AM baseball. That is quite the treat. But today’s game was a little different: Well for one, it was outside (baseball? outside?, how barbaric). Two, the game featured the Dunedin Blue Jays and the Charlotte Stone Crabs, the single A-advance affiliates of the Toronto Blue Jays and Tampa Bay Rays, three levels below MLB.
Picture this: Tucked away in the neighborhoods of quaint Dunedin lies a small baseball stadium that houses the one of the beginnings of professionalism in the sport. It hides from the corporate eye and high ticket prices while focusing on development in an intimate setting. And intimate it is — Dunedin’s Florida Auto Exchange Stadium lies between a quiet road and an elementary school, houses on one side and the Dunedin Public Library on the other. The stadium has a minuscule capacity — just over 5,500 — by American standards. Think of it as a miniature Wrigley field: a stadium reminiscent of the times before high rollers and big cash took over the game. 35,000 people call Dunedin home, making the city one of the smallest cities used by a MLB affiliate. That's small. So small, the Dunedin Blue Jays average 814 fans per game, second lowest in the Florida State League. Barely a fraction attended on Tuesday.
By comparison, consider the Accrington Stanley Football Club, located in Accrington, Lancashire. Sure, you've never heard it, or the team, and it's in the middle-of-shits-nowhere, England. Towns like these are well-known for intimate sports stadiums surrounded by a village-like atmosphere. It’s a town with a population of 45,000 playing home to the fourth-division (like single A) soccer team. The club's home is a small 5,000-seat stadium. Sounds a lot like Dunedin … minus the good food, sunshine, beaches, beer and American freedom.
I have, on numerous occasions, attempted to explain the structure of baseball to foreigners (as well as Americans). In most other countries around the world, teams get promoted to higher leagues or relegated to lower leagues based on performance. In America, we promote (or demote) players up and down through the ranks of A, AA, and AAA until they reach the big leagues (if they don’t give up first).
The beauty of minor league baseball can easily be compared to Europe's lower levels of soccer: Small towns, small teams, small pay… big passion.
Far away and safe from the perils of inflated egos and engorged paychecks lies the heart of baseball. Though both are fully professional, these small town teams are the minnows of the most popular sports in their respective nations.
No chartered flights to this game. No one drove their Lambos or Maseratis; they rode a team bus to the stadium. Modest incomes for a modest game: A 2014 USA Today article reported some players make less than the average Burger King worker. These are the neighborhood leagues played by professionals, adding to the charm of a small town.
And that is the cherry on top of the baseball sundae.
Dunedin's allure annually serenades the major league team from Toronto; fans come for spring training, followed by the bigwigs with the big pay and the big egos, invading a town married more to baseball at its roots. Sure, there's a trickle-down effect — the Blue Jays of MLB run the Dunedin team — but it’s difficult to notice.
Nothing like the big leagues here, just two dollar hot dogs and five dollar beers. That's even cheaper than a Rowdies game. Didn’t expect that, did you?
The July 19 game starts under Florida's blazing late-morning sun and ends 2-0 in favor of the Jays. And, for those keeping track at home, yes, it was another summer camp day at the stadium, but I survived. I always do.
Colin O'Hara live tweets all the sporting events we make him attend. Follow the madness @Mr_Colin_O.
This article appears in Jul 21-28, 2016.