Lumberkings Bring Throwback to Baseball

Baseball is America's favorite past time and while some of the times have changed, baseball in many ways is still the same game as it was when it first started.  That also is the start of my next story, which envelopes a trip to Iowa for minor league baseball.  That first stop on the four team, four day trip was to the city of Clinton, Iowa and the Clinton Lumberkings.  The trip to Clinton took me from Wisconsin to checking in my hotel, then going to Clinton on a very warm July day.
The reason I say they bring the throwback in regards to Clinton is two fold.  It is a deeply blue collar town with the aura, as well as smell, of a Purina pet food plant in most parts of the city.  The second part is for the ball park, which is called Ashford University Field. It dates back to 1937.  For all you history buffs out there, that's two years prior to the second World War.  It has been fixed up over the years, but it still has that old school feel to it similar to that of Pohlman Field in Beloit.  On this steamy night in July, I made my way up to the ticket booth, got my seat and got to seeing the game and roaming around this field.  

Ashford University Field

The Lumberkings are part of the Seattle Mariners farm system.  The ball park as I said is dated, but the field is in very well kept shape.  The seats are about what one would expect from a single-A ball park, which is nothing outstanding but they do the job.  On this night, there were 879 fans at the ball park.  A good amount were in the left field deck area, a staple at Ashford University Field.  I thought that was one great feature, but also the fan shop the Lumberkings have is very neat and orderly.  For amenities, the food is good for the cheap cost of it.  Most fans will take notice that they have RC/Dr. Pepper products, not the usual Coke or Pepsi products.  I don't mind this at all because it means there is difference for once and not the usual.  So if you like cheap food and drinks, with later inning promotions that sell food cheaper then you should head to a Lumberkings game.  Oh, and parking is free so you wouldn't have to pay 10-20 dollars like the major league teams do!
The on-field product is quite what you would expect of a single-A team.  Very young, raw, will make mistakes and have some guys that make you look in awe that one day they'll be in the major leagues.  On the night I went, the Lumberkings dueled with the Burlington Bees.  This game featured a lot of those young guys making mistakes (7 errors between the two teams) but also very timely hitting and two starting pitchers who really stole the show before departing to the bullpens.  In all, the pitching combined for the two teams amounted to 19 strikeouts in the game, which went 12 innings.  The Lumberkings ended up winning this one 6-5, but in all the game was fun to be at.
All in all, I enjoyed the time in Clinton.  It is a very down to earth city and a down to earth old school ball park and team.  If you ever find yourself looking to go to a game, I don't think you'll be disappointed.  Just sit back and watch the will-be stars of the future.  Especially at a ball park that has seen a lot of events over the course of history.