Ballpark Hunter

The Marion Hungry Mothers are about to begin their inaugural season this summer and GM Kelsey Marchant is my guest tonight to tell me all about it!

My guest tonight is Max Pelletier, GM of the Sherbrooke Expos of the Ligue de Baseball Majeur du Québec. A senior amateur league in the province of Quebec. Pelletier shares his experience running a franchise out of Stad Amedee-Roy, his team's commitment to winning, and the introduction of new uniforms and its own beer.

My guests this week will explain all of it as they have taken a local term and transformed it into what could be one of the more exciting promotions at a ballpark this summer at The Shore. Jersey Shore BlueClaws VP of Communications Greg Giombarrese and Gianna Fiocco, Director of Promotions & Entertainment, sit down to tell me what it is all about.

Matt Bomberg is my guest today and he talks about the brand new club coming to Richmond, Indiana, in 2026. The expansion franchise will play out of McBride Stadium and be a whole new era of baseball at the historic WPA venue. We discuss what will be done and who will be involved with the day-to-day operations in Richmond.

I am solo this week as I talk a little baseball on my recent trip to Kansas City and Lawrence, Kansas. Do you enjoy baseball trips in early April in the Midwest or do you wait until the weather is warmer? Let me know!

Matt Hiscox is my guest and he is the media relations director and photographer for the London Majors of the Intercounty Baseball League. The team pulled off an April Fools prank that went viral when it announced they would be called the Forest City Cobra Chickens. Due to high demand, the team will rebrand for one night as the Cobra Chicken sometime this summer.

My guest this week is Mike Sellers, the host of the Up to Chat podcast. This is the second part of our conversation. We get into a lively banter on baseball, logo rebranding, and everything else.

My guest this week is Mike Sellers, the host of the Up to Chat podcast. We get into a lively banter on baseball, logo rebranding, and everything else. The conversation is so good that we had to break it up into two parts.

My guest this week is the owner of the Eau Claire Express Craig Toycen. He shares his thoughts and plans for the Express in 2025, along with his past experiences in baseball.

The head coach of the Newark Pilots Chris Ferara is my guest this week. He talks about his first year as the skipper of the team and ideas he has to raise the awareness of the club in the area.

Mal Romanin is my guest, the co-owner and Director of Operations for the new baseball club in St. Catharines, Ontario, begining this summer in the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League. Romanin is a 12-year vet in the Toronto Blue Jays communication department, and he gives us a glimpse of what to expect from his new club set to play this summer.

Tonight's conversation is about relocating the Athletics back to Philadelphia. Does that sound crazy? Is it crazier than playing in Sacramento for three years and hoping that a ballpark in Las Vegas gets built? The A's playing in the Philadelphia market might not be as far-fetched as it sounds, and my guest, pushing for a movement with his petition, gives us more details on what the city could look like as a two-team baseball town. https://www.change.org/p/mlb-bring-the-athletics-back-to-philadelphia

Joining me again as a guest is Nicholas Carey of American Ballpark Road Trip. He talks about his passion for creating content for his YouTube page and the equipment used to showcase various ballparks throughout the country and abroad.

Jason Moragas returns to the show to review the newest logos and rebranding across the world of organized baseball this off-season. We rate are three favorites and three of our least favorites on this week's episode.

We take a break from ballparks this week. Kevin Jordan is my guest tonight, and he discusses his journey to all 60 Canadian Hockey League arenas. He shares his favorite arenas, memorable moments, and his future plans.

My guests this week are from the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers of the Midwest League. Sawyer Dam, the Merchandise & Retail Manager, and Ryan Moede, the VP of Business Operations, tell me how their collection of alternate identities helps with merchandise sales for the club.

Eric Stoller of the Flag City Sluggers is my guest tonight and discusses what it is like to operate a summer collegiate team with a group of college students from the University. of Findlay The first-year Great Lakes League is based in Finlady, Ohio, and hopes to provide the area with baseball fun during the summertime.

