We have been excited that we have a minor league team very close to us here in Annapolis. (To be honest there are several within a few hours of us which is great but Bowie is less than half an hour from our house.) We love all baseball but there's something special about minor league stadiums... they tend to be more intimate and they definitely have a more wacky sense of fun to them than a big league stadium.
And for those of you who are unaware I have a goal... granted it's a lofty goal but it's a goal. (It's good to have goals right?!) Ken and I want to go to every baseball park in America. Okay maybe all of them is a little too lofty because there are a lot of minor league stadiums but we are still going to try and go to as many as we can!!!
The Bowie Baysox are the double A affiliate of the Orioles. We decided to go to this particular game because the Baysox host what they call Mutt Monday the last Monday of the month for their home games. You get to bring your dog to the game. What a treat! So we thought this was a perfect game for us to attend! So in the scheme of "promotions" I would give them a grade of A!
The park itself is a really nice little park. It's small with a very homey feel. The staff we chatted with were all very friendly. Overall ambiance B+
Those of you who know me know I can't go to a ballgame and not eat :) We walked the entire concourse (which to be fair was not very big but that's typical of a small minor league park and that's not a bad thing). There were 2 regular food kind of places, a kids food place and a sweets place. We started off with some fried onion peels which were pretty good. Then we decided we were still hungry so Ken ordered a gyro and I ordered a hot dog (what can I say I am a sucker for a beer and hot dog at a baseball game) and cheese fries (well I am always a sucker for cheese fries.) Ken said his gyro was decent but not great. Sadly my hot dog was not very good and neither of us liked the fries at all. Overall I'd give the food a C-
Beerwise.... well you all know I am a beer snob (to say the least) so I am definitely a tough customer for baseball parks. (Though I do have to tell you I have been to a lot of baseball parks with great beer!) You may also know that I HATE AB In-Bev.... so you'll imagine my disappointment to report that all the beer available is In Bev Beer :( They have the usual crap (Bud etc.) but they also have the stuff that In Bev tries to hide the fact that they own as well such as Spaten, Staroprammen and Goose Island. They try and pass it off the Goose Island is a microbrew but it is now owned by In Bev and at least one of their beers is no longer even produced at Goose Island locations because they have taken it in for mass production by In Bev. There are several great microbreweries in Maryland so this is completely unacceptable to me. Grade D- Why not an F? Well at least they have something more than that horse piss Bud.
Mascot - well he's a kind of funny looking green guy (not sure exactly what he's supposed to be - no he's not anything like the Phillie Fanatic) and I was disappointed I didn't get to get a picture with him but he is a little odd looking. I'd give him a solid C...
Now onto the really fun stuff... Guinness had a blast. I would estimate about 20% of people in attendance brought their dogs but it wasn't a very busy night. (It was the first night of back to school for the kids in this area.) He liked to meet all the new people and dogs he would cross paths with and as usual he was shower with petting and comments about how darn cute he is. He was incredibly well behaved and sat very well with us while we watched the baseball game. The park had put out large bowls of water in various places for the dogs just in case you didn't bring your own. And the local companies who had promotion booths at the park trying to get your business had brought along dog themed items (water bowls, frisbees etc.) and had dog treats.
And then I made poor Guinness do the Macarena and I literally laughed til I cried!
All in all a good park that we will be happy to go back to!
