On Turning It Around
Tuesday, May 19, 2026
Gary Railcats vs. Milwaukee Milkmen
Franklin Field
American Association of Professional Baseball
Franklin, WI
10:35 AM
Outside the Game:
I had a good night's sleep despite it all and was up early again to partake in the excellent breakfast buffet, along with all the union guys there for training. I had an early morning today, so I ate and went back up to the room for a minor muddle around, finding a hotel for that night, and then packing up and checking out at around 8 AM, as another school day game beckoned just outside of Milwaukee proper.
On my way out the door, I made sure to call Staybridge and praise John, the front counter guy who was the only reason that my stay wasn't a complete disaster--besides him deserving it, I needed to try and get karma looking for favorably on me after the last few days.
It was a quick morning drive past a ton of roadkill to the game. My GPS took me to the front of the park, which was opposite to where the lot was. I just grabbed a spot on the street and was trying to find the right way in when an older gentleman in team gear asked what I was doing. I told him, and he just let me into the park to take pictures. So I got my walk around and park photos done early, went outside to get pictures and buy a ticket, and then just waited for gates to open for real as the schoolbuses started to arrive and disgorge children.
After the game wrapped up at 1:30 PM, I had time on my hands, so I decided to visit a historic farm site right near the park, Trimborn Farm. It was a small farmstead that made lime in kilns in the back of the property. I took an online tour there, then trusted the rest of my ride back into Illinois to Roadside America.
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| Mars Cheese Castle, like it says on the tin |
The first stop along my route was the Mars Cheese Castle in Kenosha. It is exactly what you'd think it is by the name: a giant cheese and souvenir store, along with a restaurant and bar, formed way back in 1947. I had a cheese-laden Italian hero for lunch there, took some samples in the store, and grabbed some (insanely good) fresh cheese curds for the road before heading back out to it.
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| Subtle |
The next stop was the Golden Pyramid, which was a giant Egyptian statue and pyramid some guy had built randomly on a lake in an Illinois suburb. It wasn't open that day, but you can see it easily enough from the road, it being a giant pharaoh statue and pyramid and all.
I headed on down to Peoria and hit a ton of traffic because of road construction and an accident or two. I pulled into my hotel at about six. I got settled in, prepped for that night and the next morning, and then booked a hotel for the next day in Peoria. I had a quick dinner at a local shop next to the hotel (I was still pretty full from lunch and the cheese curds), and then went back up to the room.
I spent the rest of my night calling my mom, cataloging my failures, and going to bed early for the next school day game tomorrow.
The Stadium & Fans:
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| Home to center, Franklin Field |
Franklin Field in Franklin, WI, is a little too on the nose, perhaps, but they let me in early, so I can only hold so much of the high ground.
The park was of the inevitable minor-league design, with a main promenade circling the park above one area of seats running below it, tapering out into grass berms and party areas after the infield. The second level of luxury boxes and broadcast studios was only above the home plate area, and not out to the bases as in many similar parks. The main scoreboard sat in left-center in front of the backdrop of pretty much nothing.
The park was odd in that it was in the middle of a housing development, with a golf driving range next door, and not much else. The park both sprawled in its dimensions, but felt curiously hemmed in by all the housing around it. All the apartment parking lots were aggressively signed about not parking there for games, and I have no doubt that there was at least one busybody sitting by the window, perched by their phone, waiting to call in anyone they suspected of parking there for the game or the driving range.
Bo Vine (get it?) is the bull mascot, who was an even bigger hit than normal at the school day event. I was originally sitting by the staging area for most of the on-field events, which were all cow themed (Moo-sical Chairs, etc).
At the Game with Oogie:
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| The return of brat-fest |
Having gotten in early to take all my pictures, once the gates opened, all I had to do was wander around, grab some food, and people watch. The giveaways for this game were quite generous, with a free team hat and a team towel. A member of the staff mistook me for a photographer who had worked their games before, which I'm not quite sure what the proper reaction was, except to tell him that it wasn't me.
I got a brat-fest of brat and soda, harkening back to last year's early games. The park was teeming with kids, and eventually they started asking me for a pen, because the players and mascots were signing autographs. I gave my autograph pen to the first kid who really asked, who thanked me while tearing full-speed toward Bo with all his friends in tow. Ah, youth.
My original seat was nice and on the third base side, but directly in the baking sun when it came out right before the game. After the second inning, I retreated to the last rows behind homeplate, blessedly in the shade and filled with sunlight-adverse refugees such as myself.
The park emptied out around 1 PM, when all the school buses started to pack up and leave, leaving the last half-hour of the game more a quiet and relaxed affair.
The Game:
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| First pitch, Railcats vs. Milkmen |
This early season and early clock-time meeting between the Gary Railcats and the Milwaukee Milkmen was a little sloppy, but mostly conventional.
The Railcats struck first in the top of the first, turning a leadoff single, two walks, and a sacrifice fly into an early 1-0 lead. Milwaukee stranded their two walks in the bottom of the frame. Gary went in order in the second, thanks to help from a double-play, while on the contrary, the Milkmen clawed back into it in the bottom of the inning, with two hits, a sac fly, and a triple plating two runs to give them a 2-1 lead. The Railcats tied it in the third with a solo homer to dead center, while Milwaukee stranded a two-out triple, leaving it 2-2 after three.
In the fourth, Gary stranded a hit batsman and a walk, while the Milkmen stranded a single and a walk. Two singles and a walk went for naught in the fifth thanks to the Railcats hitting into a double-play, and Milwaukee regained the lead with a walk and a homer, jumping to a 4-2 lead. Gary got one back in the sixth with a double and a single, to close it to 4-3. The Milkmen stranded a leadoff double and got nothing across in the close of the sixth.
The Railcats had nothing to show but a walk for the top of the seventh, and Milwaukee erased a leadoff single in a double play in their half. Gary went in order in the eighth, and the Milkmen left a walk and single on the basepaths. The closer came in and closed, setting down the Railcats in order, and securing the home 4-3 win.
The Scorecard:
I was using the BBWAA scorecard again in lieu of a home scorecard, and compared to the other games so far on this trip, it was relatively mundane, with a few notable calls that were mostly because of their ambiguity.
In the top of the first on a 3-2 count, the next pitch was called a ball, and everyone advanced, except there was then a huddle with the coaches, and he was then called out. An appeal maybe? It was never explained and the official record just called it a strikeout. In the bottom of the fifth, there was a stolen base that was clearly, visibly safe from the stands, but the runner was then called out. I can only imagine that he came off the bag. The official record, again, remained silent except calling it a caught stealing. And in the top of the sixth, there was an error on the pitcher somehow called an infield hit. I noted my digression.
The Accommodations:
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| Baymont Inn, Alsip, IL |
I was at the Baymont Inn in Alsip, right next to where my early first game was the next day. The room itself was quite nice. The vanity and bathroom were just off the entrance, leading to king-sized bed, nightstands, and easy chairs on one wall, and dress, desk, and TV on the other.
It was quiet enough for a lazy evening, as I'd imagine many are in Alsip.
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