Pro baseball: it’s closer than you think

A key component of “Americana” is grabbing the kids and heading to the ballpark to catch a pro baseball game on a warm summer evening.
But even though you may live here in Gonzales County or the surrounding region, that trip doesn’t have to involve a four-hour drive and overnight stay in Dallas or Houston: in fact, we have not one, not two, but THREE professional baseball teams who play within easy driving distance, and all are just a step removed from the Big Leagues.
The Corpus Christi Hooks and San Antonio Missions both play in the Class AA Texas League. Single-game tickets can be had for each for less than $10, and both Wolff Stadium (San Antonio) and Whataburger Field (Corpus) are within easy driving distance for an evening’s outing.
­The Hooks are co-owned by Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan and for Astros fans, there’s a lot of Astros connections. Monday’s game, for example, featured an “Astros Legends” T-shirt giveaway of a Roy Oswalt T-shirt.
The Hooks roster includes at least one name familiar to most baseball fans -- a young chap by the name of Clemens. That’s Koby Clemens, the first baseman and oldest son of the legendary Roger Clemens.
Clemens was batting .278 at this writing and was leading the Texas League with 14 homers and 38 RBI in 53 games.
Other top hitters on the Hooks roster include center fielder Jack Schuck and shortstop Marcos Cabral, while the pitching rotation includes four starters with ERAs under 3.20: Douglas Arguello, Jordan Lyles, Tyler Lumsden and Sergio Perez.
The Missions are part of the San Diego Padres farm system.
Center fielder Cedrick Hunter’s .301 average at this writing ranked fourth in the Texas League, and first baseman Matt Clark wields the power with nine homers and 30 RBI. Starting pitcher Simon Castro started the week fourth in the league in ERA with a 2.54, while Corey Kluber leads the league in strikeouts with 65 in 60 innings.
And if you can’t make up your mind which one to cheer for right away, don’t worry: the schedule-maker is on your side. The Hooks open a homestand Sunday with a 6:05 p.m. game against the Missions, and the teams also meet at 7:05 p.m. on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of next week.
The schedule reverses the week after, with San Antonio hosting Corpus Christi at 7:05 p.m. Monday through Thursday, June 21-24. The game on the 23rd will be Military Appreciation Night.
The Missions also have a couple of other big promotions coming up next week during their four-game set against Midland. Thursday, June 17 is Dollar Night; Friday the 18th is the Used Car Giveaway and a fireworks show is scheduled on Saturday, June 19.
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If you’re looking for something a little closer to the big leagues, there’s the Round Rock Express, which plays at Dell Stadium in Round Rock, just north of Austin.
The Express is also an affiliate of the Houston Astros and also has Nolan Ryan as one of the principal owners, along with his boys Reid and Reese Ryan. The Express plays in the Class AAA Pacific Coast League.
Like the Hooks and the Missions, you can get tickets for a relatively inexpensive night out -- tickets run $7 for general admission on game day, with $14 box seats and $9 tickets on the “Home Run Porch” in left field.
And, being a AAA team, the Express players are just one step removed from the majors. Astros first baseman Lance Berkman, in fact, appeared in two games for the Express earlier this season while coming back from an injury and several of the Round Rock players are on Houston’s 40-man roster, so it’s likely they’ll see the bigs this season.
(Of course, with the way Houston is playing at the moment, the Astros might actually do better promoting the entire Express roster, but that’s another column!)
The man to watch is right fielder Jason Bourgeois, currently hitting .349 (fifth in the league) with 17 stolen bases (fourth in the league).
Josh Banks headlines the pitching staff with a 6-4 mark and a 3.33 ERA.
Round Rock is currently on a nine-game road trip, but will return to Dell on June 18 to start an eight-game homestand against Omaha and Albuquerque.