Globe Corner Blogs

In less than two weeks the Boys of Summer will have reached the halfway point of the season. That’s right — you have only about 5,000 more games til the season is over. Or so it may seem to a (seriously un-American) non-enthusiast. But for the rest of us, especially those of us who grew up with and continue to root for one of the worst baseball clubs in the league, it is a time of renewed hope and enthusiasm: hope that we will not continue to mire in last place; enthusiasm at the outside chance of wearing our jerseys and hats well into September or even in the snow.

By now you may have guessed that, although living in Boston, I am actually a fan of the beleaguered Cleveland Indians, my hometown team. When I was young, before they took a wild whiff at greatness in the early 90s, my family and I often took a quick trip up to “The Big City” and bought tickets minutes before the game started.

This is a feat not so easily accomplished in Boston. To satisfy one’s need for peanuts, uncomfortable wooden seats, and the sound of thousands stumbling through the National Anthem, I highly recommend minor league games. Some of the most beautiful parks in the country are for minor league teams, and each has character no major league park could ever attain.

Here’s another tour I’d like to take — one others I’ve known have taken before — visiting the best minor league parks in the country. I got a good start back home in Ohio, going to Columbus Clippers games before I learned to hate the Yankees and everything associated with them. (Don’t tell my 83-year-old Grandmother — she can still belt out “Columbus Clippers, Ring Your Bell” with the best of them.) The best yet, though, was seeing the Akron Arrows in Canal Park, as any seat is close to the field. So close, in fact, that when I saw Manny Ramirez there (recuperating from an injury), I could actually watch his thoughts drift away from the game and out of the park. Yup, that’s right: Manny was “being Manny” with the Indians long before he was in Boston.

Read more: Boston, Eastern US, Midwest, Sports, Touring with the Parents, Travel


Llalan specializes in all things Ohio, but has funny stories from all over the US and Canada, plus a few snort-inducing ones from Thailand. And not only does she read books from around the world, she also samples beers in as many languages as possible. Favorite style: the multi-national American Double IPA.

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