I posted my first Pro Debut card about two weeks ago showing off a Tyler Kolek manu logo card of him with the Greensboro Grasshoppers. Pro Debut has become one of my favorite yearly card products, not so much for opening boxes or packs, but just finding some cool single cards. There are not a ton of mainstream minor league products out on the market and this is one of the few that actually shows the players in their minor league duds.
There have been a variety of different inserts, autographs, and relics featured in Pro Debut, but the manufactured logo cards are what got me started on this set long ago....
I really liked some of the early card designs of these patches a little better than the current ones, but I still dig the more current releases and enjoy collecting them. This year I have been trying to track down a few different teams including a Cardinals and a few North Carolina teams beyond the Greensboro Grasshoppers. I bet you can guess one of the North Carolina teams, so let's take care of that one first....
The Durham Bulls seem to always have a manu logo/pennant in this set. Really, why wouldn't they have one? This year's card features top Rays pitching prospect Blake Snell. Snell has been prompted up to the Rays since the last time I mentioned him in a blog post. I don't expect him to come back anytime soon, so it was a good run and I am happy to have this card of him wearing the blue and Texas tan Bulls uni.
Next.
I am trying to get into the Burlington Royals. They are a little further from my house then the Durham Bulls and Carolina Mudcats, but I really enjoyed watching a game at their stadium last summer. I have a return trip coming up in a few weeks. It's a great place to watch a baseball game and is one of those little Minor League parks where you could almost reach out and touch the players. Russell was a first round draft pick of the Royals who started out in Burlington last year.
While I was out and about at the Burlington Royals game the other night I decided to pick up a copy of a team set from their team store...err...shed. Since they are a short season they still do not have a copy of this year's set and they sold out of last year's set. That left me with a copy of the 2013 team set. For $4 I am not going to be picky.
The first thing that stood out for me was the design on the back of the cards which was taken from the backs of the 2012 Topps cards, or really close. Here's a look at Alex Newman's card back.
The set also is a skip numbered set with the players card number matching their jersey number. There are not really any high regarded prospects in this team set, but I am still digging the cards. I know that for many of these players this might be their only shot at having a baseball card.
It was a rainy fifty minute drive west on I-40 to Burlington, North Carolina to check out a Rookie League game between the Burlington Royals and the Kingsport Mets. I have lived in North Carolina for almost ten years, and been within an hour or less driving distance of this ballpark, but have just never been to game here.
Burlington Athletic Park is small park. It's about 20 years newer than the Durham Athletic Park, but there are many things about the two parks that seem pretty similar. Small dugouts, shape and layout of the grandstand, and the proximity of the fans to the field. Tickets are readily available and the best seats in the stadium cost less than $10.
One of my initial surprises was access to the players. They were literally just walking around the stadium with the fans. Pretty awesome to see......
These two Mets players were really involved with a phone call while I was waiting to get into the stadium and did not move once the gates opened. Other players sat next to the fence and talked with fans, signed autographs, and even bought food from the concession stand.
I am not sure where the Royals clubhouse is in the stadium, but we can see above that the players walk through the concourse to get out onto the field. A very unique feel to the stadium, but cool to see the players up close.
The stadium is painted royal blue and there are former Burlington Royals players hanging up on the outside structure of Burlington Athletic Park. There is even a 2014 American League Champions banner on the top of stadium.
Now, here's my only gripe with the Burlington Athletic Park. It's hosted a Royals team for the past 8 seasons, but before that it was a minor league site for the Cleveland Indians for about twenty years. During that time the team had Manny Ramirez, Jim Thome, CC Sabathia, and Bartolo Colon all roll through town. How are they recognized?
With their jerseys hanging above urinals in a bathroom. Not very classy....... More on this later this week.
Inside the stadium fans have a great view of the field and the action.
There is a large amount of foul territory around the field, so you are not right on top of the batter, but the extra room created several cool foul pop chases during the game. You don't see those at every park. Here's a look at the stands from the side. Note: more players hanging out talking to fans....
Now, onto the game. The best prospect on either side was Royals Ashe Russell, the Royals number 1 draft pick last month, but he was not pitching. I watched Brandon Dulin, first baseman, for the Royals along with Mets first baseman Patrick Mazeika. Mazeika hit a home run in the first inning to give the Mets and early lead, but Dulin hit a two run blast in the eighth to give the Royals the win. Here's the box score.
A little more on Dulin. He's actually from the Kansas City area and is a pretty nice hitter. He's already put up 5 home runs this season and has only been playing in Burlington for the past two weeks. Could be a promotion soon. Here's a look at one of his at-bats.....
I also watched Colton Frabasilio. You do not see too many players from Saint Louis University in the minors, but their baseball program has come a long way the last few years.
Overall, if you are looking for an inexpensive game where we can get close to the players this is a good stop. I am not sure I would go out of my way to go to another Burlington Royals game, but maybe if the right player made an appearance there it would be a cool place to go and watch them play.
When I first moved to North Carolina I lived at the first Durham exit off of I-40 really close to Duke University. It's not a far drive to Burlington and I often considered running over to check out a game. At the time the Burlington team was an Indians minor league team known as the B-Tribe. Somehow I never ended up there and after almost ten years of living in North Carolina I have still not attended a game in Burlington.
I ended up going to a wedding near the ballpark last August actually sparked the idea to get to a game there. This evening I am crossing it off of my list. Here's a look at the pitching match-up for the game between the Burlington Royals and the Kingsport Mets.....
The Royals are throwing Matt Tenuta. He was a late pick (25th round) in the 2012 draft out of Apex High School in Apex, North Carolina. I know all of my social media stuff alludes to the fact that I live in the Raleigh-Durham metro area, but Apex is the town I actually live in. Pretty cool to run into a fellow Apex resident. I am not sure how serious a prospect the left-handed pitcher is for the Royals, he is not on any prospect lists, but I guess you never know how some of these guys will turn out in the long run. I like a good low draft pick time spent toiling in the minors story......
Here's a quick look at the rest of the players on the Royals Appalachian League entry.....
I know there has been a lot of excitement about Ashe Russell, this year's number one pick, but I am obviously not getting to see him tonight. Dulin and Bailey were late draft picks the couple of years who are off to outstanding starts with the team.
The Kingsport Mets are starting Darwin Ramos who has had one good start under his belt this season in a game against the Bluefield Blue Jays going 6 innings, striking out 6, and allowing just one hit.
The Venezuelan righty is not on any prospects lists for the Mets, but his past statistics look decent. He's still just 19, so I am curious to see him pitch and see what's there. Here's a look at the rest of the Kingsport Mets:
