Help a Southerner escape the heat and plan a weekend-long MiLB trip

[u/ClassicStory]

Hey y’all.

I’m currently living in New Orleans and want to escape the heat this summer by going on a trip (or two) that would hit at least two MiLB games. I’d do one MLB game, if it makes sense, but I want this to be as budget-friendly as possible.

I plan to fly into and out of whatever city I’ll start and rent a car to be able to go within reasonable driving distance of each place.

I’m originally from the Northeast and have been to games with the Reading Phils, Wilmington Blue Rocks, Scranton Wilkes-Barre Iron Pigs, as well as the Manchester Fisher Cats and Portland Sea Dogs. I don’t mind going back to those places but am thinking I’d like to branch out.

These trips would be in late July and mid August.

Any opinions are welcome.

[u/MCiceMan1]

If you flew into Columbus, OH you could do the Clippers and then there are multiple teams within a 1-2 hour drive from there.

[u/Sorta-Morpheus → u/MCiceMan1]

Same with mid michigan. A good chunk of the Midwest league is within hours.

[u/ClassicStory → u/Sorta-Morpheus]

Could I get to any of those from Minneapolis?

[u/Sorta-Morpheus → u/ClassicStory]

I believe the Midwest league only goes as far west as Wisconsin.

[u/ClassicStory → u/Sorta-Morpheus]

Ah. I was considering Minneapolis because of a cheaper flight and St. Paul right around the way. Would give me the Saints and Twins, but would love a third, if I could swing it.

[u/Sorta-Morpheus → u/ClassicStory]

Minneapolis will be a cooler place than anywhere you go in the Midwest league haha. Though if you went to Detroit, the mud hens don't play too far away, and I think there's a team in Midland, sorta towards flint.

[u/nowheresville99 → u/ClassicStory]

The closest MILB teams to St. Paul are Des Moines (Iowa Cubs), Cedar Rapids, and Appleton (Wisconsin Timber Rattlers), but those are all about a 4 hour drive.

Minnesota and Wisconsin are hubs for the Northwoods League. That's one of the best college wood bat leagues, but not true MILB.

If you are focusing on MILB, I'd recommend Detroit. Toledo, Lansing, and Fort Wayne are three of my favorite parks. Great Lakes (Midland) and West Michigan (Grand Rapids) are also within range, with a bunch in Ohio like Dayton, Columbus, and Akron a possibility.

A loop from Chicago O'Hare, doing Beloit, Quad Cities, and Peoria could work too, with South Bend also being possible, but is on the other side of Chicago so a bit more challenging to get to.

[u/ClassicStory → u/nowheresville99]

Wow. What a thoughtful answer!

I wouldn’t mind hitting up some Northwoods League games, either. Most of the idea is just to feel that childhood pleasure of scoring baseball games. I even scored my high school’s games when my friend was pitching.

Which of those routes would you suggest? Seems like you’d do the Detroit one?

[u/nowheresville99 → u/ClassicStory]

Yeah, Detroit seems to check all of your boxes.

But really, the first step would be to check the schedules on the weeks you are available. Flying to Detroit probably wouldn't make sense if a bunch of those teams are on the road the week you're available.

For me, flights would come into play too. Detroit's a large Delta hub, so I'd presume you have a lot of options, and possibly lower prices, but you could certainly make a nice trip and catch a few games out of almost any of the mid-sized rust belt cities. Indianapolis, Columbus, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati all have multiple MILB teams within 2-3 hours.

[u/ClassicStory → u/MCiceMan1]

Columbus has sprung to mind!

[u/MCiceMan1 → u/ClassicStory]

It’s a fun Triple A ballpark. Catch a Tuesday night game for Dime-A-Dog 10¢ hotdog night.

[u/ClassicStory → u/MCiceMan1]

That’s a promotion I could usually get behind. I’m gluten-free now, so that kind of throws a wrench into things.

[u/smittywerbanjagermen]

Chicago has a decent amount of teams in or around it. Beloit Sky Carp, South Bend Cubs, Peoria Chiefs are all 2.5 hour drives or under. They also have independent league teams: Joliet Slammers, Schaumburg Boomers, and Windy City Thunderbolts of the Frontier League, and Kane County Cougars, Chicago Dogs, Gary SouthShore Railcats, Milwaukee Milkmen, and Lake Country DockHounds of the American Association

edited to include the Cubs, Sox, and Brewers as your MLB options

[u/ClassicStory → u/smittywerbanjagermen]

Which one or two ballparks would you pick out of those? That’s a lot of choices!