Terry McCutchen is my guest this week and we have a few things to discuss including being the president of the Abilene Flying Bison Fan Club, The Catch 365 Project, Logovember, and panned trips for the 2025 baseball season.

Hunter Kane is my guest tonight and he will discuss his new role as the Assistant GM of the Lexington Flying Pigs of the Old North State League. Kane talks about his past experiences this summer as well as interning for both the Hickory Crawdads and the Edenton Steamers.

Phil Selig is my guest and he talks about his visits to Cuba to check out baseball stadiums.

Bill Lockwood is my guest tonight and he is the owner and janitor of Stadium Mustard. He talks about the Cleveland favorite's history and how he was able to gain its rights to the company. We talk a little about baseball as well and what ballparks you can find the mustard at during your travels.

Dr. Joe Squillace is my guest this week and we talk about the Jacksonville Lunatics, a baseball club that has not played since 1910. The team earned its nickname from playing in the same town as the Jacksonville Developmental Center that opened in 1851. However, were there concerns over this name, how did the team react to it, and why was chosen as its nickname? Squillace describes all that from his extensive research on the club.

Texas Ranger fan Jeff Bates is my guest tonight to talk about his love of the team and its ballpark. He also shares information about his YouTube page called Texas Clubhouse. This is a great conversation between two baseball-loving guys.

Chuck Heeman, the Western Nebraska Pioneers owner, returns as my guest with some big news. The Pioneers and five other clubs have announced the formation of the Front Range League which will be based in the I-25 corridor of Colorado. He explains the reasoning of forming the new league, along with what fans and players can expect at the ballparks next summer.

Mark Firkins is my guest this week and we talk about the ballparks he has been from the major leagues down to the summer collegiate leagues. There are some great small ballparks and equally impressive town support in his area of Western New York. We end the show with a talk about his baseball glove restoration called "This Old Glove"

With the Paris Olympics completed, we move away from the ballpark and onto the courts with Ohio State University handball head coach JD Orr and assistant coach Max Littman. We discuss why the sport is an afterthought in the United States, but hugely popular in Europe where fans pack arenas by the thousands and Germany has 7 divisions for its women's league. Orr and Littman talk about how they became involved with the sport and, whether, the men's and women's teams can become competitive in international competition. They also share how they have seen the world based on their involvement in the sport.

Chris Dorsey has spent his life in baseball from catching balls at Columbia Mets games, playing minor league ball in the NY Penn and Appy League, to coaching American Legion ball. He is a lifer with one goal: to save Capital City Stadium which has been in ruins for the past decade. He wants to use it for his baseball team and other events that hopes to benefit the area. We see what his plans are to resurrect this historic piece of property in Columbus, South Carolina,

My guest this week is Craig Smith who discusses some of the great ballparks in his area, including US Bank Stadium. He discusses his recent trip to the Cape Cod League and everything else he saw along his route.

Greg Sullivan of the Carolina Disco Turkeys joins me on the podcast again to talk about his team's latest season and disappointing playoff loss. However, the off-season is here, and it is time to reflect and look forward to the future.

My guest today is Rich Billings, head coach and general manager of the Leesburg Lightning. The Lightning are members of the Florida Collegiate Summer League and were founded in 2007. He talks about what makes the team click with its community and what it's like attending a game.

My guest this week is Steven Guistolise, founder of Stadium on Wheels, a food truck that brings the stadium experience to you! He has operations in Phoenix, Arizona, and Indianapolis, Indiana. Let's see how he came about with his business concept.

I am live from Costa Rica this week as I visited another ballpark. In a soccer-mad country, it is good to know one can watch a game at Estadio Antonio Escarre on Saturday afternoons. I speak with the commissioner of the Asociación Deportiva Beisbol Master Pedro Palacios briefly in this week's episode. He has plans to promote the game to more Ticos in the future.

