10 good reasons to visit Danville

...and all of them have to do with the Danville Dans! Who are the Dans, you ask? Why, they're a summer-league baseball team comprised of collegians from around the country. They play with wooden bats, they're first in the league, and here's why you should go see them in action.

1) Danville Stadium is a total throwback -- a one-deck, wooden stadium with an outfield fence that appears to be falling backward at certain points. It was built in the '40s to house a minor-league team for the Brooklyn Dodgers. The list of big league players who have made stops in Danville -- either as part of the minor leagues or later as part of independent summer leagues -- is long and impressive: Pedro Guerrero, Gorman Thomas, Carl Erskine, Cecil Cooper, Dave Stewart, Devon White, and Jonathan Papelbon, to name just a few.

2) You're so close to the action you can hear the umpire call strikes and the catcher's mit pop clear as day.

3) Rally caps are encouraged, and good-natured taunting is, too. (Thanks for the pic, Pretty Typewriters.) Note: my rally hat failed, but I chalk that up to the fact that it was a STL Cardinals cap, and not a Danville Dans cap.


4) Rooting for college kids with dreams of making the big leagues is far more beneficial to the player than rooting for larger-than-life pros with fat wallets will ever be. These kids are not spoiled, unless you count the occasional fan that sneaks them a hot dog during the game.

5) The beer is relatively cheap -- $2.50 for a plastic cup of Goose Island!

6) The foot is edible. I repeat, the foot is edible. Chicago-style dogs, warm & salty popcorn, pretzels, and sno-cones!

7) Foul pop ups land on the wooden roof with a WHACK.

8) Where else can you see a double-header that features 8 errors in the first game, and then a five-inning no-hitter in the second? Plus, the Dans were pitching the no-hitter, yet losing 1-0.

9) Every time the Dans score a run, they pipe in this polka music that sounds as if it's being played on a Casio. And inbetween innings they play good old time rock 'n' roll.

10) You can purchase broken bats (game used!) for $5!

They only play ball through early August, so hurry up!