Wilson Tobs

We left Elizabeth City, North Carolina, and for the first time, headed straight west. It was an odd feeling looking for the highways that went west as we had spent over a month driving east. Virginia Beach marked the halfway point of the trip, and next was our drive through the South. We told HJ, Peter's college roommate from the University of Oregon, that we would be there on Friday, which gave us plenty of time to kill. Minor League baseball was on the mind, so we headed to Zebulon, NC to see a Mudcats game. The weather was hot and humid, with no body of water in sight, so we called some motels until one fit in our price range. We checked in around 3pm on Wednesday, and told the manager of our intentions to see the Mudcats game. She told us we shouldn't bother driving 15 miles west to see the game as they had a local team called the Wilson Tobs. We were thrilled. We settled in, hopped in the pool, dried off, and headed to the stadium. 

We arrived at the stadium an unusual 10 minutes early, which gave us ample time to tailgate. 

We parked Black Sally, opened up the trunk, grabbed the gloves and a few beers, and blasted the Dazed and Confused Soundtrack featuring pump-up classics like "Rock and Roll Hoochie Koo," "Slow Ride," and "Stranglehold." 

Just minutes after we started playing catch, a foul ball smashed the red jeep behind Wolf's right shoulder. There was no one in the parking lot so Wolf ran over to the ball and grabbed it. It was our first foul ball of the trip and a definite upgrade from our current plastic ball. The foul ball just added to the feeling we already had from the music.

Another three minutes passed when a car pulled in to the grass lot. Aided by the parking attendant, the driver slowly made her way into the spot. We watched as she smashed into the bumper of the car next to Black Sally. She wasn't even close to making it. We were in awe. 

Her car.

The victim.

We had enough tailgating excitement and were ready to head into Fleming Stadium (click the link to learn more about the stadium's history). We passed the team bus as we strolled in. 

We set up shop on the third base line. One of the first batters we watched hit a lazy fly ball into foul territory. Wolf got a beat on it and grabbed it moments after it landed. Foul ball #2. 

As we looked at the peculiar mascot, it finally clicked. Tobs was short for Tobaccos. The mascot was a tobacco leaf and we were in the heart of tobacco country. 

A panorama shot of the stadium.

We headed for some refreshments at the beer garden. We sat down at a picnic table and watched the rest of the game there. We met a group of people who were heading to a bar after the game. They invited us, so we had to take them up on the offer. 

They snapped a picture of us in the beer garden.

After the game, we sneakily hopped the fence onto the field. We played long toss for thirty minutes as we worked up a brutal sweat in the hot Carolina night. It was amazing to relive the glory days at a nice ballpark.

We were told that a portion of the Kevin Costner baseball classic, Bull Durham, was filmed at this stadium. We need to watch it again to see if we notice this stadium in the movie.

After the game, we headed to the bar. We met up with the group and had a couple beers. 

Ken bought us all a shot. He was a great guy. Southern hospitality is no lie.

The next day, we headed west to Charlotte and stopped at Five County Stadium which is home to the Carolina Mudcats. They are the Class A affiliate of the Cleveland Indians. It was a beautiful, modern stadium, but we were happy we went to the Tobs game instead of this one. 

Ted Nugent - "Stranglehold"