If you are a professional Rhode Island baseball fan, like myself, you find new and inventive ways to cheer on our Rhode Island baseball players, coaches, and teams. Case in point – the other day I was reading an article on www.milb.com about 2 families who recently attended 2 World Series games courtesy of the Worcester Red Sox and the Pawtucket Boys and Girls Club. This tradition, according to the article, dates back some 72 years to its inception by Pawtucket’s Hank Soar. Here is a snippet from that article, which you can find on http://www.milb.com:

“It all began in 1950 when the New York Football Giants’ longtime running back, Hank Soar, became an American League baseball umpire. Soar, who grew up in Pawtucket and graduated from what is now Tolman High School, had discovered umpiring by Central Mass native Connie Mack, the legendary owner and manager of the Philadelphia Athletics. After Soar established the annual ritual of providing tickets to a pair of children, the City of Pawtucket assumed the responsibility before passing the torch to the Pawtucket Red Sox in 1990. After completing 50 years in Rhode Island in 2020, the club is sending the students this year for the second time as the Worcester Red Sox.“

After reading the article, I clicked in the top left corner to learn more about who (from Rhode Island) is playing where in Minor League baseball. With the meteoric rise of Classical High School’s Jeremy Peña with the Houston Astros this season, I am eager and curious to see which current Minor League and/or Professional Baseball Player from Rhode Island will be next to join the likes of Tom Pannone, Michael King, and Peña on a Major League roster. According to the rosters on the http://www.milb.com page labeled “Teams by Affiliate,” there are 6 Rhode Island players currently on rosters. There maybe more so I apologize if you are on a roster and I missed your name. There are 2 players competing in Independent League Baseball. The players are currently playing for teams located from New York to Florida to Montana to California, connecting the East Coast of the US with the West Coast of the US. Road trip, you ask? Here is what it might look like and who you might see in action along the way from Rhode Island to San Bernardino, California:

Stop #1 – Clover Stadium, home of the Frontier League’s New York Boulders, Pomona, New York – Gian Martellini

Stop #2 – Richmond Flying Squirrels, SF Giants affiliate, Richmond, VA – Chris Wright

Stop #3 – Columbia Fireflies, KC Royals Affiliate, Columbia, South Carolina – Ben Sears

Stop #4 – Florida Complex League, Atlanta Braves, North Port, FL – Anderson de los Santos

Stop #5 – Minute Maid Park, home of the Houston Astros, Houston, Texas – Jeremy Peña

Stop #6 – Hammons Field, STL Cardinals affiliate, Springfield Cardinals, Springfield, MO – Nick Raposo

Stop #7 – ABC Supply Stadium, Beloit Sky Carp, Miami Marlins affiliate, Beloit, Wisconsin – Caleb Wurster

Stop #8 – Dehler Park, home of the Billings Mustangs, Pioneer Independent League, Billings, Montana – Patrick Maybach

Stop #9 – San Manual Stadium, Inland Empire 66ers of San Bernardino, Los Angeles Angels affiliate – Tucker Flint

Without traffic, Google Maps projects about 90 hours??? of travel from North Kingstown, RI to San Bernardino, CA with a total mileage of roughly 6027 miles. Of course, you will find interesting places, fields, and maybe some more Rhode Island baseball players along the way, so your journey across the country may be much, much larger than this. It looks like a fun trip and a great way to support these Rhode Island based baseball players in their quest to become the next Rhode Islander to make it onto a Major League Baseball roster.

Have a great day everyone, stay dry!!!

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