MISSING (MINOR LEAGUE) BASEBALL

My favorite of many minor league experiences happened on Memorial Day weekend some years ago when the stars and schedules aligned for my longtime baseball cohort Marshall Kerlin and me. We took in four games — one each at A, AA, AAA and MLB.

It started with the big Braves at Turner Field on Saturday night. We returned to my home at the time in Macon, Ga., for a Sunday morning obligation. Then to Chattanooga for a Sunday evening game.

Memorial Day was spent at a day game in Rome, Ga., and then an evening game at AAA Gwinnett.

One friend commented, "You'd have to really love baseball to do that." To which I profoundly responded, "Duh!"

Chattanooga is not only where I spent my childhood and youth but a favorite baseball destination. When living in Marietta, Ga., years ago, friends and I would drive up for games at historic Engel Stadium.

The downtown stadium on Hawk Hill has been a great place to visit whenever I'm in the Scenic City.

The team has a long and illustrious history. In this photo you can see some of it in Jackie Mitchell (the 17-year old lefty who mowed down Gehrig and Ruth) and HOF slugger Harmon Killebrew.

The 1910 card (right) of Sammy Strang is a nod to a Chattanooga native who helped the SF Giants win the 1905 World Series. Later he was baseball coach at West Point and Georgia Tech.

Sammy came from a wealthy family — his dad serving as mayor of Chattanooga in the late 19th century — that valued education over sports. So he took his athleticism to UNC and University of Tennessee.

There's a lot more to his story: an Army veteran and a newspaper humor columnist. Among the players he coached at the military academy were Omar Bradley and Robert Neyland.

One of my favorite memories from watching Lookouts baseball came on a rain-delayed night in 2007 when my brother-in-law Scott Folsom and I were among the few witnesses to Phillip Wellman's world-class meltdown.

Wellman (seen here as a Lookout bobblehead along with Adam Dunn) managed the Mississippi Braves at the time. Here's a link if you've not seen it.

Moving into June without baseball at any level is trying. Someday it will return. Someday...