A Coast‑To‑Coast Guide To Independent And Collegiate Summer Baseball

We trace a coast‑to‑coast map of independent and collegiate summer baseball, from the Arizona Fall League’s underused potential to the Northwoods’ packed old parks, and explain how fans can keep their summers full if MLB hits turbulence in 2026. We weigh stability against control, share travel tips, and highlight leagues worth your time and money.

• why 2026 MLB CBA risk makes alternatives vital
• Arizona Fall League strengths and promotion gaps
• affiliated vs independent control, costs and churn
• Appy League reinvention and team turnover
• West Coast, Pioneer, Western Canadian snapshots
• Draft League and partner leagues explained
• Pecos League realities and merch trust issues
• USPBL’s single‑stadium model lessons
• Cape Cod traditions and lawn‑chair culture
• Northwoods League atmosphere and history
• Prospect, NECBL, Futures, Old North State growth
• how to support teams through tickets and merch
• travel ideas: Cape Cod, NBC World Series marathon

Make sure you hit the subscribe button and without further ado, I’ll give you the episode

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Do you see the uh what what's on there? Uh own a team? Yep. An own a team link. Yep. Yep. There is uh you can I'm I I I'm just pointing it out. That's all I'm saying.

SPEAKER_05 0:12

I wonder how much you know what I mean it is for to own a team.

SPEAKER_01 0:17

Well, we can email and find out.

Welcome And Why Minors Matter In 2026

Arizona Fall League: Promise And Promotion Gaps

SPEAKER_05 0:19

Let's find out. Let's find out. Like let's let's all put money together and buy a team. Okay, let's go. Welcome to the Deadhead Chronicles Podcast. My name is Ann, also known as the Deadhead. And this week, Eric, Kelly, and I, we finish our conversations on the various minor leagues all over the United States. Now, here's why we're doing this. The reason why is because, as you already know, 2026, this is contract year between the major major league baseball and the Players Association. Now, we don't know how that's gonna end. Um, some say that there's gonna be some work stoppage. So the reason why I'm doing this is one, let you know that there is gonna be other options for you while they get their crap together, right? And then number two, obviously it's a lot of fun and it's also good for you guys to go and support those various teams in your local area besides your major league team. All right, sounds good, cool. Now make sure you hit the subscribe button and without further ado, I'll give you the episode. All right, so then we, you know, we have the Arizona Fall League. So that's another technically affiliated um league where you know during the season, some of those players they they say, hey, we want you to continue playing, we want you to continue developing, we're gonna send you to uh the fall league, and that's where they send you for that, for that, for the fall. Yeah, right, because it's done. You don't you don't have any more teams, go there. So those are there's what and then it's funny because with that league, the uh f the it's not like you know you have every year, it's the same set of teams, every year it flips, right? So like you're rooting for one team, and all of a sudden you're like, oh, I can't, you know what I mean. Now I gotta root for this team, you know, the javelinas, for example. Like that, you know, at one point that was Cleveland affiliate, now no longer that now it's a different team.

SPEAKER_01 2:11

Yeah, which I mean it, yeah, it it's kind of annoying, but it's understandable because yeah, yeah, yeah. You know, Cleveland might only send five players, and you know, you need to be able to round out. So I didn't, I didn't, I never I never really thought about that before until I think it was actually on I know it was I think it was with you and Paul talking about it. It's like, oh yeah, that makes sense that why why it flips around so much.

SPEAKER_06 2:35

Was that that same conversation where the lady tried to tell you what a dad hat was or wasn't? No, it was the same exact conversation, yeah.

SPEAKER_05 2:45

Like this lady, I go by dad hat. Like you really want to have this conversation with me.

SPEAKER_06 2:50

That'd be like the equivalent of having somebody try to tell Kelly something about uh history in baseball or something.

SPEAKER_01 2:57

Like you really want to go down this route. I I I've I've had people try that, and I like I'm I don't want to, I'm not a confrontational person, so I'm like, you know what? I'll let you think what you're thinking, but or or being at a game and someone behind us talking, and I'm like telling Christina, I'm like that's actually that's wrong, and but I don't want to be the jerk and butt into someone.

SPEAKER_05 3:20

I can see you one day and just be like, you know what? Actually, let's you know, pull up a PowerPoint. Here's the real thing, okay.

SPEAKER_01 3:27

Funny. So Christina actually coined the name Minor League Nerd. Really? It was actually at a dog's game, it was a dog's exhibition game, and and and so at X the exhibition game, they always play an exhibition game before the season starts, and it's sit wherever you want, you know, yeah, it's an open house, so it's it's it's for like season ticket holders. I don't think they they open it to the general public, and so there's people who actually now are like two rows behind us as ticket holders, but they were it was so it was the first year, so it was 2021, and they were playing the Kane County Cougars, and someone was they were talking about the Cougars, like, Well, I thought they were you know with the Cubs and and talking back and forth and like trying to figure out why the Cougars now playing the dog. So I chimed in and I explained why. And the woman's like, Oh, and then Christina just off the top of her head says, Oh, well, he's a minor league nerd, he knows all about the minor leagues, and so that like that that was in like May 2021, and I'm like, huh, that's minor league nerd. I should do something with that, and then it's like I'm gonna put that in the back of my back of my head, you know, because I'm gonna use this later. Yeah, it was like a year and a half later, it's like, oh, hey, I think I know what I'm gonna do with it.

SPEAKER_05 4:37

That's actually not bad at all. That's pretty good. Uh yeah, I remember having that conversation. And listen, I love the Arizona Fall League. Don't get me wrong, I love it. I think it's a great league. I just think they I wish they would do such a better job of promoting that league. Yeah, they don't at all, and I get it, but like at least show the games a little bit more and promote it. Promote, you know, give me some some some merchandise. You can only really buy some of that merchandise there, and it's not that much, and it's literally like it's a pop-up shop.

SPEAKER_01 5:07

Yeah, what that's what surprised me when you and Paul were there, that like the the the shop itself wasn't even open. Yeah, you'd think that would be open, and people can buy other merch. Yep, nope, for you know, even for even the major league merch. But yeah, just what I'm saying.

Affiliated vs Independent: Control And Instability

SPEAKER_05 5:27

Yeah, so like you have theirs, like if we were there for the it was where the cubs play, right? There was a the Arizona Fall League, the for the um for spring training where the Cubs play there, right? And I'm like, me as someone who like I'm I'm always it's it's a curse, right? At this point, like I'm always thinking about ways of like marketing and merchandising, like the baseball team and things like that. And I'm and right there, I'm sitting there. I'm like, this is a lost opportunity where you could be selling a lot of Cubs merchandise, major league merchandise, right there.

SPEAKER_01 5:59

Yeah, open your store 20 2015. We went to uh spring training in Arizona for two games. We went to Camelback Ranch, and I bought my Dodgers cap at Camelback Ranch. Yeah, is it the Sox and Dodgers were playing? I'm like, oh, I'll you know, I'll get a Dodgers cap.

