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Whenever you're visiting a new place, there are so many things to do, from museums to coffee shops to local parks
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And while all of these things are great, and I definitely enjoy doing all of them
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there's one activity that I think you should put at the top of your list, and that is minor league baseball
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It brings back great memories. If you're not a baseball fan, there's still going to be tons for you to do. Minor league baseball is a blast
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I know, I know. It's not on your traditional tourism checklist, but stick with me
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There is so much about it that makes it a fantastic way to get to know a place and its culture
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Minor League Baseball consists of multiple professional baseball leagues that help prepare players for Major League Baseball
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And with over 175 different teams that fit this category, no matter where you are in the U.S., there's a good chance there will be a team close by
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To get the full picture, I brought in an expert in Minor League Baseball. My name is Ben Hill. I'm a writer for MILB and MLB.com. I cover the business and culture of Minor League Baseball
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He knows more about the weird world of minor league baseball than anyone I know, and has traveled to over 180 different ballparks
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So I asked him to help me make my case. So what makes minor league baseball so special
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Well, first, the baseball part is typically secondary. Of course, diehard MILB fans like baseball and want to see the team and players succeed
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But in my experience, they're really just big fans of their hometown. Well, it's a really good place to learn about a town
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And especially if you're maybe not from that town and you want to get a snapshot, I think a minor league baseball game is a very good place to do it
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You know one of the cliches of the industry is you know it a gathering place It the front porch of the community That sense of community pride of like wow in our town we have this an affiliated minor league baseball team And that something I want to support You probably pick up on a lot
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of regional quirks that you can learn about, or maybe make mental notes about, wait, what is that
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they sell at the concession stand? Or wait, what's this alternate jersey? And what does that represent
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And on and on and on and on. No one says, I'm going to a baseball game because I'm trying to
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learn. I'm taking notes. But through the experience, I think it's a great way to learn a lot in a
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short amount of time. And I know me personally, putting aside sports, putting aside baseball
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I know so much more about America because I've covered minor league baseball
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Minor league ballparks are small, intimate settings. There's not a bad seat in the stadium
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Even for the non-baseball fan, you earn a new appreciation for the game being able to see
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everything up close. It's definitely smaller. There's more intimacy. There's more access
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It's cheaper. There's generally more room to move. And it's a something for everyone kind of
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experience. It's the ability to get an autograph without having to try really that hard. So there's
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definitely a lot more fan intimacy. If you want to know what food item any town in America is known
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for, just look at the minor league team. Most teams have an alternate identity showcasing the
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local food. Everything from the basic, like the buffalo wings, to the tasty, such as the Albuquerque
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green chili cheeseburgers to the weird the Rochester plate I do like the identities where I like wait what I never heard of that thing before And or oh I heard of that but I didn know this region took such pride in it You know the Omaha Runzas
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R-U-N-Z-A. I did not know what a Runza is, but it's kind of a fried dough, meat-filled
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hearty, pastry-type product. And they play as the Omaha Runzas a couple times a year
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There's a lot of pride and knowledge and history behind a lot of these names
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If you've heard anything about minor league baseball before this video, it's probably the wacky stunts team's pool
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Like silly string night or puffy taco races or used car giveaways
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But the thing about minor league baseball is you never really know what's going to happen
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Fun comes first. The game is secondary. I think of a lot of racing food products that I've dressed as in between inning races
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or interesting mascots that I've dressed as, you know, participating in a fish fling in Cedar Rapids
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where they're using a slingshot to shoot stuffed, wiggling fish into the air
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And then I have a net and I'm trying to catch these fish in a net. You know, if you go to minor league baseball games
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you might not see a fish fling, but you're probably going to see something like a fish fling
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It's just fans every inning having fun and making fools of themselves
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and providing some entertainment until the next pitch is thrown. There's a phrase used by a lot of minor league teams, affordable family fun
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And it's a cliche, but it also happens to be true. Minor league baseball games are fun
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You get a chance to really live like a local and you never know what you going to see It certainly one of the most local things you could do And I can think of anything better than a minor league baseball game in terms of all the little things you learn about
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not just the stadium and the team, but the community itself. It's a great crash course in wherever you happen to be
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and will almost certainly be an experience in which you take away a lot of memories
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even if you were only in that place for one night and just saw one game. Every minor league baseball team is a reflection of the community in which it operates
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So what better way to learn about whatever community you're in than minor league baseball
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And by extension, what better way to learn about America than through minor league baseball
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So the next time you're planning a trip or looking for things to do in a new city, make sure minor league baseball is on the list
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One of my favorite parts of the game is hearing players' unique walk-up songs, the songs they play to pump them up when they go up to bat
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Let us know in the comments what your walk-up song would be if you got to choose. I think I would go with something that got the crowd singing along like Brown Eyed Girl by Van Morrison
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