Road Trip: Bristol

This edition of Road Trip comes from Bristol VA/TN and a trip for someone other than myself for a change.

A few months back, the Bristol Pirates of the Appalachian League announced plans for a Dale Murphy night, where the former Braves slugger would come to Bristol and sign autographs along with a few other promotional events during his stay.
As soon as I saw this, I asked Ryan, if he would like to go as his birthday present and to my mild surprise, he immediately agreed.
The surprising part wasn't that he wanted to go, but it was more surprising that he agreed so quickly to keep his schedule open for that long.
Ryan works and travels a lot, so for him to make that commitment well in advance showed me he wanted to attend.

The added bonus was Cherie wanted to come along with us.
This wasn't surprising that she wanted to go (She watched plenty of Dale Murphy games on WTBS when we were first married), but she's never been a smooth traveler and the distance on a day trip (5 and a half hours each way) would have normally made me doubt her likelihood to do that type of trip.
However, she wanted to do it and she was a champ all day long.
I had worked all night and crawled into the car just an hour or so after getting off, so I spent much of the round trip "Sleeping" or as close as one could get to such in the backseat of a car.

The drive down was pretty uneventful, lots of fun chatter and a tip for a restaurant stop on my next road trip in Staunton VA before a stop at Shoney's in Dublin, Va for a decent meal before the rest of the Bristol trek.
I stopped into the nearby Pulaski County visitors center to try to find some pocket schedules, but no such luck.
We hit Devault Stadium with an hour to spare before our required arrival and there was a decent sized line that we would wind up being around the middle of by the time we were ushered into the stadium.
I even was able to grab some wi-fi and watch some of the pre-fight of the WBSS (Next post on the results) as I waited.

Now, I have been critical in the past of teams that handle events wrong and botch things that should be easy- BUT I also believe in giving credit when due and let me tell you- The manner in which the Bristol Pirates planned and executed this event was terrific and maybe (I can't think of another, but memory fades) the smoothest I have ever attended.
The team sent out multiple emails with tickets, directions to the stadium, times to arrive and if you did something wrong, it's because you didn't read closely.
At the stadium, there was a table with a large sign telling you where to check in and the employees were friendly-Imagine that!
The line moved reasonably quickly and the team had an employee waiting with Dale Murphy that asked you if you wanted a picture and if so they would take it for you- again keeping things running smooth and not taking time away by each person's fumbling around.

There were thunderstorms in the forecast and the sky was quite gray as we moved through the lane that leads to the actual stadium, so the race was on- Would we reach Dale Murphy before the rain began to fall?
The answer was yes, but barely as we each were able to meet Murph, have pictures signed, and told him how far we drove to meet him with it being Ryan's birthday present.
Ryan was pleased to have his favorite player wish him a Happy Birthday!.
We weren't even able to make the short jaunt to the field to try to get the few cards that I had for the Bristol Pirates to sign before the skies opened.
Dale Murphy was a success, but there would be no more on this day.

We waited through the rain and the announced delay before I threw in the towel.
I really wanted Shane Baz on his top 100, but it would have been at least an hour before they hit the field and with a long drive home, I didn't want to do that to Ryan, who had to drive.
First, though, it was time for dinner at Cootie Brown's.
You may remember Fred Landucci and me hitting the Johnson City Cootie's last year and loving their Key Lime Pie!
I still wasn't super hungry, but the road home is not filled with places to eat for the late night traveler, so I had a Reuben without any sides, so that I had plenty of space for a piece of pie, which each of us had.

The sky cleared as we left Bristol and I was starting to question not sticking around for the few cards that I had, but about ten minutes or so, the rain began to fall again and I felt better!
They would eventually play with the game going extra innings, but the time spent waiting would have meant a long time added to getting home and we wound up arriving at one AM as it was.

It was a great time and one that was a bit of a throwback for us with one more "family" trip for the three of us.
I'm so glad that I was able to do this for Ryan and Dale Murphy might be the nicest player that I've met and certainly the nicest player of his caliber that I've met, so that made it all worthwhile.

I still have to make time to watch the weekend's fights (I've watched one of the three so far) to post the boxing challenge, so look for that soon.

Cleaning out the inbox-Sports Edition

Time for the sports version of Cleaning out the inbox and we'll start with Bruce Markusen of the baseball hall of fame website from the card corner there.