SPEAKER_05 6:15

So it's done. And you already now you add it to the collection, but yeah, we didn't have any opportunity to do that at all. Like I was kind of disappointed. I was kind of sad about that, to be honest.

SPEAKER_01 6:24

With all the the marketing and everything, merch MLB merchandising everything, it's just kind of surprising that they haven't stepped up with the folly because there's just so many people who have no idea it even exists. Correct.

SPEAKER_04 6:34

And it's you were gonna say something, Eric.

SPEAKER_06 6:38

No, yeah. I mean, I I agree. I haven't been out there before, but um I enjoyed because what was it not this season, but last year. I think a lot of our friends went out there, so it's kind of fun to watch everything. And you were gracious, I think, to grab a hat from the Scottsdale Scorpions for me. But yeah, it would be something I think would be fun to get out to, but yeah, they just don't really do a whole lot of promoting on it now. Like obviously, as a season ticket holder for the wind surge, they've had last couple years, some of the guys that played for Witch Talk go out there. So the wind surge will usually do a little bit here and there where they'll talk about how they're doing in the fall, but otherwise, you don't really hear a ton about it. They have like a Twitter page you can follow or whatever, but for the most part, yeah, you don't really hear a whole lot about it.

SPEAKER_05 7:20

Yep, you don't, which is kind of sad, right? Like, I mean, I do follow the them on on social media and things like that, but it's not like it's not as active, yeah, as other other leagues are, right? So, you know, again, if if my league baseball, if you're listening, give curbed media a call, we'll help you out. We'll fix it for you. We will definitely fix it. Uh so all right, so so that now we covered affiliated baseball, right? So that's that's the that's that's all. That's it, no more, right? Because there was some some some teams that were actually it was a whole league that was completely told that you're they're no longer gonna be part of affiliated baseball, right? Yep. The New York Pen League. Yep, the the Apple League.

SPEAKER_01 8:08

Oh yeah, but at least the Apple League is still around. The New York Penny League doesn't even exist, completely disappear, right?

SPEAKER_05 8:14

The apple league is still around, and actually, I think their apple league is doing a lot better now than if they were still affiliated. Yeah, the Epi League, they get to control who their players are, they get to control a lot of their own, like you know, their marketing and things like that. If you are part of an affiliated baseball, you have no control whatsoever of your coaching staff, of your players at all. That's set, that's major league baseball. They take care of that. Each of the major league teams when we get to now the collegiate woodbat teams and things like that, that's when it's like, hey, it's all free for all for you guys.

Blue Ridge, Appy Changes, And Team Volatility

SPEAKER_01 8:52

Yeah, the the only problem with that is there is some instability with it, especially the Apple League. I mean, you know, we already lost Princeton. Yep. And then the whistle pigs, right? Yeah, the whistle pigs gone. Uh, and now the Tri-State Colcats have gone. But I didn't I didn't know that, so I saw that like they were gone, but I didn't it wasn't until last week I found out the reason why, and it was because they played, I think it was played at Marshall, and like Marshall won't let them play there anymore. And it's uh article I read said apparently Marshall's gonna bring in a team from another league. Which interesting, yeah. I'm wondering, is this gonna be a Blue Ridge league team? Because they're adding more and more teams.

SPEAKER_05 9:35

Blue Ridge League, yeah, so they're up to uh from what I understand, is eight teams altogether they're gonna be at.

SPEAKER_01 9:42

Yeah, they haven't announced all eight yet, though. Correct. There was um uh actually one it was breaking news on a recent episode of Ballpark Hunter Mark Vikes' podcast with the uh the Joanna Hornets. Yep, and then we just we talked about that. Then we just had the Davy Crockets pop up as well, correct.

SPEAKER_05 10:01

Uh but they had seven, they haven't even announced the eighth team, from what I understand.

SPEAKER_01 10:07

Yeah, so yeah, because when they first announced it, I'm like, oh, it's only gonna be five teams. That's weird. Yeah, right. I had no idea that they were planning on bringing up more, which I mean is great. It the more the merrier.

SPEAKER_05 10:20

The more colle you know what? Actually, I find it that a lot of uh collegiate woodbat teams are becoming a lot more um profitable, yeah. Than you know, if you were to have like a professional league just saying because you get to see a lot more collegiate woodbat now.

SPEAKER_01 10:37

Yeah, I just granted it's I just wish the seasons were longer. I know why they're not. I guess I wish they were. It's like the uh the I'm uh Clinton Lubberg Kings, we used to go like two, three times a year to see, and now because we had like five months to see them, and now we've got two.

SPEAKER_05 10:52

Yeah, and it's really hard to get out there if you're if you're already planning all you know to go somewhere else for your trips for the summer.

SPEAKER_01 11:00

Yeah, since they switched, we've only seen them once, whereas, like I said, we used to see them at least once to one to three times a year. But it's like I said, I get it, I understand why it's only a two-month season, it can't be any more than that.

SPEAKER_05 11:11

Correct, right? You got those could they gotta go back to school, you know, and also which is interesting, you know, for a lot of people that don't know when it comes to collegiate wood bat, the a lot of these players they come with a pitch count, they come with a certain number of at-bats, uh some run games that can only play, you know. And so there's a lot of like, yeah, we'll let we'll let you, you know, have our player, but once they hit that that number of innings pitched, that's it, they're done. Yeah, they're going back home.

SPEAKER_01 11:40

And I know there's a lot of uh college coaches who are getting to the point where they don't even want to send their players any longer, which I think they has been talked about on on some of your with some of your guests, Eric. Yeah, teams running in that problem where they like they used to get all these players from a team, and now it's like the coach doesn't want to send.

SPEAKER_06 11:58

Yeah, it's not quite obviously like the affiliated because it's so much shorter of a season, but yeah, they have some guys that start with the team to start the year and then uh the summer, and then they don't have they have to pick up some new guys, and so it's kind of you're filling in pieces and everything, so yeah, it's kind of difficult for them as well.

SPEAKER_01 12:16

Yeah, I remember we're hearing one interview recently where uh actually I think it was on Terry McCutcheon's where team talked about they went through something like 50 to 75 players in one season in two months. Yeah, that's crazy.

SPEAKER_05 12:30

That's a lot, man. Yeah, so and and I get it. Listen, and this is the this is the problem why you know, and that we've we've all had this discussion, right? Like, we don't want to get too excited about some new leagues popping up because you know, chances are, and you know, you know, evidence shows that more than likely they're not gonna last more than a couple of years.

SPEAKER_01 12:54

But it it's it's much better than having like I I'm not a fan of independent collegiate leagues. Like okay, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, independent collegiate teams. Gotcha.

SPEAKER_05 13:04

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Like I gotcha.

SPEAKER_01 13:06

Disco turkeys are great and wonderful, but it's like getting a league. And they did, they formed their own. Yep, they did. So that I mean that's great. And it's like I I I know I can speak for an example here in Chicago. So we've got the um what used to be the Midwest Collegiate League and is now the Northern League. And so it's it's can be difficult. I don't like to speak ill of teams and leagues, but uh it's basically this year, this past year was four teams, three of which are owned by one guy. Um but there was a team which I remember a few years ago, everyone was excited about the in in our minor league uh community, the Lake County Corn Dogs.

