Mapping the path

EASTERN MIDWEST BASEBALL

Columbus Clippers

Dad and I sail into Columbus, Ohio, grabbing lunch at Ringside Café, the city’s oldest bar or restaurant. We then stop by the Ohio Statehouse and the Ohio History Center before our doubleheader with the Columbus Clippers, the Triple-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians.

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Dad and I crossed back over the Ohio border from Fort Wayne early in the morning and drove a few hours southeast for our second of six ballgames in the state: a date with the Columbus Clippers, the Triple-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians.

The state capital and the most populous city in Ohio (with 913,175 inhabitants), Columbus was first settled by Europeans in 1797. Surveyor Lucas Sullivant had admired this spot at the confluence of the Scioto and Olentangy rivers two years earlier, when he surveyed central Ohio for the Virginia Commonwealth. He returned with a plan for a village of 220 lots, which he called Franklinton, in honor of Benjamin Franklin. The settlement became known as Columbus in 1812, when it was selected and formally planned to be the future site of the state capital.

The boxing theme is carried through with a painting on the brick exterior depicting Columbus native James “Buster” Douglas’ miraculous knockout of Mike Tyson in 1990.

The burgers are boxing-themed as well: the “Heavyweights” include the Jack Dempsey (traditional), the Smokin’ Joe (with barbecue sauce and bacon), and the Oscar de la Hoya (with peppers and queso). I chose from the “Welterweight” sandwich menu and had a deep-fried Reuben that made me feel every bit the heavyweight. And just as advertised, we ate next to three men with paperwork and button-downs discussing political strategy.

Other political squabbles stopped construction for years. Then came a cholera epidemic, followed by yet another redesign that removed the rounded dome in all previous versions and replaced it with a low conical roof — which some critics called “a Chinese hat.” Construction of the building and its surrounding square were finally declared complete in 1861.

A statue of William McKinley is featured prominently in front of the Statehouse. The four-term congressman, 39th Governor of Ohio, and 25th President of the United States was a native of Niles, Ohio, at the eastern end of the state. McKinley was just beginning his second term as president when he was shot by anarchist Leon Czolgosz at a public appearance in Buffalo, New York, and died eight days later.

Other statues on the grounds include These Are My Jewels, a tribute to Ohio’s military and political heroes of the Civil War; and the Ohio World War Memorial, honoring local soldiers who fought in World War I.

We had a fine time, but the experiience was a little underwhelming. It felt very much like a museum that was built in 1970 and then frozen in time — a historic artifact containing historic artifacts.

Built in 2009 for $70 million, Huntington Park is a beautiful Triple-A ballpark, with seats for 10,100 fans. It’s located in the city’s Arena District, sandwiched between Nationwide Arena (home of the NHL’s Columbus Blue Jackets) and Lower.com Field (home of the MLS Columbus Crew).

Professional baseball in Columbus dates to 1883, when the Columbus Buckeyes played two seasons in the American Association. Despite the short run, Buckeyes pitchers made the record books by throwing two no-hitters in a week in 1884. The next time that would happen would be 1938, when Johnny Vander Meer of the Cincinnati Reds threw two no-hitters in four days.

The Columbus Senators followed, playing in several minor leagues before finding a home in the new American Association from 1902-1930. The team rebranded as the Red Birds and began a 25-year affiliation with (naturally) the St. Louis Cardinals. When that franchise moved to Omaha in 1955, a Triple-A franchise from Ottawa replaced it, competing as the Columbus Jets through the 1970 season. The Jets were affiliated with the Pittsburgh Pirates for much of that time, and were the launching pad for future Pirates stars Willie Stargell, Dock Ellis, Richie Hebner, Al Oliver, and Manny Sanguillen.

The Clippers sailed into central Ohio (don’t ask how) in 1977, playing at the newly minted Cooper Stadium. After a two-year stint with the Pittsburgh Pirates, Columbus began a 37-year partnership with the New York Yankees, incubating the stars of the 1990s who would feature prominently in the sweep of my San Diego Padres in the 1998 World Series: Derek Jeter, Bernie Williams, Mariano Rivera, Andy Pettitte, and Jorge Posada. We at least got to see Tony Gwynn yank a home run off the facing of Yankee Stadium’s upper deck. Such is the solace we San Diego sports fans must take.

The Clippers have been affiliated with the Cleveland Guardians nee Indians since 2009, fostering talent like Francisco Lindor, Carlos Santana, Jose Ramirez, Mike Clevinger, and Shane Bieber. They have won 11 International League titles, the last in 2019, and were champs of all Triple-A baseball in 2010 and 2011. Columbus has won at the turnstiles, too, averaging 7,175 fans per game in 2024, third-best amongst all 30 Triple-A clubs.

Dad took his seat while I hustled out to the Clippers team store in left field, texting him options for his daily logo baseball.

I then moved over to my favorite spot in a minor league shop, the Wall o’ Hats. I saw a variety of good options employing the team’s nautical theme, including caps for the Clippers Copa de la Diversión identity, Veleros de Columbus (a direct translation of Columbus Clippers). I chose the classic rounded “C” encircling a clipper ship, the franchise’s primary logo from 2001-2008.

The Clippers had struggled in 2024, compiling a 33-43 record coming into the doubleheader. Much of the young talent that might have been in Columbus was instead thriving in Cleveland, which would win the American League Central with one of the youngest teams in the majors.

