Take Me Out to the Ball Game: In Brainerd You're Bound to Catch the Lunkers
by Sheila Helmberger
People ask me what I do in winter when there's no baseball. I'll tell you what I do. I stare out the window and wait for spring. ~Rogers Hornsby
It's a cool night at the ball park for mid-July. The official summer uniform of shorts and tank tops has been replaced by sweat shirts and long pant legs. Fleece, in the way of zippered jackets and blankets, is visible throughout the crowd. Though not a banner night as far as attendance goes hundreds of hearty baseball fans have still turned out for this evening's match up of The Brainerd Lunkers and the Rochester Honkers.
Ketchup and mustard are carefully added to hotdogs, cheese flows freely as an accompaniment to pretzels and kids come through the gate with gloves in hopes of retrieving the wild foul ball.
There'll be no light 'tings' tonight when the ball and bat make contact. The Lunkers are part of the Northwood's League and wood bats are the tool of choice. When the leather hits the bat the sound is a solid whack- and there's every chance a bat or two will break when the hit is a good one.
The fans that came out tonight know they will see good ball. The 14 team Northwoods League boasts top collegiate players from across the United States. All are NCAA eligible, and each of these players loves the game of baseball enough to forgo a summer of money making jobs and hanging out with their friends to come north and play 68 games in 74 days. A handful of these boys may even play in the majors someday.
Ryan Voz is the Vice President of the Lunkers. He and the rest of the team's management also head up the St. Cloud River Bats, another team in the Northwoods League. This is the first year the Lunkers have been in Brainerd.
"Things have been great," said Voz, of their inaugural year. "We started mid to late January and everything, including the people we've run across, has been great." He said "We need to get a full season under our belts and then to sell more pre-sell tickets for next season. The key is getting out and sell the team. You can't just rely on people walking up to get tickets. This is a great market. It's a location that everyone in the Northwood's League has felt should have a team."
Two previous runs at Brainerd teams have folded after a couple of years, the Mighty Gulls and Blue Thunder. Voz said the odds don't scare them. They've been in the business long enough to know what works. "We want to take the trial and error of the things we've learned the past 12 yrs. In St. Cloud and use them Brainerd."
"The St. Cloud River Bats have drawn between 1700 and 1900 fans a game for the past 6 or 7 years." He believes that kind of crowd is in the Lunker's future too.
The names of the other teams in the league are an indication to the fun this organization is all about. There are the Madison Mallards, Thunder Bay Border Cats, Alexandria Beetles, Green Bay Bullfrogs, Mankato MoonDogs and the LaCrosse Loggers among others. Promotions and contests include fans from the stands between the innings and encourage heavy audience participation. Music appropriate for each fumble, good play, or awkward situation has the crowd singing along and laughing.
The players on this young team come from all over the country. "We find them through relationships we have with colleges," said Voz. This year's roster includes players from universities in New Orleans, Miami, Northern Colorado, Philadelphia, Texas, Nebraska, Florida, California, Massachusetts, Ohio and Cincinnati, as well as those from Duke, UND and the U of M.
Voz said he's already noticed that many fans this year keep coming back. "It's still pretty consistent. Our goal is providing the best experience we can for fans that come out. We want to make sure you leave saying great things. For the dollar it really is the best entertainment you can get." He's right. While the action can equal that of the big time ball teams, the price doesn't.
At $6 a ticket it's as affordable as a night at the movies for a family and much more so than a trip to the Twin Cities for a big league game. Concessions are affordable and if designated batters happen to strike out during the game that means half price beverages at the concession stand. Giveaways add to the fun too - this year the Lunkers will bestow goodies to their fans like ball caps, coolers, miniature bats, umbrellas, team pennants, tickets to future games and more. Special guests at this summer's games include opening night guest, Harmon Killebrew, American Idol's William Hung, Dora the Explorer and Spiderman. Featured theme nights like Springtime St. Patty's Day, Play Catch with Dad Night and Dog Night at the Ballpark with pet owners who bring their dogs being admitted for $1 have also been included.
Turns out a night at the Lunker's game means good, affordable family entertainment with a baseball game to boot.
