This revolutionary Minor League road trip salutes General George Washington
Josh Jackson
@JoshJacksonMiLBBecause there's no better way to celebrate the Fourth of July than getting out to a ballgame, earlier in the week we presented a breakdown of must-catch Minor League games with Independence Day celebrations, with one entry for each farm system.
But let's say you're not satisfied with one Independence Day game. Let's say you're the kind of freedom-loving American (or global citizen) who needs a full-fledged Minor League road trip with intermittent stops at key sites of George Washington's Revolutionary War campaign?
Fear not! Find herein an itinerary presented by Wyndham that takes you to seven Minor League ballparks with options to check out (at least) six such monuments or battlefields.
While robust, this plan contains neither every Washingtonian stop one could make nor every Minor League ballpark that's near important Revolutionary War-related sites. You can take what's here and adapt it to meet your logistical needs, or use it as a jumping off point to plan your own thematically related itinerary that may be quite different.
It is, after all, a free country.
History on the Hudson
Hudson Valley Renegades
Heritage Financial Park
1500 Rt 9D
Wappingers Falls, NY 12590
845-838-0094
Start your journey a stone's throw from West Point, a post which General Washington considered paramount. A short jaunt up the river, catch the Hudson Valley Renegades, High-A affiliate of the New York Yankees. Their Heritage Financial Park is home to the Professional Baseball Scouts Hall of Fame. Ballpark Guide ?
Next stops: If you didn't pop into the West Point Museum before the game, do so on our way to Fort Lee Historic Park, where Washington and the Continental Army began the "retreat to victory" in the autumn of 1776 and where you can check out a reconstructed encampment.
From there, take the George Washington Bridge en route to the The Old Stone House and Washington Park, where you can learn all about the Battle of Brooklyn.
Cyc'ed about independence
Brooklyn Cyclones
Maimonides Park
1904 Surf Ave
Brooklyn, NY 11224
(718) 449-8497
Coney Island, USA, is surely the kind of All-American destination Washington and his fellow founding fathers had in mind when they got behind the idea of "the pursuit of happiness." And the Mets' High-A affiliate plays at one of the most electric environments in the Minors. Ballpark Guide ?
MiLB's most patriotic?
Somerset Patriots
TD Bank Ballpark
1 Patriots Park
Bridgewater Township, New Jersey, 08807
(908) 252-0700
The Yankees' Double-A affiliate gets its very name from General Washington and his cohort, as the Patriots' home of TD Bank Ballpark is a couple miles from the Washington Camp Ground, or Middlebrook Encampment, as it was known when (as some conglomeration of history and legend has it) the first American flag was unfurled in June of 1777. At the ballgame, mingle with fans who've been rooting for the Somerset team for over 25 years, dating back to when the Patriots were in an (ahem) independent league. Ballpark Guide ?
Next stop: From the Patriots' park (or the Washington Camp Ground), it's a quick trip to the Monmouth Battle Monument outside of the Monmouth County Superior Court. This 90-plus-foot monument commemorates the June 28, 1778 Battle of Monmouth, in which Washington led a charge that, after a long day in triple-digit heat, resulted in the British fleeing the area under the cover of night.
Once more unto the beach
Jersey Shore BlueClaws
ShoreTown Ballpark
2 Stadium Way
Lakewood, NJ 08701
(732) 901-7000
By the time you've arrived at the Monmouth Battle Monument, you're just 40 minutes away from the BlueClaws' ShoreTown Ballpark. Enjoy baseball, beach vibes and pork roll at the home of the High-A affiliate of the Phillies. Ballpark Guide ?
Next stop: Shake the sand out of your shoes and make for the Trenton Battle Monument, which marks General Washington's shocking victory over Hessian forces the day after he crossed the Delaware River on Christmas of 1776.
Taking liberties with the aPhilliates
Lehigh Valley IronPigs and Reading Fightin Phils
Coca-Cola Park
1050 IronPigs Way
Allentown, PA 18109
610-841-PIGS (7447)
If this itinerary weren't focused on Minor League parks, you'd now head for a Phillies game in the city that served as the nation's capital for the bulk of George Washington's presidency, but it is, and so we're ticketed for beautiful Coca-Cola Park, home of the Lehigh Valley IronPigs (Philadelphia's Triple-A affiliate). Ballpark Guide ?
FirstEnergy Stadium
1900 Centre Ave.
Reading, PA 19605
(610) 375-8469
Marrying a classic, smalltown ballpark feeling to the wacky, fun, exciting atmosphere that makes Minor League baseball so widely beloved today, the home of the Double-A Fightin Phils is sure to be a favorite with any fan. Ballpark Guide ?
Next stops: Departing from FirstEnergy Stadium, you're only about 45 minutes from Valley Forge National Historical Park, the site where General Washington and the Continental Army spent the winter of '77-78 while the British occupied Philadelphia.
After that, it's on to Brandywine Battlefield Historic Site, where Washington's troops engaged in 11 continuous hours of combat that ended in calamity for the Americans.
Red, white and Blue Rocks
Wilmington Blue Rocks
Frawley Stadium
801 Shipyard Drive
Wilmington, DE 19801
(301) 777-5772
A fitting conclusion to this trip is a visit to an affiliate of the Washington Nationals. The High-A Wilmington Blue Rocks get their name from the blue granite found along the Brandywine River, and the city was occupied by the British after the Battle of Brandywine. If remembering the ultimate outcome of the Revolution doesn't wash off the Brandywine defeat, cheering for the Blue Rocks will. Every time the club scores a run, an anthropomorphic vegetable named Mr. Celery appears to lead the ballyhoo. Ballpark Guide ?