Welcome to Louisville – Bats Baseball and Whiskey Wednesday.
It’s time to look at Days Five and Six of Ballpark Tours’ Kentucky Bourbon Tour – as well as give you a look at our group’s Lexington, Kentucky hotel. For a look at/read about Days One and Two, click here. Days Three and Four, click here. Day Seven, click here. Day Eight, click here. Days Nine and Ten, click here.
DAYS FOUR AND FIVE
Now that’s some hotel!
Our two nights in Lexington, Kentucky were memorable – and not just because a good portion of them were spent in a ball park. The hotel was also –and as usual – a Ballpark Tours plus. Our esteemed (at least by some) tour operator works to put us in a position to comfortably enjoy the culture, cuisine and nightlife of the communities in which we also enjoy the “blessings of baseball.”
21c Museum Hotel … the fine art of Ballpark Touring.
In selecting Lexington’s historic 21c Museum Hotel, our leader outdid himself. The 21c is in an historic building in downtown Lexington, has a great restaurant and lounge/bar and a contemporary (and free) art gallery right in the hotel. What are we talking about here? The kind of hotel with plush robes in the bathroom, peppermint soaps and shampoos, an urban chic lounge (that makes you feel like you are at a party at Frank Sinatra’s house) and interesting art at every turn.
You know, the kind of place where they deliver chocolates and ice to your room each evening. Also, the kind of hotel that is just a block away from a below-street level bar – with a country flair – called The Stagger Inn. Now, how do you top that? Note: Remember in my last report, I noted the embarrassment of finding a fairly notable contingent of Ballpark Tour trekkers, including the tour operator, in the Whitaker Bank Ball Park Tap Room – watching basketball (on television) during the baseball game. Well, on Day Five, the embarrassment was one of our group ordering a drink called “The Tutti-Frutti” at The Stagger Inn – a basement bar that features benches made the tailgate section of old pick-up trucks and prides itself on being “country.”
Breakfast at the 21c Museum Hotel. Chorizo, eggs, avocado, cheese and spicy jalapeno sauce – with sourdough toast.
DAY FIVE BOURBON, BEER AND BASEBALL – ON THE CHEAP
We started Day Five at about 9:30 a.m., hopping into our trusty coach for a ride to the Buffalo Trace Distillery in nearby Franklin – reportedly the oldest continuously operating distillery in the nation. They teased us with a tour of the facility and its well-landscaped grounds before getting on to the real business of the day bourbon (as well as bourbon cream and vodka) tasting. Needless to say, a good time was had by all. It’s the Ballpark Tours way.
That evening it was back to the ballpark for a second Augusta Greenjackets/Lexington Legends mashup. Let me say first, as in many minor league parks, there were bargains to be had. It was 25-cent hot dog night – and they were tasty all-beef offerings. Then in the sixth inning, the West Sixth craft brewery pours 12-ounce beers for a dollar. Hot dogs and cold beers at a bargain price. Our group was all smiles. I should add that one of our group offered up a very complimentary review of the Hot Brown Egg Rolls (egg rolls stuffed with bacon, turkey, tomatoes and a special sauce – with real cheese for dipping – and $8.50 ball park treat). The pretzel-crusted cheese curds were not as well received, with the most common comment being they were more like pretzel-dusted than pretzel crusted.
BAD CHOICE OF WALK UP MUSIC
Legends’ first baseman Reed Rohlman could, perhaps, have chosen better walk-up music than Garth Brooks’ “I ain’t as good as I once was.” Then again, he was hitting in the .240’s after .286 a year ago.
The Lexington squad suffered another loss, 6-3 this time, but it was a better game. First the pitchers had a little more zip, touching the low- to mid-90s, which we didn’t see much of yesterday (lots of 88 m.p.h. fastballs). Also, we saw only four walks, compared to 14 in yesterday’s game. We did see two errors, a wild pitch, a balk and a hit batsman – but, in the minors, that comes with the territory.
Bonus Photo: Lexington Legends at sunset. Photo: K. Dixon.
All in all, a much crisper game, played in slightly warmer weather, with even less expensive hot dogs and beer. (Place your smiley face here.)
Both BBRT players of the game came from the victorious Greenjackets of Augusta.
RHP Keaton Winn (21-years-old/Fifth round of 2018 draft) was appropriately the WINN-ing pitcher. He went six solid innings, giving up just three hits and no runs, while walking one and fanning six. The 6’4”, 205-pounder improved his 2019 record to 3-4, 3.90. This season, he’s walked just nine, while striking out 44 in 60 innings.
Ismael Munguia, lead off hitter and CF for Augusta. Munguia went two-for-four, with two doubles, a run scored and two RBI. The 24-year-old is hitting.340+ for the season.
After the game, trekkers skipped, marched, swayed or meandered off to their chosen night spots. I joined a group headed for The Stagger Inn, a basement bar with a good juke box and reasonably priced beverages, which was quite lively for being the day before payday (you had to be there to get that reference.)
DAY SIX – ON TO LOUISVILLE
We left on the morning of June 12 for Louisville, where we slated to take in a Pawtucket/Louisville clash. Notably, the Louisville team is called the “Bats” and we drove by Lexington’s Transylvania University on the way out of town. Surprisingly, there was plenty of daylight foot traffic on the campus.