Bruce's column's often find their way here and his latest on the Seattle Pilots former manager Joe Schultz was a must.
The post covers Schultz's big league career as a backup backstop,his days of coaching before his one year pitstop with the much remembered 1969 Seattle Pilots of Ball Four fame and his coaching days after Seattle.
The two most interesting points that Markusen covers are Schultz's pro debut as a player at the age of 13 and Schultz's 1972 meeting with Ball Four author Jim Bouton.
Bouton refers to this meeting in one of his Ball Four addendum's,but this is the first time I've seen Schultz's reaction to the incident....

Underdog Dynasty posted a oral history of what they called the "biggest upset in college football history",the 2007 Appalachian State upset of (Snicker) michigan.
It's very interesting as they spoke to several members of the team,the play by play man for App.State as well as the sports information director.
Funny,no michigan 'men' available for comment...

Kudos for doing the right thing to UAB athletic director Mark Ingram for doing the right thing and opening up Legion Field in Birmingham for two different games this week for teams in the way of the incoming Hurricane Irma.
UAB is doing the right thing and credit to the school and Ingram for their gesture.
Ingram has experienced this type of thing first hand as his family in North Carolina has suffered through hurricanes in the past.
Sometimes college sports are not always about money...

Ben Hill (I met Ben this year at Altoona) writes about minor league baseball and his various travels to ballparks.
This article writes about one of the strangest mascots in the game-Mr Celery in Wilmington.
Mr.Celery's history is here and it's a funny story!



We've written before about our belief that Olivia Harlan is the next huge star in televised sports reporting,mainly because of her background with her dad being play by play veteran and one of our favorites in basketball in Kevin Harlan,which gives her experience and nuance that few if any of her age has.
Harlan is engaged to Los Angeles Clipper and more to importantly to Ryan,the world's biggest Wisconsin fan,former Badgers star Sam Dekker.
A recent interview by Harlan with Healthy Magazine talks about the grind of the road,eating right and an interesting note on how hard it is for players to eat healthy,despite food being provided for them.
I would think teams with all the money invested would put some more thought into this area of what's best for their players..

The Bristol Pirates are going through a miserable season in the Appalachian League (current record 17-49),but their 5-5 play of late boosted things a little.
The local paper in Bristol-the Herald-Courier writes of the last team in town that was this bad-the 1996 Bristol White Sox.
The late rally of the Pirates means that one win in their final four games avoids the worst mark in team history,but the article talks to players and coaches from that White Sox team and it's interesting to read the perspective of players that never got out of the lowest level of the game with their thoughts on all the losing as well..

Road Trip:Bristol

The road trip season continued as we rolled into Bristol Tennessee/Virginia and later Salem Virginia.
I'm going to write about both stops,but with other things to write about (death of Glen Campbell and tonight's Indians trade for Jay Bruce) might delay the Salem part or maybe shorten it a bit...

Fred Landucci drove Mike Oravec and I straight down I-81 to Bristol VA/TN for the visit to Boyce Cox Field and the Bristol Pirates of the Appalachian League.

I had visited Bristol on three occasions and had been inside to take pictures,but never for a game.
This trip would not only move Bristol to the game list,but would complete my ballpark list for the state of Virginia.
Bristol is a town that really is two towns that is one and I know how that sounds.
Bristol is divided right down the middle of town (remember the Geico commercials?) with half in Tennessee and the other in Virginia.
Boyce Cox Field is on the Virginia side and therefore finished Virginia for me rather than being another park in Tennessee.

We got into town early with the intent of returning to the Mad Greek restaurant,which is located on the Tennessee side of the line.
You might remember our Mad Greek stop last year and this was easily the place we wanted to eat in Bristol.
I ordered a small pizza and it was delicious!
I even passed on any sides in order to keep room for a small piece of cheesecake.
I'm not a huge dessert fan normally,but I do like cheesecake every once in a while and the dessert case looked very good.
I'm a big Mad Greek fan and if you are in the area-stop by,you won't regret it!!

We then decided to check out the Bristol Motor Speedway since it was so close.
Bristol was my favorite track to watch a race when I was a follower of NASCAR and I had wanted to see just what it looked like inside.
I was just amazed at the massive size of the structure built around the half mile track!
Words really cannot describe it and that is with the track virtually empty!
I can only imagine the noise when the track is filled with fans!
It still had the lines painted on the field for the setup for last season's game inside the BMS between Tennessee and Virginia Tech on the infield too!
I do have a live NASCAR race on my sports bucket list,but I'd rather do the smaller two circuits with less fans and fewer people though if I was ever going to go to one.
Bristol does have a truck race next Wednesday and I'm off work,but I'd rather add Charlotte to my collection of parks to finish North Carolina off...

