After two years of visiting the West Michigan Whitecaps, I was presented with a new food challenge - the Big Mother Funnel Burger - and that meant a visit to a new ballpark for me. But it's tough to be compared with such a great overall experience as the Whitecaps.
First, the burger: Two full-size funnel cakes for buns, 1 pound of ground beef, half a pound of mozzarella cheese, 8 slices of crispy bacon, and a lettuce leaf for health. It sets you back $20, but it's more than two full burgers in one, so that's totally reasonable. It's clear this was taste-tested, because the mozzarella strikes the perfect balance between the sweetness of the bun and the umami/savory meatiness of the burger. Unfortunately, there were some cold, sticky bits of funnel left over at the end that I had to gnaw through to feel like I could truly claim this challenge. (I was told I'm the first individual to eat a whole one on my own. I was only there for the 6th home game after it was introduced, so I can believe it.) But the 1 lb burger was as close as one can reasonably get to sizing a patty for the funnel cakes. The drawback: They said 20 minutes after I placed the order, but I was standing around for more than 30 minutes before it came out. I won't fault them for that, as it was the first Friday so they were probably dealing with larger crowds, but it's quite a bit of wait and if you walk away for 20-30 minutes and come back, you might find a cooling burger instead of a fresh one.
Now, the rest of the experience, and that's why I only give four stars. The big burger isn't nearly as well integrated here as in West Michigan. There's one tiny little food cart way over in right field that serves it. There's no promotion around it - no eating contest, no timer, no T-shirt. Not that I do what I do for any reward, but minor league baseball is about fan-oriented gimmicks, and they're missing a golden opportunity. The stadium itself is very forgettable, perhaps the highlight (?) being the highway behind right field (we saw a traffic stop in the late innings) and the sun setting behind the grass in left. Left field looks fun, with kids running around the grass and chasing foul balls. There were plenty of between-innings shenanigans, but nothing spectacular. The promo people would just come out and randomly fling things into the crowd and go back into hiding - no PA announcement, no attempt to get the crowd excited. There's a random baseball-shaped cart that circles the entire field backwards (clockwise), I think whenever there's a pitching change, but it doesn't DO anything. It just circles. The pitcher's not on it.
The mascot, by the way, is really creepy. He's a snake (rattler), but he looks like a lion - same color, same long tail, same paws. But snakes have no noses, and this guy doesn't even have nostrils. So I'm looking at either a noseless lion, or a snake with paws. Please fix this.
In closing, a memory I'll never forget from my one time here: In the later innings, a player hit a routine groundout. The pitcher took his time, then suddenly rushed the throw and it bounded toward the dugout. The player went to 2nd. The first baseman picked it up and quickly threw to 2nd, and sure enough, the ball bounded to left field. I figured by now, that would surely be enough, but as the player went to 3rd, the left fielder ran in and heaved the ball toward 3rd. And sure enough, the ball went into the dugout and the player came around to score. No hits, no baserunners of any kind, but a run scored. On a groundout. Gotta love the minor leagues. read more