May 12, 2025 • 55 mins
Benjamin Hill reflects on his unexpected 20-year journey chronicling minor league baseball's unique culture, business, and fan experiences. His career path from temp jobs to becoming baseball's preeminent voice on minor league culture demonstrates the surprising ways passion can turn into profession.
• Started in 2005 through a recommendation from ball hawk Zach Hample, whom he met on Craigslist
• Created his own beat covering "the business and culture of minor league baseball" when no such position existed
• Witnessed the evolution of team names from traditional to outlandish (El Paso Chihuahuas, Hartford Yard Goats, Rocket City Trash Pandas)
• Conducts regular road trips to document minor league ballparks, developing his "designated eater" concept after being diagnosed with celiac disease
• Shares nostalgic memories of defunct teams like the Bakersfield Blaze and Jamestown Jammers
• Uses baseball as a "contextualizer" to explore cities across America that might otherwise be overlooked
• Observed the evolution of ballpark food from basic concessions to creative regional specialties
• Collects minor league t-shirts for his four-year-old son with plans to eventually make them into a quilt
You can find Ben Hill on Twitter/X @Ben's Biz, Instagram @TheBen'sBiz, through his newsletter "The Baseball Traveler," and on the "Before the Show" podcast.
Make sure to follow the Dad Hat Chronicles: https://linktr.ee/TheDadHatChronicles
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
and people, so it's new to me.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
I'm going to send you this link, by the way, just so
that way you'll have it Val, soforever it'll be you yeah.
Speaker 3 (00:09):
I mean literally.
I feel like there's a couple ofpeople who inspire me and I
have to say it's you and AndrewZimmern.
You guys are like I don't know,chef Andrew Zimmern.
He inspires me through like thefood, but like when I read your
stuff and English was my worstEnglish in history, I hate
spelling, I hate big words, butwhen I read your stuff I know
(00:32):
what it means and it helps mebecome better.
When I, when I speak, I feel myheart.
Speaker 1 (00:39):
Well, yeah, I'm glad to hear that and I think you're
doing great work yourself.
I mean, you got a lot ofpassion and commitment and just
positive energy and it seems tobe going well.
Speaker 3 (00:51):
Thanks.
Speaker 2 (00:54):
You feel better, now I do.
Speaker 3 (00:56):
I just can't believe that, like I'm talking to
Benjamin Hill, like I'm alwaystalking about Benjamin Hill, and
now I'm talking to, like, whata shift she's not kidding about
that, yeah, I mean.
Speaker 1 (01:10):
Hey, it's good for my ego.
I spend most of the day beinglike, oh, I'm still doing this
and you know, in a largercompany structure that doesn't
really care that much what I do,so it's nice to it's nice to be
reminded that you do make animpact on a lot of us.
Speaker 2 (01:26):
My friend, you do, you do, just so you know, All
right, all right, all right.
Well, welcome everybody to yetanother episode of the Data
Chronicles.
My name is Ed With me.
I got my good friend, myco-host, val Stadium Food Girl.
(01:47):
What's going on, my girl?
Speaker 3 (01:49):
I'm so excited right now.
Speaker 2 (01:54):
You guys have to.
This is too funny.
I'm going to put this on thevideo because this is good,
because she is geeking out rightnow over our guest, and you
know, our guest today is the oneand only Ben Hill.
How are you doing today, myfriend?
Speaker 1 (02:10):
Doing all right, you know, gearing up for another
season, as one does in March,that's, you know, we're in the
rhythms of baseball here.
I love it.
Speaker 2 (02:17):
I love it and actually at the time of this
recording, which is the 3rd ofMarch, we were just starting
discussion that where the AAAchampionship is going to take
place.
So we'll tell you a littlestory about that later, how I
was supposed to be there andnever went because of Hurricane
Helene.
So thanks, hurricane Helene forthat.
Speaker 3 (02:36):
And how I met Tyler Mon and it was so cool.
Speaker 1 (02:39):
Exactly, Tyler.
Hopefully he'll be back on thecall in 2025.
But on March 3rd, seeing apress release for a game, a
minor league game, taking placeSeptember 27th, that feels like
it might as well be like adecade from now.
It feels so long away.
But then what happens is theseason starts and all of a
sudden you're like oh, mygoodness, I can't believe we're
(02:59):
already here.
It's that that weird tensionbetween it the season feeling so
long and so short at the sametime um, then you know I want to
get to.
Speaker 2 (03:08):
I want to start the the podcast by just getting to
know a little bit about you, um,and, and then how you got to be
where you're at right.
Um, excuse me, I apologize.
One of the things is like we'vealways wondered, like you know,
how does like one get intoworking for?
Well now, major league, majorLeague Baseball, but Minor
League Baseball, how did you getstarted in that?
Speaker 1 (03:30):
Yeah, I mean I can tell the very short version, the
very long version.
I guess I'll go for somethingin between.
But yeah, whenever I try totell a story it's kind of
convoluted and what it comesdown to is my job, which I've
come to define as covering thebusiness and culture of minor
league baseball.
Is not something that everexisted before I started doing
(03:51):
it and nor did I have somemaster plan going in to create
that.
Yeah, I graduated from collegewith a communications degree,
went to the University ofPittsburgh, didn't really know
what I was doing with my life,worked in education for a number
of years.
Through a convoluted set ofcircumstances which is another
(04:12):
story I got an opportunity tomove to New York.
Then I was in my 20s, trying tofigure out what to do in New
York, kept doing education for awhile, started temping after I
decided I didn't want to work ineducation.
So, long story short, I'm a guyin my mid-20s just trying to
find something that'll stick,trying to justify my existence,
trying to get by in New YorkCity.
(04:33):
So I was saying yes to anyopportunity that came my way and
I was working a lot of tempjobs, random one-off gigs and I
got a call from a friend of minesaying hey, I'm writing game
recaps for a new minor leaguebaseball website.
They need more people.
You seem like you could be agood writer.
I know you love baseball, so doyou want to do it?
(04:54):
And so I just said sure.
And they just hired me on thespot because there had never
been a website before that wascovering just minor league
baseball.
No one really knew what theywere doing.
I had my friend'srecommendation who side note,
that friend was Zach Hample, whoI'd met on Craigslist you know
(05:14):
kind of pre-social media erabecause he posted looking for
someone to play baseball with.
I didn't, he didn't put hisname on that post, I didn't know
who it was, but turned out tobe Zach Hample.
So that's a weird kind of sidenote with my whole job is that I
literally got this job in 2005through a recommendation from,
(05:34):
you know famous ball hawk ZachCampbell, who I had met on
Craigslist.
I mean, that's really how I gotmy job.
But yeah, I thought I'd just doit for a couple of months and
the season would end and they'dsend us home.
But they didn't send us home.
Then I started coming in duringthe day because I didn't
understand why we were workingat night with no games.
Then I was the only writerduring the day and I started
(05:56):
getting assigned stories where Istarted to learn a bit more
about the other side of minorleague baseball, like new team
names and that kind of stuff.
And then the next season I waslike the daytime game recap
writer and I got asked to writea promo column.
And that's where it all started, really.
I got to write a weekly columnof like 10 things happening in
minor league baseball and I justwas immediately drawn to it
(06:19):
because there were teams aredoing so many ridiculous things.
As a writer instead of justwriting game recaps, which don't
allow for much flair humor, Icould make jokes about what was
going on pop culture references,that kind of thing.
And then I learned that theteams were reading what I was
doing because, unbeknownst to me, who was just trying to get a
(06:39):
paycheck and work some jokesinto my writing?
Um, no one had ever really donewhat I was doing like following
, covering what teams are doingin real time.
So people in the industrystarted to read it because they
wanted to know what other teamswere doing, you know, throughout
the season and then the sort ofthe interest of the industry
kind of gave me I definitelywouldn't say clout, but a little
(07:01):
momentum or leverage, as I keptgoing, knowing that the teams
themselves, you know, liked whatI was doing.
So then it was kind of morejustified.
So I spun my wheels, kept tryingto build it up, start a blog,
you know, still part-time for alot of years, finally got
full-time around the age of 30.
And then after that I was like,well, this is okay, this is
(07:21):
actually going to be my job.
I should try to visit theseplaces, because I can't be this
expert on a nationwide industrywithout having been to these
places.
And so I started doing roadtrips in 2010.
And then one thing led toanother and I just kept doing
that and kind of establishedthis job as the guy who covers
(07:45):
the business and culture ofminor league baseball the fans,
the food, the promotions, thehistory, pretty much everything
but the game itself, even thoughof course I love baseball.
Speaker 2 (07:53):
But I leave the actual game coverage to my
colleagues when you firststarted doing the road trips and
all that was this all on yourdime, like you were just like
I'm gonna go, and then in thevery, very beginning.
Speaker 1 (08:05):
A lot of it was when I was still part time and saying
like I need to make somethinghappen here, because, you know,
I was young compared to how oldI am now.
But I did not feel young at thetime.
You know, I was in my late 20sat this point.
I went through some breakups, Iwas in a pretty precarious
position, so I was just like Ihave to make this happen,
whether it's through thisemployment or something else.
(08:27):
So some of my first trips werejust things I did locally or
local-ish around the New YorkCity area that I just did on my
own.
But the actual trips when I say2010, that's when I was able to
get a little of a road tripbudget, to do it in conjunction
with becoming full-time and, youknow, covering all of minor
(08:48):
league baseball is my beat.
Speaker 3 (08:50):
Obviously, you have been to a lot of cities and I
have not been to a lot of citiesyet.
I just picture them when I'mlistening to.
You know, the podcast and stuffAre there.
Do you have maybe even threecities that you have been to and
you're just like I can't stopthinking about these cities, and
(09:12):
maybe there's cities that Ihaven't been to yet, but then I
now I have that to look forwardto.
Speaker 1 (09:18):
There's so many, it kind of blurs and often I don't
get enough of a chance toexplore a city as I would really
like.
But yeah, I always looked at itas like yeah, I've been living
in New York City now for over 22years, so I'd often go on these
road trips and just be in acity for a day or two and love
it.
But I always looked at it aslike I was flirting with that
(09:40):
other city.
But my long-term relationshipwas always back.
New york city was always likeget home, come on we need to get
a whole right now, yeah, yeah.
So I always looked at it.
That is like little flirtation,so maybe superficial, um, so I
could just name so many that ina small amount of time just made
me think like this place is isawesome.
(10:00):
I mean I think, uh, dur, durhamand the greater Durham era, not
to mention the Durham Bulls,but that seemed like a lot of
culture and art and historyaround there, and not to mention
a ton of baseball and the wayyou can move between urban and
more rural areas in not too mucha time.
It seemed like a real diversityof experience, not just in
terms of the population but interms of the landscape and the
(10:23):
way people live.
I like places like that.
I like the kind of cities thathave a reputation for weirder
people living there.
Eugene is kind of a greatcountercultural city with some
interesting history that I likevisiting places like that, their
(10:43):
history with the hippies of the60s and all the countercultural
protests and drug usage thattook place out there.
El Paso, I thought was greatbecause you know, growing up in
the Northeast I'd never reallyhad a real sense of what like a
border city was like and I wasjust blown away in a way that
(11:05):
almost seems a little naive orchildlike.
I was just like I can't believeit.
That's, that's mexico, rightthere.
That's right there yeah and andit just having that then come to
life, that realization of likethat's what it's like.
I mean, I knew that was what itwas like, but just seeing the
the divide between the twocountries and juarez right there
and one one of the times Ivisited, walking to Mexico and
(11:26):
back just in the span of a night, it was just like a cool thing
to do.
And similarly, vancouver, Imean, if you want to go in the
other direction, I love visitingthat.
What a beautiful city and, youknow, the only city that's out
of the United States and minorleague baseball.
So you know, rare opportunityto use my passport, which I
always enjoy.
But yeah, questions like that Icould just riff going a million
(11:48):
directions, but those are a fewthat came to mind.
Speaker 3 (11:51):
I have two takeaways from that.
One real quick.
El Paso, you chose one of mybest friends as your designated
eater and he said it was one ofthe greatest experiences ever.
And he was like I have aBenjamin Hill t-shirt and I was
like I don't want to talk aboutit, but I don't know.
If you remember him, His nameis Chuck.
Speaker 1 (12:12):
Yeah, yeah, I remember Chuck, and yeah, he's
got a daughter at least onedaughter, I remember.
Speaker 3 (12:18):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (12:19):
Yeah, yeah and yeah, really nice guy.
Speaker 3 (12:21):
An episode that you did with a team and you were
talking about this city.
And now this city is so high upon my bucket list and I don't
know if it's on a lot ofpeople's bucket list, but for me
it's like I'm always looking atflights, specifically the
Wisconsin Timber Rattlers.
I remember an episode that youdid and you were interviewing
(12:43):
the CMO.
I remember an episode that youdid and you were interviewing
the CMO and then you weretalking about I think it was
like you were doing this eitherbefore the game or after the
game you went to downtown and Ithink you were at a cheese curd
shop and I'm not kidding, whenyou were talking about this
cheese curd shop I was just likeI cannot wait because I love
Wisconsin and just the way youwere talking about it.
