Baseball Bucket List: MINOR LEAGUES – Part 1

On Tuesday 9 March 2010 a book was published titled: The Baseball Fan’s Bucket List: 162 Things You Must Do, See, Get, and Experience Before You Die, by Robert Santelli and Jenna Santelli. The book’s table of contents lists all 162 items per the authors’ ranking. I have taken that list and organized it into twelve categories, which I find easier to consider when dealing with the list. I will be presenting each category alphabetically over the course of the 2011 baseball season. The number to the left of each item is its position on the Santellis’ list. Items in red would be of particular interest to Red Sox fans. Today’s category number five out of twelve is:

MINOR LEAGUES – Part 1

38 See A Triple-A Pacific Coast League Game
The Pacific Coast League is divided into two conferences – the American and the Pacific – and each conference has two divisions – the North and the South – and each division has four teams. Thus, the Pacific Coast League is a sixteen team league.

40 See A Triple-A International League Game
The International League is divided into three divisions – the North, the South, and the West – and the North division has six teams, including the Pawtucket Red Sox (affiliated with the Boston Red Sox), while the South and the West have four teams each. Thus, the International League is a fourteen team league. Unfortunately, I have never seen the PawSox play.

64 Attend The Triple-A All-Star Game
The Triple-A All-Star Game is held the second Wednesday in July. This year the All-Star game will take place on Wednesday 13 July in Salt Lake City at Spring Mobile Park. In 2012, the event will be held in Buffalo at Coca-Cola Field on Wednesday 11 July. The All-Star game is modeled after the MLB All-Star Game and has a Fan Fest and Home Run Derby.

68 Catch A Cape Cod League Game
The Cape Cod League is divided into two divisions – the West and the East – and each division has five teams. Thus, the Cape Cod League is a ten team league. As its name suggests, this league is located in Massachusetts on Cape Cod. It’s a summer league for college baseball players and is part of the National Alliance of College Summer Baseball. No, very sadly I haven’t made it to the Cape to attend any games and watch possible future Major Leaguers play.

98 See An Independent League Game
Six leagues form the Independent Leagues, who play professional baseball outside the rules of Major League Baseball in the US and Canada. However, the teams in the leagues are usually located near major league teams. For example, there are three independent teams who play in Massachusetts – the Brockton Rox, the Pittsfield Colonials, and the Worcester Tornadoes. If the Tornadoes had been in existence when I lived in Worcester, I’m sure I would have gone to see a game or two.

104 See A Double-A Game
There are three leagues that play Double-A baseball – the Eastern, the Southern, and the Texas – and the Eastern has twelve teams, the Southern has ten, and the Texas eight. The Eastern League includes the Boston Red Sox affiliated Portland Sea Dogs team who play in Portland, Maine. I have been to York Beach, Maine but not to Portland, so no Sea Dogs for me.

108 See A Durham Bulls Game
Located in Durham, North Carolina, the Durham Bulls are a Triple-A minor league team who play in the International League and are affiliated with the Tampa Bay Rays. The team is best known through the film, Bull Durham.


Images:
Left: Pacific Coast League logo from the website upload.wikimedia.org
Center: Cape Cod League logo from the website capecodbaseball.org
Right: International League logo from the website upload.wikimedia.org