Holy Toledo! A baby dinosaur crashed this MiLB ballpark visit

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.

The following ballpark road trip recap is presented by Wyndham, proud sponsor of *Minor League Ballpark Guides*. Start planning your 2025 road trips today!

Aug. 25 was a heckuva day for ol’ Ben’s Biz, a.k.a. yours truly. I woke up in Midland, Mich., the home of the Loons, and proceeded to drive 165 miles south. My destination was Toledo, Ohio, a.k.a. The Glass City, Frog Town, The 419, and, most relevant for our purposes, the home of the Mud Hens.

The below mural, positioned adjacent to where I parked my rental car, features Moses Fleetwood Walker (a fascinating individual).

Walker made his professional debut with the 1884 Toledo Blue Stockings, members of the American Association. That circuit was one of two “Major” leagues at the time, and, although seven Negro Leagues have since been recognized as operating at that level, it wasn’t until Jackie Robinson’s epochal 1947 campaign that another Black player integrated the Majors.

Walker is also commemorated with a plaque stationed outside of Fifth Third Field, the home of the Toledo Mud Hens.

The current International League iteration of the Mud Hens debuted in 1965. The Mud Hens name dates all the way back to 1896, however -- a reference to the birds that inhabited the marshland near their ballpark. Today’s Mud Hens have served as the Triple-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers since 1987. Fifth Third Field, located in downtown Toledo, opened in 2002.

Fifth Third Field is the epicenter of what the team calls Hensville, a sports-centric nabe consisting of historic buildings located in the immediate vicinity of the ballpark. (One of these buildings is home to a bar and restaurant named in honor of Fleetwood Walker). The Mud Hens own this part of town, figuratively and in some cases literally; they are the sun, everything else is in their orbit.

If you can’t get into the ballpark, simply join forces with a gaggle of bronzed youth and watch through a knothole.

Or divert your attention toward whatever’s going on across the street at Hensville Park. On this late Sunday morning, inflatables were being inflated.

The inflatable seen above is a Toledo Walleye, an ECHL hockey team owned and operated by the Mud Hens. The team’s employees simultaneously work for both organizations. It’s a complex operation.

I entered Fifth Third Field via the Swamp Shop team store, which also sells Walleyes merchandise.

Checking out the merch was a good way to pass the time walleye waited for an escort to the clubhouse area. There, I interviewed Minor League veteran Drew Maggi about the ups and downs of his long career. From there it was up to the press box, where I spoke with Mud Hens broadcaster Matt Melzak.

My conversation with Matt, featured in a recent episode of “The Show Before the Show” podcast, centered on the unexpected passing of his broadcast partner, Jim Weber, earlier in the season. Weber was a Mud Hens legend, having broadcasted nearly 7,000 games over 49 seasons. On the grass behind home plate, the team paid tribute.

I also spoke with Ellen Pittman, a longtime Mud Hens season ticket holder, and her husband Dale. He was more of a football guy before meeting Ellen, but now the two of them are both fully committed to Mud Hens baseball.

Meanwhile, and most pertinently for the average fan in attendance, it was Dino Day. Ed’s Dinosaurs Live, a North Carolina-based operation, hauled up several truckloads of animatronic and inflatable dinosaurs. There were impressive looking dinos all over the concourse. The kids loved it, and so did I. I got to ride a triceratops.

In search of creatures slightly less exotic, I proceeded to the field and caught up with my pals Muddy (left) and Muddonna.

That mascot duo applauded vociferously when, minutes later, I threw a ceremonial first pitch of uncommon velocity and accuracy. That perfect strike was a perfect prelude to a ballgame, with the Mud Hens hosting the Iowa Cubs.

It was hard to focus on baseball when so much else was going on. At one point early in the game, a baby dinosaur was hatched on the dugout.

Upon emerging from the egg, the baby dino peed on the Mud Hens emcee and the angle and velocity of that prehistoric urine spray led to the determination that this dino was, in fact, a boy. Trust the science.

📩 CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE TO BEN'S BIZ

I then became a dino myself, suiting up as a velociraptor inside a storage area near the groundskeeper’s office. Initially I was going to race against a bunch of frogs (Toledo, remember, is Frogtown), but costuming issues (specifically, a broken zipper) kept that from happening.

I went out onto the field an inning later instead, with me and my raptor brethren leading the crowd in the YMCA. One thing I learned is that it’s hard to do the YMCA with short arms.

Dinosaur coverage has concluded, with the focus returning to humans. Let’s start, fittingly, with Adam.

Meet Adam Rutz, my Mud Hens Designated Eater, a south Toledoan who works in the circulation department of a local library. Adam roots for both the Mud Hens and the Chicago Cubs, considering it “extra awesome” when the Mud Hens play the Iowa Cubs. As we were speaking a guy who had noticed Adam’s Cubs shirt came by and gave him a book filled with Cubs baseball cards. Very random, very kind. That’s what he’s holding in the above photo.

In the below photo, you’ll see Adam’s meal: a Heated Hen Donut Sandwich, washed down with a Strawberry Dragonfruit Sangria Slush (made by local Urban Pine Winery).

The Heated Hen is spicy chicken with pickles, coleslaw and a honey glaze, served on a glazed donut. (They could have called it a Hole-y Toledo!) Adam was joined by his friend, also named Adam, also a Mud Hens/Cubs fan.

“It’s delicious as it is messy,” said Adam 1. “I never thought ‘You know what would go well together? Chicken and a donut.’ But it does.”

“The chicken isn’t dry,” added Adam 2. “It’s still crunchy.

The Adams and I were in the Birdcage Club, and from there it’s a short walk to the broadcast booth. I spent an inning on the air with Kevin Piel, calling the game for the Iowa Cubs.

Great to meet you, Kevin.

I promise you that there was a game going on during all this. I also promise you that Fifth Third Field is a phenomenal place to see a game. Great energy and interesting architecture, with all sorts of creative tributes to Mud Hens legends and Toledo icons. Truly, you don’t have to look Farr.

The Mud Hens lost to the I-Cubs, and for a postgame meal, I didn’t have to go far. Packo’s at the Park is across the street. Packo’s as in Tony Packo’s, as in Toledo’s world-famous purveyor of Hungarian hot dogs. They are so, so good -- and they have gluten-free buns! This celiac, and I’m sure many others, thank you.

Time to wrap this up. Thanks, as always for reading. And, as always, get in touch anytime. For now we’ve reached...