The Wandering Disciple

So many dreams are made or broken in Minor League Baseball. Hundreds of players each year sign a professional contract to start their journey to the majors. The hometown fields are where you can see the stars of tomorrow learn the ins and outs of professional baseball. Here is Chicago Cubs infielder David Bote as he was playing for the Tennessee Smokies in 2017. Bote was drafted by the Cubs in 2012, spent six years in the minors before making his major league debut in 2018. (Photo: June 14, 2017)

Kodak, Tennessee: The Tennessee Smokies struggled to contain the poweful offense of the division leading Chattanooga Lookouts as they dropped the series opener 8-1 on Wednesday night at Smokies Stadium. The Lookouts used three long balls to help them win the opener. After a scoreless first inning, the Lookouts took command of the game in the second inning. A solo home run by TJ White and a three run homer by Nick Gordon gave them a 4-0 lead. The Smokies scored their lone run of the night in the sixth inning. Charcer Burks singled to center and then moved to third following a double by Andrew Ely. Burks then scored on a ground ball by David Bote to make it 4-1. The Lookouts struck again in the seventh. The loaded the bases following three straight singles by Gordon, Edgar Corcino and LaMonte Wade. Gordon scored on a single by Jonathan Rodriguez. After Corcino was thrown out at home, Wade scored on a sac fly by Dan Gamache to make it 6-1. Chattanooga scored two more runs ...

Asheville, North Carolina:  Today was bonus day on our summer road trip.  We had originally planned on heading home, but instead we extended our trip by a day.  So with nothing hard scheduled today, we decided to wing our itinerary. After breakfast at the hotel, we decided to hit the Blue Ridge Parkway and head south to the southern terminus in Cherokee.  We got lost a bit getting to the parkway, but it was nice to see other areas in Asheville.  It is easy to see why the town has won so many awards. Once we reached the parkway, we began our journey southward.  Along the way, we stopped at each of the overlooks, just taking in the beauty of the region. During our journey, we reached the town of Brevard where we got off the parkway and headed into the Pisgah National Forest.  There were a few things we wanted to see within the forest, however I forgot the list in the hotel room so in the spirit of the day, we just decided to wing it again. One...