SPEAKER_05 13:52

I remember the Lake County Corn Dogs.

West And Canada: Leagues And Geography

SPEAKER_01 13:54

I've just got a cap uh right over here somewhere. Um but yeah, the corndogs. So they were they were members of uh the what's now the Northern League. I think they played two seasons in there, and they were one of the it was them and the northwest Indiana oil men. That's the guy who owns the league, that's his main team, and then he has the other teams. And like they were battling, but uh the I don't know the full story behind, but the the Corn dogs decided to go independent because the the they had different ideas than than what the Northern League had. And so they played as an independent. And it like I hearing an interview with the guy who owns a team, their fans didn't like at first, like, oh, we don't care. They say, Oh, we don't care where we play, we just want to see baseball. But when you don't, when you're not playing for something, you know, two, three years in a row, there's no championship. So if I you it's you know, the fans get bored. So they've actually went and formed a collegiate, another very small collegiate summer league that's basically northwest Indiana and some of the the southwest suburbs of or yeah, southwest suburbs and south suburbs of Chicago. Interesting. So so it's like, yeah, it's like being being it's great, you can put together your own your own schedule and that, but you gotta give your fans something to cheer for, something to be excited about. Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 15:15

I find it interesting, and and we've talked about this a lot, Eric, on our show is that North Dakota, South Dakota, Colorado, Wyoming, that territory over there, it's like the it's like the black hole. Like once you announce the team, it's like it's gone within, like yeah. That's so sad, man.

SPEAKER_01 15:35

Yeah, the then the the uh Northwoods League has kind of moved into there and has some stability, yeah. With like with you know the uh uh Bismarck Larks being an expansion team, then they brought in the uh the big stick. Yeah, um, but yeah, so many it's like the and what was the one? Uh the Expedition League. It's gonna be all great, it's gonna be wonderful. And then like the the guy who started the league, like his son screwed the whole thing up.

SPEAKER_04 16:04

Oh, yeah, it was bad.

SPEAKER_01 16:06

Like there was articles out there, like his son just is like, you know, yeah, yeah, and like just he's basically destroying a whole league, and then they they go and form the independence league, and like that's falling apart too.

SPEAKER_05 16:18

Yep, there was a I remember the Casper, uh the the horse heads, yeah. Uh was one of them. It was just like and I and I I'm it's it saddens me to see some of these teams go. Yeah, um, go ahead, Eric. I know you were gonna say something.

SPEAKER_06 16:32

No, yeah, and I was just gonna say, just like you're saying, that there's hardly anything basically west of me, like immediate west. You know, obviously we get further out, you got uh California and northern, you have some, but yeah, right Colorado is losing basically everybody. They've lost the uh the Rocky Mountain vibes, for instance, and the Hawks, yeah. The and so it's just like all these teams, and yeah, out just kind of west of right right where I'm at, there's like hardly anything, unfortunately.

SPEAKER_05 17:02

Yeah, it's sad. That's that's the one thing. It's like because you you know, the east coast is full of teams, the west coast is full of teams. You got the south, right? The Midwest, and then like this whole section in between in the middle, there's nothing, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 17:14

And then and then we've got the Pioneer League, which is like kind of shifting its focus now to go more west. Correct. But like saying in Colorado, losing three independent teams, Jesus, is just it's just terrible.

SPEAKER_05 17:27

And that's a the that I is where I say, okay, six game series, I can understand that because you're an independent league and they need to like save money. That I get right, yeah. I'm good there. Affiliated, I'm still not you you lost me there. So I get that part. Um, okay, so we got so we got a couple of uh leagues out, you know. Let's what you know what, Eric, you're you're right. Like, why don't we talk about the West? Because you got you know, you have up on the uh the Washington area, the or uh the Oregon area, you got you know that whole section of the West Coast. There's a couple of leagues up there, including in Canada as well, correct? Yeah. What do you guys got there? Talk to me.

SPEAKER_01 18:10

So at Canada, there's the uh it's the Western Canadian Baseball League, which I I don't know, I don't know too much about. Um, but I know they I mean they stretch basically from I believe it's uh Manitoba all the way out to I don't think they go into I think they go into BC. I know they go into Cal into uh Alberta. Uh but they're they're they're pretty, I mean they're I don't know, I don't they're not in one of my spreadsheets, but they're uh I think they're like 12 to 14 teams. They're a pretty good number.

SPEAKER_05 18:42

All right, so the Western Canadian Baseball League, that's an interesting name. I like it a lot. Yeah. Uh all right, so when it comes to those, the teams are the Brooks Bombers, Energy City Cactus Rats. That's an interesting name. I like it. Uh Fort McMurray Giants, uh Lethbridge Bulls, Medicine Hat Mavericks, Moose Jaw Miller Express. I am gonna butcher this one, so I apologize for those fans over this one. Uh Oquitox dog, the Regina Red Sox, the Swift Current 57s. I like that name. Saskatoon Berries, I know about that one. The Sylvan Lake Gulls, I know about them. They built a brand new ballpark. The Gulls. They have a it's a brand new, it's gorgeous. Uh, and the the Weyburn Beavers, those are the teams in the Western Um Canada Canadian Baseball League.

SPEAKER_01 21:36

It's not bad. Yeah, no, they're they're they've been and they've been around for things close to 20 years. I mean, some of the teams I know have been around longer.

SPEAKER_05 21:44

Correct.

SPEAKER_01 21:45

But yeah, I think it's they're like close to like 20 years, if not just over.

SPEAKER_05 21:49

So we have there's a couple of leagues here that are affiliated but independent, which I don't know about this one. They got this one on their affiliate on their uh partner leagues. Uh the MLB Draft League. Yeah. That's all makes major league baseball.

SPEAKER_01 22:03

Yeah. I mean that's yeah, and and that's even they've even changed that from what it was at the beginning because it was a collegiate summer league and then now like the second half is you can be a professional or a guy.

SPEAKER_05 22:17

You can get paid to play.

SPEAKER_01 22:18

Yeah. Which I mean, talk about you know having having the entire the entire uh dynamic of your team change from one half to another, that right there.

SPEAKER_05 22:29

That's so they they currently have six teams in that league. Uh you have the American Association. Um they have 12 teams in that one. Yep. Then you move to the Atlantic League. That one has 10 teams. The Frontier League has 18 teams. The Pioneer Baseball League that has 12, correct?

SPEAKER_01 22:54

Yes. Uh yeah, it's yeah, and one of them we still don't know where they're going. Grand Junction. It's still a big question mark.

SPEAKER_05 23:02

It's like, well, we'll see. Well, we're gonna put you as uh maybe. Um Canadian Baseball League.

SPEAKER_01 23:10

Yeah, the the formerly the uh uh the tri-county or the intercounty league.

