Minor League Kerouac: Places you go and People you meet... Part 1

After a four game homestand against Hagerstown, the schedule had the team off on Monday. This might make you think that means a day away from the park or a chance to sleep in, but that is incorrect. There are very few actual off days during the course of a Minor League Baseball season. For the front office, it meant a 9 am report time for a standard day of work. Sales calls to be made... Prep work to be done for the next set of games (Marshall hosting Tulane this weekend)... Like in life, once one thing ends, something else begins. The season doesn't pause just because the schedule says "Off."

As for the team, the bus pulled out for Charleston, SC, at 9 am on Monday. The series started Tuesday night, but the only day trip that the Power will make is to Lexington. Everything else is a day-before journey. After a stop for lunch outside Charlotte, back aboard the bus we go to complete the journey. It was quiet ride to Charlotte, but the movie Beer League was the feature film of choice during the afternoon trip southeast. I had never seen Beer League. Let's just say that 42 has it beat by a little bit.

The Crowne Plaza in Charleston, SC, has to rank as the top hotel we will likely see in our excursions this season. Luxurious rooms, a Tanger Outlet across the street, and plenty of restaurants to choose from. The only down side is that it is 15 minutes from downtown and the ballpark. I started with some bbq on Monday night and had Subway for lunch the next day. Not every meal can be award winning... right?

Our first game against the RiverDogs was Tuesday night. Joseph P. Riley Jr. Park is a decent stadium. Not new... not old... It has some advantageous factors, including a fairly creative staff.

It seems that Charleston routinely tries to push the envelope in each aspect of the operation. They have a "Be your own Fan" campaign, geared towards having patrons select their ticket package based on what they are most interested in. It's very similar to the approach other teams, including my own, take towards increasing attendance. It is, perhaps, more targeted than what most other clubs do (or try). One other area that the RiverDogs excel in is concessions. Their "Homewrecker" hot dog was featured on Man vs. Food's ballpark edition.

This season, Charleston introduced the "Beer Shake" with the tag line Beer + Cow = Good.

I sampled one before Tuesday's opener. Just so you don't think I went all Harry Carey/ Harry Doyle on you... It is roughly eight ounces of beer and eight ounces of ice cream. They have three flavors: Guinness Caramel, Sweetwater 420 Strawberry, and a Palmetto Chocolate. I went for the last option.

It wasn't bad. A little too thin maybe, but otherwise good flavor. Some bite from the beer and a good ice cream.

I would have not minded a souvenir cup for my $6.00 though. If you are going to get inventive, brand it bold. Allow people take that cup home and think about beer shakes all the time. How many of us have Disney cups from McDonald's or holiday glasses from Long John Silvers or Coke glasses... from McDonald's. Ok... maybe we all ate fast food too much growing up?

The Power lost 4-2 on Tuesday and then 6-5 on Wednesday. I'm not going to recap the games in their entirety. You can read the reports on the Power website in the news section. I will say this though... This team needs to win some games scoring less than six runs. As I type this, the Power are 0-10 when scoring five runs or fewer in a game.

On Tuesday, I ran into Charleston's old broadcaster, Danny Reed. Danny is a good friend and took care of us when I didn't travel. He now works as the voice of the Citadel Bulldogs for baseball, football, and basketball. He's is from Maryland and is a Pirates fan, so we have a good bond. Danny sat in for an inning to catch up. On Wednesday after the day game, he picked me up and took me downtown for dinner. We went to a highly-recommended seafood establishment called Coast.

I had the shrimp and & grits. In hindsight, I should have tried something else. In part due to my Thursday lunch plans and in part because they weren't as good as I was told they were. Very creamy and heavy-handed on the pepper.

The story from Coast is not about the food. The story is about who I ran into. While I was sitting at the bar, I saw a younger guy who looked familiar. I'd like to say that it took a minute to remember, but that would be a lie.

My baseball-centric mind quickly placed a name with the face. It was Kevin Decker, a right-handed pitcher that played for the Power in 2011. Kevin played baseball at the College of Charleston and was drafted by the Pirates in 2010. He went 3-5 for West Virginia in 2011 with a serviceable 3.49 earned run average. At the end of the season, he rolled an ankle and that was the last that Minor League Baseball saw of him.

He is back in school finishing a graduate degree and helping coach baseball. We didn't have much time to talk because he was working as a server's assistant at Coast that evening. One of the nicest guys I came across that summer.

When I mentioned this chance meeting to Jeff Johnson, our pitching coach, he said, "Oh yeah? Swamp Thing? How is he?" That was Kevin's nickname. Swamp Thing.

On Thursday, I took the early bus to the park and walked a mile for lunch. Hominy Grill. This was my only true plan for Charleston, SC.

I'm a big fan of Top Chef and Tom Colicchio. I saw a travel report for Charleston that Tom was quoted (and perhaps paid to) talk about three or four great restaurants. He mentioned the Hominy Grill.

The most recommended dish was shrimp and grits, but I wasn't ready for that two days straight. I went for the she-crab soup and The Big Nasty.

About a decade ago, I would try any she-crab soup you put in front of me. The best bowl I found was at a place called The Mayor's House in Myrtle Beach. It remains the best to the day. She-crab soup, in my opinion, is best with a particular amount of cream and slightly heavier on the sherry. This version at the Hominy Grill was very good, but was slightly too thick.

By the way... the last time I just typed she-crab soup... I typed she-crap soup. No thanks to spell checker for missing that one.

The Big Nasty was a sandwich featured on Food Paradise. It is a homemade biscuit with a boneless fried chicken breast and sausage gravy. Think gourmet Eat-N-Park, but much more amazing.
This heart attack-on-a-plate was very good. A little on the heavy-side perhaps for lunch.

The Hominy Grill sells a beer float. I wonder where the RiverDogs got their idea? Nothing is new. Just borrowed and rebranded.

I now needed a nap, not a two mile walk back to the park.

How was it one mile there and two back you ask? Because the walk there was not through the safest neighborhood.

So I took the scenic route back. I have added a few pictures from the walk back. The safe route back. Well fed... a shutout win to cap the series in Charleston... and a two hour ride to Savannah with baseball's oldest park coming up.

And I'll never have another bad day.