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.
My first ballpark visit of the season was Reading's FirstEnergy Stadium on April 19, a recap of which I provided last week. That, for me, was the equivalent of Spring Training, an up-and-back-in-the-same-day affair to get me in shape for my first proper road trip. That trip kicked off on May 1 at Werner Park in Papillion, Neb., home of the Omaha Storm Chasers.
My day began at an unconscionable hour of the morning, with a taxi ride from my apartment to LaGuardia. This was followed by a flight to Chicago, flight to Omaha, car rental, attempted hotel check-in (too early), lunch, drive to Werner Park, catch-up visit with Storm Chasers president Martie Cordaro, drive back to hotel, shower and finally, drive back to the ballpark.
I felt like I'd been awake for two days and it was still two and a half hours until gametime. The road can really take a lot out of a fella, but I always keep a positive attitude.
The Storm Chasers were established in 1969 as the Triple-A affiliate of the Omaha Royals, and that affiliation with Kansas City continues to this day (it's the third-longest affiliation in Minor League Baseball). Omaha has the rare distinction of being a member of, and winning a title within, three different Triple-A circuits: the American Association (1969-97), Pacific Coast League (1998-2020) and, since 2021, the International League. The Storm Chasers are reigning IL champs.
The large mural along the third-base side of the exterior wall provides a good overview of the franchise's long and illustrious history. The portion of the mural highlighted below is largely dedicated to the team’s short-lived era as the Golden Spikes (1999-2001), which began in conjunction with their first season in the Pacific Coast League.
The Royals name returned in 2002 and lasted until 2011, when the team moved from Rosenblatt Stadium to Werner Park. If you’ll allow a brief detour down memory lane: In 2010 I attended the final game at Rosenblatt Stadium, which had also served as the home of the College World Series. Rosenblatt was a special place and, by Minor League Baseball standards, gargantuan. Brobdingnagian, even.
The day after witnessing the final game at Rosenblatt, I visited Papillion to see Werner Park in its embryonic stages.
From those muddy days in the fall of 2010, a ballpark emerged. Today, it looks like this.
I was in town on a chilly, gray Thursday in May, so the vibe wasn't quite as robust as that seen above. But there was one element unique to this evening, as it was "Take Meow't to the Ballgame." Cats, usually barred from the ballpark, were welcome to attend.
This was the Storm Chasers' fifth iteration of "Take Meow't to the Ballgame," a promotion that is now common in the Minor Leagues under various names (such as "Purr in the Park"). The first such endeavor was staged by the State College Spikes in 2011, which I chronicled enthusiastically on the defunct (but never forgotten) Ben’s Biz Blog.
Cats are allowed in the ballpark, yes, but they must be on leashes or in carriers. Videoboard graphics, in-game music and sound effects are cat-centric. Animal rescue organizations and cat-themed businesses are on hand as well.
Casey the Blue Lion, an Omaha mascot since the Rosenblatt era, brought his cat to the game. Big cat and little cat:
There were no cats in the dugout, unfortunately, just a bunch of Storm Chasers preparing to battle the Indianapolis Indians.
The cat photos featured thus far were taken by Minda Haas Kulhmann, longtime team photographer and former front office employee.
Once the game began, MLB LCC (live content creator) Lawrence Brown and I went in search of, you guessed it, cats. I was hoping to find eccentric cat owners who would make for a good interview, possibly while wearing the same outfit as their cat, but everyone we spoke with was unassuming and, for lack of a better word, normal.
This, for example, is Olive. Her owner told me that it was Olive’s first game, and, furthermore, she had “never really been outside.” As for baseball, Olive was deemed to be “not too keen on it.”
Looking for individuals who might be keener on baseball, I ventured to the seating bowl to meet Designated Eaters Steven and Katie Ericson.
This was a repeat Designated Eater performance for Steven, who did the job for me at the Mississippi Braves' Trustmark Park in 2015. He was then a geography professor at the University of Alabama; I ended up writing an article about his work as it applied to the Minor League Baseball landscape.
In the intervening decade, Steven became a dedicated marathoner who has now run in five of the six World Majors. He and Katie, whom he married in 2018, lived in Japan for three years and now reside in Lincoln, Neb.
Werner Park chef Joey Alonso presented the Ericsons with three dishes. The Blackened Bacon-Wrapped Shrimp, served with a honey sriracha sauce, is a suite-holder only item. This is how the other half lives.
"A nice little blend of sweet and spicy at the same time," said Steven, with Katie echoing his sentiments via the observation that there's a "nice, sweet honey flavor, with a little bit of kick from the sriracha."
The Cheesy Brisket Sandwich is smoked in-house for 12 hours (with another 12 hours of hot holding), rubbed with an in-house seasoning blend and served with house-made pub chips.
Would you house this? Katie did, declaring the brisket "very tender" and the bread "very nice."
For "Take Meow't to the Ballgame," there was a special cat-themed dessert. I'll use the team’s photo from social media, as it's better than mine:
This creation, which also utilized Rice Krispies as part of the "litter" base, was deemed by Steven to be "kittytastic." As for whether it tasted like kitty litter, he said he "wouldn’t know." Fair enough, I suppose.
I first met Steven in 2015, but I've known Nicholas Badders for even longer. Nicholas is now in his third season as the voice of the Storm Chasers, obtaining the job after previous broadcaster (and fellow ballpark celiac) Jake Eisenberg landed a spot with the Kansas City Royals.
It was a pleasure to be a guest in the broadcast booth, going out over the airwaves via 1290 KOIL (AM radio forever).
As for when I first met Nicholas? In 2013, when he was a teenage Modesto Nuts ballhawk!
Before I embark further down the myriad rabbit holes that are provided in seemingly infinite abundance every time I write about visiting a ballpark, let me just say that it was a beautiful night in Omaha (OK, technically Papillion) and it was great to be back.
And now I must make a feline for the exits. Meow-revoir!