The biggest moment of the young season for Alsander Womack came during a ballpark celebration that was quite personal to him. During the nightcap of Double-A Birmingham’s doubleheader against Mississippi on Sunday, Womack delivered a game-tying hit in the seventh inning. That knock set the stage for Edgar Quero’s three-run,

It’s an absolute lock to be one of the coolest things to happen in the world of baseball this year. It’s less than two months away. And your chance to get tickets to the first game of the event begins this week. This year, for the first time, Minor League

This article was first published on January 26, 2021.

This is an excerpt from the latest edition of the Ben's Biz Beat Newsletter, bringing Minor League Baseball business and culture news to your inbox each and every Thursday. Check out the full newsletter HERE.

On March 9, 2017, Royce Lewis arrived at the ballpark with added pep in his step. With a plethora of talent evaluators in the stands, Lewis, then a high school senior mere months away from becoming the first overall pick in the MLB Draft, was a powder keg of energy

When Jackie Robinson made his debut as a member of the Brooklyn Dodgers organization in Spring Training of 1946, his jersey number was not the 42 he'd come to be associated with. That spring in Daytona Beach, and throughout the ensuing season with the Triple-A Montreal Royals, he wore number

From a very young age, Andre Dawson knew he wanted to be a Florida A&M Rattler. In elementary school, the future member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame attended the Orange Blossom Classic, where the Rattlers football team played annually in his hometown of Miami. The games were intoxicating

When the Double-A Birmingham Barons host the Montgomery Biscuits on June 18 at Birmingham’s Rickwood Field, and when the Giants face the Cardinals there on Juneteenth, the games will be played on hallowed ground. Rickwood Field was originally the home of two franchises. Opened in 1910, it was built for

Darryl Strawberry doesn't lament where the circuitous route of life has ultimately brought him. He doesn't look back with regret. He does, however, wonder what might have been. His tale is well-known. From high school phenom in Los Angeles to the top of the sports world in New York, the

Whether it be as a first basemen, a coach or as a scout, Buck O’Neil was a pioneer. Not only was he the first Black coach in AL/NL history, he signed legends such as Ernie Banks, Lou Brock and Joe Carter as a scout. The key was O'Neil's personable approach

Baseball is unique among the major sports in terms of how common it is for players to be drafted more than once, often including players who are chosen both out of high school and college. Since the inaugural Draft in 1965, 30 players have been picked in the first round

This article was first published on Jan. 2, 2007. Joe Louis Reliford simply wanted a job. What he got instead was a place in baseball history.

This article was first published on Feb. 22, 2010.

This article was first published on Feb. 13, 2006. When Willie O'Ree met Jackie Robinson in 1949, Robinson asked him what sports he played. The 14-year-old O'Ree, who was visiting New York because his baseball team won a local championship, told Robinson he played baseball and hockey. Robinson was surprised

This article was first published on Aug. 10, 2006.

Baseball history runs rich and deep in Toledo, Ohio. On Sept. 16 at Fifth Third Field, the Mud Hens paid tribute to their roots with a celebration of the Toledo Tigers, the city's first Negro League team, which played just 28 games before being disbanded in 1923. "An entire generation

Baseball history is like the ocean: there’s so much yet to be explored and there is always a new story to be found. On Saturday, one of those stories was told when the Wichita Wind Surge paid tribute to the Wichita Monrovians. For the night, the Twins' Double-A affiliate wore

The Triple-A Omaha Storm Chasers celebrated their diversity night by taking the field as the Omaha Rockets, and lived up to that billing by blasting off for an 8-3 victory over Indianapolis. Part of the club's community celebration series, Saturday was Omaha's Negro Leagues Tribute Game at Werner Park. The

The Asheville Tourists morphed into the the Asheville Blues on Friday night, and cruised to a 6-1 victory over the Winston-Salem Dash in front of a sellout crowd at McCormick Field. It was a familiar result for the Blues, who were one of the most successful professional Black baseball teams

The Hartford Yard Goats took on the identity of the "Hartford Schoolboys" for the first time on Friday night to honor legendary Negro Leagues pitcher -- and Hartford native -- Johnny "Schoolboy" Taylor, as part of the club's Juneteenth/Celebration of Negro League Baseball at Dunkin' Park. Taylor's daughter, Lynette Taylor,

Major League Baseball has announced that Rickwood Field, the oldest professional ballpark in the United States and former home of the Birmingham Black Barons of the Negro Leagues, will be the site of a special Regular Season contest between the St. Louis Cardinals and San Francisco Giants on June 20,

For the second consecutive year, the Fresno Grizzlies transformed into the Fresno Tigers to pay tribute to the 1946 West Coast Negro League baseball team on Friday night at Chukchansi Park. Since scant visual representation of the Fresno Tigers has survived, the club donned newly reimagined Tigers uniforms as part

For the second straight season, Double-A Chattanooga celebrated Negro League Appreciation Weekend. The event started on Friday and continued Saturday night as the Lookouts hosted the Barons at AT&T Field. For both games, the two clubs donned commemorative uniforms. The Lookouts suited up as the Chattanooga Choo-Choos to honor the

This story originally ran on MiLB.com on Feb. 21, 2018. We are highlighting it again now in honor of the 75th anniversary of John Ritchey breaking the PCL color barrier.

This article was first published on Feb. 1, 2006, prior to Ed Charles' passing in 2018.