Mapping the path

EASTERN MIDWEST BASEBALL

Traverse City Pit Spitters

Dad and I head Up North to Traverse City, Michigan, the “Cherry Capital of the World.” We tour the orchards and vineyards of the Old Mission Peninsula, have lunch downtown at Poppycock’s, enjoy a cider tasting at Left Foot Charley, and catch a game with the Traverse City Pit Spitters, a collegiate summer league team playing in the Northwoods League.

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Known as the “Cherry Capital of the World," Traverse City is located on the shores of Grand Traverse Bay, which feeds into Lake Michigan. Bisecting the bay is a thin, 17-mile-long strip of land extending north from Traverse City. This little patch of paradise is the heart of the country’s most prolific cherry-growing region, part of the “Fruit Belt” that runs along the eastern shore of Lake Michigan. The Grand Traverse region grows more than 100 million pounds of cherries annually, roughly 40 percent of the annual tart cherry crop in the United States. (Speaking of big numbers, see our visit to the World’s Largest Cherry Pie Pan the previous day.)

The Traverse City area produces other fruit as well. We drove through a hillside vineyard and admired a field of strawberries before taking in the star of the show: those luscious cherries.

We stopped at a fruit stand, and Dad and I each bought a cup of cherries, plopping them into our car’s cupholders. It was a sunny morning but thoroughly pleasant — cooler and more comfortable than the hot and muggy weather we had endured further south. We glided over bucolic hills and past neat farms, eating cherries, enjoying views of the bay on both sides of the peninsula, and spitting cherry pits out the window with carefree gusto.

Nearby, I poked my head into Cherry Republic, a large gift shop for All Things Cherries: preserves, chocolates, pies, candy, coffee, sausages, and tastings of wine and cider. I could have spent some quality time here, but we needed to get going to make it to our actual cider-tasting appointment across town.

We drove to the west side of town and paid a visit to Left Foot Charley, an independent winery and cider maker with a modern tasting room. Winemaker Bryan Ulbrich collaborates with 18 smaller growers in the Grand Traverse region to source a range of varietals and terroirs to create the balance he seeks. The winery’s name refers to a nickname Bryan was given as a kid when his inward-leaning left foot frequently caused him to stumble as he ran.

I was more in the mood for cider than wine, so I ordered a tasting flight of four: the Engle’s Ransom, a dry, full-bodied cider; Otterson, a dry and tart rosé cider made from red apples; Winesap, juicy and semi-dry; and Cinnamon Girl, which is seeped with cinnamon sticks for four to six weeks. They put a happy cap on a thoroughly pleasant day.

The Pit Spitters play in the Northwoods League, a collegiate wood-bat league comprised of 26 teams stretching from Indiana to North Dakota. These leagues are great places for college-eligible players to hone their skills while the weather is good. The Northwoods League is one of the strongest collegiate summer leagues, attracting top players from across the country. Led by the same ownership group that owns the Minor League West Michigan Whitecaps, Traverse City has proven to be an excellent addition to the Northwoods League, drawing 2,548 fans per game in 2024, second-most in the league.

When the club held a name-the-team contest before its inaugural season, finalists included the Black Bears, Dogmen, Dune Bears, Tree Shakers, and Sasquatch. These names are poor cousins compared to the Pit Spitters moniker. The association with the local cherry industry and the city’s National Cherry Festival — which features a cherry pit-spitting competition — is just too good.

And just look at this glorious logo!

The Pit Spitters won Northwoods League titles in 2019 and 2021, their first two seasons of existence — an incredible accomplishment given the size of the league (24 teams) and the interruption of the 2020 season due to COVID-19.

Dad and I stepped into the team store — called the Pit Stop — to pick up our cap and baseball. I had made a firm decision to go with the black home hat.

The Pit Spitters do have one alternate identity: the Up North Cork Dorks, another fantastic and evocative name that celebrates the local wine industry.

Traverse City was in the midst of a solid season. They would finish the summer of 2024 with a 39-33 record, five games ahead of their opponent for the night, the Royal Oak Leprechauns.

The Leprechauns are based just outside of Detroit and were a new addition to the Northwoods League in 2024, transferring from the smaller Great Lakes Collegiate Summer League.

It was Irish Heritage Night — a perfect fit with the Leprechauns in town. A local Irish dance troop and members of the Grand Traverse Ancient Order of Hibernians infused the evening with Irish music, dance, and trivia.

Monty the Mascot came onto the field riding an all-terrain vehicle. He hopped off and waved a big Pit Spitters flag to get the crowd going, and soon we were underway.

Both starting pitchers — Dylan Krause of the University of Dallas for the Pit Spitters, and David Lally of the University of Michigan for the Leprechauns — put in outstanding performances, tossing five scoreless innings. Both dugouts chirped loudly throughout with spirited jawing that you don’t typically hear in Minor League Baseball.

I went to see what was for dinner, checking the outdoor barbecue, main concessions stand, and the Spittoon Saloon.

I had to have the Cherry Republic BBQ Burger, with local dried cherries, jalapeño peppers, and crispy onions. It was unexpectedly spicy and very good. Dad had a great-looking brat and loved it.

There was plenty of entertainment between innings besides the Irish dance troop. A little girl raced Monty around the bases, kids played musical chairs, and there was a rubber chicken toss, a tug of war, a race to get dressed first, a bungee battle (with participants trying to move in opposite directions), and perhaps the most incredible between-inning game I’ve ever seen, Bullpen Surfing.

Here’s how it worked: Members of both bullpens laid down side by side in front of their respective dugouts, looking like log rafts. Atop them, a fan sat on a surfboard. At the word, “Go,” the players spun their bodies quickly, one after the other, to propel the surfboard toward the finish line. But because there weren’t enough bodies to reach the finish line, the players who had finished their tasks ran to the end of the line to await the surfboard and send it forward again. It was absolute chaos, with players diving into place just as the surfboards arrived, and something you could only see at a collegiate summer league game. (Watch the episode!)

In the top of the sixth, Krause allowed a double and two walks to load the bases, then walked home the first run of the game, putting Royal Oak in front 1-0.

The Pit Spitters finally put some runs on the board after the seventh inning stretch, getting a double and two singles in succession to take a 2-1 lead.

I walked out to the outfield, where kids of all ages were enjoying the evening in their own way.

Traverse City reliever Mason Hill took over for Krause in the eighth inning, getting two quick outs before giving up a double, a walk, and a bases-clearing triple to put the Leprechauns back in front 3-2.

The Pit Spitters managed just one hit in the final two innings against Leprechauns closer Gavin Moczydlowsky, a Michigan native attending Michigan State University, and the possessor of one of the best Scrabble names ever.

We had seen a close and lively game at an attractive, right-sized ballpark with perfect weather and excellent food. The baseball gods had smiled upon us again.