Spencer Collins is my guest for the third time and a lot has changed for him since his last appearance. He is not based in the Twin Cities, works full-time for Pulltab Sports, and continues to produce content for YouTube at SAC Sports Adventures. Let's catch up with Spencer to see how every thing is going.

My guest this week is Michael Holsinger who is like a lot of us when it comes to ballparks. He plans his summers to visit as many venues across the majors and minors. He tells us about where he's been and where he is going on this week's episode of the Ballpark Hunter

Ralph Flores is my guest and he talks about the decision of his baseball club to leave the Northern League in favor of an independent schedule in 2024. How has it been early on in the season?

Greg Kigar and Jack Misterovich are my guests this week and they talk about moving down to Arkansas from Michigan to start a new team in a new league. Will the summer heat get to them? Find out in this week's episode.

It's Memorial Day Weekend and we recap recent visits, upcoming trips, the Indy 500 on TV, and Fever tickets on sale for $4. Check out this week's episode.

The GM of the Texarkana Rhinos David Gest is my guest tonight. The ball club began operations on March 1 as one of the founding members of the Mid-America League. Gest tells us a little bit about his journey from his home state of New Jersey to Texarkana and what to expect this season at a Rhinos game.

A short podcast on rainy days of college baseball and remembering the last Boys of Summer, Carl Erskine.

Lake Charles Gumbeaux Gators GM Sam Moore joins me this week as he talks about what it takes to start an expansion club in the Texas Collegiate League.

My guest this week is Hunter Kane who talks about his interest in baseball as a bat boy for the Leesburg Lighting on the Florida Collegiate Summer League to his time this summer interning for the Edenton Steamers of the Old North State League and the Hickory Crawdads of the South Atlantic League. His dream is to become a GM of a baseball team sometime in the near future.

My guest this week is Kelly, the Minor League Nerd, and he talks about his YouTube series chronicling minor league teams you never heard of, as well as history of teams in a specific city or town. Plus, we talk a little ballpark talk as well on this week's podcast!

Marc Witt of Can-USA Sports talks about his company's involvement with keeping baseball alive in Niagara Falls, New York. The Americans will take the field this year at Sal Magile Stadium in the Perfect Game League and Witt thinks it will be a hit with fans!

My guest today is John Southee who hosts the Minor League Fan Club podcast. We talk about the trials and tribulations of hosting a podcast along with our live of the minor leagues.

Assistant GM Sam Connell of the Traverse City Pit Spitters is my guest tonight. He talks about what makes attending a baseball game at Turtle Creek Stadium fun during the summer months in Northern Michigan. This episode is not the pits!

Anderson Rathbun is my guest and we talk about the new team in town, the Burlington Sock Pups. They will be playing in the Old North State League this summer and Rathbun tells us what to expect when you visit Burlington Athletic Stadium.

This week's guest is the GM of the Greenville Yard Gnomes Michael Villafana of the Coastal Plain League. He talks about what it is like to start a new franchise in the summer collegiate leagues.

Eddie Hoops is my guest tonight and he shares his adventures traveling around the globe watching soccer matches on numerous continents.

This week's episode we look at potential ballpark sites in Salt Lake City, Oakland, Kansas City, and Chicago. I also weigh in on the new MLB Nike Vapor jerseys.

My guest this week is the GM of the Bison Baseball Club Lizzy Kocer. The Bison are back in the Independence Baseball League and are a sister team of the Oahe Zap in Pierre, South Dakota (in which she is also the GM). Lizzy talks about how the Bison made their return, how the schedule will look this year, what the plan for the club is in 2025, and what to expect from the Zap this season at their ballpark. Finally, I have the Bison on a podcast after one year of inside jokes!

Austin Lemieux is my guest today and we discuss stadiums and hot dogs. His weekly posts on Twitter & Tik Tok are whimsical, funny, and witty, plus they are about a minute in length. Lemieux discusses his plan for future videos and his love of traveling to different arenas and stadiums.