Stolen Summer: The Real Faces of the Minor Leagues, Part 1

This is part one of a three-part series that focuses on the faces of minor league baseball.

Ever since I can remember, I watched professional baseball, and ever since I can remember they were mostly Minor League games.

My father was in the military and we moved around a fair amount.  Maybe being a military brat created a subconscious bond for me with minor league players.  We move around a lot, we go on long road trips, and we love baseball.

However, on the same token maybe baseball was the one steady thing I had in a life where we weren’t sure what military base we may be sent to next.

I remember the Omaha Royals, the Norfolk Tide, the Ogden Raptors, and the Great Falls Dodgers (now the Voyagers).  I always found the drive that these players had to get to the Big Show made minor league baseball one of the most competitive team sports on the market.

Chasing down long fly balls, crashing into the wooden outfield fence, learning the “unwritten rules of the game” while sticking up for your “bonus baby” catcher, and relishing a win on an 8-hour bus ride to your next game are just some of the unique charms that draw players and fans to the seats of a minor league baseball game.

The Pioneer League has a rich history of producing some great talent, according to an article by Tom Wylie in MontanaSports.com.

"But far beyond the game time, the hot dog vendors, the great promotions, and the stadium itself is a community that waits for June to roll around so they can catch up with old friends, earn some money for school, and enjoy America’s favorite past time, baseball."

However, you won’t see their names on scouting reports, on the highlight reels, or taking batting practice with the team.  These are the people that are the heartbeat of minor league teams.  These are the faces of a stolen summer.

Take Harrison Faulk for example.  Faulk lives and breathes minor league baseball.  Ever since Faulk got his “callup” from then Great Falls Voyagers GM Kattie Meyer, Faulk has dove headfirst into the game.

"“Baseball has meant so much to me my whole life, so it really won’t feel like much of a summer”, said Faulk."

“For the past few years, I’ve worked 13-17 hour days, traveling on bus trips anywhere between 4 and 12 hours”.

It’s often said the Major League Baseball is looking to dump some teams in MiLB because of the expenses.  Sure, no one can argue that is probably the case, but there are times where you should probably take the hit, rather than destroy priceless opportunities and memories, like the ones Faulk experienced.

Where else is a young kid like Faulk going to get to interact with names like Barry Larkin, Eric Davis, and Billy Hatcher?

"“I’ve gotten to meet so many great people from my time in baseball from players, coaches, and front-office executives”.  These are lifetime experiences and experiences that will cease to exist if we continue to steal summers away from people like Faulk."

It’s a given that everybody has a starting point, everyone has that beginning.   Major league baseball does not exist without minor league baseball.  Plain and simple.

“There are so many guys that you see on TV that played in the Pioneer League”, adds Faulk.  “The Pioneer League is special and has a lot of history”.  If anyone knows the game it would be Faulk who has spent the last 8 years tied to minor league baseball in some shape or form.

Baseball for me was always therapeutic.  The ballpark was a great place to clear your head while watching your favorite team scratch out a win.  For some people, it’s what they look forward to when the heat of June starts to roll into Montana.  “I have met so many great fans throughout the years and the Voyagers and Mustangs are literally their life in the summer.  They wait all year for summer baseball”, Faulk mentions.

Baseball means so much to communities like Billings, Great Falls, Missoula, and every minor league ballpark community across the nation stealing their summer not only puts Major League Baseball in a bad light, it’s like saying youth doesn’t matter, where you start doesn’t matter, and where your career begins, doesn’t matter.  “Many players speak highly of the Pioneer League and how it helped them grow and shape their careers”.