Baseball Purity

Good day followers!

Day two here in the Tar Heel State was certainly a long one. But, as with all BRTs, they tend to do that. We started out with a three hour drive to Greenville and an unofficial visit to East Carolina University.

East Carolina is a very, very nice school. Their track program is top-notch and I was very impressed with it. After dealing with four years of crap at the University of Oregon track program and their messed up philosophy of how to run a team, hearing the ECU coaches stress balance and academics was a welcome relief. I was worried for a while that all track coaches were crazy!

Anyways, after the visit, my bro and I traveled back up I-40 to the small community of Burlington to see the Appy League ballpark there.

Burlington Athletic Stadium is tucked away off a couple back roads in what looked like a city park. It was kinda hard to get to, but we got there just in time for the first pitch. As we were driving up, it was blown away at the small stature of the park. After walking in, I could see that the ballpark is no bigger than most high school stadiums. It is only one small bleacher section behind home plate with two smaller stands along the baselines. The quaintness and size creates a very close ambiance with the park itself.

This was a very "no-frills" ballpark. No sound effects. No promotions. No gimmicks. Just baseball. After going to the game in Greensboro yesterday, this was a welcome relief. Hearing the sounds of the game is something that is becoming rarer and rarer in ballparks across the country. From my seat, I could hear the discussions in the dugouts, the conversations at the plate, and the strategy talk on the mound.

Burlington is a very cheap place to see a game. Tickets are $3 for GA seats that are just as good as the box seats. Hot dogs are only $2.50 and drinks go for $2 a piece. That is way cheaper than the Em's or the Beavers. It makes me wonder if these Appy League teams make any profit with prices this low. They exist in towns that are very small, thus they have a small to non-existent market with which to work with. It would be a very interesting thing to look at if I were to visit more parks in the league.

I would rank Burlington Athletic Stadium in it's own separate class. I can't really compare it to any other ballpark I've been to. It had its own unique identity, and that's what I liked about it.

Danville Braves starting pitcher Julio Teheran went 8 strong innings, retiring the first 18 he faced, to get the win 3-1 over the Burlington Royals.

Tomorrow is going to be a day off from baseball. I know that I said I was going to head to Zebulon and see a Carolina Mudcats game, but it is about a 2-hour drive to Zebulon from our hotel, and Nick jumps at 8am on Saturday morning. Instead, my bro and I are going to drive to Chapel Hill and Durham and check out the two famous basketball arenas there. I think it would be totally awesome if we could somehow get into those arenas, shoot some hoops, and snap some photos. We'll see...

Anyways, talk to you all tomorrow night!

Always take on a 3-0 pitch ;)