After a stop at the Sullivan County Sheriff Department for a picture for Fred's wife Linda (the Sheriff dept,was the backdrop from a reality show that the Landucci's watched) and a stop at a Food City for some Yee Haw beer for the absent Michael and we were on our way to Boyce Cox Field for the Bristol Pirates and the Danville Braves.

I didn't have many cards for Danville,mainly a top 100 for 17 year old Venezuelan Kevin Maitan,who had just been promoted to Danville a few days after Mike and I's visit to Danville last month.
I had a few cards from other people for Maitan and other than a few cards for former Tiger and Danville batting coach Barbaro Garbey,I had nothing for them.
I did the visiting side while Mike did the home Pirates side,which seemed to have a little better access than for the visitors.
We were allowed to enter the park early by the Bristol general manager,who hit it off with Fred last season,so I was at the only place that had marginal access,a small area far down the left field line.
After several attempts to call to Maitan were ignored,I was feeling pretty down as it was right around this time (I was able to find wifi from somewhere in the area) that I heard about Glen Campbell,combined with my lack of luck with the pen-I was feeling pretty low.

Then a fellow came over and began to talk to me.
He seemed like a nice guy,who happened to be dressed as a Pirate,but turned out to be their mascot "Pete the Pirate"
"Pete" (real name Dwayne) talked with me for a few minutes about baseball,graphing et and made me take my mind off things.
Pete asked me who I needed,I told him the number and to my surprise,Pete walked down to the field and asked Maitan to sign my top 100 (and a baseball for the recently arrived Fred)!
I watched from a distance as Maitan signed it and made the Bristol portion of the day a success!
Thanks for everything,Pete and I will remember your kindness and help!
After I snapped a picture of Pete and Fred for the blog,I went over to the Pirates side,where Mike had gotten a few players and Pirates pitching coach (and former closer) Joel Hanrahan as well..
We watched a bit and before leaving town for Salem,we had a quick dinner across the street from the ballpark at Krystal,where I was able to have a great Grape Icee....

We were off to Salem and part two of the day will be coming soon.
I'm just not sure what I want to write about next,but I'll have a post coming tomorrow on either Salem or Glen Campbell and I'll have a post on the Indians addition of Jay Bruce from the Mets....

Road Trip-Bristol and Bluefield

The trip concluded in Bluefield WV/VA with Fred and Michael Landucci with a stop at Bowen Field.

However as is often the case on these trips,half the fun is in getting there and that was the case on this day for sure.

We left our hotel in Johnson City and began to trip to Bluefield,but of course there was lunch to be considered and on this one,we deferred to Fred and his choice was the Mad Greek in Bristol,Tennessee.
Michael and I found this amusing because the Johnson City Mad Greek was literally a walk across our hotel parking lot as we realized when we left the hotel.

I have to be honest-I wasn't really looking forward to the Mad Greek.
I'm not really an aficionado of Greek food,but most of the trip,I had some say in food and it was Fred's turn and time for your writer to be a good sport.
Well,your writer was wrong-extremely so as Fred was correct as the Mad Greek was tremendous!
Our waitress,Kristen was terrific and shared some answers that we had to some questions about the area.
I ordered myself a small pizza and the greatest thing about the Mad Greek is that they do something that no other pizza place that I have ever seen do-They charge for the pizza and toppings are unlimited!
In other words-a ten topping pizza costs the same as a cheese pizza! I love it!!
A very good pizza and when we return to Bristol next year,I hope we stop at the Mad Greek again.

One of Michael's questions was about Yee Haw beer,which he had developed a taste for and he wanted to bring some home,so we needed a supermarket and we found one in Food City.
We took some photos for the upcoming "Battle of Bristol" between Tennessee and Virginia Tech as the place was decorated for the game a month in advance.
Michael bought a six pack of bottles of the four various Yee Haw's (pilsner,ale,dunkel and eighty)

and reports that all were good,but he would rate the pilsner as his least favorite and we left,but here's the funny part.
When we parked the car,we parked right by a "Rock Star" van and Fred said when we left that I should take a picture of it-however when I looked at it,it looked deserted and nothing like a vehicle used for beverages.
After turning the Kindle on for the picture,I noticed a wi-fi from "FBI Surveillance" and a guy peeping out of the van.
Needless to say,no picture and we left to avoid answering questions about we took pictures of a van!
We passed a countdown clock for the game and the speedway itself.
When I was a NASCAR fan,Bristol was my favorite track and I loved the two races held there.
I've been by it twice and I hope to go inside sometime on a future visit....

