Published: August 15, 2008 09:33 pm            

Three area baseball teams provide inexpensive outing for entire family

Editor’s note: This is the third in a series of day trips, focusing on areas within a 1 to 2 hour drive of Mt. Vernon and Jefferson County for those seeking an inexpensive day or weekend trip.

By TESA CULLI

tesa.culli@register-news.com

It’s not hard in the Southern Illinois area to find great professional baseball and take the whole family and not break the bank.

In 2007, Frontier League baseball hit Marion, but there were already two other league teams within a two hour drive of Jefferson County — The Gateway Grizzlies in Sauget and the Evansville Otters in Evansville, Ind. With Rent One Park and the Southern Illinois Miners, the options for watching professional baseball were only enhanced.

The Frontier League, based in Troy, is a professional, independent league not affiliated with Major League Baseball. The leagues operate in cities not served by major or minor league baseball. Frontier League rules limit teams to three “veterans” with three or more years of professional experience; two two-year players and seven one-year players with at least 150 professional at-bats or 50 innings pitched.

The other half of the 24 man roster is made up of rookies. Players must be 27 years old or younger by Jan. 1 of the season year they play. There are two divisions — Eastern and Western. All three area teams are in the Western division.

Frontier League players are recruited by the league, and usually use undrafted college players or one-time prospects who have been released by teams. The level of play is compared to A level.

The Southern Illinois Minrs are sitting pretty at first place in the Western Division with a record of 44 wins and 31 losses as of Aug. 11.

The Gateway Grizzlies are in third place with a record of 40 wins and 35 losses and the Evansville Otters are in last place with 32 wins and 43 losses. Other teams in the Western Division are Windy City in second place; Rockford in fourth place and the River City Rascals of O’Fallon, Mo., in fifth place.

The Miners are also in first place when it comes to attendance totals to date, with 175,073. The Grizzlies are coming in second with 144,944 attendees and Evansville is coming in with 96,553. However, the Otters have already won the distinction of being the first Frontier League franchise to draw more than 100,000 fans in a season.

As a new league, the Miners are working on their first championship, and playoffs this season for the league will get underway on Sept. 5. The Grizzlies won their first championship in 2003, and the Otters took the title in 2006.

Box seats at Rent One Park go for $8, reserve seats $6 and lawn/general admission is $4. At GCS Ballpark, home of the Grizzlies, reserve box tickets are $9; bleacher seats are $7; and general admission lawn seats are $5. Bosse Field serves as home for the Otters and feature reserve seat tickets for $8 and general admission tickets for $5.

        

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