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.
We're in the dog days of summer now. Heat palpable, humidity rampant. A chilly afternoon would be nice, a brief respite from the heat, so turn down the thermostat and join me here at Peoria's Dozer Park. I was in town on Sunday, May 4, for a frigid Sunday matinee between the hometown Chiefs and Beloit Sky Carp.
Baseball has long played well in Peoria, where professional teams have operated since 1883. The Chiefs were established in the Midwest League 100 years later, in 1983, following a quarter-century stretch without Minor League Baseball in the city.
That 1983 squad was known as the Suns, with the current Chiefs moniker adopted the following season (the first iteration of the Peoria Chiefs played from 1953-57 in the Illinois-Indiana-Iowa League).
In 1983 and '84 the Chiefs were an Angels affiliate, with the latter squad managed by 30-year-old Joe Maddon. Since 1985, the Chiefs have flip-flopped between Cubs and Cardinals affiliations, mirroring the conflicted rooting interests of Peoria baseball fans writ large. Their current affiliation with the Cardinals began in 2013.
Dozer Park, originally known as O'Brien Field, opened in downtown Peoria in 2002. Its current name is the result of a naming rights deal with Caterpillar, whose product line includes Dozer bulldozers. Caterpillar, now based in Irving, Texas, was headquartered in Peoria for over 100 years. One of their corporate office buildings looms beyond Dozer Park's left field, while East Peoria is home to a manufacturing campus.
The ballpark's brick exterior puts it architecturally in line with the surrounding downtown area, which remains heavily evocative of Peoria's prior eras of industry.
My tour guide in the early part of the afternoon was Chiefs broadcaster Cody Schindler, a friendly and knowledgeable fellow of Midwest origin who answered several of my questions with a booming "You betcha!" He pointed out that, since my last visit in 2015, a pedestrian bridge has been built in right-center field to make the concourse a full 360 degrees.
The batting cage, perhaps best described as a big blue bubble, is now located behind the batter's eye. You can see it here from the warning track, in front of the outfield ivy that was installed at the start of the Chiefs' most recent stint as a Cubs affiliate (2005-12).
The batting cage itself is accessed through a door with a sign on it reading "No seeds in cages." (No sunflower seeds, that is. Seeds as in "hard-hit line drives" are totally fine).
Upon entering the ballpark fans are greeted by a statue of legendary Peoria baseball man Pete Vonachen, depicted bestowing a ball to a young fan. Vonachen bought the team in 1983 and remained a fixture until his death in 2013 at the age of 87.
An upper-level suite is filled with Pete Vonachen memorabilia, including a note of contrition written after a night out with his friend Harry Caray. (Vonachen delivered a memorable eulogy at Caray’s funeral).
The suites, and ballpark hallways, are lined with memorabilia. One notable example is an Albert Pujols jersey, from his first (and last) Minor League season.
Today's Chiefs are prone to assume a variety of alternate identities, from Distillers (a name employed from 1891-1917) to Orange Barrels (a “tribute” to local construction) to Pork Tenderloins.
Designated Eater Josh Ebbert, the individual tasked with consuming the ballpark cuisine that my gluten-free diet prohibits, came to the game wearing a Pork Tenderloins hat.
The first thing a man in a Peoria Chiefs Pork Tenderloins hat wants to eat is a Peoria Chiefs pork tenderloin. These sandwiches, featuring a truly absurd meat to bun ratio, are a Midwest specialty.
"Good bread and [the tenderloin's] not too thin and not too thick," said Josh, a business teacher at a local high school who was at the game with his kids, Wesley and Waverly. "The breading's just right and balances nicely with the pork inside, which is just right. Nice and juicy. Yeah, that’s good."
Josh’s endorsement came from a place of knowledge, as he's a tenderloin aficionado. If you’re in the Peoria area, he recommends getting one at the Last Chance Bar and Grill or Schooners.
Next up was Street Taco Nachos, from the suite menu. Tortilla chips rolled into little tacos and topped with queso blanco and a bbq-style sauce.
Josh liked these but wasn't blown away; his mind was still on the tenderloin. I gave them a try and was really impressed. Great mix of crunchy and chewy and spicy and sweet.
This unlikely triumvirate of ballpark foods was completed with a gyro, a nod to Peoria's sizable Lebanese population. Josh declared the bread and sauce to be "good" but added that "the meat could use more flavoring."
Culinarily and sartorially, Josh is foremost a tenderloin guy. Notice, however, that he was also representing the Peoria Redwings of the All-American Girls Professional League.
That shirt comes with a story, as Josh's grandparents had their first date at a Peoria Redwings game on June 18, 1948. He still has the scorecard and later sent me a photo of it. This obviously successful evening also included a stop at Hunts Drive-In, a popular hangout that was known for, you guessed it, pork tenderloins.
This uniform, which may have been worn during the game that Josh's grandparents attended, is on display at Dozer Stadium.
Outside of my time with Cody and Josh, my afternoon in Peoria was rather uneventful. A tip of the cap to the hardy fans who stuck it out in the cold, ultimately enjoying a full postgame slate comprised of an autograph session, catch on the field, run the bases and, after all that, a high school baseball game.
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