(13:04):
I was just this stadium andthis city has to be up so high
on my bucket list.
Forget Miami, forget.
I don't want to say New York,but Miami.
Speaker 2 (13:12):
I was just going to say don't do that now, Don't
offend the guy's place.
Speaker 1 (13:18):
No, no, but that's what the minor leagues is all
about.
Like you know, kind of forgetNew York, forget Miami, forget
Los Angeles.
League is all about, like youknow, kind of forget new york,
forget miami, forget los angelesand the small towns and go to
places that you wouldn'tordinarily get to go.
And that's been a big, you knowkind of thesis statement for me
through the years is, um, thatminor league baseball or you
know, not just the minor leaguesbut minor league baseball is is
(13:39):
a great contextualizer to giveyou the motivation to go to
places that you ordinarilywouldn't go.
Like you know, you wouldn'tjust think to go on vacation to
Appleton, wisconsin, but then,once you're there, you know,
just to use, you know, val'sexample.
Once you're there you're like,okay, this is a fun place to be.
Um, you know, I remember I wentto a Harry Houdini Museum there
because Houdini, you know, thegreat magician, lived there for
(14:01):
a while.
Yes, obviously a lot of cheer,a lot of cheese.
You know the great magicianlived there for a while.
Yes, obviously a lot of cheer,a lot of cheese.
You know, really nice littledowntown near a college with.
You know, I love pinball.
I remember playing a pinballbar at a pinball bar in appleton
and so on and so forth is likeliterally every single place has
much to recommend about it.
And you know, I've always kindof I don't want to say offended,
(14:21):
but a lot of times when I'm Itell people my itineraries and
they'll pick up on a spot and belike, oh, good luck there.
Speaker 3 (14:28):
And I'm kind of like, well, I don't have to go live
there and there's people who doyou just got to go visit.
Speaker 1 (14:33):
Yeah, and so why wouldn't I be happy to visit
there and why wouldn't I want tocome away with a positive
impression?
I don't ever want to act blindto what you know, the negative
aspects of a certain area, butdoing this sort of job, it's
about celebrating the positiveand there's positivity about
everywhere and to sound verycorny about it, I just like
people and I like the Americanpeople and I just feel,
(14:56):
everywhere I go, I likeeverybody and I know, yes, I'm
doing a job.
That's easy to be liked and tolike others because it's through
baseball, it's a fun thing butit just helps a lot.
You know when people are onlinetoo much and you know so, tied
up in the division, going on,you know politically and
socially, and not to say that'snot a real thing, but I think,
just going out to live events ofcourse, minor league baseball,
(15:17):
but just live events in generalyou just feel like man, this,
this reality on the ground,doesn't really match in a lot of
cases what we think to be thereality.
Day in and day out, onlylearning about the worst things
and pitting against, pittinggroups against one another.
Speaker 2 (15:31):
I just like to be out in america and feel good about
everybody let me ask you uh, youknow, obviously you, you get to
travel, you get to do all thisfun stuff and all that.
But like my question to you isuh is, obviously you start, you
know the end of the seasonstarts and like you start to
plan out where you're gonna go,and all that, like I mean, that
(15:52):
takes a lot of work.
So, like, what is your, what'syour process on on where you
want to go each year?
Uh, so that way you're like allright.
So here's, here's your, here'sthe minor league systems that
I'm gonna go to this year.
How do you go through all that?
Speaker 1 (16:07):
Yeah, that's a big plan for this week and
especially really startingtomorrow, and kind of have a
planning session with myco-worker, josh, on Wednesday.
And yeah, I'm trying to figurethat out right now.
It is one of the mostfrustrating things I do every
year.
I mean, don't get me wrong,it's in the service, it's
something I greatly enjoy.
(16:27):
It's still frustrating.
It's very frustrating to makethose itineraries, I mean, and
now that I'm older and do my joba little differently than I
used to in certain ways, and nowI have a kid my son just turned
four it's harder to do thingsthe way I used to because I was
single for most of Like when Ifirst started the road trips and
(16:51):
for a lot of years I was forthe most part single and I made
it so much easier just to like,just to not worry about larger
like.
Oh, I can't do it this day, Ican't do it this day.
So between family stuff and,you know, his childcare and then
just home road schedules driveme crazy.
You look at a region that youwant to hit and you think you
(17:12):
have an itinerary and then, like, you just can't quite line up
the home and the road and thesix games.
The six game homestands nowmake that a little more
difficult because you can't likejust kind of mix and match with
three game sets and home androad changing a little bit more.
Yeah, so where I decide to go, Imean there's different
(17:33):
variables every year, but themain thing is, you know, I try
to visit places I haven't beenbefore.
So this year, after a couple ofyears with no new ballparks,
you know we've got four newballparks coming up in 2025.
So my trips will be centeredaround the new ballparks and
then places I can get to in theimmediate or not immediate, but
(17:53):
in the general range of thosenew ballparks.
So probably at least three ofthe trips I do this year will be
based around those fourballparks.
I think one of the trips I canget two new ballparks in, but
whatever, that's how it'll be.
But, um, you know, salt Lake'sa bit of a tough one.
Just that's a pretty isolatedarea as minor league baseball
goes.
But you know, looking to get toSalt Lake, looking to get to
(18:15):
Knoxville, looking to get toSpartanburg and looking to get
to Columbus, georgia, so, um, Iimagine those four will be at
least three trips in and ofthemselves, and then the other
one.
I'll just try to pick a regionthat I haven't been to for a
long time, or if there's someparticular promotion that a team
is doing that I just feel thiscan't miss.
Maybe something like that.
But for a lot of my road tripsit's not about a specific
(18:38):
promotion, it's just aboutcapturing a team at a moment in
time and not so much about likeI have to go when they do this
crazy thing, you know.
So we'll see.
Hopefully in a week's time Ihave a much more concrete, or at
least concrete.
Yeah, cause I need to get thisnailed down so I can just plan
the rest of my life all the wayinto September.
(18:59):
Yeah, cause then little thingscome up People be like.
Oh, there's this concert onAugust 23rd and I'll be like, I
don't know, I just need to havethese trips locked in sooner
than later.
So I'll probably do, and I doless than I used to now for the
reasons I mentioned earlier, butI'll probably do one trip a
month, probably in May, june,july and August, and then maybe
(19:19):
some excuse me Something smallin between.
Yeah, maybe smaller local stuffas.
Speaker 2 (19:27):
Nice.
Speaker 3 (19:28):
That is so great that Salt Lake is probably on your
radar this year, because it'salso on mine.
Speaker 1 (19:34):
Oh nice, nice, Maybe we can cross paths.
Speaker 2 (19:37):
Maybe you'll be a designated eater, you know, if
you do make it I mean you'refree.
Speaker 3 (19:42):
I'd love to be your designated eater and I can tell
you why in just a few sentences,why I would be a great pick.
Speaker 1 (19:50):
Well, I pretty much already know why you'd be a
great pick.
Well, I pretty much alreadyknow why you'd be a great pick.
I've seen your stuff.
I mean I'm just gonna thinkthat's pretty simple yeah, I
mean you know me being older, um, and coming at this from more
of a writing first perspective,like I struggle sometimes with
like the Instagram and thevideos and I'm working on it and
getting a little better.
But, like Val, I see your stuffand I'm like man.
(20:12):
I got to incorporate more ofthat kind of stuff, like uh to
the food stuff, uh, thedesignated eater stuff.
I do Cause it's uh yeah,there's just so much I'm trying
to capture in one night and it'sit's hard to give everything
it's due and sometimes you know,I see stuff you do and I'm like
man.
I wish I had the skill and timeto really dive in a little bit
more, as opposed to just likeone or two 20-second videos of
(20:34):
someone just biting acheeseburger.
Speaker 3 (20:37):
I will send you all the tips.
Speaker 2 (20:39):
Oh, be careful what you wish for.
You'll write a whole book onTaylor.
Honestly, though, she hashelped me a lot into my
development on my YouTubechannel and on and and Instagram
, just because of the tips shehas given me.
Speaker 3 (20:53):
So I'm still waiting, but I will send you all the
tips.
Speaker 1 (20:58):
Yeah, I need, I need some.
It's been ramping up the lastcouple of years and there's been
times now that I'm you know,I'm joined on the road by what
we call an MLB LCC, a livecontent coordinator.
So on certain trips, you knowlike I have a little outside
help and so for video stuff,which is helpful.
But yeah, when it's just me anda phone and 10 other things on
(21:20):
my checklist, it can be hard todo as detailed as I would like
to.
But yeah, having a designatedeater, that's been one of the
great joys of my career.
Just all the people I've metthrough that concept of just
having people eat for me at aminor league baseball game.
Speaker 2 (21:38):
I'm sure that designated eaters they hate it
every step of the way.
Speaker 1 (21:42):
Yeah well, it's kind of like yeah, I mean kind of
like what I was saying when thiscall started.
I'm usually in my own head andfeeling like you know, I don't
know, here I go, is thisworthwhile?
But then designated eaters whoare like this is on my bucket
list and I'm like, what Like?
Because it's hard for me tolook at what I do with the level
of importance that sometimesother people look at it.
(22:04):
So it's good to get myself outof my own head and be like, yeah
, this does have value.
My own head, and be like, yeah,this does have value, because a
crazy thing is that I'm goingto be 20, July will be my 20th
anniversary from when I washired part-time and I just can't
believe I'm still doing this.
It just never seemed like itwould be my whole career.
And now I'm fully in middle ageand in my forties and I'm like
(22:26):
well, no, dude, this is yourcareer.
Speaker 2 (22:28):
Yeah, that's not a part-time job.
This is your full on, this isyour career.
Yeah, that's not a part-timejob.
This is your full-on, this isyour career here.
Speaker 1 (22:34):
Yeah, it took me a long time to really realize that
and accept it.
For so long it just felt likesomething that kind of happened
until the next thing.
And then I realized like no,this is the thing, man.
Speaker 3 (22:44):
And I have to say, like, when I say it's
life-changing, it really, likeyou just said, you don't realize
that it's bucket list thingsfor other people.
But like, for example, okay, sonot to put him on the spot, but
my fiance is not a minor leaguefan, boo, it sucks.
Well, he's learning now.
But because we put on thoseshow before the show podcasts on
(23:07):
these road trips and I know heacts like he's not listening,
but then he'll hear these teamnames and these cities and these
things.
And then then I know he actslike he's not listening, but
then he'll hear these team namesand these cities and these
things.
And then I catch him like I waslooking at plane tickets to the
Iowa Cubs and I'm like, oh, soyou know who the Iowa Cubs are
now, and so it's just.
It is like, even when you thinkyou're not changing lives,
benjamin Hill, you really arechanging lives.
Speaker 2 (23:29):
At the very least, you're affecting them.
Benjamin Hill, you really arechanging.
At the very least, you'reaffecting them.
You're helping them out.
We all listen to the podcastand everything.
You listen to the stories andeverything that you bring.
My question to you is the lastcouple of years, what has been
your most memorable Because Iknow you also follow the changes
of team names and things likethat.
(23:51):
For you, it has has been yourfavorite, like your personal
favorite team name brand thatyou've seen so far.
In like in more recent yearsyeah, more recent years or
actually, you know what Changeit to whenever.
Speaker 1 (24:06):
It's a good one.
There's so many that I'musually just so focused on
covering them I often forget myown opinion on them.
Like it's hard for me to kindof sometimes take a step back
and be like oh, what do I?
Speaker 2 (24:18):
Because you're covering them, but you're also a
fan of the sport.
Speaker 1 (24:22):
Oh yeah, of course I mean that's the thing with all
this.
Even though I don't cover, eventhough I don't get to watch
most baseball when I'm on theroad, you know to watch most
baseball when I'm on the road.
Ironically, when I'm at a minorleague ballpark I don't really
get to watch most baseball.
But yeah, I grew up a justgigantic baseball fan and didn't
really know the minor leaguestoo much, but I liked the
weirder nooks and crannies ofbaseball in general.
(24:43):
So it kind of made sense thatonce this opened up I took it
and ran with it, because I'vealways been just really into the
oddities and absurdities of thegame of baseball.
But for the team names, I mean,yeah, there's been so many good
ones.
I mean, hey, just to name dropEl Paso again.
I remember when they had thelike list of named finalists and
Chihuahuas was one of them.
(25:04):
Right now we don't think twicewhen we hear the name El Paso,
chihuahuas, but 10 years ago, 11years ago, it was part of what
was then sort of a cliche withname the teams is that there'd
be three or four choices andthen one.
That was just too crazy.
The team wouldn't actually do.
And I remember being like, haha, they have Chihuahuas on the
list but they won't really do it.
(25:25):
No one's expecting that.
And then they did it and thatwas kind of like a moment of
like whoa, minor league baseballis going there, minor league
baseball is, like now, unafraidto have a team named the
chihuahuas and of course we talkabout it now and it doesn't
even seem like that big a deal.