Fred and Michael bought hats at every stop on the trip and wanted to add a Bristol Pirates hat to their collection,so we pulled up to Boyce Cox Field and as we saw locked gates,we turned and began walk back to the car when a voice asked "what do you want in there"? When I replied these gentlemen wanted to buy some hats,the response was "I believe I can help with that".
It turned out that our host was Bristol GM Mahlon Luttrell and he was happy to allow us to take a tour of the field and Fred and Michael got their hats with Fred getting a very cool green one with the Appalachian League logo on it as well.
I wish it would have fit me as I really liked it.
We talked to Mr.Luttrell for a bit and mentioned that we were going to Bluefield and Mr.Luttrell called the GM at Bluefield and mentioned that we were on our way there.

We arrived at Bluefield,which literally has the West Virginia/Virginia state line that runs through the field, and we were allowed into the facility early by the GM,who as noted had been tipped off about arrival, to watch batting practice.
There was only one problem,we were not allowed to ask for autographs,which was a bit of a pain,but not as bad as you would think.
However,before we started that,we tried to get some of the Pulaski Yankees getting off the bus and Fred's opinion of Blake Rutherford changed.
Players got off the bus and when it seemed like most were off the bus,Fred asked what looked to be Rutherford,if Blake was still on the bus or if he was Blake.
The response was that Rutherford was still on the bus.
Fred was dismayed to find out that the only few (four or five) players that walked off the bus were Hispanic and the player that told him that Rutherford was on the bus,was in fact Rutherford.
Fred's stance on Rutherford,so high just two nights earlier was now pretty low...

It was very neat being the only people in Bowen Field and watching batting practice and the autograph ban was not a issue-mainly because I have never been to a park with worse access than Bluefield.
I mean there is just nowhere to go for anyone.
If you are coming to Bluefield for autographs-be ready to use the parking lot because you just aren't going to have a chance inside the park.
This saddened me because Tim Raines was in town with Bluefield and I didn't have him on my Score sets.
Tough luck for me,despite some help by the assistant GM,who tried his best to help.

Bowen Field reminded me a lot of the Muni with another covered grandstand with backed seats.
Those seats comprise the vast majority of the seating area,so,if you don't like sitting behind the plate,you might not care for Bowen Field.
The view beyond the outfield was filled with trees and provided a beautiful and natural Batter's Eye.
Bluefield made a team set (which not all Appy teams do),but I didn't buy one as the Blue Jays don't hit our circuit until AA (Harrisburg or Altoona) and with the access being what it is,I decided to pass...

We left Bluefield for a pretty bad meal at the Princeton Applebees and we had over five hours to hit Hagerstown,which meant over six for Fred and Michael to get home.
It was a terrific trip and thanks to Michael and Fred for doing the trip with me...
We are already making plans to try to hit the other five Appy Parks
(Kingsport,Bristol,Greeneville,Danville and Burlington) for next season if the schedule bounces right...

Wrapping up the trip with my favorites with all things considered.
I liked them in this order: Pulaski,Johnson City,Princeton,Elizabethton and Bluefield...

Thanks for reading and I'll be back tonight with a planned podcast....

Day 1-Stopping by the Appy League

Honestly, the trip did not start with the intention to see the parks that were not hosting games.

It turned out that way via the Domino theory, though.
I was just paying for gas in Pulaski, Virginia, and asked how far Calfee Field was, and the answer was three miles.

Long-time readers may recall a rant on the Toronto Blue Jays for their callous treatment of the citizens of Pulaski by not only abandoning them, but doing so at the last minute and therefore killing any hope of a replacement team for the 2007 season.

This decision not only hurt Pulaski, but it also hurt every other team in the Appalachian League.
With just 9 teams without a Pulaski squad, every team will have downtime during the course of the season.

After a few shots from the right field side of the stadium from outside the ballpark, we moved to the left field side to shoot a painted building with the Pulaski Blue Jays logo, where we discovered the gates were wide open.

I instructed Ryan to follow me as I walked around and keep shooting in case we were asked to leave.
I asked one of the two workers there if anyone was around to talk to or get old souvenirs, etc.

