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Let's check the Midwest League standings...

General Tso

HR Heisman
Nov 20, 2004
9,986
11,514
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Oh, look at that. QC is tops in the division while Mt Trashmore is middling along at .500.
 
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Oh, look at that. QC is tops in the division while Mt Trashmore is middling along at .500.
Most of us don’t get out of bed unless it’s AAA or higher. So your river noodling’ asshats AND those five-smell trashwhores should look west to a real city who also holds down first place.

Iowa-Cubs-Wallpaper-.jpg
 
... and Clinton

Yeah, Clinton got jacked up in 2020, as well. The Bees had been playing at Community Field since 1947, and joined the Midwest League in 1962. From the time I was conscious the Bees were part of my life. Early childhood meant going with my dad, who sat in the 3rd base bleachers near the beer stand with all the other men. We kids set up higher, alternating watching the game with running around behind the stands, playing baseball with crumbled up beer cups.

Middle school years one of my friends was batboy, and I would hang out in the box seats near the dugout and chat with him and the players.

Teenage years it was a place where a lot of kids hung out together in the grandstands. Occasionally groups would go to the woods behind the outfield to drink and make out. There were always some hot girls from small towns working as ushers, so flirting with them was another highlight. Occasionally I would win a drawing for free buttermilk pancakes at the local bowling alley, which I remember always being disproportionately excited about.

From age five to 21 I probably attended 400 or 500 games. Whenever I went back to Iowa with my kids we would go to a Bees game so I could share part of my childhood with them.

it sucks that it all ended.
 
Yeah, Clinton got jacked up in 2020, as well. The Bees had been playing at Community Field since 1947, and joined the Midwest League in 1962. From the time I was conscious the Bees were part of my life. Early childhood meant going with my dad, who sat in the 3rd base bleachers near the beer stand with all the other men. We kids set up higher, alternating watching the game with running around behind the stands, playing baseball with crumbled up beer cups.

Middle school years one of my friends was batboy, and I would hang out in the box seats near the dugout and chat with him and the players.

Teenage years it was a place where a lot of kids hung out together in the grandstands. Occasionally groups would go to the woods behind the outfield to drink and make out. There were always some hot girls from small towns working as ushers, so flirting with them was another highlight. Occasionally I would win a drawing for free buttermilk pancakes at the local bowling alley, which I remember always being disproportionately excited about.

From age five to 21 I probably attended 400 or 500 games. Whenever I went back to Iowa with my kids we would go to a Bees game so I could share part of my childhood with them.

it sucks that it all ended.
I have similar memories growing up going to games at John O'Donnell stadium before the gut and remodel. We'd place catch/baseball in the grassy searing areas down the left field line and bug the bullpen folks for sunflower seeds through the fence
 
Yeah, Clinton got jacked up in 2020, as well. The Bees had been playing at Community Field since 1947, and joined the Midwest League in 1962. From the time I was conscious the Bees were part of my life. Early childhood meant going with my dad, who sat in the 3rd base bleachers near the beer stand with all the other men. We kids set up higher, alternating watching the game with running around behind the stands, playing baseball with crumbled up beer cups.

Middle school years one of my friends was batboy, and I would hang out in the box seats near the dugout and chat with him and the players.

Teenage years it was a place where a lot of kids hung out together in the grandstands. Occasionally groups would go to the woods behind the outfield to drink and make out. There were always some hot girls from small towns working as ushers, so flirting with them was another highlight. Occasionally I would win a drawing for free buttermilk pancakes at the local bowling alley, which I remember always being disproportionately excited about.

From age five to 21 I probably attended 400 or 500 games. Whenever I went back to Iowa with my kids we would go to a Bees game so I could share part of my childhood with them.

it sucks that it all ended.

Your descriptions of minor league games when you are a kid remind me of my own experiences in Cedar Rapids. Things have changed dramatically here. I remember going with my dad to games when I was young and the crowd being predominately grown men. Things were boisterous and chaotic in the stands. Young and old men drank heavily and heckled incessantly. I saw my fair share of fights and stadium ejections. There was a mild sense of danger in the ballpark then, like a person feels at a traveling carnival well after dark. Nowadays, in a new ballpark that’s not comparable to a dungeon, professional baseball in Cedar Rapids is a full on family affair. On a given night, there are probably as many kids in the stands as adults. Alcohol is still prevalent, of course, but so are a plethora of food options that never existed in the past. The entire vibe of the event has changed. For better and for worse.
 
Waterloo stadium was a dump. I do remember watching Patrick Mahomes’s dad pitch there. He was suppose to be “the shit” for the Twins. He had a long career but never the dominant starter he was projected to be.

Between that dump and McElroy Auditorium Waterloo had some nostalgia. The NBA Atlanta Hawks played a season in McElroy.

McElroy had a very distinct smell of stale beer and urine.
 