But that one was one that madean impression on me and I always
like that, that branding andthe kind of underdog identity.
(25:46):
Hartford yard goats is one Ialways just like you know
aesthetically, just the way itlooks, and I love that ballpark
too in Hartford Dunkin' DonutsPark.
So that's one that definitelyjumped out.
I mean, I think the pinnacle ofsort of that school of minor
league team names is TrashPandas.
Once you do Rocket City, trashPandas that's kind of you know,
(26:08):
hey, they're about space and Ifeel like Trash Pandas was like
the final frontier, like there's.
It's harder to go beyond trashpandas and I think since then
really, we've seen maybe aslight kind of a more
conservative view and team namessince then.
You know, they can still bepretty goofy, but I feel all
those years where it was justlike what are teams going to do
next?
I think it kind of hit theeither the peak or the bottom,
(26:32):
depending on your opinion, ofthat kind of team name you know,
but yeah, it's so.
this year we got what?
Hub city, spartan burgers isnew, columbus clingstones is new
, I thought.
I thought Rome emperors was agreat one, because it it has
like like a kind of serious andheavy feel when you hear the
name Rome Emperors, but then italso has the more lighthearted
(26:55):
minor league penguin branding.
So I thought that was a goodbest of both worlds thing, and
of course I like it when anytime a team brands away from its
parent club name, becausethat's just not very interesting
100% we are.
Speaker 2 (27:10):
I know for sure that I know I'm a fan of like having
no name of a parent club on aminor league baseball team.
And so question then obviously,like you says, like you know,
like we, the pinnacle is trash,pandas, right Trash.
And then you got pandas, like Imean, that's just as far as out
, there, as as it goes.
(27:30):
And and then some you know,last recent like two years,
you've seen a little bit moreseriousness to the actual team
name.
But let me ask you this In youropinion then, does that leave
those quirky names more towardsthe alternate identities that
they do one-offs for every year?
Does that allow for thealternate identities to have its
(27:53):
own space within minor leaguebaseball now?
Speaker 1 (27:56):
I mean, I think you could look at it that way, but I
don't think a team with analready kind of goofier
cartoonish name has beendiscouraged from doing alternate
identities because they'realready kind of wacky, like the
Akron Rubber Ducks.
They're going to be the Rub therubber ducks every day, but
they're still have no problemwith being any number of
alternate identities.
But I do think that, yes, thatif you have a more um,
(28:22):
conservative for lack of abetter word identity than the
alternate identities that aregoofy, then there's a greater
contrast or a way to stand out,at least in the local market, a
little bit more.
But in general, I think ateam's approach to alternate
identities doesn't have too muchto do with what their primary
identity is.
It's just a way to, um, youknow, draw attention to
themselves, create excitementand, of course, sell merchandise
(28:44):
, because, at the end of the day, this is a baseball's, a
business.
So, um, you know, I totallyunderstand when fans don't like
some of these things.
But when they just say like, oh, this is just another money
grab, I'm kind of like, well, Iwould say that the purpose of a
business is to make money, money.
These are not, like you know,501c3 non-profit organizations.
(29:08):
They're not, you know, justthere for, uh, these are full
for profit yeah, so yeah, I feellike go for it.
And you know, just like anythingelse, like the market will
decide.
If you're doing too many ofthem or or they, they, they're
not well received, then you'lldo less, you know.
But as long as fans like them,as long as fans buy the
(29:30):
merchandise, as long as asthere's a good energy in the
ballpark when they do this kindof thing, why?
Speaker 2 (29:35):
not keep doing it?
It certainly doesn't hurtanybody.
Like you said, you're going on20 years doing this.
How have you seen the evolutionof merchandising from when you
started to right now, 2025?
Speaker 1 (29:53):
I mean it's been a lot.
I mean one.
You just we've kind of talkedabout it already with both team
names and alternate identities2005,.
There weren't that many likegoofy team names really.
I mean you had your classicteams, you know, like the Toledo
Mudhens or whatever Mudcats andthings like that, yeah.
(30:16):
Yeah, but when you think of mostof the, when you start rattling
off like the real goofy names.
Those all came about like inthe time that I've been covering
minor league baseball.
You know your Lehigh ValleyIron Pigs and El Paso Chihuahuas
and Pensacola Blue Wahoos andRocket City Trash Pandas and on
and on Hartford Yardgoats, akronRubber Ducks, jacksonville
Jumbo Shrimp.
So that whole kind ofrevolution for lack of a better
word in terms of the teamsreally going out of their way to
(30:38):
establish a distinct identitywhich is a huge part of their
marketing and branding.
That's happened in the twodecades, not to mention the
alternate identities, which wereliterally not a thing when I
started, and so now, in additionto perhaps having a more unique
standalone primary identity,now you have all these other
ways to market yourself throughthe alternate identities as well
(31:01):
.
So none of those things existedat the time.
But you can also make anargument that in certain ways,
minor league baseball wasweirder and wackier then, though
, like 20 years ago, just interms of the day to day
atmosphere, the day-to-daypromotions.
I feel like teams did a lot morelike off-the-cuff, goofy stuff
that now it's a more you knowcontrolled environment and it's
(31:22):
run through mlb and you knowmore approvals are needed and,
um, it's just a bit different inthat regard as well, where it
used to just be like teams wouldjust do the most nonsensical
promos all the time just to getsome attention to themselves,
and it's not as Wild West outthere as it was when I first
(31:43):
started.
I mean, I always tell the storylike the first ballpark I ever
visited I was still part-timewas Altoona because they were
doing Awful Night, and that wasthe kind of energy I was really
attracted to in minor leaguebaseball, just like something so
stupid, like a team just isdoing a promotion where they're
going to make everything quoteas awful as possible.
You know some teams still dothat kind of stuff and I always
(32:05):
celebrate it whenever I canbecause I like that kind of more
.
Anything goes.
Why the heck not kind of energy, in addition to the national
initiatives and largerseason-long campaigns and
everything like that.
Speaker 3 (32:20):
I think there's a place for everything.
Oh yeah, on that same note,like, have you noticed that I've
only been going to minor leaguegames for about 10 years, but I
haven't?
I never started payingattention to the food until I
moved to Las Vegas?
Shout out to Chef Gary for liketeaching me what how great
foods in minor league could be.
Have you noticed this shiftsince you started, from like how
(32:43):
foods used to be to how theyare now?
Speaker 1 (32:46):
Yeah, I mean definitely.
I think well one.
A lot of it has to do withballparks.
You know, in the 90s andthroughout the first part of the
21st century there were a lotof new ballparks and that means
a lot of different things, butnew ballparks often had much
more kitchen space.
So I think you know a lot ofolder ballparks and the cliche
of just a hot dog, hamburger,pretzels, popcorn and a beer.
(33:08):
Some of that might have beendue to lack of creativity, but a
lot of it was because these oldballparks if you're playing in
some restrictive ballpark builtin 1936, you're only going to
have so much space to make food.
So I think the sort of wave ofnew ballparks created the
opportunity to be more creativein the kitchen.
And then teams, especially withthe rise of the internet and
(33:30):
social media, saw the value ingetting more creative with their
food.
Um, even if it might not sell aton.
The more creative items notmight not sell a ton in the
ballpark.
They were really good marketingto be like you can, um, you
know, get this crazy food itemat this place or that place.
Um, and then, as we saw, likeum, talking about alternate
(33:51):
identities obviously the biggestsub genre of minor league teams
.
Alternate identities are foodrelated alternate identities and
so that's because, you know,teams like to celebrate what's
unique about their market, abouttheir region, and food is
always going to be in theconversation when it comes to
what makes the place unique.
So I think teams have more andmore leaned into making sure
(34:14):
they have at their ballparkthings that are unique or local
to their area.
I think one aspect of the foodthat kind of peaked and we don't
see as much is just the crazylarge you know go viral on
social media like it's like, youknow, the quadruple bypass
burger.
It's four patties and cheeseand egg and topped with a large
(34:35):
order of fries I feel like thatstuff kind of peaked maybe 10 or
12 years ago because it wouldgo viral.
But then, yeah, then it'd beexpensive and fans wouldn't
really buy it too much and thatdidn't have a local or regional
tie, so it kind of was like okaywhen you go to these ballparks,
(34:58):
do you collect something foryourself?
I don't.
I get asked that a lot.
If I had known when I startedthis that I would be doing it
this long, I would have liked tohave come up with something
small.
Um, but like I was sayingearlier, by the time I kind of
figured out that this wasactually my job.
I was so deep into it I hadn'treally thought that much ahead.
Also, I live in New York cityand especially now you're very
(35:20):
restricted.
Yeah, I'm in a one bedroomapartment with my wife and
four-year-old and we're tryingto figure out our next move, but
it's tough to like add too muchto to it.
So I have packed in my closetsI need to go through it An
amazing array of just minorleague memorabilia, but almost
none of it did I seek out.
(35:40):
You know it's more just like ateam that gave this to me or it
just happened to be somethingtucked in my notebook at the end
of the night, and so I lovehaving all this random stuff.
But you know, I have drawers ofbobbleheads I need to either
get rid of or find a space for.
I just I'm in max capacity.
But to answer your question,since I had a kid my son Harry
(36:01):
now when I go to a ballpark Ibuy him a T-shirt and that's
been fun for me.
That's the first time in mycareer that I've had kind of
like a that kind of thing, andso sometimes they don't have it
in his size and obviously he'salways growing.
But um, I've gotten him a bunchof t-shirts over the last
several years and you know wekeep them and the plan is to
make him into a quilt oh, that'scool I hope Jill takes the lead
(36:23):
on that.
That's the kind of thing I thinkis a good idea and then make no
proactive effort to actuallywhatsoever yeah, but um, I love
that idea.
So he's and you know I takepride just dropping him off at
school, just kind of like yep,he's the only kid here in this
brooklyn 3k program with a fortwayne tin cap shirt obviously
you've been doing it for, like Isaid, we've been talking about
it.
Speaker 2 (36:42):
You, you know, your tenure with baseball is have you
what's the one memorable teamthat's no longer around?
That you were like when youwent and it's like it's no
longer around.
Speaker 1 (36:54):
Quite a lot and I miss most of them.
One I only went to once, but Iloved it, was Bakersfield blaze.
It's because from a realisticum, you know, amenity, uh,
stadium facility amenitystandpoint, it really shouldn't
have been hosting minor leaguebaseball as long as it did.
(37:15):
Um, but I've always liked thosekind of places.
The old kind of beat up placesmight not have big crowds but to
me the fans who show up atthose places are always like the
weirdos which I mean in thebest way.
As a writer I'm always lookingfor like interesting people.
And so I think about thatballpark.
And you know, literally havinga sun delay in the beginning of
(37:37):
the game because the ballparkwas built facing the sun, being
in the press box with like fullyou know shades that were pulled
all the way down because peoplecouldn't even look out onto the
field.
You know, I just love that kindof goofy stuff.
And you know, was it their uhprogram vendor, this guy named
froggy, with this real deepvoice selling programs, um, and
(37:58):
on and on.
Just I like the more ramshackleplaces, that.
And then those are the placesthat once they're gone you're
like it's never coming back, atleast not at this ballpark.
You know, at least affiliatedball yeah, um so places like
that, places like jamestown, youknow kind of same thing.
Jammers yeah, the jammers justa uh, you know a little ballpark
(38:18):
, 80 years old in a small newyork town.
I always felt sad sayinggoodbye to, saying hello and
goodbye to places like that,knowing that that they wouldn't
be part of the landscape anymore.
Speaker 2 (38:31):
I still got my Jamestown Jammers dad hat.
Speaker 1 (38:34):
Yeah, amazing logo.
Speaker 2 (38:35):
Absolutely amazing.
Such a good logo.
You would like that oneactually.
Speaker 3 (38:38):
Val Speaking of.
I'm still mourning, though, Iguess, like loss or
disappearance of the baby cakes.
That was one I will foreverregret not being able to go to.
Yeah, that was an interestingone.
Speaker 1 (38:55):
New Orleans is a huge market but a tough minor league
baseball market.
Think of everything New Orleanshas going on.
It's tough for a minor leagueteam to stand out within that,
especially when your ballpark isin a neighboring suburb not
near any of the typical NewOrleans action.
So I only got to go there onceand they were still the Zephyrs
when I went.
I never got to go to a game inthe short-lived baby cakes era.
Speaker 2 (39:21):
Just because, like you said, you have so many teams
that you have to go visit.
Speaker 3 (39:25):
Yeah, yeah.
Yeah, that's another thing, isteams are like when are you
coming back?
Speaker 1 (39:29):
again, or I'll be emailing a team about something.
They're like hey, you shouldcome by this year.
And then I'm like, yeah, you'reright, it's only been eight
years, but also probably not,because there's just so many
other places to get to.
It's wild.
There's certain teams that it'sbeen over a decade now and I'm
just I can't believe I've beendoing it long enough to have
(39:49):
teams that I've gone a decadewithout visiting.