SPEAKER_05 23:15

The intercounty so now is comp now is just the Canadian baseball league.

SPEAKER_01 23:19

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_05 23:20

Um this one I don't know too much about. Uh they started back in 16. Uh, so I I do apologize for the people that are part of this one. The Empire Professional Baseball League. I don't know if they're actually still around. I I wouldn't think so, you know, because it's like I've never heard of them.

SPEAKER_01 23:38

Yeah, they they were they were like very fluid, fly uh fluctuating.

SPEAKER_05 23:44

Like, I mean they were like teams up in like small way the hell up there in in New York, small town New York, and then a team down in Puerto Rico. I remember that.

SPEAKER_01 23:55

Yeah, they had a team down in Puerto Rico, everyone else was up in like up in like the Adirondack Mountains, and I think there was a team in in May in uh uh Vermont, and then I don't know if the Puerto Rican team actually played in Puerto Rico or if they played it's just played up there, yeah. Um that was actually the when the uh the the the road team that was in the frontier league for two years, the Empire Grays. I remember the Empire, that's who supplied the players. Interesting, which which way that you know how good the Empire Grays were, that can tell you a lot about the Empire League.

Pecos Tales, Merch Nightmares, And Trust

SPEAKER_05 24:29

It looks like the last there was a they've actually played some games. So you got the the border hounds, the bullies, the river pigs, the t birds, and the surge. Those are the this five teams. Uh, and the team to win the last one was back was the border uh hounds. It's funny you say that. Look, prior to the league's second season, the Watertown Bucks lost the the lease to the stadium and were replaced by the Plattsburgh Redbirds. The New Hampshire Wilds ceased operations and were replaced by a team from Puerto Rico. However, since the stadium deal in Puerto Rico had not yet been finalized, the team played the 2017 season as a travel team.

SPEAKER_01 25:08

So which is always a good sign.

SPEAKER_05 25:12

Always a great sign when you're when you're dedicated as the travel team. Yeah. So uh you got the Pecos League.

SPEAKER_01 25:20

That one is still around, yeah, and is it's that's a weird one because I I don't know if you if you guys saw it. There it was uh on Fox Sports back in uh probably 2016-2017. They actually followed a team for a season. They followed the Trinidad triggers, and it was great. It's like we watched it every week and like, oh, I hope it comes back. It didn't. Uh I'm assuming the players probably still refer to it, but back then they referred to it as the shit league. I'm not surprised because it was like guys may got like they got paid nothing, but they got to play baseball. But that's another one that where it's like every year it's constantly changing the teams that are in it.

SPEAKER_06 26:02

Yeah, because you have like the Austin weirdos who left, but I think they may be coming back. Then you have the Garden City wind. Well, Garden City, Kansas is three and a half hours west of me here in Wichita. Austin's super far south, Texas. Then you have like the Roswell, New Mexico, and it's just it's it's some of them are close, but there's just a lot of the and then they've got their they've got like the whole division that's basically out in California, six teams in California, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 26:33

In like Northern California, northern and central California.

SPEAKER_05 26:37

Yeah, so you got uh Martinez, Dublin, Monterey, Bakersfield, uh Vallejo, San Rafael, like it's all the way up there. Yeah, is that the train robbers?

SPEAKER_01 26:47

Yeah, yeah, the Bakersfield train robbers who started in Las Vegas, Las Vegas, New Mexico. Not Las Vegas, no, not that one, the other one.

SPEAKER_05 26:58

Uh Colorado still has a team, guys. It's uh Trinidad, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 27:03

Southern very southern. I we there's there's a very slim possibility we might be going to Trinidad in on our road trip in April.

SPEAKER_05 27:11

Dude, it is like on the border of Colorado and New Mexico. Yeah, I mean, it is right there.

SPEAKER_06 27:17

Yep. My son played for his summer ball team. Uh, they played fall ball this fall, it's September and October, and we went out to Garden City and they didn't end up playing there, but we went over to because they played their games at the Garden City Community College. But uh, I went over to the Garden City Winds little ballpark, and it's kind of a just an old rundown ballpark, but they have a nice turf field uh and little scoreboard out there, but the stadium itself's not that great. But I did get to see the Garden City wins ballpark while I was out there back in the fall.

SPEAKER_05 27:51

Yeah, I'll say I'll say this, uh Kelly, you're right. Uh, this is literally the shit league. This website sucks.

SPEAKER_06 27:59

Yeah, yeah.

unknown 28:00

Yes.

SPEAKER_06 28:00

I've tried to get I've tried to get some people on the podcast, and I'm like, I can't find anything on here. I got a hold of the like commissioner one time, and he just he responded, and then I said something else, and just never heard back.

One-Stadium Pro Model: USPBL Lessons

SPEAKER_01 28:12

I I've I've been interested because they've got some really awesome caps, but I have been afraid to order from them because I'm afraid they might take my money and I will never get the cap. Go Spartan burgers on your cap well, and then you look you've got you've got Spartan burgers. I had uh uh team that was in the independence league. Um, I don't remember the where oh zap there now. Pierre are the Pierre Trappers. The same thing happened to me. I ordered a cap, they took my money, I never got the cap. I sent them emails, I called, I sent them messages on Twitter. Nothing.

SPEAKER_05 28:49

Jeez, see that again. This is the problem. We're like as fans, we want to support these leagues, we want to support these teams by at the very least buying a hat or buying some merchandise, and then you never get to see them or hear from them again, right?

SPEAKER_01 29:01

It's like, and it's like we talked about it before, had you know, talking about the size of cap collections and how many caps we have. Before before COVID, I never bought caps online. Just you always went when you went, you bought I would buy them, and then it got to the point where it's like you know, we weren't doing anything. It's like we've got a lot of disposable extra income. It's like I want to help. It's like, well, shit, minor league teams they need help. So that's when I started buying.

SPEAKER_05 29:27

That's how I started in in uh doing COVID. I was like, my I'm gonna help my way. Yeah, I'm gonna buy a hat from them or whatever.

SPEAKER_01 29:34

That was and like Christina was all on board with that too, because it's like you know, we love traveling and we want these teams to survive, yeah.

SPEAKER_05 29:41

Because you want to be there. Yep. Uh okay, so there is this one league here, the United Shore Professional Baseball League.

SPEAKER_00 29:48

Yep.

SPEAKER_05 29:49

You know about this one, uh uh Kelly, because this is uh I've been there. Yeah, you've been there.

SPEAKER_00 29:55

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 29:58

They got some cool names. I'm not gonna lie. There's some teams there, they got some cool names there. Um, the it's funny, the the Birmingham Bloomfield Beavers, East Side Diamond Hoppers, the Utica Unicorns, uh, the West Side Wooly Mammoths. Yeah, those are the four teams. They're not they played, I think, don't they play in one stadium?

SPEAKER_01 30:17

Yeah, they they play in Utica, Michigan, which is uh uh outside of Detroit, and they they play all play in one stadium. And usually what they'll do is uh lots of times you'll get a double header for teams. So the teams will play each other twice in in one game. So when we went, we got to see all four. Well, they went there for two days, but we saw all four teams because of a of a double header.

