Apr. 25—Come Sunday afternoon, everyone who watches MLB Network will know what we’ve known for years. The relationship between Portland — and the entire region — with the Portland Sea Dogs is a special one.
Sunday at 1 p.m., MLB Network will air a special called Grass Routes, the pilot episode of what could become a series about the relationships between minor league baseball teams and their cities.
If you don’t want to wait until Sunday afternoon, or you don’t have MLB Network, you can watch Grass Routes here.
Two thoughts come immediately to mind. One, Portland is the perfect choice for the pilot episode. Sea Dogs players quickly learn how well the team and city fit together.
“I was really blown away by how invested the entire city is with this organization. They pack the house a lot of times, and they’re really dedicated. I go to sign autographs all the time, and they get very invested into each and every player,” said catcher Drew Ehrhard, who was promoted to Portland last July. “They know so much about every guy here. They’re paying attention, and it’s really cool to see.”
Two, why didn’t someone think of this before?
“Our sense of community often gets lost,” said Jonathan Mayo, who covers the minor leagues and prospects for MLB Pipeline. “I hope this is a cool way for people to feel connected.”
Grass Routes sprang from a book project Mayo and his wife, Sara Stock Mayo, are working on, looking at the relationship small cities have with their minor league teams and arts communities. The book’s working title is “Something Worth Saving: Finding America’s Soul in Small Cities and Towns.” Portland was one of the first cities they thought of. With that in mind, Mayo and an MLB Network film crew visited Portland last summer when the Sea Dogs hosted the Altoona Curve.
“Major League Baseball sent a crew with the idea, let’s see what we come up with,” Mayo said.
It’s not a surprise that Portland was chosen for the first episode of Grass Routes. Last fall, Sports Business Journal ranked Portland the top minor league sports market in the country. The city has a vibrant food, beer, and arts scene as well. It’s exactly what Mayo was looking for.
“I love talking about prospects and introducing baseball fans to the next wave of stars,” he said. “This job has afforded me the opportunity to see a lot of places.”
Grass Routes features interviews with fans in the Old Port and at the ballpark. It features interviews with Marcelo Mayer and Roman Anthony, the top prospects in the Red Sox system who spent much of the 2024 season in Portland. No player wants to spend a lot of time in the minor leagues, Mayer said, but since you have to on the way to the big leagues, Portland is a great place to be. Sitting in the High Roller Lobster Company chatting with Mayo, Mayer notes that they could go outside and within two minutes see 10 fans wearing a Sea Dogs hat.
“Sometimes you can take it for granted we’re here because of how awesome it is,” Mayer says.
Grass Routes dives into the team’s relationship with the Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital, showing Slugger, the Sea Dogs mascot, visiting children undergoing cancer treatment. Since the focus of the book is the arts as well as baseball, Grass Routes spends some time at Mayo Street Arts and at the Guster on the Ocean music festival. Brian Rosenworcel, Guster’s drummer, notes in the special that minor league ballclubs and their fans are like bands and their fans, and have to enjoy that give-and-take relationship.
“I think minor league baseball has to nurture that, because the fans aren’t going to just fill up the stadium based on star power,” he says.
Outfielder Caden Rose grew up in Alabama. Portland is a completely new city to him this season, but he quickly figured out it will be a good place to further his baseball career. To hear Rose say “lobster roll” in his drawl is to make the local delicacy sound exotic, and that’s another reminder that despite whatever problems we have, we have it good here.
“A lot different for me, but I was excited. The city and the fan base here is really good,” Rose said. “You know, it’s been freezing cold outside, and they’re still showing up. (Thursday) night, it’s late in the game, it’s freezing cold, and we’ve got a lot of fans here making noise. It’s fun to go out and play for a city that has your back.”
Mayo said the hope is to produce more episodes of Grass Routes this year. He and Sara were in Asheville, North Carolina, this week, exploring the city’s relationship with the Asheville Tourists, the High-A affiliate of the Houston Astros, as well as the restaurants and arts. Asheville is Portland in the mountains.
Mayo and MLB Network set the bar high by doing Portland first.
“Minor league life is far from glamorous. Even at Double-A, you’re getting a little closer to the big leagues, but it’s still the minors,” Mayo said. “All that Portland has to offer, you don’t get that in the minor leagues often.”