Speaker 3 (39:52):
When you are visiting other stadiums and you've got
the designated eaters, is therelike do you choose the foods?
Is it based off likebestsellers, new items, that
viral item, or do you kind ofjust let like the fans choose?
Speaker 1 (40:12):
And it's something that they've recommended,
especially if it's been at aballpark you've never been to,
I'd say.
Like every aspect of my job,it's a case by case basis.
You know, pretty much all thesedifferent elements that I do
with these ballpark visits areones I kind of made up and then
had to figure out, and you knowteams are different from place
to place.
So generally, I'll just tell ateam like and I'll have a
designated eater, someone whowill sample the food.
(40:33):
And some teams are well awareof the concept and they're
psyched for it, and they, youknow, give us an empty suite and
have the food and beverageperson like bring a gigantic
platter.
Sometimes teams are just kindof like, yeah, cool, have fun,
and then me and the designatedeater just wander around, and
you know I never want to actlike a diva.
There's sometimes, though, whenI'm waiting in line with my
(40:55):
designated eater being likereally, you're going to make
Ben's business.
Designated eater, late in line,come on, but yeah, late in line,
come on, um, but uh, yeah.
So it really runs the gamutfrom just us on our own to like
vip food spread, um, but what?
No matter what the context is,it's always like I want to
(41:17):
highlight what's the most uniqueand or regional, and so if the
designated eater is familiarwith the place, I'm very open to
their feedback.
But if a designated eater justfamiliar with the place, I'm
very open to their feedback.
But if a designated eater justsays, oh, I like ketchup.
You know hot dog with ketchupand that's it, it's just like no
, then you're not really goingto be the designated eater.
Speaker 2 (41:36):
We need someone to highlight something unique.
Speaker 1 (41:38):
You need to try the uniqueness of the place.
Yeah, so, and almost every team.
Obviously, some are much betterthan others, but almost every
team has at least two or threeitems that are, like, unique to
them or, if not totally uniqueto them, different enough that
you can highlight it.
Um so, that but that's, that'sthe, that's the underlying
premise, no matter how it shakesout, is what's the most unique
(42:02):
thing we can get.
And get two or three things,that's really it.
You know, sometimes it's more,but I don't have the bandwidth
to highlight 11 things on a menuin the course of everything
else going on.
Speaker 2 (42:14):
Yeah, you got you gotta.
You gotta be specific aboutwhat you need and what you want
you know to highlight withinyour article and everything.
Speaker 3 (42:21):
Whenever you go to hub.
As a Rangers fan I'm so excitedfor the hub city spartan
burgers I'm so I haven't doneresearch but I cannot wait to
see, like I I'm assuming they'regonna have specialty burgers,
different kinds of uniqueburgers.
I'm so excited to see that andhopefully you know like they do
have that and so I can imaginedefinitely have burgers.
Speaker 1 (42:40):
Yeah, I mean that talking you have at this point.
Like I mean, if you don't yeah,I mean I remember talking to
their gm, uh, tyson jeffers.
He was previously in hudsonvalley and he was just saying
that like you know, pressure'son, like you can't pick this
name and call yourself thespartan burgers and not have
like the best ball, bestballpark burger around.
So we'll see if they live up toit.
(43:01):
What, what?
Speaker 2 (43:01):
did I tell you?
Speaker 3 (43:02):
There you go.
Speaker 2 (43:04):
I told you she showed up.
So, Ben, is there anything thatwe haven't asked you at all?
I mean, I know we ask you a lotof questions, I mean not any
one specific thing I can thinkof.
I mean, obviously there'splenty of things that we can
talk about.
Speaker 1 (43:20):
We could be here for two hours, yeah, a million
things you could theoreticallytalk about, but it seems like
we've hit a lot.
Speaker 2 (43:27):
I love it.
When you do go to Spartanburger, let me know I am here in
the Durham.
You know Raleigh Durham area.
So I mean you.
You mentioned Durham and I'mlike that's right, let's go.
Speaker 1 (43:36):
Yeah, it was great.
It was great to get.
I was in Durham last year forthe first time in years and what
a beautiful ballpark.
I mean I knew that already, butjust to have that reinforced
and be back after a long absencelike such a gorgeous ballpark.
Speaker 2 (43:51):
Are you ready, my friend?
Sure, all right.
So this one is the one that weask everybody.
Okay, so you're not working,you're going.
You're in New York, you'regoing to go to a ballpark.
Speaker 1 (44:07):
What is your food?
Speaker 3 (44:08):
and your drink of choice.
Speaker 1 (44:09):
Well, again, for me the whole reason the designated
eater concept started wasbecause I got diagnosed with
celiac disease.
So a lot of my own ballparkoptions are lesser.
But even if I hadn't beendiagnosed, nachos are going to
be way up there anyway, and nowthey're even more elevated in my
ballpark cuisine choices.
So I would say good ballparknachos, I mean ones with more
(44:32):
fresh ingredients.
You know the real bottom of thebarrel nachos have their place.
But it's a little frustratingwhen you get nachos and it's
just like a dollop of cheese anda little plastic container.
But uh, no, good nachos forsure.
Of course I appreciate whenteams have a you know,
gluten-free hamburger, hot dogbuns, um drink.
(44:54):
You know, if I'm just there asa fan, yeah, like like a drink.
You know, sometimes I'm atthese ballparks and I'm like I
just want to sit in the standsand drink and I never can on
these road trips.
So because you're representing,you know, minor league baseball
at that point yeah yeah, so youknow, I don't, I can't really do
many beers but a cider or aseltzer.
(45:14):
So yeah, give me a nachos and aseltzer.
Speaker 2 (45:16):
Let's go with that I like it uh last song that you,
that you downloaded.
Speaker 1 (45:25):
Last song that you downloaded.
I don't really download manysongs.
I buy a lot of records.
I can't remember what Idownloaded.
Wait, you say you buy recordsnow.
Oh, constantly, yeah, I havelike many, many.
Speaker 2 (45:40):
What's the last one you purchased?
Speaker 1 (45:43):
The last one I purchased was actually my son
Harry has gotten into likeBeethoven and classical music,
so I've got them, just like at abook sale in a church I got
them a Beethoven, LeonardBernstein, directing Beethoven's
seventh symphony.
Seventh symphony, I believe,was actually the last record I
bought.
But yeah, I buy a lot ofrecords.
(46:04):
I used to buy, go to a lot ofrecord stores on my road trips
but I ended up with so manyrecords that I just You're like
you're going to have to take abreak.
Yeah, so I could go on and onabout music.
I don't know I was listening toa Bismarck-y record I got just
yesterday From Bismarck Markieto Beethoven.
(46:26):
So wide range, million otherthings.
Yeah, I've got too many records, too many CDs.
I got a six disc changer in mySubaru, oh my God, yeah.
Speaker 2 (46:37):
I'm a physical media guy.
I remember I used to have oneand then they broke into my car
and they stole it.
I'm like, oh, those were thedays with my cd book.
You know, opening up the cdbook and going through that, oh
yeah case logic yes, exactly.
Have you ever re-gifted a gift?
Speaker 1 (46:57):
ah, yeah I'm sure I have, I mean, and some of it,
some of it is definitely likeyou know, I'm at a minor league
ballpark and a team's just like,hey, here, have a hat, and I'm
like, cool, thanks, but I don'tneed another hat, and then I
give it to a friend or a familymember who might.
I do a lot of regifting ofbaseball things in particular.
Speaker 2 (47:21):
Yeah, you're not going to.
I'm not regifting my hats.
I tell you that I have wellover 600 of them and I'm, nope,
not getting rid of the hats.
Speaker 1 (47:30):
Yeah, I've met a lot of people like you through this
job.
The hat obsessives.
Speaker 2 (47:35):
You met Patrick Larson, one of our good friends?
Speaker 1 (47:38):
Yeah, Patrick Larson, Eric the Peanut Guy show.
Before the show co-host TylerMaughanler, mon, all these guys
for me.
I'm someone who just usuallyhas like five or six hats and
I'll just choose one to wear.
I'll just choose one to wearuntil it just gets too beat up
to wear, and then I'll just lookin the closet whatever small
stack I have and pick anotherone uh, all right.
Speaker 2 (47:59):
What was your favorite tv show growing up?
Speaker 1 (48:03):
I mean changed all the time.
I guess.
Uh, I mean the all-timer.
I was in fifth grade when thesimpsons debuted, so I mean I
have to go with that.
Um, simpsons from fifth gradeall the way through college was
just a holy grail show.
Obsessed about it so yeah, whynot?
Simpsons, I mean isotopes,right yeah.
And there you.
(48:23):
Simpsons, I mean isotopes,right yeah.
And there you go, the Mileytime with the isotopes.
Speaker 2 (48:27):
Yeah, there, it is All right If you could be any
fictional character in a movieor TV show who would it be?
Speaker 1 (48:41):
Oh man.
Speaker 3 (48:43):
Fictional character movie or TV show.
Speaker 1 (48:50):
Hmm fictional character movie or tv show,
maybe ishmael and moby dick, soI could get a front row seat as
captain ahab goes after thewhite whale.
That would be cool.
Speaker 2 (48:58):
I liked it I like this scary at the same time, but
I like it.
Speaker 1 (49:03):
That's scary, it's scary, but you know, if you're
gonna answer a question likethat, you might as well go in
for some adventure.
I've been real into nauticaltales in general recently and
real-life sailing stories.
I don't know anything aboutboats, but I love the sailing
tales.
They're really interesting.
Speaker 2 (49:21):
All right, on that same note of you characters, if
you could be in any moviebesides what we did.
Speaker 3 (49:39):
Who would?
What would it be in a movie?
Speaker 1 (49:45):
man.
Why is that so hard for me toanswer?
I guess I never really thoughtabout me being in a movie.
Then all my favorite movies, Ithink of the characters and I'm
like I really wouldn't want tobe in that situation, Like I
don't really want to be withJack Nicholson at the overlook
hotel.
Speaker 3 (49:56):
You know, that kind of thing.
Such a good movie, though, yeah.
Speaker 1 (50:02):
But those are kind of my favorites.
Speaker 3 (50:05):
I don't know.
Speaker 1 (50:10):
I'd like to hang out with.
Speaker 2 (50:11):
Method man and Red man in how High, wow, that's an
old school right there.
Speaker 1 (50:16):
That was my favorite movie for a number of years.
Still an all-time comedy,overlooked for sure.
Speaker 2 (50:22):
Yeah, we're around the same age you and me, and
yeah, good movie.
All right, a couple more here,for sure.
Yeah, we're around the same ageyou and me, and yeah, Good
movie, All right, a couple morehere, and then I'll let you go.
If you could work at a zoo,okay, which animal would you
want to work with?
Hmm?
Speaker 1 (50:40):
I don't know.
Part of me wants to say a realsmart animal, but then I'd
probably start to feel bad thatit was in captivity.
Yeah, so maybe a real smartanimal, but then I'd probably
start to feel bad that it was incaptivity.
So maybe a real interesting onelike a platypus?
Really, get to know a platypus,because those are weird,
they're like eggs, they'remammals, they're all strange.
Speaker 3 (50:54):
I'd like to learn about something that's very true
.
Speaker 1 (50:57):
I'd like to learn about something that seems
almost alien.
You know, give me a sense ofgreater sense of appreciation
for the animal kingdom.
Speaker 2 (51:11):
Right, a platypus.
I like it All right, last one.
Speaker 1 (51:13):
Where was it?
There it is.
What was your first job?
First job, first real job, waswashing dishes at a retirement
home.
Did that for from sophomoreyear and then all the way
through, like summer breaks andholiday breaks and my first
couple years of college.
I loved it.
It was called utility.
We were washing dishes, but youknow, we were back back in
workers in the kitchen withutility crew.
(51:35):
We're cool blue uniforms.
Yeah, I loved it.
I still sometimes think thatI'd like to have a job like that
again, just like five hours aweek, just to like do it dude,
dude work.
That just like starts at acertain time, ends at a certain
time and it's all done with it.
Yeah, I kind of romanticize it.
I kind of liked it.
Speaker 2 (51:56):
But thank you so much for doing this.
This is a lot of fun.
Where can people find you?
On the social.
See, we're going to push you todo more social now.
Speaker 1 (52:08):
Maybe I'll get the blue sky eventually.
I'm still on Twitter or X atBen's Biz, instagram, the Ben's
Biz.
I've got my newsletter, theBaseball Traveler, which used to
be the Ben's Biz Beat.
Articles on MLBcom, milbcom theweekly show before the show
podcast.
I can find you pretty muchanywhere.
I articles on mlbcom, milbcomthe weekly show before the show
podcast.
Speaker 2 (52:25):
So it's kind of all we can find you pretty much
anywhere.
Speaker 3 (52:28):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (52:28):
I'm around.
If you Google my name and minorleague baseball or Ben's base
and minor league baseball orwhatever, you'll find something
or other.
Often I'm writing a story andI'm trying to find some
information to verify something,and then I find my own stuff
and I'm like I've been doingthis too long.