Columbus would be hosting the Omaha Storm Chasers, affiliated with the Kansas City Royals. Omaha had run away with the first-half crown in the International League West, going 49-26 and finishing 11 1/2 games ahead of the second-place Louisville Bats and St. Paul Saints.

Incredibly, despite this gap, these would be the two teams to face off for the International League championship in September. Columbus transformed into a winning team in the second half, finishing 48-26 to make the playoffs, where they ultimately met and fell to the Storm Chasers in the best-of-three final, 2-1.

The team store is located on the first floor of a brick building in left field known as, that’s right, the Left Field Building — recalling the B&O Warehouse beyond right field at Baltimore’s Camden Yards. On the second floor is a 110-foot bar with open patios overlooking the action. Columbus baseball memorabilia is displayed in dozens of frames along each wall, and team jerseys hang from the rafters.

But Nola would hit just .174 in 55 games in Omaha and would not get a call-up to Kansas City in 2024. He signed with the Colorado Rockies in the offseason to give it another go.

One of the two Columbus mascots, Krash, made an early appearance in the doubleheader, goofing with fans in the seats. When a play went well for the home team, two pumped-up ladies behind us rattled cowbells decorated with the likenesses of Krash and his companion, LouSeal.

The Clippers got a run back in the fourth when third baseman Raynel Delgado hit a solo shot to center field, making it 3-2 Storm Chasers. In his sixth year in the Guardians system, Delgado was in the midst of a career season, hitting .275 with nine home runs in 93 games.

The next batter, Angel Martínez, was drilled on a 1-1 pitch from Omaha starter Jonathan Bowlan. Martínez barked at Bowlan as he walked toward first base, with Nola and home plate umpire Ray Valero ushering him along. Both benches cleared. There was a lot of jawing, and an Omaha player pushed Valero to get at a Columbus player but was held back. Things simmered down, and we got back to baseball.

Aside from Degado’s homer, the bats for both teams remained silent through the middle innings as the bullpens took over in the fifth.

The concourse at Huntington Field includes several museum-quality displays providing rich context around specific baseball topics, such as “slap hitter,” “catcher,” and “curveball.” Each describes the concept, tells the story of Columbus players who demonstrated it, and provides related physical artifacts and statistics.

In the seventh and ostensibly final inning of Game 1, Omaha increased its lead to 4-2. But with one out in the bottom of the seventh, left fielder George Valera — also in his sixth season in the Guardians system — hit one of his 17 homers on the season to left-center to tie the game. And so, for the second day in a row, we had a doubleheader game go into extra innings. Our road trip had become a never-ending fountain of baseball.

Columbus secured the win in the eighth when Brito delivered a two-out single to walk it off, sending Clippers streaming onto the field.

Between games, I returned to The Power Tower to pick up some specialty sausages at Dirty Frank’s. The stunt-dog specialist opened its first shop in Columbus in 2009 and now has three locations in the area in addition to the ballpark concession stand. These hot dogs are the must-eat item at the Huntington Park, and it’s just a shame that fans need to walk roughly 35 miles to the rooftop of the Left Field Building to reach them.

But I did my duty, and came away with a Chicago Dog for Dad — his new favorite, never to be missed. I had the Puff the Magic Popper: bacon bits, jalapeños, and cheddar cream cheese on a poppy-seed bun. Thumbs up all around. There are nine other dogs on the menu, including the “Strikeout!” with tots instead of bacon bits and the “Cowgirl Carmen,” with cheddar cheese and crushed Fritos.

I came back to our seats behind home plate for the start of Game 2, passing by kids enjoying the team’s branded inflatables during the break.

As with the first game of the doubleheader, Columbus jumped out to an early lead, and again it came by way of a Juan Brito homer. The first baseman had delivered the game-winning hit in Game 1, and this would be the game-winning hit in Game 2. For now, it was 2-0 Clippers.

Columbus designated hitter Kyle Manzardo added a two-run homer of his own in the third to make it 4-0. A second-round pick of the Tampa Bay Rays in 2021, Manzardo was traded to the Guardians in 2023. He had played 30 games with the big-league club in 2024, hitting just .207, before being sent down in June. He would get another shot in September, putting up a .270 average with the Guardians over the final 23 games of the season.

I walked out for a view from the right-field party deck. Looking back toward home plate, brilliant green filled my eyes as the scene intensified under the lights.

The Clippers pushed another run across in the sixth on a two-out single, increasing their lead to 5-0.

The doubleheader night was relatively light on between-inning games. Highlights included a fan dropping dice from the right-field porch to win prizes; other fans on the field trying to catch balls dropped from the porch in a small bag; and a hot dog race in which Mustard made a surprise comeback to squeeze past Ketchup for the win. (Watch the episode!)

The Storm Chasers had been completely stymied by Clippers starting pitcher Doug Nikhazy, who had given up just one hit through six innings. Columbus’ second-round pick in 2021 was pitching in his first Triple-A game since being called up from the Double-A Akron RubberDucks (our home team three nights later). After this game, Nikhazy made two more starts without giving up a run. The former Ole Miss star would finish the season with a neat 2.87 ERA in 75 1/3 innings of Triple-A ball.

Nikhazy allowed a single to lead off the top of the seventh, but the runner was thrown out at second. He walked the next batter but settled down to get the seven-inning shutout. Columbus completed the sweep and were on their way to better things in the second half. The next morning, we were on our way to Cleveland.

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