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Fans at Hadlock Field watch Brayan Bello pitch during a rehab assisgnment last season. Brianna Soukup/Staff Photographer
Come Sunday afternoon, everyone who watches MLB Network will know what we’ve known for years. The relationship between Portland — and the entire region — with the Portland Sea Dogs is a special one.
Sunday at 1 p.m., MLB Network will air a special called Grass Routes, the pilot episode of what could become a series about the relationships between minor league baseball teams and their cities.
If you don’t want to wait until Sunday afternoon, or you don’t have MLB Network, you can watch Grass Routes here.
Two thoughts come immediately to mind. One, Portland is the perfect choice for the pilot episode. Sea Dogs players quickly learn how well the team and city fit together.
“I was really blown away by how invested the entire city is with this organization. They pack the house a lot of times, and they’re really dedicated. I go to sign autographs all the time, and they get very invested into each and every player,” said catcher Drew Ehrhard, who was promoted to Portland last July. “They know so much about every guy here. They’re paying attention, and it’s really cool to see.”
Two, why didn’t someone think of this before?
“Our sense of community often gets lost,” said Jonathan Mayo, who covers the minor leagues and prospects for MLB Pipeline. “I hope this is a cool way for people to feel connected.”
Grass Routes sprang from a book project Mayo and his wife, Sara Stock Mayo, are working on, looking at the relationship small cities have with their minor league teams and arts communities. The book’s working title is “Something Worth Saving: Finding America’s Soul in Small Cities and Towns.” Portland was one of the first cities they thought of. With that in mind, Mayo and an MLB Network film crew visited Portland last summer when the Sea Dogs hosted the Altoona Curve.
“Major League Baseball sent a crew with the idea, let’s see what we come up with,” Mayo said.
It’s not a surprise that Portland was chosen for the first episode of Grass Routes. Last fall, Sports Business Journal ranked Portland the top minor league sports market in the country. The city has a vibrant food, beer, and arts scene as well. It’s exactly what Mayo was looking for.
“I love talking about prospects and introducing baseball fans to the next wave of stars,” he said. “This job has afforded me the opportunity to see a lot of places.”
Marcelo Mayer spent much of last season in Portland with the Sea Dogs. Brianna Soukup/Portland Press Herald
Grass Routes features interviews with fans in the Old Port and at the ballpark. It features interviews with Marcelo Mayer and Roman Anthony, the top prospects in the Red Sox system who spent much of the 2024 season in Portland. No player wants to spend a lot of time in the minor leagues, Mayer said, but since you have to on the way to the big leagues, Portland is a great place to be. Sitting in the High Roller Lobster Company chatting with Mayo, Mayer notes that they could go outside and within two minutes see 10 fans wearing a Sea Dogs hat.
“Sometimes you can take it for granted we’re here because of how awesome it is,” Mayer says.
Grass Routes dives into the team’s relationship with the Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital, showing Slugger, the Sea Dogs mascot, visiting children undergoing cancer treatment. Since the focus of the book is the arts as well as baseball, Grass Routes spends some time at Mayo Street Arts and at the Guster on the Ocean music festival. Brian Rosenworcel, Guster’s drummer, notes in the special that minor league ballclubs and their fans are like bands and their fans, and have to enjoy that give-and-take relationship.
“I think minor league baseball has to nurture that, because the fans aren’t going to just fill up the stadium based on star power,” he says.
Outfielder Caden Rose grew up in Alabama. Portland is a completely new city to him this season, but he quickly figured out it will be a good place to further his baseball career. To hear Rose say “lobster roll” in his drawl is to make the local delicacy sound exotic, and that’s another reminder that despite whatever problems we have, we have it good here.
“A lot different for me, but I was excited. The city and the fan base here is really good,” Rose said. “You know, it’s been freezing cold outside, and they’re still showing up. (Thursday) night, it’s late in the game, it’s freezing cold, and we’ve got a lot of fans here making noise. It’s fun to go out and play for a city that has your back.”
Mayo said the hope is to produce more episodes of Grass Routes this year. He and Sara were in Asheville, North Carolina, this week, exploring the city’s relationship with the Asheville Tourists, the High-A affiliate of the Houston Astros, as well as the restaurants and arts. Asheville is Portland in the mountains.
Mayo and MLB Network set the bar high by doing Portland first.
“Minor league life is far from glamorous. Even at Double-A, you’re getting a little closer to the big leagues, but it’s still the minors,” Mayo said. “All that Portland has to offer, you don’t get that in the minor leagues often.”