I just have to use myself as asource now.
Speaker 2 (52:50):
There you go.
We got a couple of people thatcan help you out with that, so
you know, give us a call, we'lllet you know.
All right Sounds good.
All right, man.
Thank you so much for doingthis Again and for everybody.
Make sure that you guys aregoing on YouTube channels for
both Val and I, our channels.
We are actually.
You're still on Blue Sky,aren't you, Val?
(53:11):
Or did you close that one andyou didn't do it?
It's not really picking up, butwe are on Twitter.
We are on TikTok and on threadsas well, so make sure you guys
catch us there.
We will see you guys next week.
Until then, support the minorleagues.
and people, so it's new to me.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
I'm going to send you this link, by the way, just so
that way you'll have it Val, soforever it'll be you yeah.
Speaker 3 (00:09):
I mean literally.
I feel like there's a couple ofpeople who inspire me and I
have to say it's you and AndrewZimmern.
You guys are like I don't know,chef Andrew Zimmern.
He inspires me through like thefood, but like when I read your
stuff and English was my worstEnglish in history, I hate
spelling, I hate big words, butwhen I read your stuff I know
(00:32):
what it means and it helps mebecome better.
When I, when I speak, I feel myheart.
Speaker 1 (00:39):
Well, yeah, I'm glad to hear that and I think you're
doing great work yourself.
I mean, you got a lot ofpassion and commitment and just
positive energy and it seems tobe going well.
Speaker 3 (00:51):
Thanks.
Speaker 2 (00:54):
You feel better, now I do.
Speaker 3 (00:56):
I just can't believe that, like I'm talking to
Benjamin Hill, like I'm alwaystalking about Benjamin Hill, and
now I'm talking to, like, whata shift she's not kidding about
that, yeah, I mean.
Speaker 1 (01:10):
Hey, it's good for my ego.
I spend most of the day beinglike, oh, I'm still doing this
and you know, in a largercompany structure that doesn't
really care that much what I do,so it's nice to it's nice to be
reminded that you do make animpact on a lot of us.
Speaker 2 (01:26):
My friend, you do, you do, just so you know, All
right, all right, all right.
Well, welcome everybody to yetanother episode of the Data
Chronicles.
My name is Ed With me.
I got my good friend, myco-host, val Stadium Food Girl.
(01:47):
What's going on, my girl?
Speaker 3 (01:49):
I'm so excited right now.
Speaker 2 (01:54):
You guys have to.
This is too funny.
I'm going to put this on thevideo because this is good,
because she is geeking out rightnow over our guest, and you
know, our guest today is the oneand only Ben Hill.
How are you doing today, myfriend?
Speaker 1 (02:10):
Doing all right, you know, gearing up for another
season, as one does in March,that's, you know, we're in the
rhythms of baseball here.
I love it.
Speaker 2 (02:17):
I love it and actually at the time of this
recording, which is the 3rd ofMarch, we were just starting
discussion that where the AAAchampionship is going to take
place.
So we'll tell you a littlestory about that later, how I
was supposed to be there andnever went because of Hurricane
Helene.
So thanks, hurricane Helene forthat.
Speaker 3 (02:36):
And how I met Tyler Mon and it was so cool.
Speaker 1 (02:39):
Exactly, Tyler.
Hopefully he'll be back on thecall in 2025.
But on March 3rd, seeing apress release for a game, a
minor league game, taking placeSeptember 27th, that feels like
it might as well be like adecade from now.
It feels so long away.
But then what happens is theseason starts and all of a
sudden you're like oh, mygoodness, I can't believe we're
(02:59):
already here.
It's that that weird tensionbetween it the season feeling so
long and so short at the sametime um, then you know I want to
get to.
Speaker 2 (03:08):
I want to start the the podcast by just getting to
know a little bit about you, um,and, and then how you got to be
where you're at right.
Um, excuse me, I apologize.
One of the things is like we'vealways wondered, like you know,
how does like one get intoworking for?
Well now, major league, majorLeague Baseball, but Minor
League Baseball, how did you getstarted in that?
Speaker 1 (03:30):
Yeah, I mean I can tell the very short version, the
very long version.
I guess I'll go for somethingin between.
But yeah, whenever I try totell a story it's kind of
convoluted and what it comesdown to is my job, which I've
come to define as covering thebusiness and culture of minor
league baseball.
Is not something that everexisted before I started doing
(03:51):
it and nor did I have somemaster plan going in to create
that.
Yeah, I graduated from collegewith a communications degree,
went to the University ofPittsburgh, didn't really know
what I was doing with my life,worked in education for a number
of years.
Through a convoluted set ofcircumstances which is another
(04:12):
story I got an opportunity tomove to New York.
Then I was in my 20s, trying tofigure out what to do in New
York, kept doing education for awhile, started temping after I
decided I didn't want to work ineducation.
So, long story short, I'm a guyin my mid-20s just trying to
find something that'll stick,trying to justify my existence,
trying to get by in New YorkCity.
(04:33):
So I was saying yes to anyopportunity that came my way and
I was working a lot of tempjobs, random one-off gigs and I
got a call from a friend of minesaying hey, I'm writing game
recaps for a new minor leaguebaseball website.
They need more people.
You seem like you could be agood writer.
I know you love baseball, so doyou want to do it?
(04:54):
And so I just said sure.
And they just hired me on thespot because there had never
been a website before that wascovering just minor league
baseball.
No one really knew what theywere doing.
I had my friend'srecommendation who side note,
that friend was Zach Hample, whoI'd met on Craigslist you know
(05:14):
kind of pre-social media erabecause he posted looking for
someone to play baseball with.
I didn't, he didn't put hisname on that post, I didn't know
who it was, but turned out tobe Zach Hample.
So that's a weird kind of sidenote with my whole job is that I
literally got this job in 2005through a recommendation from,
(05:34):
you know famous ball hawk ZachCampbell, who I had met on
Craigslist.
I mean, that's really how I gotmy job.
But yeah, I thought I'd just doit for a couple of months and
the season would end and they'dsend us home.
But they didn't send us home.
Then I started coming in duringthe day because I didn't
understand why we were workingat night with no games.
Then I was the only writerduring the day and I started
(05:56):
getting assigned stories where Istarted to learn a bit more
about the other side of minorleague baseball, like new team
names and that kind of stuff.
And then the next season I waslike the daytime game recap
writer and I got asked to writea promo column.
And that's where it all started, really.
I got to write a weekly columnof like 10 things happening in
minor league baseball and I justwas immediately drawn to it
(06:19):
because there were teams aredoing so many ridiculous things.
As a writer instead of justwriting game recaps, which don't
allow for much flair humor, Icould make jokes about what was
going on pop culture references,that kind of thing.
And then I learned that theteams were reading what I was
doing because, unbeknownst to me, who was just trying to get a
(06:39):
paycheck and work some jokesinto my writing?
Um, no one had ever really donewhat I was doing like following
, covering what teams are doingin real time.
So people in the industrystarted to read it because they
wanted to know what other teamswere doing, you know, throughout
the season and then the sort ofthe interest of the industry
kind of gave me I definitelywouldn't say clout, but a little
(07:01):
momentum or leverage, as I keptgoing, knowing that the teams
themselves, you know, liked whatI was doing.
So then it was kind of morejustified.
So I spun my wheels, kept tryingto build it up, start a blog,
you know, still part-time for alot of years, finally got
full-time around the age of 30.
And then after that I was like,well, this is okay, this is
(07:21):
actually going to be my job.
I should try to visit theseplaces, because I can't be this
expert on a nationwide industrywithout having been to these
places.
And so I started doing roadtrips in 2010.
And then one thing led toanother and I just kept doing
that and kind of establishedthis job as the guy who covers
(07:45):
the business and culture ofminor league baseball the fans,
the food, the promotions, thehistory, pretty much everything
but the game itself, even thoughof course I love baseball.
Speaker 2 (07:53):
But I leave the actual game coverage to my
colleagues when you firststarted doing the road trips and
all that was this all on yourdime, like you were just like
I'm gonna go, and then in thevery, very beginning.
Speaker 1 (08:05):
A lot of it was when I was still part time and saying
like I need to make somethinghappen here, because, you know,
I was young compared to how oldI am now.
But I did not feel young at thetime.
You know, I was in my late 20sat this point.
I went through some breakups, Iwas in a pretty precarious
position, so I was just like Ihave to make this happen,
whether it's through thisemployment or something else.
(08:27):
So some of my first trips werejust things I did locally or
local-ish around the New YorkCity area that I just did on my
own.
But the actual trips when I say2010, that's when I was able to
get a little of a road tripbudget, to do it in conjunction
with becoming full-time and, youknow, covering all of minor
(08:48):
league baseball is my beat.
Speaker 3 (08:50):
Obviously, you have been to a lot of cities and I
have not been to a lot of citiesyet.
I just picture them when I'mlistening to.
You know, the podcast and stuffAre there.
Do you have maybe even threecities that you have been to and
you're just like I can't stopthinking about these cities, and
(09:12):
maybe there's cities that Ihaven't been to yet, but then I
now I have that to look forwardto.
Speaker 1 (09:18):
There's so many, it kind of blurs and often I don't
get enough of a chance toexplore a city as I would really
like.
But yeah, I always looked at itas like yeah, I've been living
in New York City now for over 22years, so I'd often go on these
road trips and just be in acity for a day or two and love
it.
But I always looked at it aslike I was flirting with that
(09:40):
other city.
But my long-term relationshipwas always back.
New york city was always likeget home, come on we need to get
a whole right now, yeah, yeah.
So I always looked at it.
That is like little flirtation,so maybe superficial, um, so I
could just name so many that ina small amount of time just made
me think like this place is isawesome.
(10:00):
I mean I think, uh, dur, durhamand the greater Durham era, not
to mention the Durham Bulls,but that seemed like a lot of
culture and art and historyaround there, and not to mention
a ton of baseball and the wayyou can move between urban and
more rural areas in not too mucha time.
It seemed like a real diversityof experience, not just in
terms of the population but interms of the landscape and the
(10:23):
way people live.
I like places like that.
I like the kind of cities thathave a reputation for weirder
people living there.
Eugene is kind of a greatcountercultural city with some
interesting history that I likevisiting places like that, their
(10:43):
history with the hippies of the60s and all the countercultural
protests and drug usage thattook place out there.
El Paso, I thought was greatbecause you know, growing up in
the Northeast I'd never reallyhad a real sense of what like a
border city was like and I wasjust blown away in a way that
(11:05):
almost seems a little naive orchildlike.
I was just like I can't believeit.
That's, that's mexico, rightthere.
That's right there yeah and andit just having that then come to
life, that realization of likethat's what it's like.
I mean, I knew that was what itwas like, but just seeing the
the divide between the twocountries and juarez right there
and one one of the times Ivisited, walking to Mexico and
(11:26):
back just in the span of a night, it was just like a cool thing
to do.
And similarly, vancouver, Imean, if you want to go in the
other direction, I love visitingthat.
What a beautiful city and, youknow, the only city that's out
of the United States and minorleague baseball.
So you know, rare opportunityto use my passport, which I
always enjoy.
But yeah, questions like that Icould just riff going a million
(11:48):
directions, but those are a fewthat came to mind.
Speaker 3 (11:51):
I have two takeaways from that.
One real quick.
El Paso, you chose one of mybest friends as your designated
eater and he said it was one ofthe greatest experiences ever.
And he was like I have aBenjamin Hill t-shirt and I was
like I don't want to talk aboutit, but I don't know.
If you remember him, His nameis Chuck.
Speaker 1 (12:12):
Yeah, yeah, I remember Chuck, and yeah, he's
got a daughter at least onedaughter, I remember.
Speaker 3 (12:18):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (12:19):
Yeah, yeah and yeah, really nice guy.
Speaker 3 (12:21):
An episode that you did with a team and you were
talking about this city.
And now this city is so high upon my bucket list and I don't
know if it's on a lot ofpeople's bucket list, but for me
it's like I'm always looking atflights, specifically the
Wisconsin Timber Rattlers.
I remember an episode that youdid and you were interviewing
(12:43):
the CMO.
I remember an episode that youdid and you were interviewing
the CMO and then you weretalking about I think it was
like you were doing this eitherbefore the game or after the
game you went to downtown and Ithink you were at a cheese curd
shop and I'm not kidding, whenyou were talking about this
cheese curd shop I was just likeI cannot wait because I love
Wisconsin and just the way youwere talking about it.
(13:04):
I was just this stadium andthis city has to be up so high
on my bucket list.
Forget Miami, forget.
I don't want to say New York,but Miami.
Speaker 2 (13:12):
I was just going to say don't do that now, Don't
offend the guy's place.
Speaker 1 (13:18):
No, no, but that's what the minor leagues is all
about.
Like you know, kind of forgetNew York, forget Miami, forget
Los Angeles.
League is all about, like youknow, kind of forget new york,
forget miami, forget los angelesand the small towns and go to
places that you wouldn'tordinarily get to go.
