Minor League Baseball is Better Than Major League Baseball

This is one of my hottest takes I've ever had. The minors are more electric than the majors.

I'm talking atmosphere mostly but the play on the field can be just as good.

My credentials to talk about this: I've worked for two minor league baseball teams in my long career of random jobs. The Indianapolis Native Americans and the Nashville Sounds. In Indy I was on the promo team (I threw t-shirts, raced as a national chicken sandwich place's cow (no free ads), etc.) and in Nashville I was an usher.

If your city has a bum farm team for a bum major league franchise (you know who you are) then going to a game has little to nothing to do with the baseball. It's all about what going on in the stadium. Not saying either team I worked for were bums or anything.

In Indy, we had promos rocking between every inning. We had keg races, pitching contests, t-shirt throws, all that good stuff. In centerfield we had carnival games like that squirt gun game and a pitch speed clock. In left field there's a bar with all the bells and whistles. There's even a local brewery with a microbrew specifically for the team, if you're in Central Indiana get you some Sun King beers (complimentary ad). Every game was a party, just you and your crew having some drinks, trying to get on the jumbo-tron, and enjoying a nice Midwestern summer night.

To Nashville, oh boy do these guys do ballgames RIGHT. They've got a putt-putt course, cornhole, ping pong tables, and a full bar in right field that is occasionally open after the game. You can get lawn seats for around $9 and $2 beers on Throwback Thursdays (reference this blog when you go, you're not gonna get anything special but any publicity helps).

The atmosphere at both of these ballparks surpasses any major league ballpark I’ve been to. When purists say “it’s like you’re not even at a game” or “it takes away from the game on the field”, they aren’t necessarily wrong. To some people it is almost like they are spending an afternoon/evening out at a bar with their friends and instead of a game being on TV, there’s a game going on 50 yards from them.

Albeit the attractions and atmosphere might draw some people’s attention away from the ballgame, it isn’t the case for everyone. There are still those die-hard fans of baseball who come out to see the future stars of the MLB get their start. There are still the overzealous fans who keep track of the entire box score for all nine innings like they were scouting out the next Henry Rowengartner (Rookie of the Year is a FANTASTIC motion picture). There are still the little kids who are being introduced to the game that so many of us know and love for the very first time.

Listen, the farm system is a staple of major league baseball. It gives players a chance to grow and improve their skills to get to the pros. All of the guys on the field are wildly more talented than you or I will ever be. But that's not the point of the minors for fans. The point is to give the citizens of whatever city or town that isn't close to a major league franchise an outlet to enjoy America's pastime and the summer.

If your city has a minor league franchise, go out and catch a game this summer and support them. Keep this American tradition going strong and enjoy the most wonderful time of the year.