Last week I attended a baseball game at historic Calfee Park in Pulaski, Virginia. Calfee Park is one of the oldest minor league baseball stadiums in the country. It was built in 1935 as part of the Works Progress Administration project and is included in the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places. Named after a former Pulaski Mayor, Ernest W. Calfee, the Park seats about 2,500 baseball fans.

Calfee is a mix of old school baseball tradition, with its left field grand stands appearing much as they did in 1935; and new school amenities like “open-air suites,” a new club house and press box, modern seating behind the plate and along the first base side. The ballpark underwent some major rennovations in 1999, and today, it stands as one of the nicers minor league ballparks I have visited.

I lived in Pulaski for nearly 2-1/2 years and somehow had never managed to see a game until last week. Of course, now I live in Blacksburg … go figure. To my defense, the town lost the Pulaski Blue Jays, the Appalachian League Team (Class A rookie league, the bottom rung of the professional baseball ladder), following the 2006 season and went without a team for the ‘07 season. The Seattle Mariners put a team there for the current season and so far, the Pulaski Mariners have done quite well. And judging from the attendance of the game I attended (just under 1,000), they aren’t doing too bad at all.

Whether you are a casual fan of the game, or a die-hard baseball junkie, this ballpark offers the perfect balance. For starters, it’s very inexpensive. I don’t like to use the word “cheap” because it generally means the product is sub-par; and this is not the case at Calfee. Tickets are $4 for adults, $3 for ages 6-12; and under 6 get in free. Hot dogs are $1.50 and come with as many fixins’ as you want; drinks are $1; and popcorn is a $1.50 a bag. I bought two tickets, two hotdogs, a drink and some popcorn for $13.50. You can’t beat that.

As for the quality of play … if you are a casual baseball fan, you likely won’t notice much of a difference since most of the players are on the same level, which is about the same level as a good college team. Remember, most of these guys are right out high school and are the cream of the crop, or at least they’re supposed to be. We saw a very exciting game filled with big home runs, a big rally and the thrill of watching a bunch of kids live the dream of playing professional baseball. Unfortunately, the Mariners lost the game we attended, but are still in first place with less than two weeks until the end of the season.

If you are looking for a fun, family-friendly outing, check out the Pulaski Mariners at historic Calfee Park in Pulaski, Virginia. But you’d better hurry! The team only has seven home games remaining for the 2008 season. Check out their schedule here.