It was an exciting moment when the Brewers announced their longtime AAA affiliate, the Nashville Sounds, were finally replacing the dated Greer Stadium. The Brewers stuck with the Sounds much longer than they probably should have because of promises of a new facility. First Tennessee Park broke ground in January 2014 and all but cemented a trip for us to be there for the inaugural season. Unfortunately, the Sounds did not reciprocate that same loyalty and dumped the Brewers for the Athletics in September. A shiny new facility in a great city brought a lot of suitors calling and left the Brewers on the short end of the stick, undoubtedly due to having one of the worst ranked farm systems in the league the last few years. This has not deterred us from a visit and I still look forward to spending some time in the Music City this summer. So far this is slated for a 4th of July weekend trip with Megan and my family, and I'm giddy to cross this city off my US travel bucket list.
Another big trip that is looking less likely but is still on the radar is an Arizona Fall League trip. This has been in my long term plans pretty much since I went to spring training in 2011, but other monetary and life obligations might postpone this trip. Novembers are usually so depressing after the season ends and it sure would be great if we could make this happen. If it doesn't, Erik and I for sure will find some trip to go on. He is taking his bar exams in July, so we have about a one-month window to squeeze something in. Thunder Bay/Duluth, Quad Cities renovation, Wausau renovation, and southwest Michigan have all been discussed. I will also for sure get to the new St. Paul Saints park this year. I've been in Minnesota a lot for work in the last few months and every time I drive by it on I-94, I get more and more excited. I'm really curious to see what a ballpark design by a non-ballpark architect is going to look like and I expect no less from the Saints to think outside of the box.
Stay tuned! Pitchers and catchers report in only 10 days!
touch with baseball when his childhood heroes Robin Yount, Paul Molitor, and Jim Gantner retired but the Great Home Run Chase of 1998 reignited his passion. As a student at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Erik became involved with the campus chapter of Habitat for Humanity. With this group Erik traveled to Portland, OR and Baltimore, MD to work on construction projects and help the group raise $25,000 to partially sponsor a house in Milwaukee. Also at UWM, Erik met Peter Nagel. The two attended their first Brewers game together during Opening Weekend 2003. Despite their failure to ignite the coals at their first tailgate, the two had a blast and were soon making weekly trips to the ballpark. Erik has gone on to several colleges and changed careers several times, and has moved all the way out to New Hampshire, but has always stayed true to his baseball roots by holding part-time stadium usher jobs. To this day he looks back fondly on his incredible cross-country journey.