The ValleyCats open the 2018 season this weekend at The Joe

tri-city valleycats night game at the joe

The Tri-City ValleyCats open their 2018 season this Friday at The Joe against the Vermont Lake Monsters. It's schedule magnet night and there will be fireworks after the game. It's part of a three-game home stand that runs through Sunday.

The ValleyCats are a farm team for the Houston Astros in the New York-Penn League, which is the "short-season A" level. (Minor league baseball's levels go from rookie ball up to AAA.) And while that's a few steps from the majors, more than 30 one-time ValleyCats have ended up making appearances in MLB -- including Jose Altuve, George Springer, Dallas Keuchel, Hunter Pence, and Ben Zobrist.

Many of the Astros top draft picks -- especially older players out of college -- end up being assigned to the ValleyCats. So it's a chance to see players with a real chance of someday making the majors.

Tickets start as low as $6.50 the day of game (you can save a buck or so buying ahead). And the most expensive tickets are $12.50. So it can be relatively cheap night out. The 'Cats regular season home schedule stretches through the last week of August this year.

And The Joe -- the Joseph L. Bruno Stadium, on the campus of Hudson Valley Community College -- is a nice venue.

Also: It's minor minor league baseball, so there are a bunch of promotions, wacky theme nights, and in-game fun like the mayors race.

Comments

Just want to give a quick Valleycats shout-out where it's due. We went to the game on Sunday and had a great time. As mentioned in the post, ticket prices are super reasonable. Additionally, since the game was at 5 p.m. we had dinner there, and the food -- especially for a ballpark -- is reasonable as well. Two meals, two drinks (non-alcoholic) for $17 is awesome and a far cry from what you'd pay at the TU, for example. Beer-wise getting a local Brown's brew in the $7 range is fair to me, too. The entertainment is great, the crowd is into it. All in all, I really appreciate what the Valleycats have done.

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