SPEAKER_05 30:40

Interesting.

Appy League Today And Local Favorites

SPEAKER_01 30:41

Uh they they there's been talk in the past that they were gonna like try and like add more teams. I don't think it's ever gonna happen. Like do another stadium and have like another teams in there, but it it's never never been. Yeah, but do yourself a favor at some point. Look up they have victory songs that they play after look those up. They are they are unfricking believable, especially the uh the the the beavers one, just the song. It is I'll just warn you though, it is catchy, it will get in your head and it'll just pop up every once in a while. Christina, every once in a while will start singing the song.

SPEAKER_05 31:18

They got into era hats.

SPEAKER_01 31:20

Yeah, uh yeah, uh that that must be new because we went in 2022. They're expensive, bro. I've got the stretch fits, they're fifty dollars.

SPEAKER_05 31:31

Wow, they look like they're nice, but they're fifty dollars.

SPEAKER_01 31:38

They and they they I'm don't they probably still do, at least when I went, they they had home and away caps, and then they also had an alternate cap. So because I've got two caps from each team, so I can see them right here.

SPEAKER_05 31:49

Yeah, uh, they look cool though. I like the beavers one. Um, the unicorns is awesome. Uh the actually I like them all. The the diamond hoppers, that's a pretty cool one. Yeah, and the the woolly mammoths they got an all-black one where it's just the skull. Yeah, that's a new one. It's the skull, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 32:07

That'd be pretty awesome. I've got the one that I have is white, and I know it's a with a blue brim, so I never wear that one because you can't get that one at all. Yeah, no, no, no.

SPEAKER_05 32:19

So definitely take a look at uh Eric, you should probably try to get a some of these guys on the on the podcast.

SPEAKER_01 32:24

Yeah, should I have to look it up? Yeah, it's I definitely if you ever get a chance, I definitely recommend going. We we had a great time there.

SPEAKER_05 32:31

Looks like a nice little ballpark, too.

SPEAKER_01 32:33

Yeah, yeah, it is. It's if you go, make sure you get there early because we the first day we got there early, the second day we were a little bit late, and it's a lot of a lot of traffic to get in. I mean, they draw well, they fill that stadium up, like you know, not a complete sellout, but they bring in pretty good sized crowds.

SPEAKER_05 32:49

I like it. I like it. All right, so now let's talk about there's some there's a couple of uh leagues that we haven't talked about, uh, which is the Appalachian League. Uh that one like that whole league was affiliated, and then with you know, with major league baseball taking over, they were all said, Hey, you guys are now collegiate woodpath teams.

SPEAKER_01 33:10

Yeah, yep. And we didn't know that was gonna be the case when it first was announced because I was afraid that the whole league was gonna go away. And at that point, like we were saying, I didn't buy caps, I only bought the caps when I saw them, and I'm like, Oh, I want to get all the caps, and I was lucky enough to get all the caps. Nice, it was a little trouble difficult getting the Princeton Rays because they didn't answer calls, emails, nothing. Uh, fortunately, fortunately for me and a couple other people, the uh the GM from the uh uh Bluefield Blue Jays drove over there. Really? And drove over he drove over there, bought caps for three of us. Wow, and shipped them to us. You know, we we paid them back for shipping and everything, but that's how I got the Princeton Rays cap because they didn't have an online store because it it like even Bluefield. I was able to they used to Bluefield, and I when I talked to the guy, he uh it's like oh it wasn't worth it for us to have because we didn't sell enough merch. It's like I don't think that's the case anymore, right?

Cape Cod Plans And Northwoods Atmosphere

SPEAKER_05 34:13

Well, here's the thing this is interesting about the the Appalachian League. Uh, it has lost some teams. The State Liners are no longer part of the league as well.

SPEAKER_01 34:24

Uh the whistle pigs are no no longer, so you still got the River Riders, the the the the state sorry, the State Liners are from what I've heard are apparently just on hiatus because they've got when you say hiatus. I don't believe that they've got a stadium issue.

SPEAKER_05 34:38

I get that, but you know how this goes because they moved to the Tennessee side. I remember this whole situation with them. They were on the one side and then they moved to the Tennessee side, and they was like, Yeah, we're still the state liners, nothing has changed. Yeah, you know, everything is just just that we're in Tennessee now, and then they disappeared.

SPEAKER_01 34:56

Yeah, and now they're trying. I think was it North Carolina's or no uh Virginia's trying to get the match.

SPEAKER_05 35:00

Yep. Uh, you still got the Autobots, you still got the Sock Puppets, the Doughboys, the Fly Boys, the Ridge Runners, and the River Riders. Those are the only teams in the Abbey League. It is still a very successful team. Um, and it's very popular. Um, obviously, I have one in my backyard, the Sock Puppets. They draw well all the time. Um there's one that I haven't mentioned. Obviously, you have the Cape Cot League, and Eric, you're gonna be going there um this summer, I believe, correct? You're gonna be going with your brother.

SPEAKER_06 35:30

Yeah, we're going up to the thing I realized, and we had an issue with this, obviously, with the Kerber meetup, is yeah, we're gonna go to the Boston area, and that's during the World Cup. So um I was trying to split up. So I originally got a hotel pretty early, and I got it at a decent price, but then my brother's like, yeah, we need to split up where we're going. And when I've looked recently, the hotels were like four or five hundred bucks, any like literally anywhere we went. So we may just have to have a centralized hotel and then just and just go a couple hours, go to a game and come back. And it'd be better if we're only normally we try to be in that in the area, so we're only like 15-20 minutes away, but we just may have to make it work. But yeah, we're gonna try to get up to the Cape Cod League. Now, I don't know before since I've never been there. What I think I heard is that it's doesn't cost to get in.

SPEAKER_01 36:21

Yeah, from everything I know, yeah, it it's free to get in.

SPEAKER_05 36:25

And some of them play in a in a city park. So, you know, when it comes to the Cape Cod League, it's it's they bring their own, you bring your own lawn chairs, and then that's that's how you hang out.

SPEAKER_06 36:35

Yeah, we plan on going to see like the Chatham Anglers, the Armont Dennis Red Sox, the Orleans Firebirds, and get to see some of those stadiums. So, yeah, looking forward to get over there. Obviously, it's one of the most, you know, the big premier league, obviously, with a lot of big name college players usually go there right before they get drafted and everything. But outside of that, yeah, like you said, the stadiums and everything aren't that that big, but that's you know, one of the big leagues that everybody, if you're a big time prospect, tries to go play in.

SPEAKER_05 37:07

That one, and then obviously one of our favorite ones uh on the DHC Sports Show, uh, the uh the Northwoods League. And that one is a that one is gaining in popularity and growing.

SPEAKER_01 37:20

Yeah, it's it's it's the largest. I mean, it just keeps getting bigger and bigger every year.