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Your descriptions of minor league games when you are a kid remind me of my own experiences in Cedar Rapids. Things have changed dramatically here. I remember going with my dad to games when I was young and the crowd being predominately grown men. Things were boisterous and chaotic in the stands. Young and old men drank heavily and heckled incessantly. I saw my fair share of fights and stadium ejections. There was a mild sense of danger in the ballpark then, like a person feels at a traveling carnival well after dark. Nowadays, in a new ballpark that’s not comparable to a dungeon, professional baseball in Cedar Rapids is a full on family affair. On a given night, there are probably as many kids in the stands as adults. Alcohol is still prevalent, of course, but so are a plethora of food options that never existed in the past. The entire vibe of the event has changed. For better and for worse.

We didn’t have fights, but there was a distinct smell of cigars and beer in the air. I think we had families, but they sat in the grandstands behind home plate and extending down to first and third base. The bleachers ran from about 20 feet past third/first base for perhaps 150 feet. The breakdown was: teenagers in the first base bleachers, families and couples behind home plate, players wives in the box seats, and men (with sons, if they tagged along) in the third base bleachers.
 
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Your descriptions of minor league games when you are a kid remind me of my own experiences in Cedar Rapids. Things have changed dramatically here. I remember going with my dad to games when I was young and the crowd being predominately grown men. Things were boisterous and chaotic in the stands. Young and old men drank heavily and heckled incessantly. I saw my fair share of fights and stadium ejections. There was a mild sense of danger in the ballpark then, like a person feels at a traveling carnival well after dark. Nowadays, in a new ballpark that’s not comparable to a dungeon, professional baseball in Cedar Rapids is a full on family affair. On a given night, there are probably as many kids in the stands as adults. Alcohol is still prevalent, of course, but so are a plethora of food options that never existed in the past. The entire vibe of the event has changed. For better and for worse.
Yes many memories of old Memorial Stadium in CR. I don't remember the fights, but buying baseball cards at the souvenir shop under the stands. Standing outside the stadium waiting to try and snag a foul ball. The bullpens so close you could just stand down there and talk to the players.
 
Yes many memories of old Memorial Stadium in CR. I don't remember the fights, but buying baseball cards at the souvenir shop under the stands. Standing outside the stadium waiting to try and snag a foul ball. The bullpens so close you could just stand down there and talk to the players.

Do you remember the Cincinnati Reds organization being so cheap that they hired teenaged kids to retrieve foul balls in CR? They’d approach you if you got to a ball first and demand it be returned as it was the property of the team. The MLB clubs take much better care of their farm teams nowadays! And yes, the bullpens at old Memorial Stadium. You could stand right behind the fence with the catcher three feet in front of you. It was a thrill to watch Rob Dibble warm-up when he was with the Reds. A great fastball hums as it approaches. His made all sorts of sounds.
 
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Waterloo stadium was a dump. I do remember watching Patrick Mahomes’s dad pitch there. He was suppose to be “the shit” for the Twins. He had a long career but never the dominant starter he was projected to be.

Between that dump and McElroy Auditorium Waterloo had some nostalgia. The NBA Atlanta Hawks played a season in McElroy.

McElroy had a very distinct smell of stale beer and urine.
Do you remember Luis Medina playing for the Waterloo Indians in the late-80s? He shredded the Midwest League! It was interesting that he never panned out in the majors, because he was an incredible hitter.
 
Do you remember the Cincinnati Reds organization being so cheap that they hired teenaged kids to retrieve foul balls in CR? They’d approach you if you got to a ball first and demand it be returned as it was the property of the team. The MLB clubs take much better care of their farm teams nowadays! And yes, the bullpens at old Memorial Stadium. You could stand right behind the fence with the catcher three feet in front of you. It was a thrill to watch Rob Dibble warm-up when he was with the Reds. A great fastball hums as it approaches. His made all sorts of sounds.

Oh yeah, they chased down every foul ball in Burlington.
 
Do you remember Luis Medina playing for the Waterloo Indians in the late-80s? He shredded the Midwest League! It was interesting that he never panned out in the majors, because he was an incredible hitter.

Do you remember Luis Medina playing for the Waterloo Indians in the late-80s? He shredded the Midwest League! It was interesting that he never panned out in the majors, because he was an incredible hitter.
Nope. But I think Von Hayes played in Waterloo and so did Greg Swindell. I could be wrong.

I remember some stud for the Cubs came to town. I think he made noise in the Olympics in 1988 maybe? Hit a massive bomb but never made it to the bigs.
 
Nope. But I think Von Hayes played in Waterloo and so did Greg Swindell. I could be wrong.

I remember some stud for the Cubs came to town. I think he made noise in the Olympics in 1988 maybe? Hit a massive bomb but never made it to the bigs.

Swindell, yes. I don't remember Von Hayes being there, but I'll take your word for it.
 
Swindell, yes. I don't remember Von Hayes being there, but I'll take your word for it.
I googled famous Waterloo Indians. Not a huge list. Von Hayes was on it.

Ty Griffin was the stud cub who dazzled in Olympics. Played nine years in the minors without ever getting called up.
 
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