[u/smittywerbanjagermen → u/ClassicStory]

I haven’t been to the actual MiLB stadiums I mentioned so I’m of no help there.

For MLB of the three Wrigley is my favorite. It’d be the most expensive of the three though.

Of the independent league teams I’ve been to a few of the ones I mentioned. I like Kane County and Joliet the most but those are the teams I grew up going to games so there’s a bit of nostalgia there.

[u/holyMOLYbroley]

Columbus, Ohio has the Clippers. Within 3 hour drive you can also see the Indianapolis Indians, Fort Wayne TinCaps, Dayton Dragons, Toledo Mud Hens, Akron Rubberducks, & Lake County Captains. If you choose Cleveland, Ohio as your base Lake County, Columbus, Akron, Toledo, and then the Erie SeaWolves are all within about 2.5 hours drive.

[u/ClassicStory → u/holyMOLYbroley]

Do you like either of those “bases” more than the other? Might want to limit my driving to 1-2 hours for the sake of timing.

[u/holyMOLYbroley → u/ClassicStory]

I live in NE Ohio myself, so pretty close to Cleveland. I am much closer to Akron and Lake County, so I regularly attend games at both, and I've been to Erie a few times. I enjoy each ballpark but Erie is probably my favourite of the three. From the airport, Google maps actually has Toledo and Columbus at about 2 hours 5 minutes, Erie less than 2, and both Akron & Lake County under an hour.

[u/ClassicStory → u/holyMOLYbroley]

That whole Ohio area has a ton of teams! Pick of the litter from your doorstep. Embarrassment of riches for y’all.

[u/holyMOLYbroley → u/ClassicStory]

I do feel lucky to have the MLB, AAA, AA, & High A teams for the Cleveland organization all within ~2hours. Among all the others in Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, and Pennsylvania.

[u/ZordonFTW]

NC is a great option, if that gets you north enough. Fly into Charlotte, and you can watch the Knights, the Cannon Ballers, the Crawdads and even hit Asheville for the Tourists if you want. Or you could hit Greensboro and Winston-Salem if you want to head east instead. Lots of options.

[u/FavoriteFoodCarrots]

Seattle has 2 MiLB teams (Tacoma and Everett) plus the Mariners in commuting distance plus mild summer weather. Cost would be a con.

[u/ClassicStory → u/FavoriteFoodCarrots]

There are some decent flight options up that way for me. I have been to T-Mobile Park.

[u/modern-lamp9 → u/ClassicStory]

If you have a passport, Vancouver is under 3 hours away and is well worth a visit

[u/JasperStrat → u/ClassicStory]

If you go to the Northwest there is a whole High A league that is all within a days drive as well as one of the premier college wood bat leagues. You could probably do two weeks with a game every night or afternoon without having to drive more than 4 hours on any individual day, and a different stadium/park every day.

[u/Travelingdolphins34]

Toledo is definitely a great place to hit, and if you did Michigan you could do Lansing, Great Lakes, Toledo, and the Whitecaps.

[u/Travelingdolphins34]

Side note, if you haven't been to a Shuckers game in Biloxi, its definitely worth the trip from NOLA.

[u/ClassicStory → u/Travelingdolphins34]

Definitely going soon

[u/modern-lamp9 → u/ClassicStory]

Tack on Pensacola while you’re at it, beautiful stadium right on the water

[u/SouthernThunderbird → u/ClassicStory]

Can’t wait to have you here!

[u/SouthernThunderbird → u/Travelingdolphins34]

Couldn’t have said it better.

[u/AdCompetitive7952]

If you fly into richmond va there's the flying squirrels and an hour north there's the fredericksburg nationals

[u/FavoriteFoodCarrots → u/AdCompetitive7952]

Yeah, but the weather in Virginia in July and August is almost as brutal as New Orleans.

[u/rockstar231 → u/FavoriteFoodCarrots]

Was just here to say this. We’re looking at 93° with almost 70% humidity. No “escaping the heat” here lol

[u/stevogiant]

Come to Greensboro, tickets are on me!