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Ben's Biz: An evening with the Nashville Sounds

Hello Dolly, Tatchos and a live performance by Caroline Spence
@BensBiz
September 15, 2023

This is an excerpt from the latest edition of the Ben's Biz Beat Newsletter, bringing Minor League Baseball business and culture news to your inbox each and every Thursday. Check out the full newsletter HERE. Subscribe HERE.

Ben's Biz hits the road for the final time this year

Here's what is coming soon to a ballpark (that might be) near you
@BensBiz
September 8, 2023

This is an excerpt from the latest edition of the Ben's Biz Beat Newsletter, bringing Minor League Baseball business and culture news to your inbox each and every Thursday. Check out the full newsletter HERE. Subscribe HERE.

Remembering the Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons 

Original PA announcer John Davies reflects on Triple-A team's years as Philadelphia affiliate
@BensBiz
September 8, 2023

MOOSIC, Pa. -- April 26, 1989 was an auspicious day for northeast Pennsylvania baseball fans, as the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons played their first home game at Lackawanna County Multi-Purpose Stadium. This marked the return of Minor League Baseball to the region after a 35-year absence, and 11,000 fans packed the

Wahoos' Kirby came for vacation, found dream career

Road to long-term professional fulfillment began with visit to family
@BensBiz
September 4, 2023

PENSACOLA, Fla. -- One of the most enduring clichés associated with working in Minor League Baseball is the "wearing of many hats." Donna Kirby, longtime member of the Double-A Pensacola front office, embodies this jack-of-all-trades mentality. Kirby has pretty much done it all over the course of her Blue Wahoos

Ben's Biz gets into a scrapple with the IronPigs

Bacon sticks, smoked turkey legs and more with Lehigh Valley
@BensBiz
September 1, 2023

This is an excerpt from the latest edition of the Ben's Biz Beat Newsletter, bringing Minor League Baseball business and culture news to your inbox each and every Thursday. Check out the full newsletter HERE. Subscribe HERE.

From field to screen: IronPigs stringer explains job

Cory Chryst transmits game data from Coca-Cola Park press box
@BensBiz
August 31, 2023

ALLENTOWN, PENN. -- Within a ballpark press box, many of the job titles are self-explanatory. The broadcasters broadcast the game, the scorers score it and the writers write about it. Similarly, the stringers string it. This last position, crucial and therefore ubiquitous, isn't as widely understood as the press box's

Ben's Biz lights up the Electric City

An illuminating evening with the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders
@BensBiz
August 25, 2023

This is an excerpt from the latest edition of the Ben's Biz Beat Newsletter, bringing Minor League Baseball business and culture news to your inbox each and every Thursday. Check out the full newsletter HERE. Subscribe HERE.

Another Go-Round with the Rumble Ponies

Ben's Biz returns to Binghamton, home of the carousel horses
@BensBiz
August 18, 2023

This is an excerpt from the latest edition of the Ben's Biz Beat Newsletter, bringing Minor League Baseball business and culture news to your inbox each and every Thursday. Check out the full newsletter HERE. Subscribe HERE.

Biscuits' fan there for every pitch in 1,300 games

Richard Chamberlain was first in line for Rays' Double-A affiliate
@BensBiz
August 17, 2023

MONTGOMERY, Ala. -- Prior to the 2004 season, when Montgomery's new Minor League Baseball team announced they would be named the Biscuits, Richard Chamberlain was the first in line to buy team merchandise. When season tickets went on sale, he was, again, the first in line. "I tend to overdo

Blind broadcaster Wylie joins Captains booth

Pursuing dream, local teen enjoying time with Guardians affiliate
@BensBiz
August 14, 2023

This article is based on an interview with broadcaster Allan Wylie and Lake County Captains broadcast director Cole Liggett, for MiLB.com's "Show Before the Show" podcast. Listen to the full interview HERE. Wylie will be in the Lake County broadcast booth for three more games, Aug. 15-17, vs. the Peoria

Ben's Biz: Meet the Syracuse Mets

All that NBT Bank Stadium has to offer and more in the Salt City
@BensBiz
August 11, 2023

This is an excerpt from the latest edition of the Ben's Biz Beat Newsletter, bringing Minor League Baseball business and culture news to your inbox each and every Thursday. Check out the full newsletter HERE. Subscribe HERE.

Tylicki fosters team mentality in baseball, military

Following army deployments, ops director returned to Binghamton
@BensBiz
August 10, 2023

BINGHAMTON, New York -- Working in a Minor League Baseball front office is a world away, sometimes literally, from serving in the military. Richard Tylicki, director of stadium operations for Double-A Binghamton, nonetheless finds similarities between the two pursuits. "I think in Minor League Baseball you work a lot --

'Such a gem:' Nat Bailey Stadium's enduring appeal 

Historic park occupies unique space in Vancouver sports landscape
@BensBiz
August 1, 2023

When you think of baseball in the year 1951, Rookie of the Year Willie Mays might spring to mind. Or his teammate, Bobby Thomson, hitting the "Shot Heard 'Round the World" to propel the the New York Giants to the World Series. A lesser-known baseball event from that year, but

Fans recall first Minor League experiences

Ben's Biz shares reader-submitted tales of ballpark memories
@BensBiz
July 31, 2023

This is an excerpt from the latest edition of the Ben's Biz Beat Newsletter, bringing Minor League Baseball business and culture news to your inbox each and every Thursday. Check out the full newsletter HERE. Subscribe HERE.