He said the man to talk to was Dave Hart, and he had just pulled up.
We were shocked when Mr.Hart not only allowed us to take pictures, but also offered us a complete tour of the facility and allowed us to actually access the field!
After quite a few pictures and a lot of general goofing around, Mr. Hart took us into the clubhouse, manager's office, trainers' room, etc.
It was a very nice experience and a new one for myself, Ryan, and Battlin Bob.

After a chat with Mr.Hart about the rumor of the Washington Nationals being interested in Pulaski, in which we offered our knowledge of the situation, we were told that there were 2 other teams showing interest, but Mr.Hart did not tell us which teams.
We found out shortly, though, as the leader of Pulaski Baseball Inc. called and asked us some questions, and the two names did come out.

Suffice it to say that Ryan would be very pleased if one of those 2 teams actually landed in Pulaski!
After some more info on the Blue Jays fiasco, we had to move on, but this was easily the highlight of day 1 and maybe the entire trip (although you may disagree as this series goes on).

Thanks again to Dave Hart and all the friendly citizens of Pulaski. If they get their team back, we will certainly attend a game there at Calfee Field in 2008!
What a beautiful field and setting for baseball!

Further down the road, we decided after having such a blast at Pulaski to stop by Bristol, Tennessee, home of the Bristol White Sox.
After a rough terrain walk produced a picture down the right field line,a walk in the opposite direction eventually led us to a Bristol city worker, who allowed us to look around and the meeting of another collector.
This gentleman was dubbed "Crazy Mel," and since I never got his actual name, I suppose Crazy
Mel will have to do!

Meanwhile, a trip around Devault Memorial Stadium was interesting, mainly because the seating is elevated around the field.
An odd look and feel for such a small ballpark.
After an attempt to purchase an '07 Bristol team set went awry (they were not available), our new friend Crazy Mel offered to let us follow him to Elizabethton, Tennessee, home of the Appalachian League's Twins.

After a harrowing 20-mile drive (Crazy Mel's driving gave him the name), and passing by the famous Bristol Motor Speedway, we arrived at the city offices as CM bought some 07 Twins sets.

As we have no need for Twins sets since their teams are not in the league with Frederick or Hagerstown, we settled for the 07 Appalachian League Top Prospect set.

That set is usually limited in number and more expensive than others online for that reason.
At the team's offices, which were basically a two-room office, we met a gentleman who was quickly named "Jim Cornette" after the legendary fast-talking wrestling manager.
I have not heard a human talk that fast since I actually heard Cornette talk in Knoxville in 1994.

But after 4 minutes of directions, which were done in 60 seconds, we decided to try to find nearby Johnson City, Tennessee, after a stop at Joe O'Brien Field, which we passed on the way.
If I tried to talk that fast-I would be stuttering for a week.
Even Battlin Bob was stunned at this guy!

Joe O'Brien Field was a solid, unspectacular little field that had similar seating to Bristol.
Again, like Bristol, the seating was somewhat elevated, making you look down into the field of play, and like Bristol, much of the field, even down the lines, was protected by netting.
Great for safety, but poor for foul balls if you are watching a game.
The feature that I liked the best was on the outfield fence-They keep the league standings there.
Back when I did my Suns GM feature, I suggested the Suns make the league standings more visible somewhere, but I did not think about the outfield wall.
Good idea by the Twins!

We left Crazy Mel behind in Elizabethton, as he waited for Loek Van Mil to get out of a car with a young lady (I cannot describe this, nor do I care to! LOL) and sped for a quick trip to Johnson City, Tennessee, and Howard Johnson Field.

This was a quick stop and go, as we still had to get to Asheville for that night's game.

We arrived and actually watched a bit of batting practice by the Johnson City Cardinals.
HJF is almost completely engulfed in fencing and spells difficulty for any autograph collector, but its most unique feature was a HUGE hill in right field.
This made the Hagerstown incline look puny in comparison.
I would not want to be the right fielder that had to play that everyday!
But as a fan, despite the mesh, you are right on top of the field, and it looks like a great place to see a game.
After a stop for a drink and gas, where Ryan got his first taste of the local icon Cheerwine, and I began my long love affair with diet
Sun Drop, we were on our way over the Smoky Mountains to Asheville for game number 1.

The Appalachian teams were kind, helpful, and all around terrific to deal with.
Suffice it to say, we were all impressed, and the Appy League will certainly be a part of next year's trip for sure!

Until tomorrow with game 1-Lake County Captains at Asheville Tourists

Photo credits
Ryan Heimberger
Shawn Heimberger
Battlin Bob McKain