Wilmington Blue Rocks

Minor league baseball is a fun, inexpensive and relaxing time out for the family. Since they moved back to town in 1993, we have tried to make it a habit to get to at least one Wilmington Blue Rocks game every year. Today, we were able to come with my family, my mom and Chris, and Dave and his family. It was fun to have so many of us there at the same time.

The Blue Rocks are high single-A ball, affiliated with the Kansas City Royals. Most of the players are around 20 to 22 years old. The quality of play is erratic, with many of the players showing one of two things: raw talent that is as yet unrefined, and players who clearly do not have the physical tools to advance much past this level. Over the years, we have seen a number of players who have gone on to the major leagues, and some more recognizable names, such as Pete Rose Jr, who have not.

Tickets are cheap, concessions are priced lower than the major leagues, and there is a certain excitement to being in a small stadium where you can virtually be sitting on top of the field. We were about 4 rows back behind the third base dugout, and the tickets were around $10 each. I can't imagine what similar seating at the Phillies game would cost, if you could get the tickets (which you can't).

It was a very enjoyable evening, with nice weather. As is often the case with these games, just going is the fun part, and as I write this post well after the fact, I can't remember who won. But it doesn't matter. We had three generations of the family at the game, and everyone had a good time.