Here’s the itinerary of Ben’s next trip

From Central New York down to eastern Pennsylvania
@BensBiz
July 21, 2023

This is an excerpt from the latest edition of the Ben's Biz Beat Newsletter, bringing Minor League Baseball business and culture news to your inbox each and every Thursday. Check out the full newsletter HERE. Subscribe HERE.

Travel ball: Kaleb Bowman's overseas odyssey

Shuckers reliever improved his game in Canada, Australia, Germany
@BensBiz
July 18, 2023

BILOXI, Miss. -- Kaleb Bowman, a long-haired and compactly built right-handed reliever who pitches from various arm slots, is in the midst of his debut Minor League season. The now-26-year-old, a member of the Milwaukee Brewers organization, began the year with High-A Wisconsin, and after six weeks, was called up

Pearls on the diamond in Biloxi, Mississippi

Ben's Biz flexes his grit in an evening with the Shuckers
@BensBiz
July 14, 2023

This is an excerpt from the latest edition of the Ben's Biz Beat Newsletter, bringing Minor League Baseball business and culture news to your inbox each and every Thursday. Check out the full newsletter HERE. Subscribe HERE.

From Brooklyn, with love: Tacoma's favorite usher 

Chester Rito connects with fans via old newspapers, surprise gifts
@BensBiz
July 12, 2023

TACOMA, Wash. -- Like the beloved baseball team of his childhood, Chester Rito started out in Brooklyn before heading westward across the country. His eventual destination was not Los Angeles but Tacoma, Wash., home of the Seattle Mariners' Triple-A affiliate. Over the past 14 seasons, Rito has been a fixture

Zoom, zoom: Mendez focuses on Blue Wahoos

Pensacola team photographer creatively captures the big moments
@BensBiz
July 10, 2023

PENSACOLA, Fla. -- In 2018, Nino Mendez attended a Pensacola Blue Wahoos game that happened include a fireworks show. This seemingly innocuous occasion turned out to be the start of a new professional journey, and he is now in his fifth season as team photographer for the Double-A Miami Marlins

Blue Wahoos on first: A weekend in Pensacola

Jump in with Ben's Biz and explore all the things Pensacola offers
@BensBiz
July 7, 2023

This is an excerpt from the latest edition of the Ben's Biz Beat Newsletter, bringing Minor League Baseball business and culture news to your inbox each and every Thursday. Check out the full newsletter HERE. Subscribe HERE.

Butter Up! Ben's Biz pays a visit to the Biscuits

All aboard to check out Montgomery's unique historical ballpark
@BensBiz
June 30, 2023

This is an excerpt from the latest edition of the Ben's Biz Beat Newsletter, bringing Minor League Baseball business and culture news to your inbox each and every Thursday. Check out the full newsletter HERE. Subscribe HERE.

Ben's Biz pays a visit to the Magic City

Ben Hill explores the past and present of Birmingham baseball
@BensBiz
June 23, 2023

This is an excerpt from the latest edition of the Ben's Biz Beat Newsletter, bringing Minor League Baseball business and culture news to your inbox each and every Thursday. Check out the full newsletter HERE. Subscribe HERE.

Biscuit rises: Adams-Wall gets callup to Tampa Bay

Promoted broadcaster looks back on seven seasons in Montgomery
@BensBiz
June 22, 2023

MONTGOMERY, Ala. -- After a long stint with the Double-A club, Chris Adams-Wall finally got the call: He's going to The Show. He's going to the pre- and postgame show, to be exact, hosting both as the newest member of the Tampa Bay Rays broadcast team. Adams-Wall is a homegrown

Hippidy Hops Guy brings the noise in Hillsboro

Superfan brings cheer, trinkets, rubber chickens to Ron Tonkin Field
@BensBiz
June 16, 2023

HILLSBORO, Ore. – It’s a beautiful afternoon at the ballpark, and the ambient noise is delightful. The soothing sounds of the game gently intermingle with the buzz of the crowd, the enthusiastic exhortations of the PA announcer and the atonal, overlapping bleats of dozens of miniature rubber chickens. Wait, what?

The hole story: Hudson Valley's Cider Donuts

Renegades' alternate identity features local flavor, scented merch
@BensBiz
June 13, 2023

WAPPINGERS FALLS, N.Y. -- A light breeze wafted through Heritage Financial Park on June 3, complementing an overcast sky, temperatures in the mid-60s and, later, a rain shower. The calendar may have indicated otherwise, but the vibe at the ballpark was decidedly autumnal. How apropos, then, that this was the