Planning a Baseball Getaway

Sometime this spring I've got to travel to Manchester, New Hampshire for a business trip. So I was on the internet the other day looking at hotels and ran across one that seemed just perfect to me: the Hilton Garden Inn. The pictures tell the whole story:

The hotel is situated just beyond the left centerfield fence of MerchantsAuto.com Stadium, home of the New Hampshire Fisher Cats, the AA Eastern League affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays.



I've been a fan of minor league baseball since going to see the Durham Bulls during my college days at UNC. Back then they were playing in the old Durham Stadium where the movie Bull Durham was filmed. In fact, I was in college and could have gone over to the ballpark to be an extra in the film. It's one of my great regrets that I didn't follow through on that opportunity. Anyway, the park was one of the more intimate ballparks I've ever visited. That's the real beauty of minor league baseball is that you're so close to the action.

If you interested in learning more about life in the minor leagues, I'd also recommend David Lamb's excellent book Stolen Season: A Journey through America and Baseball's Minor Leagues. The author took a year and drove all across the country visiting minor league ballparks. Sounds like a great summer vacation to me.