SPEAKER_06 37:25

Now, Kelly, you have more experience, obviously, kind of being a little more closer up in that area, but uh I did get to go to a game and met Kelly when we were this summer we went to Kenosha, saw Kingfish, and that place is not quite sold out, it's pretty close to being sold out and just a great atmosphere, uh, a lot of fun, uh, really fun ballpark. They had ice cream helmets, they had uh branded beer with the team's logo on it and everything, and uh had some really good food and ice cream. So, yeah, I've only been to one so far, but I had really good experience when I went to the Northwoods League game this summer.

West Coast League, Prospect, NECBL, Futures

SPEAKER_01 37:57

The nice thing about the Northwoods League is a good number of the stadiums are former minor league ballparks. Back when when when MLB up raised the standards for minor leagues back in the early 90s, there were so many teams that they they didn't their stadiums didn't fit. So the Midwest League, you had a whole bunch of teams like in like a two, three, four-year period just moving around, some teams going somewhere for a year, waiting for their new ballpark to be built and going there. And so that when the North Woods League was formed in what it's like 90, 1994, uh, they had all these ballparks that you know just needed a little bit of work and just put them in there. So you're yeah, it's like you're playing in real as well. Real stadiums, like you know, Kenosha, that was the Kenosha twins played there for such a long time, and that's an old ballpark that goes back to I think the 30s. Wow. That's awesome. Up up in um who is it? Uh uh shoot, what team is it? Um the All Claire Express back in the 50s. That's where uh um Henry Aaron played there. His first his first affiliated experience of affiliated baseball was playing in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.

SPEAKER_03 39:19

That's cool.

SPEAKER_01 39:20

And around uh walking around the concourse, they have pictures of who play there. Bob You could play there when he was uh in the Brave Horn system.

SPEAKER_03 39:28

Yeah. That's cool.

SPEAKER_01 39:31

But yeah, I'm actually we actually were doing a we did a uh uh it's small, it's only I think it's like four tickets uh package with the the kingfish this year. It's like I would love to go more, but it's like they're hour and ten minutes away, which isn't bad getting there, but you know, uh it's more on weekends, and weekends are usually full with other things, so doing other things, yeah.

SPEAKER_05 39:52

Yeah, and doing going during the week on an hour and ten minute drive, that's yeah, that's pushing it.

SPEAKER_01 39:57

I have done that. I've actually gone up there for games before, and yeah, it's kind of rough to get, you know, especially if a game goes to X trainings and then you're not getting home until like you know 11, 12 o'clock at night, and then you gotta work the next day.

SPEAKER_05 40:08

The next day. That's when working from home sometimes helps.

SPEAKER_01 40:12

Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Fortunately, I'm able to work from home three days a week. So there you go. But I still have to get up.

SPEAKER_05 40:20

Yeah, it's a true story. Gotta gotta get ready for work. Yeah. Uh is there any leagues that you know that that we need to mention when it comes to um ones that we haven't talked about already?

SPEAKER_01 40:32

Uh, there's the West Coast League, the collegiate league, which uh most known for the Portland Pickles are probably the most well-known team, but that's a pretty big lead. I mean, that's uh they got 17 teams.

SPEAKER_06 40:47

Yeah, that's a really big one. I saw the pickles when we were up there in the area a couple years ago. My brother and I went, and same thing for them. It's just in a glorified city park, but you know, they got a full house whenever you know, any of their games a lot of teams. So the stadium itself wasn't that great, but the atmosphere, I think, is what made it pretty good. What makes it yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_05 41:09

I mean, you've got you got some serious, some serious names in this stuff right here. I mean, the Nanaimo uh night owls, you got the berries, you got the Falcons, you the Bellingham Bells, the Bend Elks, Corvallis Knights. I mean, you got some serious names here.

SPEAKER_01 41:26

Yeah, when we were in uh Alberta recently, we're actually stopped outside uh Remax Field, which is where the Edmonton Riverhawks play, which is an old triple A stadium. So we're like we're driving through, and all of a sudden I'm like, Hey, wait, there's the ballpark. So we pulled over and like driving, you got to actually got to see the seating ball, which is pretty awesome, but we just you know we couldn't go inside, but we got to walk around.

SPEAKER_05 41:52

Yeah, there's some there's some serious uh teams there.

SPEAKER_06 41:55

Yeah. A couple other leagues that are, I think, kind of Of maybe up and coming, or at least big on size, the prospect league. There are 20 teams now. Um, and then you got like the NEB NE CBL, New England Collegiate Baseball League. So I mean, there's a ton out there, but those are a couple of the kind of bigger ones besides like the Cape and the Northwoods League.

SPEAKER_01 42:16

Yeah, there's the futures uh futures collegiate baseball league, which uh took in a few former affiliated teams that were in uh the uh the New York Penn League.

SPEAKER_05 42:28

Yep. Um, you also have um the another team um here, another league here in uh in uh North Carolina. Um the um Eric, you know the name. I uh the name is escaping me. It's not the Blue Ridge team league, the uh old North States league. The old North State League. That's what it is. Thank you. God might have couldn't listen to this. But yeah, that one is also uh they've gone through a full rebrand of that whole league. As a matter of fact, it's totally different now.

Old North State League And Expansion

SPEAKER_01 42:58

That that's one I don't know too much about because they don't, I mean, they they're not they don't seem to have too much information out there. I mean, like as far as I know, they don't have a Wikipedia page, so it's like kind of it's one easy way to just keep up with who's still in. True story. Because you know, as we know with like saying with the uh the the the Picos League is sometimes the websites aren't the best and they're not always up to date. Nope. Dub C fish dicks saying their home schedules are coming out in October, and here we are, still not out.

SPEAKER_04 43:30

It's still December, this the end of December.

SPEAKER_06 43:33

Um that was another one that I got to get up to uh when we were up in that area. I saw the uh fish dicks and the pickles on that trip. So got to see a couple of those teams, and that was also another one, another kind of just city ball city uh owned kind of smaller ballpark, but uh they had a sell out there, so uh it was pretty pretty fun. So I think a lot of them, maybe if they don't have the best stadiums, they try to do what they can with the atmospheres overall.

SPEAKER_01 44:04

And yeah, we we in 2022 we walked around that park. It it seemed pretty nice.

SPEAKER_06 44:08

I mean, yeah, that one is it's a lot better than I think even the pickles, uh, because the pickles just kind of in the middle of a bunch of trees and every everything. But yeah, that specific one for the uh dubse fish stick is actually that whole little kind of city park is actually really nice area, and they they actually have covered grandstand, which is definitely important. Yep.

SPEAKER_05 44:28

You know, I gotta hand it to the Oran North uh State League, guys. There's a lot of names on this one. Uh, one that you will definitely recognize for sure, the Danville Dairy Daddies. Yeah, are part of that. Right here, right there. There's a hat right there. So there's that. Um, you got you know, obviously, there's some teams that are super close to me. The rally uh Red Oaks, uh Wake Forest Fungo. Uh, I mean, these are some cool names. Some of them have gone through some, definitely some uh um rebrands, right? Uh Lake Norman, that's that's down by the Charlotte area.