People ask me what I do in winter when there's no baseball. I'll tell you what I do. I stare out the window and wait for spring. ~Rogers HornsbyIt's a cool night at the ball park for mid-July. The official summer uniform of shorts and tank tops has been replaced by sweat shirts and long pant legs. Fleece, in the way of zippered jackets and blankets, is visible throughout the crowd. Though not a banner night as far as attendance goes hundreds of hearty baseball fans have still turned out for this evening's match up of The Brainerd Lunkers and the Rochester Honkers.
Ketchup and mustard are carefully added to hotdogs, cheese flows freely as an accompaniment to pretzels and kids come through the gate with gloves in hopes of retrieving the wild foul ball.
There'll be no light 'tings' tonight when the ball and bat make contact. The Lunkers are part of the Northwood's League and wood bats are the tool of choice. When the leather hits the bat the sound is a solid whack- and there's every chance a bat or two will break when the hit is a good one.
The fans that came out tonight know they will see good ball. The 14 team Northwoods League boasts top collegiate players from across the United States. All are NCAA eligible, and each of these players loves the game of baseball enough to forgo a summer of money making jobs and hanging out with their friends to come north and play 68 games in 74 days. A handful of these boys may even play in the majors someday.
Ryan Voz is the Vice President of the Lunkers. He and the rest of the team's management also head up the St. Cloud River Bats, another team in the Northwoods League. This is the first year the Lunkers have been in Brainerd.
"Things have been great," said Voz, of their inaugural year. "We started mid to late January and everything, including the people we've run across, has been great." He said "We need to get a full season under our belts and then to sell more pre-sell tickets for next season. The key is getting out and sell the team. You can't just rely on people walking up to get tickets. This is a great market. It's a location that everyone in the Northwood's League has felt should have a team."
Two previous runs at Brainerd teams have folded after a couple of years, the Mighty Gulls and Blue Thunder. Voz said the odds don't scare them. They've been in the business long enough to know what works. "We want to take the trial and error of the things we've learned the past 12 yrs. In St. Cloud and use them Brainerd."
"The St. Cloud River Bats have drawn between 1700 and 1900 fans a game for the past 6 or 7 years." He believes that kind of crowd is in the Lunker's future too.
The names of the other teams in the league are an indication to the fun this organization is all about. There are the Madison Mallards, Thunder Bay Border Cats, Alexandria Beetles, Green Bay Bullfrogs, Mankato MoonDogs and the LaCrosse Loggers among others. Promotions and contests include fans from the stands between the innings and encourage heavy audience participation. Music appropriate for each fumble, good play, or awkward situation has the crowd singing along and laughing.
The players on this young team come from all over the country. "We find them through relationships we have with colleges," said Voz. This year's roster includes players from universities in New Orleans, Miami, Northern Colorado, Philadelphia, Texas, Nebraska, Florida, California, Massachusetts, Ohio and Cincinnati, as well as those from Duke, UND and the U of M.
Voz said he's already noticed that many fans this year keep coming back. "It's still pretty consistent. Our goal is providing the best experience we can for fans that come out. We want to make sure you leave saying great things. For the dollar it really is the best entertainment you can get." He's right. While the action can equal that of the big time ball teams, the price doesn't.
At $6 a ticket it's as affordable as a night at the movies for a family and much more so than a trip to the Twin Cities for a big league game. Concessions are affordable and if designated batters happen to strike out during the game that means half price beverages at the concession stand. Giveaways add to the fun too - this year the Lunkers will bestow goodies to their fans like ball caps, coolers, miniature bats, umbrellas, team pennants, tickets to future games and more. Special guests at this summer's games include opening night guest, Harmon Killebrew, American Idol's William Hung, Dora the Explorer and Spiderman. Featured theme nights like Springtime St. Patty's Day, Play Catch with Dad Night and Dog Night at the Ballpark with pet owners who bring their dogs being admitted for $1 have also been included.Turns out a night at the Lunker's game means good, affordable family entertainment with a baseball game to boot.
posted by Katie Carter at
11:20 AM
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