearing the shirts would not only help spread the word, but the proceeds from the sales would have gone to help defray their legal fees.

And I wasn’t the only one to show support.  Craft beer lovers from all over signed the petition, joined the Rock Art Facebook fan page, etc.  Even people who’ve never even been to Vermont joined in, from people who run microbreweries in California to employees of Blue Cross NC.  It was simply amazing!

Hansen/Monster has definitely underestimated the power of the craft beer community.  It’s not a cut-throat, super-competitive industry…craft brewers like to support one another.  So when one of their own is in trouble, they’ll rally together in support.

And that, as Martha Stewart would say, is a good thing!

Save The Vermonster!

I posted the other day about how the makers of Monster Energy Drink sent a “cease & desist” letter to the Rock Art Brewery.  The reason?  The energy drink company seems to think that they own the exclusive rights to use the word “monster”, and they want the brewery to stop calling one of their beers “The Vermonster”.

Anyway, I wanted to show you a new blog devoted to the cause – SUPPORT ROCK ART BREWERY, SAVE VERMONSTER.  It has an extensive list of other blog posts about this issue, as well as ways you can help.  I strongly urge you to visit and do what you can!

Some stores apparently have pulled the energy drink from their shelves in support of the Rock Art Brewery.  Did they also need to run the air filters to get the stench out?

I plan on doing as many of the 12 things listed on that blog as I can.  I have already done several of them.

Oh, and in case you live in Massachusetts and want to buy this beer, I’m told by the owners of Rock Art that it is available at Drum Hill Liquors in Chelmsford.  Yankee Spirits, in Sturbridge, may possibly have it, too, as they have a ginormous beer selection.  I sent the latter an email to ask, and am waiting to hear back.  But we’re going to Sturbridge a week from today, anyway, for the Norm Abram brunch thing at Old Sturbridge Village.  And we never visit Sturbridge without making a stop at Yankee Spirits.

So, as soon as I know if they have it or not, or I find out who else carries Rock Art beers, I’ll be posting it right here!