SPEAKER_01 45:05

Uh, didn't didn't Burlington have uh uh the they yeah, they know they no longer have that team. Okay, I was wondering what happened to them.

SPEAKER_05 45:14

Yeah, the sock pups. Um, they from what I'm told, um, they just wanted to concentrate on the uh sock puppets. Yeah, they got the sock pups have it, but like they have it for like you know, other things, not not really for the actual uh team like they did with um with the dairy daddies. The dairy daddies actually became a lot more popular. Um obviously because of I wonder why. Yeah, exactly. And so um I'm very interested in how this one, the one that is very controversial uh in this old North State League is one that's called fish sticks, the Cape Fear fish sticks. There's I am going to be keeping an eye out on this one just because it's very interesting, and obviously we know we are you know friend of the show, friend of the podcast for uh you know the dub city, uh the dubsey uh fish stick. So we'll see how this goes.

SPEAKER_01 46:07

So I assume you're on the old north uh side website. Do you see the uh what what's on there? Uh own a team? Yep. There's an own a team link. Yep, yep. There is uh you can I'm I I I'm just pointing it out.

SPEAKER_05 46:22

That's all I'm saying. I wonder how much you know what I mean it is for to own a team.

SPEAKER_01 46:29

Well, we can email and find out.

SPEAKER_05 46:30

I'd say let's find out. Let's find out. Like let's let's all put money together and buy a team.

SPEAKER_01 46:36

Well, found out for uh to get the corporate naming rights for the uh the ballpark in uh Joanna, South Carolina is$250,000. Which, yeah, a lot of money. It's like yeah, I wish I had that hanging around. And hold on a second. Considering what others are going for, that's actually a pretty good deal.

SPEAKER_05 46:56

See, I don't know if I want to put out the money for um for putting a name out there. I would more likely want to put my money to own the team.

SPEAKER_01 47:05

Yeah, you know, if I have$250,000, I think I'd rather go to owning the team as well.

SPEAKER_05 47:09

Exactly, owning the team. So uh it's interesting. Uh you know, I want to, I'm gonna we're gonna keep an eye out. I'm sure in it, Eric. I'm sure you've reached out to this uh league.

SPEAKER_06 47:19

Yeah, we've had them on uh at least one before, so yeah, for sure.

Support Your Teams: Merch, Attendance, Survival

SPEAKER_05 47:23

Oh, very interesting. Uh, you know, we should talk to our good friends over with the uh sock puppets and uh Otterbots. Uh talk about the dairy daddies and making that move to the old North State League, you know. Yeah, which would be interesting. Uh, but I am gonna keep an eye on the Rally Oaks because they're very close. Uh and you know, they're very super close to me.

SPEAKER_01 47:42

There's uh there's I there's a team, the Sanford Spinners, which is it's a pretty cool logo. It's a spider with baseball in the middle. Sanford Spinners is actually an old uh minor league, actually, like professional minor league team name, so it's nice to see that resurrected.

SPEAKER_05 47:58

Outer Banks swinging mullets.

SPEAKER_00 48:02

And that god, that logo, that fish with with a mullet. It's mullet fish with a mullet.

SPEAKER_05 48:10

Which is funny because right now they still are on on the website. If you click on the website, it says Outer Banks Flying Dutchman. Shh. So there's that.

SPEAKER_06 48:21

Yeah. Ed, you're speaking of you know, team being super close to you. One league that's uh pretty big that we haven't really said anything about is the CPL Coastal Plain League.

SPEAKER_05 48:31

The Coastal Plains League, that's correct.

SPEAKER_06 48:33

Holly Spring Salamander is right there, basically right next door to you. And they're down the road for me, literally 10 minutes away, amongst others. So yeah, I when you said when you said, Oh yeah, the what'd you say, the Raleigh Oaks was like right there by you. I'm like, wait a minute, CPL.

SPEAKER_05 48:49

CPL, the Coastal Plain League, which by the way, at one point used to have a very famous team. Uh, but you know how this goes and history, you know, went excited, focus on something else. Yeah, exactly. Let's go with that. And so um, there's that. I will say just that. Okay, Eric. So this is pretty much to say, guys, there is opportunity to watch baseball, to go out and support baseball, um buy their merchandise. That's the best way to really support these very independent leagues, these uh collegiate woodpad teams, professional teams, is by buying buying their merchandise, getting out there and go watching those games, including uh affiliated. You know, let's let's be honest, because like you know, it if you don't buy the merchandise, if you don't support the team, major league baseball has no issues whatsoever to say, hey, this is not working out. Modesta nuts, see you later. Which it happened.

SPEAKER_01 49:51

Yeah. And holds threaten threaten other teams. If you don't do this, we're gonna replace you.

SPEAKER_05 49:59

Which they have. So it's very interesting to see what happens, you know, coming up with the with the uh with the new CBA for Major League Baseball, how that's gonna work out. Um, so I'm very, very intrigued at what uh uh the future holds for affiliated baseball.

SPEAKER_01 50:18

Uh got me a little nervous because we also got the uh the development deals uh expiring uh in 2029. And uh like I'm sure you've already talked about it, and I know other people are afraid of them lopping off a whole nother level.

2026 CBA, Development Deals, And Draft Cuts

SPEAKER_05 50:33

Yeah. Oh yeah, I I you know like they they've done it with the with the draft, right? Like, I mean, remember when the draft used to be you know a whole lot longer than it now is only you know a handful of um uh uh uh 20 rounds now. I think it was the was it less than that? Yeah, not that. Maybe maybe 20. It may be 20, I don't know. It's just but it used to be a whole lot more. It's like everybody's like, oh 64 rounds. I'm like, holy Jesus. Yeah, granted, there's less teams now, right? So you don't longer need those 64 plus rounds uh to pick players. Exactly. Uh all right, guys. Any final thoughts on you know what you're looking for as far as uh 2026, as far as new teams, new leagues that you're looking to visit. Eric, I know you're you're planning, Kelly, you're planning on doing your your visits this year. What any final thoughts?

SPEAKER_01 51:24

Uh well for a new team, I'm really hoping I'm trying to work it out to get uh to uh to see the Richmond Flying Mummies. I think it would be definitely. I mean, that that's probably it's about a four-hour drive from us, really hoping to get that to get there. Um, yeah, I mean we're gonna got the dogs again. Uh got a small package for the uh the Kenosha Kingfish. So definitely doing a lot of local, but yeah, we've got our our big road trip. There's the curved rim meetup. Uh we actually uh last night, I think we so next year it's gonna be 20 years that Christine and I are together. We were looking to do a much bigger trip, and then we looked at flights and where we wanted to go, they're really expensive. So instead, it looks like for our our 20th anniversary, we're gonna be going to Denver to see uh uh the Rockies uh for two games in a weekend.

SPEAKER_05 52:19

Nice. You should do one, you know what? Why don't you do this? Ren a uh RV and just travel across the country and then uh believe me.

