Welcome to the Farm

As in the farm system, as in minor league baseball. Now's a good a time as any to explain the crazy ride that is the minors. In fact, I actually googled (I'm absolutely dependent on google-admitting is the first step right?) "things that are complicated, obscure and unpredictable" to find a good metaphor. Google returned to me antidepressants and the human soul among other things. I wasn't sure that either captured the essence of what I was going for so there will be no metaphor.

It turns out that almost no one knows anything about minor league baseball. This is what you learn when you date a baseball player and explain, repeatedly, the system. So you have heard of triple A. If you're good, you may even know about double A. If you know about single A, gold star for you. And if you are, in fact, familiar with the minors in their entirety, two for you Glen Coco, you go Glen Coco (that was indeed a self-serving reference to Mean Girls).

Now onto the facts. Most major league teams have six affiliates (excluding the international leagues) which are rookie league, short season A, A, high A, double A and triple A. And then you're to "the Show" (I personally find this one of the most ridiculous nicknames for anything ever but what do I know?). Along the way, you can get cut, promoted, demoted and traded at the whim of your parent club.

Since I know the real reason you're here is because you're obsessed with Nik (who isn't?!?) I will tell you that he is currently in A, the regular kind, in Charleston, SC. So two teams behind him and three more to go before they start putting him on the cover of video games and whatnot. Three more teams before the world can see his plump rump fill out those pinstripes (too much? I'm sorry. The line between appropriate and not is so blurry sometimes).

Well, i hope that wasn't information overload. And if this has just whetted your appetite for more minor league knowledge, you can look forward to the day when I force Nik to post some sort of day in the life of. Get excited.


This is Bark (because the mascot is a dog-clever huh?). Anyway, this is the type of silliness that accompanies minor league baseball. Bark frequently stands on top of the dugout and lifts up his (her, its?) "roots" and violently shakes its exposed blue and white polka dot boxers at the opposing team. Note sure why there wasn't a picture of that available online. I will try to capture the moment next time I'm there.