The other day I took a trip with a friend to Vermont and got to experience a different and yet unique kind of sporting event – minor league baseball. The Vermont Lake Monsters, formally the Expos, are the short-season A, New York-Penn League Oakland Athletics minor league affiliate. Located in Burlington, Vermont, the Lake Monsters play on the magnificent Centennial Field located on the University of Vermont campus.

The Lake Monsters have played at Centennial Field since the team relocated from Jamestown in 1994. Although this team has only played there for 19 years, the field itself is over 100 years old. The field opened April 17th 1906, and in 1922 concrete and steal bleachers were erected to replace the previous burnt down wooden bleachers. The stadiums capacity is about 4415.

Over the years, Centennial Field has been home to many baseball teams. Their longest tenant, the now defunct college baseball team the Vermont Catamounts, played their final game in 2009 before the team lost funding due to budget cuts. It’s a shame to hear that the university lost their baseball team, and I hope one day they will get a chance to have another university team.

In 2012, the stadium had renovations bringing in new lights, scoreboard, field surface improvements, new dugouts and 1500 new seats where the concrete bleachers are. For kids they have a bb and picnic area on the left side of the foul line, and on the right side there are games such as pitch speed counter, wiffle ball, moon bounce and an obstacle course. The renovations to the stadium make it even more enjoyable and comfortable.

The game itself was fun to watch, although the home team lost to the Brooklyn Cyclones 12-5. By the bottom of the fifth inning the Lake Monsters were only losing 6-4 and were slowly catching up. The Cyclones unfortunately had other plans scoring six more runs; the seventh inning was the worst for the Lake Monsters as the allowed 4 runs. This game had five homeruns; four by Brooklyn, only one by Vermont. The winning pitcher was Cameron Griffin for the Cyclones and the losing pitcher was Christian Perez. One of the players I think we may see in the Majors one day is Vermont’s Centerfielder BJ Boyd, who went 2-3 with 1 run scored, a homerun, 2 RBI’s and two walks. His season stats with the Lake Monsters so far include a .309 average, with 33 runs, 68 hits, 8 homers and 29 RBI’s.

When I arrived at the game I was given a wiffle bat and ball as a part of the promotion that night. Many kids were given bike helmets with the team’s logo displayed and at the end of the game the kids got to play catch in the outfield. I sat with my friend in the granstand section on the left field foul line for half the game and then moved over to the right field seats for the rest of the game, just to experience a different view. The view was beautiful from the left field as in front of you there were trees all along the right field and center field, while on the right side you got a better view of the screen and the town.

The official attendance for the game was 2231; not a sell-out, but a great crowd all and all. Baseball is a family sport and will always be a family sport and the fans and the staff at the Lake Monsters recognized and embraced that. Many larger families were there with their kids taking in the game. It was a great atmosphere and of course it’s always fun to be around true blue baseball fans. It was really unique seeing so many people bumping into people in the stands that were friends, neighbors and co-workers, chatting amongst themselves. I wish the Lake Monsters had won, because it would have been even more fun to see a happier crowd during the game – maybe next time!

The majority of the Lake Monsters staff were young adults and teens, but were very friendly and helpful during the game. Also I can’t forget their mascot, Champ, who the kids just adored. He was playful, funny, enjoyed taunting the other team and gave everyone around the chance to snap a photo with him, give him a hug, get an autograph, or whatever else. He was a great mascot, probably one of the best I have seen in a while.

This was a great experience, one that I will never forget. I hope to go back soon because the people involved with that team were very pleasant to be around. It was small town America baseball at its finest, and I really can’t say enough how great it was. I hope to have the opportunity to visit stadiums like this more regularly, and experience baseball in many different ways. I want to thank the fans and the Lake Monsters organization and staff for such a great experience and getting a chance to feel like I was a part of the town and team. I will definitely return for that experience again.

Thanks for reading, please feel free to share your experience with minor league teams – I would love to hear about them!

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