SPEAKER_01 52:30

Believe me, if I could afford to do that, I would totally do that. I know, I know. Right. I I I need a place to keep all my hats.

SPEAKER_05 52:37

So true story. So there you go.

Trips, Meetups, And Round‑The‑Clock Baseball

SPEAKER_06 52:40

Uh any uh any thoughts on uh final thoughts for you, uh Eric. Yeah, so obviously looking forward to seeing uh Cape Cod League next year, just kind of see what that's all about and kind of go up. Some of the stadiums that we're gonna go to, I've been to already, but my brother wasn't on that trip. So uh see a couple of those new ones and some others uh that I've seen before in the area. Uh, but then I'm actually gonna probably do maybe a little bit less traveling in terms of going to see, you know, I do random long weekends, but my I didn't get to see my son play uh in his summer travel ball team much this year since I was traveling myself. So his schedule should be out soon, maybe even before uh this episode drops. And uh depending on where they're gonna play, it's talks that maybe they're gonna play in Nashville. So go out there and see if hopefully that corresponds with the sounds game. I've seen the sounds before, but check out another game or think that maybe going down to Texas or who knows where all they're playing. So um just gonna wait to see when his schedule comes out and then maybe add on some uh summer collegiate or affiliated or whoever, uh kind of where he's playing. So just kind of waiting to see when that comes out's gonna be my big thing this this coming summer.

SPEAKER_05 53:55

I like it. I like it. As far as me, there's a couple things. Obviously, we have a couple of leagues here, um, but um the Kerber Media Meetup up in the Pacific Northwest. Uh, we did talk about on the DSC sports show about the um the 24 hours, uh the NBC.

SPEAKER_06 54:14

Yeah, you guys, if if nobody's if you haven't done that before, you guys gotta make it to Wichita. So uh it's not setting some quite yet. There's still probably ironing outdates, but more than likely it's looking to be July 25th and 26th. Uh it's uh 17 games, nope, 11 games in 33 hours. Used to be 17 games in 56 hours, but they have a few less teams. Now uh talked to the director, the tournament director for the NBC World Series, and they've talked about possibly expanding the league, uh, the tournament again. Used to be at one point like 48 teams, and now it's down to 16. So hopefully they'll kick it back up and have some more. But yeah, 11 games in 33 straight hours. It's the top summer collegiate teams throughout the country. You got a lot of teams from like the uh California Collegiate League, you got some from the Kansas uh Jayhawk Collegiate League, and then some down like Texas, Oklahoma, Colorado. So a lot of fun uh big team names that you know come around and play in a big tournament, two-week tournament here in Wichita, and then they do it where they have a they start at noon on a Saturday and run through all the way through to like the 7 p.m. game on that Sunday, and so they got games at 3 a.m. 6 a.m. 9 a.m. midnight. So a lot of fun. So yeah, if you guys get a chance, July 25th and 26th, and I'll confirm that once it's been finalized, but guessing that's when it's gonna be. The gold penners coming back. I haven't heard yet, hopefully, because I went to most of their games. They played actually twice uh during most of the teams only got to play once during the baseball round the clock. Now, obviously, they had other games they played, but they played twice during round the clock and then they played throughout that week because they uh won or they were one of the top teams that advanced to the knockout round. And so I saw them play probably three or four times. So I've not heard yet. I'm hoping that the tournament director will get them to come back. Um, maybe they've all had other uh Alaska teams before as well. But when we talked to them on the podcast, uh one of the teams said they changed the league schedule so it finished a little bit sooner, and that's one reason why they hadn't been able to come to Wichita is because their league was going all the way past when the tournament started. But it's ending, or at least this past year, it ended before uh the NBC World Series started, so they were able to come. So I'm hopeful that they'll come back because it was a lot of fun to have them here and support them.

SPEAKER_01 56:48

I love that the baseball around the clock to me sound it's similar to the midnight sun game. Sounds fantastic, but just sounds like a physical nightmare. If you're local, much easier, right? Like if you know, if like you know, I if I were to come to it, you know, I'd I'd have to like probably leave on Tuesday just so I can catch up with my sleep on Monday.

SPEAKER_06 57:14

Right, and that's exactly what so we had our friend Terry McCutcheon, him and his wife came up for it this this year, and they came on um they came up on that Friday, got here kind of Friday afternoon, and then the wind surge were playing. So they saw the wind surge game Friday night, and then it started on noon Saturday. Well, then they ended up having to stay on Monday and didn't get back on the road till either late Monday or Tuesday. So, yeah, for for us it's pretty easy. For everybody else, you'd have to take a good four four to five days to you know kind of make it with the travel schedule plus trying to catch up on sleep because yeah, yeah, it'd be pretty much near impossible to try to travel back without getting any sleep the next day.

SPEAKER_01 57:55

Yeah, and I'd be afraid to wake, fall asleep, and wake up after you know finding out Joe wrote something on my face.

Plugs, Schedules, And Closing

SPEAKER_05 57:59

So proof yeah, it will happen. Uh it could happen. Uh guys, thank you so much for joining with it. It was awesome. Uh, I'll start with you, Eric. Where can people find you again about your podcast really quick?

SPEAKER_06 58:11

Yeah, earn fun average. We're uh earn fun average with average being AVG. We're on Instagram, Twitter, and Blue Sky. And again, we're on uh Apple Podcasts, Spotify, pretty much anywhere you can get your podcasts. Earn Fun Average comes out every Wednesday morning.

SPEAKER_05 58:27

Love it. And uh how about you, Kelly?

SPEAKER_01 58:29

Uh so with Money League Nerd, we've got a YouTube channel uh where we do our history uh uh and the podcast version, which is basically the same thing, just without the pictures. Uh, and that's podcast version, which is available on all podcast platforms. And then right now, yeah, it's my favorite baseball memory, which is filling in while we're on uh on our season hiatus.

SPEAKER_05 58:52

Love it, love to hear that. Uh, and as far as the Data High Chronicles podcast, it is you know, this is the first episode of the new year. Uh, we are recording before that, but this will be the official uh episode of uh 2026. Um, we still have I have a hold on to this, okay? So I have we have three shows uh under the DHC. Uh so we have the breakfast takes, which is every Monday morning, 6 a.m. Eastern time. That is Carolina specific, North and South Carolina. Then later on that night, we got break-even sports where we talk about the sports that Eric doesn't like. For example, soccer. Uh so that's what we do. We talk about that. And then Tuesday and Thursday nights, 8 p.m. Eastern time is the DAC sport show. That's when we talk about the releases of new logos for minor league baseball, major league baseball, NFL, NBA, all of that fun stuff. So, guys, make sure that you guys hit the subscribe button. Every single one of these gentlemen. Um, they do some great work when it comes to their podcast. It is you always learning something new, especially, you know, like with the history uh with uh Kelly and also Collegiate Woodbed uh with uh with Eric. So keep an eye out for every single one of these guys, okay? And thank you for joining us, and uh we'll see you guys in the next one.