One family’s baseball odyssey

Scott Martelle’s article on minor league baseball [“Major Fun at a Minor League Game,” Aug. 23] was a good introduction for most fans, but this June, my daughter, twin grandsons and granddaughter had the trip of a lifetime -- seven games, six cities, five days, four states.

We started with the Round Rock Express (Austin, Texas) hosting the Albuquerque Isotopes in a Triple A game. The next afternoon, we saw the Texas Rangers and Dodgers play in Arlington, Texas. At 6 p.m., we went a few miles to the lovely new ballpark at Grand Prairie, Texas, to see the AirHogs play the Pensacola Pelicans in an Independent League game. Then the next day, we drove north to see the Oklahoma City Red Hawks play the Triple A Iowa Cubs.

The following day in Kansas, we saw a doubleheader between the Wichita Wingnuts and the Sioux Falls Canaries (wearing bright yellow jerseys, of course) in the oldest ballpark (1926) west of the Mississippi River, ending up the next day at the remodeled and truly amazing Kansas City, Mo., ballpark to see the Royals face the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Except for the Rangers-Dodgers game, we never paid more than $9 for a seat, had mostly free parking, had more and more $1 hot dogs, and the boys got more than 40 players’ autographs. To plan a trip like this, just go online to several websites devoted to minor league baseball and plan your own baseball odyssey.

Steve Moseley

La Jolla