4/28/2026
For those that know me well, you know that I will watch a baseball game wherever I come across one. Last week, my wife and I were playing pickleball at a local park, meanwhile a couple hundred yards away, a couple of local high school JV teams were playing a baseball game. In between our points, we both would take a peak over the hill to see what the crowd was cheering for during the baseball game. I mention this to illustrate how baseball always catches my attention, and in a perfect world, living in a town with a professional baseball team would be a requirement.
In July 2024, my now wife and I moved to the city of Asheville, North Carolina. At this time in my life, I was finishing up graduate school, which was a very hectic time of my life. At the time, I did not realize that Asheville was home to a minor league baseball team. In the week after the move, I had come to the realization that Asheville was home to the historic minor league team, the Asheville Tourists. My wife, who knows me very well, surprised me with tickets to a game at historic McCormick Field, which opened my eyes to the magic of the Asheville Tourists.
The Asheville Tourists are considered a “High-A” minor league affiliate for the Houston Astros, which basically means that the players that are with the Tourists, typically have to reach 2 other levels (Double-A and Triple-A) before they reach “The Show.” The vast majority of the players that you would see play in High-A, will not make it to Major League Baseball. However, if you luck out, you might have a chance to watch budding superstars before they make it to the big leagues. During my first time attending an Asheville Tourists game, I got to watch Brice Matthews, who is now a shortstop with the “big club.” While I will always cheer for my home team, it is also important to check out the opposing team’s roster, because you might just luck out in seeing baseball’s #1 prospect, Konnor Griffin. That was the case in July 2025, when I attended a game and got to see Griffin play for the Pittsburgh Pirates’ High A affiliate, the Greensboro Grasshoppers. And I got to see him play for the low ticket price of $12!
It is hard to put into words how magical minor league baseball can be. If I had to try to explain it, the combination of low ticket prices, ballpark food, funny minor league team branding, and the opportunity to watch future big leaguers is what typically makes these games a great experience. I have fond memories of attending Durham Bulls games as a kid, which is the Triple-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. Most players in Triple-A have either been to the big leagues, or are knocking on the door to be “called up.” What makes the Asheville Tourists even more magical than your typical minor league team, is McCormick field. McCormick field is lodged in a corner of downtown Asheville, overlooked by the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains. This ballpark was built in 1924 and is the 3rd oldest ballpark in all of Minor League Baseball and has seen the likes of Lou Gehrig, Jackie Robinson, Willie Stargell, Eddie Murray, Craig Biggio, and Super Bowl winning quarterback Russell Wilson step into the batter’s box(who did play professional baseball for a time). All for the low ticket price of $12, you can enter into this historical baseball venue. To top it off, if you are able to attend on a Thursday or Friday, you could also experience Thirsty Thursday ($1 dollar draft beers) and Dollar Dog night!
Recently, McCormick field went through some renovations before the 2026 season that included a new scoreboard in left center field. Before this renovation, McCormick field had a tiny scoreboard in a small corner on the big right field wall. The clearly outdated scoreboard would play visual graphics that resembled graphics that would be played on the scoreboard at the bowling alley in the early 2000’s, which honestly contributed to the charm of this historical baseball site. Above McCormick field, there is a public track and soccer field that overlooks the stadium. Throughout the offseason, I was able to observe the renovations as they slowly took place whenever I would go to the track for a run. I could not get a good view of the scoreboard, so my grand reveal of the new scoreboard had to wait until 4/23/26, which was Opening Week for the Tourists, and the first Thirsty Thursday of the year. Other renovations included an indoor merchandise shop, a McCormick field “museum,” and an exclusive bar/restaurant for club members. While modernizing some parts of the ballpark, the charm of McCormick Field was kept.
On 4/23/26, the Tourists defeated the Greenville Drive (Red Sox affiliate) in extra innings of a score of 7-6 with a walk-off sacrifice fly by Cesar Hernandez. As I write this article, the Tourists currently have a record of 5-16, which puts them in last place in the South Atlantic Division. In fact, before I attended the game on 4/23, the Tourists had lost 6 straight, and then after the win, promptly lost 3 straight (which could be more). The Tourists have actually not topped a .500 record since 2015, and have yet to finish higher than 4th place in the South Atlantic Division since manager Nate Shaver took over in 2021. You would not know this based on the player’s reaction to the walk-off win; you would have thought they just won the World Series as they doused Hernandez in a Gatorade bath. Despite all of this, I can count on the community of Asheville showing up to McCormick Field to cheer on our Tourists every time I make it out to the park this year. Around me, I see a resilient community that has overcome a lot, coming together to root for the home team, and to pump their arms up and down whenever the Tourists score a run (I still have not figured out where this dance originates, but it seems the season ticker holders are always doing this when the Tourists score). The $12 ticket for the common man, America’s pastime in a beautiful ballpark, a “Dollar Dog,”, Friday night fireworks, and even the typical shenanigans in between innings at a Minor League Baseball game, are all reasons why McCormick Field should be a destination for any baseball fan, and any human with a beating heart.
Talking Sportsball 