And that's been a big, you knowkind of thesis statement for me
through the years is, um, thatminor league baseball or you
know, not just the minor leaguesbut minor league baseball is is
(13:39):
a great contextualizer to giveyou the motivation to go to
places that you ordinarilywouldn't go.
Like you know, you wouldn'tjust think to go on vacation to
Appleton, wisconsin, but then,once you're there, you know,
just to use, you know, val'sexample.
Once you're there you're like,okay, this is a fun place to be.
Um, you know, I remember I wentto a Harry Houdini Museum there
because Houdini, you know, thegreat magician, lived there for
(14:01):
a while.
Yes, obviously a lot of cheer,a lot of cheese.
You know the great magicianlived there for a while.
Yes, obviously a lot of cheer,a lot of cheese.
You know, really nice littledowntown near a college with.
You know, I love pinball.
I remember playing a pinballbar at a pinball bar in appleton
and so on and so forth is likeliterally every single place has
much to recommend about it.
And you know, I've always kindof I don't want to say offended,
(14:21):
but a lot of times when I'm Itell people my itineraries and
they'll pick up on a spot and belike, oh, good luck there.
Speaker 3 (14:28):
And I'm kind of like, well, I don't have to go live
there and there's people who doyou just got to go visit.
Speaker 1 (14:33):
Yeah, and so why wouldn't I be happy to visit
there and why wouldn't I want tocome away with a positive
impression?
I don't ever want to act blindto what you know, the negative
aspects of a certain area, butdoing this sort of job, it's
about celebrating the positiveand there's positivity about
everywhere and to sound verycorny about it, I just like
people and I like the Americanpeople and I just feel,
(14:56):
everywhere I go, I likeeverybody and I know, yes, I'm
doing a job.
That's easy to be liked and tolike others because it's through
baseball, it's a fun thing butit just helps a lot.
You know when people are onlinetoo much and you know so, tied
up in the division, going on,you know politically and
socially, and not to say that'snot a real thing, but I think,
just going out to live events ofcourse, minor league baseball,
(15:17):
but just live events in generalyou just feel like man, this,
this reality on the ground,doesn't really match in a lot of
cases what we think to be thereality.
Day in and day out, onlylearning about the worst things
and pitting against, pittinggroups against one another.
Speaker 2 (15:31):
I just like to be out in america and feel good about
everybody let me ask you uh, youknow, obviously you, you get to
travel, you get to do all thisfun stuff and all that.
But like my question to you isuh is, obviously you start, you
know the end of the seasonstarts and like you start to
plan out where you're gonna go,and all that, like I mean, that
(15:52):
takes a lot of work.
So, like, what is your, what'syour process on on where you
want to go each year?
Uh, so that way you're like allright.
So here's, here's your, here'sthe minor league systems that
I'm gonna go to this year.
How do you go through all that?
Speaker 1 (16:07):
Yeah, that's a big plan for this week and
especially really startingtomorrow, and kind of have a
planning session with myco-worker, josh, on Wednesday.
And yeah, I'm trying to figurethat out right now.
It is one of the mostfrustrating things I do every
year.
I mean, don't get me wrong,it's in the service, it's
something I greatly enjoy.
(16:27):
It's still frustrating.
It's very frustrating to makethose itineraries, I mean, and
now that I'm older and do my joba little differently than I
used to in certain ways, and nowI have a kid my son just turned
four it's harder to do thingsthe way I used to because I was
single for most of Like when Ifirst started the road trips and
(16:51):
for a lot of years I was forthe most part single and I made
it so much easier just to like,just to not worry about larger
like.
Oh, I can't do it this day, Ican't do it this day.
So between family stuff and,you know, his childcare and then
just home road schedules driveme crazy.
You look at a region that youwant to hit and you think you
(17:12):
have an itinerary and then, like, you just can't quite line up
the home and the road and thesix games.
The six game homestands nowmake that a little more
difficult because you can't likejust kind of mix and match with
three game sets and home androad changing a little bit more.
Yeah, so where I decide to go, Imean there's different
(17:33):
variables every year, but themain thing is, you know, I try
to visit places I haven't beenbefore.
So this year, after a couple ofyears with no new ballparks,
you know we've got four newballparks coming up in 2025.
So my trips will be centeredaround the new ballparks and
then places I can get to in theimmediate or not immediate, but
(17:53):
in the general range of thosenew ballparks.
So probably at least three ofthe trips I do this year will be
based around those fourballparks.
I think one of the trips I canget two new ballparks in, but
whatever, that's how it'll be.
But, um, you know, salt Lake'sa bit of a tough one.
Just that's a pretty isolatedarea as minor league baseball
goes.
But you know, looking to get toSalt Lake, looking to get to
(18:15):
Knoxville, looking to get toSpartanburg and looking to get
to Columbus, georgia, so, um, Iimagine those four will be at
least three trips in and ofthemselves, and then the other
one.
I'll just try to pick a regionthat I haven't been to for a
long time, or if there's someparticular promotion that a team
is doing that I just feel thiscan't miss.
Maybe something like that.
But for a lot of my road tripsit's not about a specific
(18:38):
promotion, it's just aboutcapturing a team at a moment in
time and not so much about likeI have to go when they do this
crazy thing, you know.
So we'll see.
Hopefully in a week's time Ihave a much more concrete, or at
least concrete.
Yeah, cause I need to get thisnailed down so I can just plan
the rest of my life all the wayinto September.
(18:59):
Yeah, cause then little thingscome up People be like.
Oh, there's this concert onAugust 23rd and I'll be like, I
don't know, I just need to havethese trips locked in sooner
than later.
So I'll probably do, and I doless than I used to now for the
reasons I mentioned earlier, butI'll probably do one trip a
month, probably in May, june,july and August, and then maybe
(19:19):
some excuse me Something smallin between.
Yeah, maybe smaller local stuffas.
Speaker 2 (19:27):
Nice.
Speaker 3 (19:28):
That is so great that Salt Lake is probably on your
radar this year, because it'salso on mine.
Speaker 1 (19:34):
Oh nice, nice, Maybe we can cross paths.
Speaker 2 (19:37):
Maybe you'll be a designated eater, you know, if
you do make it I mean you'refree.
Speaker 3 (19:42):
I'd love to be your designated eater and I can tell
you why in just a few sentences,why I would be a great pick.
Speaker 1 (19:50):
Well, I pretty much already know why you'd be a
great pick.
Well, I pretty much alreadyknow why you'd be a great pick.
I've seen your stuff.
I mean I'm just gonna thinkthat's pretty simple yeah, I
mean you know me being older, um, and coming at this from more
of a writing first perspective,like I struggle sometimes with
like the Instagram and thevideos and I'm working on it and
getting a little better.
But, like Val, I see your stuffand I'm like man.
(20:12):
I got to incorporate more ofthat kind of stuff, like uh to
the food stuff, uh, thedesignated eater stuff.
I do Cause it's uh yeah,there's just so much I'm trying
to capture in one night and it'sit's hard to give everything
it's due and sometimes you know,I see stuff you do and I'm like
man.
I wish I had the skill and timeto really dive in a little bit
more, as opposed to just likeone or two 20-second videos of
(20:34):
someone just biting acheeseburger.
Speaker 3 (20:37):
I will send you all the tips.
Speaker 2 (20:39):
Oh, be careful what you wish for.
You'll write a whole book onTaylor.
Honestly, though, she hashelped me a lot into my
development on my YouTubechannel and on and and Instagram
, just because of the tips shehas given me.
Speaker 3 (20:53):
So I'm still waiting, but I will send you all the
tips.
Speaker 1 (20:58):
Yeah, I need, I need some.
It's been ramping up the lastcouple of years and there's been
times now that I'm you know,I'm joined on the road by what
we call an MLB LCC, a livecontent coordinator.
So on certain trips, you knowlike I have a little outside
help and so for video stuff,which is helpful.
But yeah, when it's just me anda phone and 10 other things on
(21:20):
my checklist, it can be hard todo as detailed as I would like
to.
But yeah, having a designatedeater, that's been one of the
great joys of my career.
Just all the people I've metthrough that concept of just
having people eat for me at aminor league baseball game.
Speaker 2 (21:38):
I'm sure that designated eaters they hate it
every step of the way.
Speaker 1 (21:42):
Yeah well, it's kind of like yeah, I mean kind of
like what I was saying when thiscall started.
I'm usually in my own head andfeeling like you know, I don't
know, here I go, is thisworthwhile?
But then designated eaters whoare like this is on my bucket
list and I'm like, what Like?
Because it's hard for me tolook at what I do with the level
of importance that sometimesother people look at it.
(22:04):
So it's good to get myself outof my own head and be like, yeah
, this does have value.
My own head, and be like, yeah,this does have value, because a
crazy thing is that I'm goingto be 20, July will be my 20th
anniversary from when I washired part-time and I just can't
believe I'm still doing this.
It just never seemed like itwould be my whole career.
And now I'm fully in middle ageand in my forties and I'm like
(22:26):
well, no, dude, this is yourcareer.
Speaker 2 (22:28):
Yeah, that's not a part-time job.
This is your full on, this isyour career.
Yeah, that's not a part-timejob.
This is your full-on, this isyour career here.
Speaker 1 (22:34):
Yeah, it took me a long time to really realize that
and accept it.
For so long it just felt likesomething that kind of happened
until the next thing.
And then I realized like no,this is the thing, man.
Speaker 3 (22:44):
And I have to say, like, when I say it's
life-changing, it really, likeyou just said, you don't realize
that it's bucket list thingsfor other people.
But like, for example, okay, sonot to put him on the spot, but
my fiance is not a minor leaguefan, boo, it sucks.
Well, he's learning now.
But because we put on thoseshow before the show podcasts on
(23:07):
these road trips and I know heacts like he's not listening,
but then he'll hear these teamnames and these cities and these
things.
And then then I know he actslike he's not listening, but
then he'll hear these team namesand these cities and these
things.
And then I catch him like I waslooking at plane tickets to the
Iowa Cubs and I'm like, oh, soyou know who the Iowa Cubs are
now, and so it's just.
It is like, even when you thinkyou're not changing lives,
benjamin Hill, you really arechanging lives.
Speaker 2 (23:29):
At the very least, you're affecting them.
Benjamin Hill, you really arechanging.
At the very least, you'reaffecting them.
You're helping them out.
We all listen to the podcastand everything.
You listen to the stories andeverything that you bring.
My question to you is the lastcouple of years, what has been
your most memorable Because Iknow you also follow the changes
of team names and things likethat.
(23:51):
For you, it has has been yourfavorite, like your personal
favorite team name brand thatyou've seen so far.
In like in more recent yearsyeah, more recent years or
actually, you know what Changeit to whenever.
Speaker 1 (24:06):
It's a good one.
There's so many that I'musually just so focused on
covering them I often forget myown opinion on them.
Like it's hard for me to kindof sometimes take a step back
and be like oh, what do I?
Speaker 2 (24:18):
Because you're covering them, but you're also a
fan of the sport.
Speaker 1 (24:22):
Oh yeah, of course I mean that's the thing with all
this.
Even though I don't cover, eventhough I don't get to watch
most baseball when I'm on theroad, you know to watch most
baseball when I'm on the road.
Ironically, when I'm at a minorleague ballpark I don't really
get to watch most baseball.
But yeah, I grew up a justgigantic baseball fan and didn't
really know the minor leaguestoo much, but I liked the
weirder nooks and crannies ofbaseball in general.
(24:43):
So it kind of made sense thatonce this opened up I took it
and ran with it, because I'vealways been just really into the
oddities and absurdities of thegame of baseball.
But for the team names, I mean,yeah, there's been so many good
ones.
I mean, hey, just to name dropEl Paso again.
I remember when they had thelike list of named finalists and
Chihuahuas was one of them.
(25:04):
Right now we don't think twicewhen we hear the name El Paso,
chihuahuas, but 10 years ago, 11years ago, it was part of what
was then sort of a cliche withname the teams is that there'd
be three or four choices andthen one.
That was just too crazy.
The team wouldn't actually do.
And I remember being like, haha, they have Chihuahuas on the
list but they won't really do it.
(25:25):
No one's expecting that.
And then they did it and thatwas kind of like a moment of
like whoa, minor league baseballis going there, minor league
baseball is, like now, unafraidto have a team named the
chihuahuas and of course we talkabout it now and it doesn't
even seem like that big a deal.
But that one was one that madean impression on me and I always
like that, that branding andthe kind of underdog identity.
(25:46):
Hartford yard goats is one Ialways just like you know
aesthetically, just the way itlooks, and I love that ballpark
too in Hartford Dunkin' DonutsPark.
So that's one that definitelyjumped out.
I mean, I think the pinnacle ofsort of that school of minor
league team names is TrashPandas.
Once you do Rocket City, trashPandas that's kind of you know,
(26:08):
hey, they're about space and Ifeel like Trash Pandas was like
the final frontier, like there's.
It's harder to go beyond trashpandas and I think since then
really, we've seen maybe aslight kind of a more
conservative view and team namessince then.
