The road a part of 'Pigs' life

Minor league baseball players learn ways to pass the time on long road trips.

By Jeff Schuler | Of The Morning Call

May 12, 2008

The two Bieber buses eased away from the back of Coca-Cola Park at 3:03 p.m., making their way down the American Parkway and Airport Road before heading west on Rte. 22.

Before they got over the Lehigh River, Steve Kline worked his way toward the front of the trailing bus, the so-called ''quiet'' bus, and began to fidget with the DVD player in overhead rack behind the driver. Finally, after a few minutes of tinkering, Kline got the selection, ''Shooter,'' to begin to play.

The action thriller about a man framed as a presidential assassin would be the first of three movies that would be seen on the eight-hour ride that would take the IronPigs through Pennsylvania and the panhandle of West Virginia toward Columbus, Ohio, on another road trip in the International League.

The departure on that April 30 afternoon, hours after the IronPigs dropped a 9-4 decision to Syracuse in a morning start at Coca-Cola Park, began an excursion to Columbus and Toledo, the IL's two Ohio franchises. The nearly 1,100-mile trip ended nine days later, at about 5:30 a.m. Friday, when the team arrived home following a 71/2-hour overnight journey from Toledo.

Travel comes with the territory for professional athletes. But while those who have reached the pinnacle of their sport -- in the NBA, the NFL, the NHL, and major league baseball -- ride on charter jets and stay in five-star hotels, life on the road is vastly different for those on the way up.

For minor leaguers, life on the road means lengthy bus rides or early morning wake-up calls. It also means seeking ways to maintain a somewhat healthy diet on their $20-a-day meal money, and of tedious hours sitting around hotel rooms or clubhouses, waiting to play.

''It's not real glamorous," said IronPigs first baseman Andy Tracy, who has played for 10 teams in six leagues -- plus two major league teams and another in Japan -- during his 13-year pro career.

According to the IronPigs front office, the team will travel nearly 10,300 miles on their 14 road trips. All of them, to the surprise of some, will be by bus, a decision made by manager Dave Huppert.

''It's very hard to fly,'' said Huppert, pointing out that minor league teams rely on the commercial air routes, not on charters. ''You're only allowed so many bags, so you can't get all the gear on the plane. That means someone has to drive a truck full of equipment to wherever you're going anyway.''

Teams that do fly must take the first available flight to reach their next destination or face a stiff fine from the league if the schedule is affected by travel delays. And there are very few direct flights between the second-tier cities that make up most of minor league baseball.

''You always have to deal with layovers; you never have direct flights,'' said infielder Joey Hammond, a member of last year's Ottawa team that did fly for most of its schedule. ''And we have to go through the same security lines as everyone else.''

And like anyone traveling these days, teams also have to deal with the possibility of cancelled flights.

''I've been on teams where you send the starting nine and a manager on one flight, and the rest catch up and arrive in the third or fourth inning,'' Tracy said.

Long bus rides, Mike Cervenak said, is ''the lesser of two evils.

''When you fly, maybe you're in the air for only 21/2 hours, but you're traveling for eight,'' Cervenak said. ''At least on a bus if you can get some sleep -- if you can.''

The buses the IronPigs use are not the same ones you'll see on Bieber's regular runs, or on school field trips. The so-called ''quiet'' bus features wider seats similar to first-class seats on airplanes, with two seats on one side of the aisle and one on the other.

Seats on the other bus aren't quite as roomy (two on each side), but there are a pair of tables halfway back to accommodate the almost endless card games that help players pass the time.

Both feature a pantry with microwave and refrigerator, DVD systems, satellite TV and radio, and outlets for laptops and other electrical gadgets.

''It's much easier now than when I played,'' said coach Greg Gross, who spent four years in the minors before hitting the big leagues to stay in 1974. ''Back then you either tried to sleep, read or played cards. Now, players have so many other things to do.''

Buses don't drive themselves, and on this trip the task fell to Richard Stewart, who spent several years driving Williamsport's New York-Penn League team while working for Susquehanna Transit, and Ron Nowlin, a resident of Slatington.