This Minors club boasts custom beer, a 'Glow Squad' and a prospect named after a pizzeria
Benjamin Hill travels the nation collecting stories about what makes Minor League Baseball unique. This excerpt from the Baseball Traveler newsletter, presented by Circle K, is a mere taste of the smorgasbord of delights he offers every week. Read the full newsletter here, and subscribe to his newsletter here.
Going into my evening with the Columbia Fireflies, I knew it wouldn't compare to the last time I visited South Carolina's capital city. How could it? For when I was last at Segra Park, in 2017, I was there for a baseball game that featured a built-in eclipse delay.
This year's visit was devoid of spectacular astronomical events; it was merely a run-of-the-mill Wednesday. In case you're not familiar with the Fireflies, a brief recap: The team was established in 2016 following a relocation from Savannah, in conjunction with the opening of Segra Park (originally called Spirit Communications Park). Since 2021, the Fireflies have operated out of the Carolina League as the Single-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals.
As for why the team is named the Fireflies? It's a reference to the fireflies at nearby Congaree National Park, renowned for their synchronous springtime displays (if you want to see this, plan in advance).
Segra Park is the centerpiece of a massive development project, located on the grounds of what used to be the campus of South Carolina's state mental hospital. Some of the old buildings remain, dilapidated and crumbling. Many others have been fully restored; for example, the mental hospital's Babcock Building is now a 208-unit apartment complex known as The Babcock. New retail, restaurants and residences abound, with nearly 1,000 people now living on the 181-acre complex (to put that into perspective, The Battery Atlanta complex adjacent to the Braves' Truist Park is 65 acres).
Segra Park's formidable brick exterior encases an airy and wide interior. There is plenty of room for unencumbered wandering. Early in my own unencumbered wandering, I met my old pal Mason, flanked by a member of his Glow Squad. (Mason is a creature who wandered into Congaree National Park and fell in love with the fireflies, to the extent that the fireflies adopted him and made him one of their own.)
Prior to the game I also met Fireflies outfielder Milo Rushford, drafted by the Royals in 2022 out of high school.
Milo's dad, Jim, was the quintessential Minor League grinder. He played professionally from 1996 through 2010, starting with four seasons in the independent leagues, and appeared in 23 games with the Brewers in 2002. He later wrote a book about his experience, "The Pizza Guy Delivers." Its title is a reference to one of the odd jobs he held as he was trying to break into pro ball.
Specifically, Jim Rushford delivered pizzas for Milo's Pizzeria in San Diego.
"That's where my dad worked in college, when he met my mom," Milo told me. "They were like, 'We’re gonna name our first son Milo.' So that's where I got it, yeah."
Milo went on to describe his dad as someone who’s "been my hitting coach forever. He's taught me basically everything I know to this point, every rep I've put in, every single lesson I've learned. He's been right there to teach me."
Milo hasn't had to follow his father's footsteps when it comes to employment outside of the game of baseball, however.
"I signed out of high school, fortunately," he said. "So this is my first real job. I mean, you could say that Minor League Baseball is an odd job."
He also doesn’t plan on naming his own children after a pizzeria.
"There's one [in Columbia] I can’t even say the name of, because it's Italian, so no chance anyone gets named after it. But they do have good pizza."
You might not be able to find pizza at Segra Park, but there's plenty of comestibles to consume. My Designated Eater for this evening tilt between the Fireflies and Fayetteville Woodpeckers was Donnie "The Mayor" Wise, who was ready to glow.
Donnie, born and raised in Columbia, is a Segra Park regular and a huge fan of the Minor Leagues in general. If you are a fellow MiLB obsessive then you may already follow him on X and/or listen to him on the Dad Hat Chronicles podcast.
I had met up with Donnie earlier in the day, as he's a local and wanted to show me around. We had lunch at Columbia's Maurice's Piggie Park, a mustard-based BBQ institution since 1953.
Donnie had no qualms about a big barbecue lunch, despite his impending Designated Eater duties.
The dish in the upper right-hand corner of the above picture is Carolina Hash over rice. The hash is boiled mixture of leftover pig parts, which may not sound appetizing but is an excellent example of "waste not, want not."
You might also notice that Donnie is wearing a Capital City Bombers T-shirt. The Bombers were Columbia's previous Minor League team; they played in the city from 1983-2004 and then relocated to Greenville and became the Drive.
The Bombers played at Capital City Stadium, which was built in 1927 and most recently hosted a team in 2014 (the summer-collegiate Columbia Blowfish, named after Columbia’s own Hootie and the Blowfish). It has since fallen into a severe state of disrepair and its future is uncertain. We swung by to check it out, but couldn't get inside.
Back at Segra Park, Fireflies director of food and beverage David Scrouder presented Donnie with a Philly Cheesesteak Nacho Helmet.
"What's not to like?" said Donnie. "You've got peppers and onions, and the steak takes it up a notch over a helmet with just ground beef and cheese."
Next up was the first ballpark appearance of the Crispy Beef Flautas, created as a specialty item for an upcoming Copa de la Diversión night (in which the Fireflies play as the Chicharrones).
These were Donnie's favorite, and he couldn't wait to get them again. He likened them to something you'd see on a convenience store roller grill, but much fresher, crispier and altogether tastier.
Donnie then enjoyed a foot-long corn dog, which he said was "just like the state fair."
As a season-ticket holder, Donnie said that he was glad to see the Fireflies "branching out into new things," food-and-beverage-wise, and that they've "upped their game." To wit, they now have a team beer called Blinker Fluid -- an "American Baseball Lager" created in partnership with Columbia Craft Brewing Company.
If you're unable to make it out to Columbia for a game, may I suggest tuning in to John Kocsis? I first met John in 2019, in the rooftop press box at Hagerstown's now-demolished Municipal Stadium. He joined the Fireflies the following year.
John is also the author of "Play By Play from the Minors: Profiles of Baseball Broadcasters from Scranton to Yakima." Check it out. I wrote the foreword.
And speaking of guys named John who work for the Fireflies, this is promotions and fan engagement director John Oliver.
John Oliver has a message for the other John Oliver, the British talk show host who deeply integrated himself into the Minor League scene this season: "I was here first."
And that'll be the last thing I feature from Columbia, home of Minor League Baseball's largest inflatable adopted firefly.
For more on the home of the Fireflies, check out our Segra Park Ballpark Guide, presented by Wyndham.