You know, they can still bepretty goofy, but I feel all
those years where it was justlike what are teams going to do
next?
I think it kind of hit theeither the peak or the bottom,
(26:32):
depending on your opinion, ofthat kind of team name you know,
but yeah, it's so.
this year we got what?
Hub city, spartan burgers isnew, columbus clingstones is new
, I thought.
I thought Rome emperors was agreat one, because it it has
like like a kind of serious andheavy feel when you hear the
name Rome Emperors, but then italso has the more lighthearted
(26:55):
minor league penguin branding.
So I thought that was a goodbest of both worlds thing, and
of course I like it when anytime a team brands away from its
parent club name, becausethat's just not very interesting
100% we are.
Speaker 2 (27:10):
I know for sure that I know I'm a fan of like having
no name of a parent club on aminor league baseball team.
And so question then obviously,like you says, like you know,
like we, the pinnacle is trash,pandas, right Trash.
And then you got pandas, like Imean, that's just as far as out
, there, as as it goes.
(27:30):
And and then some you know,last recent like two years,
you've seen a little bit moreseriousness to the actual team
name.
But let me ask you this In youropinion then, does that leave
those quirky names more towardsthe alternate identities that
they do one-offs for every year?
Does that allow for thealternate identities to have its
(27:53):
own space within minor leaguebaseball now?
Speaker 1 (27:56):
I mean, I think you could look at it that way, but I
don't think a team with analready kind of goofier
cartoonish name has beendiscouraged from doing alternate
identities because they'realready kind of wacky, like the
Akron Rubber Ducks.
They're going to be the Rub therubber ducks every day, but
they're still have no problemwith being any number of
alternate identities.
But I do think that, yes, thatif you have a more um,
(28:22):
conservative for lack of abetter word identity than the
alternate identities that aregoofy, then there's a greater
contrast or a way to stand out,at least in the local market, a
little bit more.
But in general, I think ateam's approach to alternate
identities doesn't have too muchto do with what their primary
identity is.
It's just a way to, um, youknow, draw attention to
themselves, create excitementand, of course, sell merchandise
(28:44):
, because, at the end of the day, this is a baseball's, a
business.
So, um, you know, I totallyunderstand when fans don't like
some of these things.
But when they just say like, oh, this is just another money
grab, I'm kind of like, well, Iwould say that the purpose of a
business is to make money, money.
These are not, like you know,501c3 non-profit organizations.
(29:08):
They're not, you know, justthere for, uh, these are full
for profit yeah, so yeah, I feellike go for it.
And you know, just like anythingelse, like the market will
decide.
If you're doing too many ofthem or or they, they, they're
not well received, then you'lldo less, you know.
But as long as fans like them,as long as fans buy the
(29:30):
merchandise, as long as asthere's a good energy in the
ballpark when they do this kindof thing, why?
Speaker 2 (29:35):
not keep doing it?
It certainly doesn't hurtanybody.
Like you said, you're going on20 years doing this.
How have you seen the evolutionof merchandising from when you
started to right now, 2025?
Speaker 1 (29:53):
I mean it's been a lot.
I mean one.
You just we've kind of talkedabout it already with both team
names and alternate identities2005,.
There weren't that many likegoofy team names really.
I mean you had your classicteams, you know, like the Toledo
Mudhens or whatever Mudcats andthings like that, yeah.
(30:16):
Yeah, but when you think of mostof the, when you start rattling
off like the real goofy names.
Those all came about like inthe time that I've been covering
minor league baseball.
You know your Lehigh ValleyIron Pigs and El Paso Chihuahuas
and Pensacola Blue Wahoos andRocket City Trash Pandas and on
and on Hartford Yardgoats, akronRubber Ducks, jacksonville
Jumbo Shrimp.
So that whole kind ofrevolution for lack of a better
word in terms of the teamsreally going out of their way to
(30:38):
establish a distinct identitywhich is a huge part of their
marketing and branding.
That's happened in the twodecades, not to mention the
alternate identities, which wereliterally not a thing when I
started, and so now, in additionto perhaps having a more unique
standalone primary identity,now you have all these other
ways to market yourself throughthe alternate identities as well
(31:01):
.
So none of those things existedat the time.
But you can also make anargument that in certain ways,
minor league baseball wasweirder and wackier then, though
, like 20 years ago, just interms of the day to day
atmosphere, the day-to-daypromotions.
I feel like teams did a lot morelike off-the-cuff, goofy stuff
that now it's a more you knowcontrolled environment and it's
(31:22):
run through mlb and you knowmore approvals are needed and,
um, it's just a bit different inthat regard as well, where it
used to just be like teams wouldjust do the most nonsensical
promos all the time just to getsome attention to themselves,
and it's not as Wild West outthere as it was when I first
(31:43):
started.
I mean, I always tell the storylike the first ballpark I ever
visited I was still part-timewas Altoona because they were
doing Awful Night, and that wasthe kind of energy I was really
attracted to in minor leaguebaseball, just like something so
stupid, like a team just isdoing a promotion where they're
going to make everything quoteas awful as possible.
You know some teams still dothat kind of stuff and I always
(32:05):
celebrate it whenever I canbecause I like that kind of more
.
Anything goes.
Why the heck not kind of energy, in addition to the national
initiatives and largerseason-long campaigns and
everything like that.
Speaker 3 (32:20):
I think there's a place for everything.
Oh yeah, on that same note,like, have you noticed that I've
only been going to minor leaguegames for about 10 years, but I
haven't?
I never started payingattention to the food until I
moved to Las Vegas?
Shout out to Chef Gary for liketeaching me what how great
foods in minor league could be.
Have you noticed this shiftsince you started, from like how
(32:43):
foods used to be to how theyare now?
Speaker 1 (32:46):
Yeah, I mean definitely.
I think well one.
A lot of it has to do withballparks.
You know, in the 90s andthroughout the first part of the
21st century there were a lotof new ballparks and that means
a lot of different things, butnew ballparks often had much
more kitchen space.
So I think you know a lot ofolder ballparks and the cliche
of just a hot dog, hamburger,pretzels, popcorn and a beer.
(33:08):
Some of that might have beendue to lack of creativity, but a
lot of it was because these oldballparks if you're playing in
some restrictive ballpark builtin 1936, you're only going to
have so much space to make food.
So I think the sort of wave ofnew ballparks created the
opportunity to be more creativein the kitchen.
And then teams, especially withthe rise of the internet and
(33:30):
social media, saw the value ingetting more creative with their
food.
Um, even if it might not sell aton.
The more creative items notmight not sell a ton in the
ballpark.
They were really good marketingto be like you can, um, you
know, get this crazy food itemat this place or that place.
Um, and then, as we saw, likeum, talking about alternate
(33:51):
identities obviously the biggestsub genre of minor league teams
.
Alternate identities are foodrelated alternate identities and
so that's because, you know,teams like to celebrate what's
unique about their market, abouttheir region, and food is
always going to be in theconversation when it comes to
what makes the place unique.
So I think teams have more andmore leaned into making sure
(34:14):
they have at their ballparkthings that are unique or local
to their area.
I think one aspect of the foodthat kind of peaked and we don't
see as much is just the crazylarge you know go viral on
social media like it's like, youknow, the quadruple bypass
burger.
It's four patties and cheeseand egg and topped with a large
(34:35):
order of fries I feel like thatstuff kind of peaked maybe 10 or
12 years ago because it wouldgo viral.
But then, yeah, then it'd beexpensive and fans wouldn't
really buy it too much and thatdidn't have a local or regional
tie, so it kind of was like okaywhen you go to these ballparks,
(34:58):
do you collect something foryourself?
I don't.
I get asked that a lot.
If I had known when I startedthis that I would be doing it
this long, I would have liked tohave come up with something
small.
Um, but like I was sayingearlier, by the time I kind of
figured out that this wasactually my job.
I was so deep into it I hadn'treally thought that much ahead.
Also, I live in New York cityand especially now you're very
(35:20):
restricted.
Yeah, I'm in a one bedroomapartment with my wife and
four-year-old and we're tryingto figure out our next move, but
it's tough to like add too muchto to it.
So I have packed in my closetsI need to go through it An
amazing array of just minorleague memorabilia, but almost
none of it did I seek out.
(35:40):
You know it's more just like ateam that gave this to me or it
just happened to be somethingtucked in my notebook at the end
of the night, and so I lovehaving all this random stuff.
But you know, I have drawers ofbobbleheads I need to either
get rid of or find a space for.
I just I'm in max capacity.
But to answer your question,since I had a kid my son Harry
(36:01):
now when I go to a ballpark Ibuy him a T-shirt and that's
been fun for me.
That's the first time in mycareer that I've had kind of
like a that kind of thing, andso sometimes they don't have it
in his size and obviously he'salways growing.
But um, I've gotten him a bunchof t-shirts over the last
several years and you know wekeep them and the plan is to
make him into a quilt oh, that'scool I hope Jill takes the lead
(36:23):
on that.
That's the kind of thing I thinkis a good idea and then make no
proactive effort to actuallywhatsoever yeah, but um, I love
that idea.
So he's and you know I takepride just dropping him off at
school, just kind of like yep,he's the only kid here in this
brooklyn 3k program with a fortwayne tin cap shirt obviously
you've been doing it for, like Isaid, we've been talking about
it.
Speaker 2 (36:42):
You, you know, your tenure with baseball is have you
what's the one memorable teamthat's no longer around?
That you were like when youwent and it's like it's no
longer around.
Speaker 1 (36:54):
Quite a lot and I miss most of them.
One I only went to once, but Iloved it, was Bakersfield blaze.
It's because from a realisticum, you know, amenity, uh,
stadium facility amenitystandpoint, it really shouldn't
have been hosting minor leaguebaseball as long as it did.
(37:15):
Um, but I've always liked thosekind of places.
The old kind of beat up placesmight not have big crowds but to
me the fans who show up atthose places are always like the
weirdos which I mean in thebest way.
As a writer I'm always lookingfor like interesting people.
And so I think about thatballpark.
And you know, literally havinga sun delay in the beginning of
(37:37):
the game because the ballparkwas built facing the sun, being
in the press box with like fullyou know shades that were pulled
all the way down because peoplecouldn't even look out onto the
field.
You know, I just love that kindof goofy stuff.
And you know, was it their uhprogram vendor, this guy named
froggy, with this real deepvoice selling programs, um, and
(37:58):
on and on.
Just I like the more ramshackleplaces, that.
And then those are the placesthat once they're gone you're
like it's never coming back, atleast not at this ballpark.
You know, at least affiliatedball yeah, um so places like
that, places like jamestown, youknow kind of same thing.
Jammers yeah, the jammers justa uh, you know a little ballpark
(38:18):
, 80 years old in a small newyork town.
I always felt sad sayinggoodbye to, saying hello and
goodbye to places like that,knowing that that they wouldn't
be part of the landscape anymore.
Speaker 2 (38:31):
I still got my Jamestown Jammers dad hat.
Speaker 1 (38:34):
Yeah, amazing logo.
Speaker 2 (38:35):
Absolutely amazing.
Such a good logo.
You would like that oneactually.
Speaker 3 (38:38):
Val Speaking of.
I'm still mourning, though, Iguess, like loss or
disappearance of the baby cakes.
That was one I will foreverregret not being able to go to.
Yeah, that was an interestingone.
Speaker 1 (38:55):
New Orleans is a huge market but a tough minor league
baseball market.
Think of everything New Orleanshas going on.
It's tough for a minor leagueteam to stand out within that,
especially when your ballpark isin a neighboring suburb not
near any of the typical NewOrleans action.
So I only got to go there onceand they were still the Zephyrs
when I went.
I never got to go to a game inthe short-lived baby cakes era.
Speaker 2 (39:21):
Just because, like you said, you have so many teams
that you have to go visit.
Speaker 3 (39:25):
Yeah, yeah.
Yeah, that's another thing, isteams are like when are you
coming back?
Speaker 1 (39:29):
again, or I'll be emailing a team about something.
They're like hey, you shouldcome by this year.
And then I'm like, yeah, you'reright, it's only been eight
years, but also probably not,because there's just so many
other places to get to.
It's wild.
There's certain teams that it'sbeen over a decade now and I'm
just I can't believe I've beendoing it long enough to have
(39:49):
teams that I've gone a decadewithout visiting.
Speaker 3 (39:52):
When you are visiting other stadiums and you've got
the designated eaters, is therelike do you choose the foods?
Is it based off likebestsellers, new items, that
viral item, or do you kind ofjust let like the fans choose?
Speaker 1 (40:12):
And it's something that they've recommended,
especially if it's been at aballpark you've never been to,
I'd say.
Like every aspect of my job,it's a case by case basis.
You know, pretty much all thesedifferent elements that I do
with these ballpark visits areones I kind of made up and then
had to figure out, and you knowteams are different from place
to place.
So generally, I'll just tell ateam like and I'll have a
designated eater, someone whowill sample the food.
