CASPER GHOSTS BASEBALL ADVENTURE GROUP

Baseball, hotdogs, apple pie and...more baseball! You'll find it in Wyoming's Adventure Capital with the Casper Ghosts, our very own rookie-league affiliate of the Colorado Rockies Major League Baseball Team. With a total of 76 games over an 81 day season and multiple crowd-pleasing theme nights, the Ghosts are there to help you enjoy a piece of Americana.

"Everybody loves baseball!" says Adventure Guide Tim Ray, who has been broadcasting the Casper Ghosts baseball games since they came to Casper in 2001. "It's during the summer, it's outside, it's in the sun or it's during a nice beautiful summer evening...and you are NOT going to find a better hot dog anywhere than right here at Mike Lansing Field!"

Before settling in Casper, the team was located in Butte, Montana. But when the powers that be were looking to relocate, Casper just made sense. "They thought Casper would be an ideal spot," Ray explains. "It's kind of the hole in the doughnut when it comes to the pioneer league - there are teams all over surrounding us." Ray adds that the sports history of Casper was a plus as well, calling it "an excellent baseball town."

Initially, the team played on the George Tani Field in North Casper. "That first year, [Casper native and Vice President] Dick Cheney came out to throw out the first pitch to get the season underway," Ray recalls. "I remember the hoopla during that particular evening. Dick Cheney came on the air with me to broadcast half an inning with me as my color guy. It was a special evening for all of us." Then in 2002, the games relocated to Mike Lansing Field, built specifically for the Casper Rockies, and have been held there ever since.

But the venue wasn't the only thing that eventually changed; until this season, the team was known as the Casper Rockies because of their affiliation with the Colorado Rockies. Ray says that even though the owners took pride in being known as the Casper Rockies, they were looking for their own identity. For a while, they remained the Rockies as a favor to Colorado, but as time went on, Ray says, "it was time for a name change to create their own identity." The affiliation with the Rockies remains, however.

With just over 130 minor league teams in the nation, Ray believes that having a minor league team in Casper is a great opportunity for local fans. "What you're seeing now are the future stars of tomorrow, working their way up the system," he says. Though many of the players will never see the major leagues, there are certainly those who do. "We've had roughly 16 kids from our Casper Rockies organization move on to the big leagues and either play in a Colorado Rockies Uniform or for another franchise. One of our First Basemen that played here in 2002, a kid by the name of Ryan Sheely ... he's now the First Baseman for the Kansas City Royals!"

Naturally, these games are popular with Casper residents, but attending the games is also a great getaway for families outside of Central Wyoming. "We've got restaurants and hotels, and we have the mall and downtown shopping opportunities," Ray notes. Plus, the Ghosts are committed to family entertainment and strive to involve both parents and children in their nightly promotions. One of those promotions happens to include the Tim Ray bobble-belly - it sports a microphone in one hand and a hot dog in the other, while others include the famous San Diego Chicken or crowd-pleasing fireworks displays.

"It's just a very carnival atmosphere here at Mike Lansing Field," Ray states. "It's more than the final score, it's more than the baseball game...It's an event."

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