Years ago, I’d have one reaction when I thought about a minor league baseball game that began before noon — “ugh.”
It’s not that I was opposed to daytime baseball in principle, or that I wasn’t a morning person.
For me — and I know that I’m not the only fan who has felt this way — morning baseball games in the minor leagues can be a little undesirable because they’re geared toward school groups and summer camp groups.
Now, before you dismiss me as an angry ol’ grump, I should say that I certainly understand scheduling a few morning games each season from a team’s perspective. Fill the stands, sell hundreds of hot dogs, soft drinks and ice cream and, ideally, create such a memorable experience that many of these kids will return to the ballpark with their parents. It’s a smart business decision, and as someone who wants to see baseball reach a wider audience, I can appreciate it.
But, while morning games make sense from a team’s perspective, they can seem unappealing from the perspective of a fan. Screaming kids. Longer concession lines. Buses filling the parking lot. You get the picture. Instead of immediately dismissing morning games when you’re looking at teams’ schedules while planning a road trip, I encourage you to embrace them. Early on, I tried to schedule my trips to avoid these games, but I’ve had a change of heart over the last several years. Now, I actively look for these games and try to attend them whenever possible. Why the change? The simple fact is that morning games offer a lot of advantages for the baseball road tripper.
Here are some reasons that you should think seriously about adding them to your schedule.
They’re Perfect for 1D2C Doubleheaders
What’s a 1D2C doubleheader? It’s an acronym that I came up with in 2020 when I wrote about one-day, two-city (1D2C) doubleheaders — days in which you attend two games in two cities on the same day. If you want to read a detailed blog post on this topic that looks and pros and cons of 1D2C doubleheaders and that offers some tips that I’ve learned over the years, check out this link. For me, the absolute best thing about morning games is that they allow you to fit more games into your road trip without extending its length. You’ll have the rare opportunity to attend a game that starts at 10:30 or 11 a.m., hit the road early in the afternoon once that game is over, and be in a new city in time for a 7 p.m. game. This is something that I’ve done on several occasions, and it’s often easy when you start your day with a morning game. Unless the two cities are extremely close, starting your day with a 1 p.m. game may not give you enough time to get to your second city before that game begins.
You Can Enjoy Non-Baseball Activities (and a Proper Dinner)
Of course, you don’t need to drive to a new city as soon as your morning game wraps up. Instead, you might have plans to stay in town for a game the next day at the same park. On days where I don’t have ambitious travel plans, I love morning games because they provide ample time for non-baseball activities and a proper dinner. You can leave the ballpark by 2 p.m. in most cases and then spend a few hours checking out some tourist attractions in the area. Not spending the evening at a ballpark also gives you the chance to have a proper dinner. As much as I love my ballpark food, it can become a little much after, say, 10 straight days.
The Park Has a Fun Atmosphere …
As much as 1,000+ screaming kids who are hopped up on sugar can be a little much at times, there’s no denying that they can help to give the ballpark a fun atmosphere. Public address announcers do a good job of getting the kids engaged in the game, and this can give the park a boisterous vibe that you rarely find during midweek games in the minor leagues. I’ve seen scenarios in which the PA announcer gets each summer camp group to cheer at designated times so that fans can vote on which group is loudest. Sure, it’s a little deafening while it’s going on, but it can still bring a smile to your face — and I also imagine it’s fun for players, too.
… and You’ll Love the Late-Inning Quiet
Most of the time, school and camp groups will leave the ballpark before the end of the game. In the case of school excursions, the students need to get back to school before the end of the school day. While the exact departure time can vary, I’ve often noticed these groups leaving in the seventh inning. The ballpark takes on a completely different feel once the groups have departed. For the first time all day, the park will be relatively quiet — and this can make for a fun vibe, especially when you contrast it to how things were for the first part of the game.
They Offer a Change to Your Routine
A simple reason that morning games can be fun is that they add some variety to your road trip schedule. When you have a bunch of evening games in a row, you may feel a slight sense of monotony — get up, drive to a new city, check into your hotel, head to the ballpark — and then repeat. Once in a while, it can be fun to get up and go straight to the ballpark and have a hot dog for breakfast. If you’re traveling by air for a baseball trip, a morning game gives you the fun option of taking an afternoon or evening flight, rather than a morning one.
Do you enjoy morning games in the minor leagues, or try to avoid them when you’re planning your trips?