(40:33):
And some teams are well awareof the concept and they're
psyched for it, and they, youknow, give us an empty suite and
have the food and beverageperson like bring a gigantic
platter.
Sometimes teams are just kindof like, yeah, cool, have fun,
and then me and the designatedeater just wander around, and
you know I never want to actlike a diva.
There's sometimes, though, whenI'm waiting in line with my
(40:55):
designated eater being likereally, you're going to make
Ben's business.
Designated eater, late in line,come on, but yeah, late in line,
come on, um, but uh, yeah.
So it really runs the gamutfrom just us on our own to like
vip food spread, um, but what?
No matter what the context is,it's always like I want to
(41:17):
highlight what's the most uniqueand or regional, and so if the
designated eater is familiarwith the place, I'm very open to
their feedback.
But if a designated eater justfamiliar with the place, I'm
very open to their feedback.
But if a designated eater justsays, oh, I like ketchup.
You know hot dog with ketchupand that's it, it's just like no
, then you're not really goingto be the designated eater.
Speaker 2 (41:36):
We need someone to highlight something unique.
Speaker 1 (41:38):
You need to try the uniqueness of the place.
Yeah, so, and almost every team.
Obviously, some are much betterthan others, but almost every
team has at least two or threeitems that are, like, unique to
them or, if not totally uniqueto them, different enough that
you can highlight it.
Um so, that but that's, that'sthe, that's the underlying
premise, no matter how it shakesout, is what's the most unique
(42:02):
thing we can get.
And get two or three things,that's really it.
You know, sometimes it's more,but I don't have the bandwidth
to highlight 11 things on a menuin the course of everything
else going on.
Speaker 2 (42:14):
Yeah, you got you gotta.
You gotta be specific aboutwhat you need and what you want
you know to highlight withinyour article and everything.
Speaker 3 (42:21):
Whenever you go to hub.
As a Rangers fan I'm so excitedfor the hub city spartan
burgers I'm so I haven't doneresearch but I cannot wait to
see, like I I'm assuming they'regonna have specialty burgers,
different kinds of uniqueburgers.
I'm so excited to see that andhopefully you know like they do
have that and so I can imaginedefinitely have burgers.
Speaker 1 (42:40):
Yeah, I mean that talking you have at this point.
Like I mean, if you don't yeah,I mean I remember talking to
their gm, uh, tyson jeffers.
He was previously in hudsonvalley and he was just saying
that like you know, pressure'son, like you can't pick this
name and call yourself thespartan burgers and not have
like the best ball, bestballpark burger around.
So we'll see if they live up toit.
(43:01):
What, what?
Speaker 2 (43:01):
did I tell you?
Speaker 3 (43:02):
There you go.
Speaker 2 (43:04):
I told you she showed up.
So, Ben, is there anything thatwe haven't asked you at all?
I mean, I know we ask you a lotof questions, I mean not any
one specific thing I can thinkof.
I mean, obviously there'splenty of things that we can
talk about.
Speaker 1 (43:20):
We could be here for two hours, yeah, a million
things you could theoreticallytalk about, but it seems like
we've hit a lot.
Speaker 2 (43:27):
I love it.
When you do go to Spartanburger, let me know I am here in
the Durham.
You know Raleigh Durham area.
So I mean you.
You mentioned Durham and I'mlike that's right, let's go.
Speaker 1 (43:36):
Yeah, it was great.
It was great to get.
I was in Durham last year forthe first time in years and what
a beautiful ballpark.
I mean I knew that already, butjust to have that reinforced
and be back after a long absencelike such a gorgeous ballpark.
Speaker 2 (43:51):
Are you ready, my friend?
Sure, all right.
So this one is the one that weask everybody.
Okay, so you're not working,you're going.
You're in New York, you'regoing to go to a ballpark.
Speaker 1 (44:07):
What is your food?
Speaker 3 (44:08):
and your drink of choice.
Speaker 1 (44:09):
Well, again, for me the whole reason the designated
eater concept started wasbecause I got diagnosed with
celiac disease.
So a lot of my own ballparkoptions are lesser.
But even if I hadn't beendiagnosed, nachos are going to
be way up there anyway, and nowthey're even more elevated in my
ballpark cuisine choices.
So I would say good ballparknachos, I mean ones with more
(44:32):
fresh ingredients.
You know the real bottom of thebarrel nachos have their place.
But it's a little frustratingwhen you get nachos and it's
just like a dollop of cheese anda little plastic container.
But uh, no, good nachos forsure.
Of course I appreciate whenteams have a you know,
gluten-free hamburger, hot dogbuns, um drink.
(44:54):
You know, if I'm just there asa fan, yeah, like like a drink.
You know, sometimes I'm atthese ballparks and I'm like I
just want to sit in the standsand drink and I never can on
these road trips.
So because you're representing,you know, minor league baseball
at that point yeah yeah, so youknow, I don't, I can't really do
many beers but a cider or aseltzer.
(45:14):
So yeah, give me a nachos and aseltzer.
Speaker 2 (45:16):
Let's go with that I like it uh last song that you,
that you downloaded.
Speaker 1 (45:25):
Last song that you downloaded.
I don't really download manysongs.
I buy a lot of records.
I can't remember what Idownloaded.
Wait, you say you buy recordsnow.
Oh, constantly, yeah, I havelike many, many.
Speaker 2 (45:40):
What's the last one you purchased?
Speaker 1 (45:43):
The last one I purchased was actually my son
Harry has gotten into likeBeethoven and classical music,
so I've got them, just like at abook sale in a church I got
them a Beethoven, LeonardBernstein, directing Beethoven's
seventh symphony.
Seventh symphony, I believe,was actually the last record I
bought.
But yeah, I buy a lot ofrecords.
(46:04):
I used to buy, go to a lot ofrecord stores on my road trips
but I ended up with so manyrecords that I just You're like
you're going to have to take abreak.
Yeah, so I could go on and onabout music.
I don't know I was listening toa Bismarck-y record I got just
yesterday From Bismarck Markieto Beethoven.
(46:26):
So wide range, million otherthings.
Yeah, I've got too many records, too many CDs.
I got a six disc changer in mySubaru, oh my God, yeah.
Speaker 2 (46:37):
I'm a physical media guy.
I remember I used to have oneand then they broke into my car
and they stole it.
I'm like, oh, those were thedays with my cd book.
You know, opening up the cdbook and going through that, oh
yeah case logic yes, exactly.
Have you ever re-gifted a gift?
Speaker 1 (46:57):
ah, yeah I'm sure I have, I mean, and some of it,
some of it is definitely likeyou know, I'm at a minor league
ballpark and a team's just like,hey, here, have a hat, and I'm
like, cool, thanks, but I don'tneed another hat, and then I
give it to a friend or a familymember who might.
I do a lot of regifting ofbaseball things in particular.
Speaker 2 (47:21):
Yeah, you're not going to.
I'm not regifting my hats.
I tell you that I have wellover 600 of them and I'm, nope,
not getting rid of the hats.
Speaker 1 (47:30):
Yeah, I've met a lot of people like you through this
job.
The hat obsessives.
Speaker 2 (47:35):
You met Patrick Larson, one of our good friends?
Speaker 1 (47:38):
Yeah, Patrick Larson, Eric the Peanut Guy show.
Before the show co-host TylerMaughanler, mon, all these guys
for me.
I'm someone who just usuallyhas like five or six hats and
I'll just choose one to wear.
I'll just choose one to wearuntil it just gets too beat up
to wear, and then I'll just lookin the closet whatever small
stack I have and pick anotherone uh, all right.
Speaker 2 (47:59):
What was your favorite tv show growing up?
Speaker 1 (48:03):
I mean changed all the time.
I guess.
Uh, I mean the all-timer.
I was in fifth grade when thesimpsons debuted, so I mean I
have to go with that.
Um, simpsons from fifth gradeall the way through college was
just a holy grail show.
Obsessed about it so yeah, whynot?
Simpsons, I mean isotopes,right yeah.
And there you.
(48:23):
Simpsons, I mean isotopes,right yeah.
And there you go, the Mileytime with the isotopes.
Speaker 2 (48:27):
Yeah, there, it is All right If you could be any
fictional character in a movieor TV show who would it be?
Speaker 1 (48:41):
Oh man.
Speaker 3 (48:43):
Fictional character movie or TV show.
Speaker 1 (48:50):
Hmm fictional character movie or tv show,
maybe ishmael and moby dick, soI could get a front row seat as
captain ahab goes after thewhite whale.
That would be cool.
Speaker 2 (48:58):
I liked it I like this scary at the same time, but
I like it.
Speaker 1 (49:03):
That's scary, it's scary, but you know, if you're
gonna answer a question likethat, you might as well go in
for some adventure.
I've been real into nauticaltales in general recently and
real-life sailing stories.
I don't know anything aboutboats, but I love the sailing
tales.
They're really interesting.
Speaker 2 (49:21):
All right, on that same note of you characters, if
you could be in any moviebesides what we did.
Speaker 3 (49:39):
Who would?
What would it be in a movie?
Speaker 1 (49:45):
man.
Why is that so hard for me toanswer?
I guess I never really thoughtabout me being in a movie.
Then all my favorite movies, Ithink of the characters and I'm
like I really wouldn't want tobe in that situation, Like I
don't really want to be withJack Nicholson at the overlook
hotel.
Speaker 3 (49:56):
You know, that kind of thing.
Such a good movie, though, yeah.
Speaker 1 (50:02):
But those are kind of my favorites.
Speaker 3 (50:05):
I don't know.
Speaker 1 (50:10):
I'd like to hang out with.
Speaker 2 (50:11):
Method man and Red man in how High, wow, that's an
old school right there.
Speaker 1 (50:16):
That was my favorite movie for a number of years.
Still an all-time comedy,overlooked for sure.
Speaker 2 (50:22):
Yeah, we're around the same age you and me, and
yeah, good movie.
All right, a couple more here,for sure.
Yeah, we're around the same ageyou and me, and yeah, Good
movie, All right, a couple morehere, and then I'll let you go.
If you could work at a zoo,okay, which animal would you
want to work with?
Hmm?
Speaker 1 (50:40):
I don't know.
Part of me wants to say a realsmart animal, but then I'd
probably start to feel bad thatit was in captivity.
Yeah, so maybe a real smartanimal, but then I'd probably
start to feel bad that it was incaptivity.
So maybe a real interesting onelike a platypus?
Really, get to know a platypus,because those are weird,
they're like eggs, they'remammals, they're all strange.
Speaker 3 (50:54):
I'd like to learn about something that's very true
.
Speaker 1 (50:57):
I'd like to learn about something that seems
almost alien.
You know, give me a sense ofgreater sense of appreciation
for the animal kingdom.
Speaker 2 (51:11):
Right, a platypus.
I like it All right, last one.
Speaker 1 (51:13):
Where was it?
There it is.
What was your first job?
First job, first real job, waswashing dishes at a retirement
home.
Did that for from sophomoreyear and then all the way
through, like summer breaks andholiday breaks and my first
couple years of college.
I loved it.
It was called utility.
We were washing dishes, but youknow, we were back back in
workers in the kitchen withutility crew.
(51:35):
We're cool blue uniforms.
Yeah, I loved it.
I still sometimes think thatI'd like to have a job like that
again, just like five hours aweek, just to like do it dude,
dude work.
That just like starts at acertain time, ends at a certain
time and it's all done with it.
Yeah, I kind of romanticize it.
I kind of liked it.
Speaker 2 (51:56):
But thank you so much for doing this.
This is a lot of fun.
Where can people find you?
On the social.
See, we're going to push you todo more social now.
Speaker 1 (52:08):
Maybe I'll get the blue sky eventually.
I'm still on Twitter or X atBen's Biz, instagram, the Ben's
Biz.
I've got my newsletter, theBaseball Traveler, which used to
be the Ben's Biz Beat.
Articles on MLBcom, milbcom theweekly show before the show
podcast.
I can find you pretty muchanywhere.
I articles on mlbcom, milbcomthe weekly show before the show
podcast.
Speaker 2 (52:25):
So it's kind of all we can find you pretty much
anywhere.
Speaker 3 (52:28):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (52:28):
I'm around.
If you Google my name and minorleague baseball or Ben's base
and minor league baseball orwhatever, you'll find something
or other.
Often I'm writing a story andI'm trying to find some
information to verify something,and then I find my own stuff
and I'm like I've been doingthis too long.
I just have to use myself as asource now.
Speaker 2 (52:50):
There you go.
We got a couple of people thatcan help you out with that, so
you know, give us a call, we'lllet you know.
All right Sounds good.
All right, man.
Thank you so much for doingthis Again and for everybody.
Make sure that you guys aregoing on YouTube channels for
both Val and I, our channels.
We are actually.
You're still on Blue Sky,aren't you, Val?
(53:11):
Or did you close that one andyou didn't do it?
It's not really picking up, butwe are on Twitter.
We are on TikTok and on threadsas well, so make sure you guys
catch us there.
We will see you guys next week.
Until then, support the minorleagues.
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