On a recent weekend, one of our dearest friends, OT (Old Tom), celebrated a birthday. For part of his birthday celebration, we all decided to go a minor league baseball game at Merchantsauto.com Stadium in Manchester, New Hampshire. Now it is important to define “we all” for this exercise. Our entire crew consisted of 6 adults and 6 children, who ranged in ages from 1 to 12.

The team that calls Merchantsauto.com Stadium home is the New Hampshire Fischer Cats, a AA farm team of the Toronto Blue Jays.

The great joy of taking a family to a minor league game lies in a few key areas:

• The prices make it possible to take a family
• You can get seats in a stadium where you can be close to the action
• There is a ton of extra entertainment in between innings to keep everyone entertained

I have been to a few different minor league games at various stadiums. And in all cases the prices are a fraction of the costs of a MLB game. In New England, people talk about going to Fenway and seeing the Red Sox play. But taking a family of 6 down to Fenway would probably set you back about $500. We allowed the kids to each buy $7 in concessions when we went to the Fisher Cats game. This gave them some flexibility and allowed them to have some fun ballpark foods. Our food, tickets, and parking cost us about $120 and while that is not a cheap day, it was at least do-able.

Our seats at the Merchantauto.com Stadium were on the lower level and about 20 rows from the field on the first base side. Getting seats for a MLB game for a group of 12 is nearly impossible. And with relatively little hassle we were able to get those tickets. The seats kept us close to the action. So close actually, that a foul ball came right to me. I, unfortunately, fumbled it, and it went to another fan. Yet another exhibit of why I am a spectator and not a player!

The last great advantage of a minor league game is that they understand that it is about entertainment. There are constant games, music, and frivolity happening in between innings. This is great for people who think baseball is a slow spectator sport. It also does a great job of keeping the kids focused and entertained.

So, if you get a chance to take your family to one of the 250 minor league teams in the U.S., you should give the American pasttime a chance.

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