On the (Bourbon) Road Again
On the way to Louisville, our tour operator opened a Manhattan Bar mid-bus; sharing some of his Buffalo Trace Distillery purchases. So, we’ve now had an on-the-bus Bloody Mary Bar; Craft Cocktail Bar; and Manhattan Bar. Seeing a theme here?
We arrived at Louisville Slugger Field at about 11 a.m., parking right in front of the Pee Wee Reese statue. It proved be a great ball park – good sight lines, a walk-around the stadium open concourse, games and even a carousel for the kids and LOTS of good food and drink options. For the bigger kids, it was also “Whiskey Wednesday” – shots of Coopers’ Craft Bourbon for just three dollars. It would be inappropriate to rate a Bloody Mary on Whiskey Wednesday, so let me say here the Coopers’ Craft 100-proof was smooth (and popular). Not as much “bite” as some of the bourbons we tasted yesterday, but enough quality to make “Whiskey Wednesday” a Ballpark Tours hit.
Great seats – $11. Is this heaven? No it’s Louisville Slugger Stadium.
The Pawtucket Red Sox Louisville Bats game was a Triple A match up – so we were expecting a much cleaner contest than we saw an A-Level Lexington. Oops! There were 13 walks, four wild pitches and two hit batsmen in this tilt – won by the Bats 10-8. A few notes:
- Despite the 18 runs scored, the two teams went a combined 5-for-21 with runners in scoring position.
- It was 7-6 after two innings and we had already seen 10 hits (three home runs); six walks; and one error. (Things calmed down a bit after that with both teams scoreless from the thirds through the sixth inning.)
- In the space of two batters in the second inning (when Pawtucket scored six times), Louisville starter Vlad Gutierrez gave up a bases-loaded walk to Pawtucket DH Tzu-Wei Lin and a Grand Slam to SS Chad De La Guerra. At this point, Gutierrez’ day was done
- The attendance was 6,728 including several sections of very excited youngsters.
We saw 17 players with some level of major–league experience in the game (from just one game to 364 games to a former American League All Star). Here are the two more notable examples:
Stephen Wright, who pitched three scoreless frames for Pawtucket has a 24-15, 3.77 record in six MLB seasons. He was an All Star in 2016, when he went 13-6, 3.33 for Boston. The 34-year-old is coming of an 80-game substance-related suspension.
Gorkys Hernandez, who started in CF and hit lead off for Pawtucket, had the most MLB experience of any of the players in the game – 364 games in four MLB seasons, including 142 games with the Giants in 2018 (.234-15-40). Hernandez is a well-traveled ballplayer: signed with the Tigers in 2005; traded to the Braves in 2007; traded to the Pirates before the 2008 season; traded to the Marlins in mid-season 2012; traded to the Royals, mid-season 2013; traded to the White Sox early in 2014, released in July; signed a minor league deal with the Pirates in December 2014; signed a minor-league deal with the Giants in 2018; signed a minor-league deal with the Red Sox in December 2018.
Other MLB players appearing in the game (with MLB game appearances in parenthesis) were: Tzu-Wei Lin (75 MLB games); Rusney Castillo (99); Oscar Hernandez (22); Bryce Bentz (34); Ryan Weber (30); Dan Runzler (97); Tyler Thornburg (185); Brian Ellington (97); Jenrry Mejia (113);Christian Colon (142); Phillip Ervin (116); Aristides Aquino (1); Sherman Johnson (10); Juan Graterol (61).
A few more observations:
- When we moved from A- to AAA-level ball, when went from two umpires to three.
- Each team managed to deliver one bases-loaded free pass.
- The organist played the National Anthem at the correct brisk tempo (first time this trip).
- Members of the senior choir that sang the anthem at one of our Lexington games were sitting behind us in Louisville.
- The scorecards had plenty of room for both scoring and adding comments.
The food choices in Louisville were a big hit. All of the following got rave reviews: Specialty Fried Bologna Sandwich (fried bologna, fried onions and peppers, cheese, mustard and ketchup on white bread – $6.50); Greek Gyros ($8); Big Angus Hot Dog ($8); and made-to-order Rib Eye Sandwich ($7.50). I had the rib eye (medium rare) and it literally was one-third bigger than the bun (and delicious).
Everything from fried bologna to Big Angus dogs to rib eyes.
A FINAL THOUGHT ON THE GAME/BALL PARK
The Bats hand out a Kidzone magazine (free) with lots of activities for the youngsters (coloring pages, mazes, connect the dots, word finds, etc.). Of interest to BBRT was Page Six – a tutorial to teach kids how to score a ball game. Kudos to the Bats for that.
POST-GAME LOUISVILLE
Plenty to do in Louisville. The live music at Stevie Ray’s was popular with a number of trekkers. However, the most popular was the Mussel and Burger Bar (a real local hot spot). I’d say about three-fourths of our group ended up eating there. I went with a group of eight and we had about an hour wait for a table (no reservations taken), but it was worth it. I had the curry mussels (they had about eight kinds) and Elote (Mexican roasted corn). We had four or five of the mussel offerings at our long table (in the Bourbon Barrel Room) and passed them around. A great meal.
Tomorrow another ball game and most likely some museum action.
More posts from the road to come.
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