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Kansas City has always been a go-team-go community, and over the years it’s been home to clubs from nearly every sport: baseball, basketball (men’s and women’s), football of all stripes (outdoor, arena, and women’s), ice hockey, soccer (men’s, women’s, indoor), even a championship-winning tennis team, the Kansas City Explorers.
But as for which sport is king of the Kansas City region, even with a football dynasty in our midst, there’s really just one obvious sport: baseball. While the Royals’ 2015 World Series win sparked some (perhaps short-lived) discussion over whether Kansas City is a “true” baseball city, the team at Kauffman Stadium is far from the only one in town.
At least a dozen clubs have called the city home, including:
- The Kansas City Blues, 1887-1901. Moved to Washington, D.C. to became the Washington Senators, but then moved to Minneapolis in 1961, becoming today’s MLB Twins.
- The Kansas City Blues, 1902-1954. Moved to Colorado but eventually became the AA affiliate Wichita Wind Surge.
- The Kansas City Monarchs, 1920-1955. Not affiliated with the current Monarchs team, originally dubbed the T-Bones, which chose to honor the original Monarchs through a name change in 2021.
- The Kansas City Athletics, 1955-1967. Moved to Oakland and is today’s MLB A’s.
If you don’t know, our Monarchs and the Negro Leagues are almost synonymous: the ball club was a chartering member of the league as well as its longest-running franchise. And Monarchs rosters were bursting with legends, including Ernie Banks, Buck O’Neil, Satchel Paige and Jackie Robinson, among others. It’s no surprise then that The Monarchs won 10 championships and 1924’s first Negro World Series.
Today, minor-league baseball is still alive and well, especially around the Kansas City region. In the spring and middle of summer, heading to a minor league game is one of the best (and cheapest) ways to spend a day. Tickets sometimes go on sale and can be less than $10 (and the food is almost always cheaper than at large parks).
The crowds are chill and friendly, players are easy to root for and sometimes even talk to after a game, parking is often super cheap or free — the list of pros is long and cons are few.
Where to see the minor leagues around Kansas City
First, let’s take a minute to discuss what “minor league” baseball means.
While there are just 30 teams in Major League Baseball (your Royals, Cardinals, etc.), there are a whole lot more teams playing in the minors. The minor leagues encompass a system of graded levels of play: Triple-A, Double-A, and Single-A, with that last category broken into High- and Low-A.
Triple-A is the level closest to the major leagues. High-A and Low-A are where you’ll find most of your rookies, with High-A being where many post-college players will land and Low-A where you’ll find a lot of straight-out-of-high school talent.
Professional baseball is one of the only sports in the United States with such a robust “farm league” or feeder system that prepares players for the majors, and each of MLB’s teams maintains its own farm teams. There are other “MLB-adjacent” leagues, too.
Here are some of the baseball teams you can go root for around the region:
Kansas City Monarchs
The Monarchs play in MLB partner league American Association of Professional Baseball, and, as such, they are not directly affiliated with an MLB team. That said, some Monarchs have made their way to the big leagues. The Monarchs play a 100-game season and have four championship titles to boot.
Get excited and get to the park: There are many games left this summer!
- Tickets: As little as $15 plus fees, and parking is free.
- Field: Legends Field. 1800 Village West Parkway, Kansas City, KS 66111
Chillicothe Mudcats
For a classic, small-town baseball experience of the kind that used to be ubiquitous in the United States, consider packing up the family and driving northeast to Chillicothe, Missouri, (population 8,927 as of 2022) for a Mudcats game.
The Mudcats are in the four-state M.I.N.K. League — or Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas — which provides college baseball players a postseason opportunity to improve their game. Players stay with host families and form strong ties with their host communities. If interested, make plans soon as the Mudcats season wraps at the end of July.
- Tickets: Adults $6, seniors $3, students $2.
- Field: Shaffer Memorial Park. 298 Mack St., Chillicothe, MO 64601
Springfield Cardinals
For that Double-A ball experience, the Springfield Cardinals are a great choice. This St. Louis Cardinals farm team was bought and moved to Springfield, Missouri, by the pro team in 1931, and many legends, including Stan Musial, got their start with this club.
You’ll find more than enough contemporary players to root for, and even some up-and-coming careers to champion, just by listening to the conversations happening around you.
Ask some of the regulars and you’ll quickly learn a lot about the guys on the field — whose stock is rising, who’s come down from the majors for some rehab, who’s the sleeper star soon to break out, etc.
- Tickets: As little as $11, with box seating that includes unlimited buffet access $34.
- Field: Hammons Field. 955 E. Trafficway St., Springfield, MO 65802
St. Joseph Mustangs
A little closer to Kansas City, the St. Joe Mustangs are another M.I.N.K.-league team, one with several titles to boot. Per those titles, the energy here can be a little more intense (in a fun way) than with the Mudcats.
Success can bring a crowd, and game attendance here can clear 4,000, but the spirit of community-focused baseball persists. Bottom line: The Mustangs are a great mix of “rah rah go home team” and community vibes.
Since, like the Mudcats, the Mustangs are in a summer league, the season ends in July. So, if interested, pick a game soon and hit the road.
- Tickets: Single game tickets are typically $8.
- Field: Phil Welch Stadium. 2600 Southwest Parkway, St. Joseph, MO 64503.
Wichita Wind Surge
The AA affiliate of MLB’s Minnesota Twins, the Wichita Wind Surge began play in 2021. Initially slated to be a Triple-A team, COVID-19 and a major league realignment resulted in them landing in Double-A.
The Wind Surge are not a new team but rather are the relocated New Orleans Zephyrs, a team located in Louisiana for 24 years, and with a legacy in Denver, Colorado before that stint.
Just like the Springfield Cardinals, a fun part of the Wind Surge experience is learning more about the players on the field. And to make it sweeter, their stadium is situated right on the Arkansas River across from the Hyatt Regency and the Century II Performing Arts & Convention Center. For those who want to take a stroll before or after a game, the iconic Keeper of the Plains statue is roughly one mile north.
- Tickets: $10 for the general admission “berm” on up to $70 for club seating.
- Field: Riverfront Stadium. 275 S. McLean Blvd., Wichita, KS 67213.
Where to learn your KC baseball history
For those who like to bone up on a thing before or after they experience it, the Negro Leagues Baseball Musem is the place when it comes to our city and baseball. This iconic institution is a crossroads of history, art, sport and entertainment and offers programming for all, young and old alike.
Of particular relevance to the museum: Major League Baseball’s records were just recently updated to include Negro League stats, a change that finally allowed some greats like Satchel Paige and Josh Gibson jump to the top of their statistical categories.
- Tickets: $10 adults, $9 seniors, $6 kids 5 to 12, free for kids up to the age of 4.
- Address: 1616 E. 18th St., Kansas City, MO 64108
