Baseball season officially started once again yesterday, Thursday, March 30, 2023; and Minor League Baseball partners with Wyndham Hotels & Resorts in a deal which the Wyndham Rewards membership program becomes the Official Hotel Loyalty Partner for three years.
Minor League Baseball Partners With Wyndham Rewards
As a result of the partnership, members of Wyndham Rewards will be offered exclusive access to all that Minor League Baseball has to offer — including but not limited to:
- The ability to redeem loyalty points for tickets to games — with Minor League Baseball attendance growing exponentially, as it increased by 20 percent year over year in 2022 — Wyndham Rewards is ensuring that family fun is more accessible
- New booking synergies, enabling guests to book hotel reservations directly on MiLB.com — which is particularly convenient, as all 120 Minor League Baseball parks are within 25 miles of a Wyndham hotel or resort property
- Unprecedented perks, such as:
- Throwing the first pitch at games
- Behind-the-scenes ballpark tours
- Batting practice field access
With 120 teams across four classification levels — Single-A, High-A, Double-A, and Triple-A — Minor League Baseball has been emerging as one of the most affordable sports outings for families; and Wyndham Rewards hopes this partnership will help support family excursions this year. The benefits are slated to become live later this summer.
“Wyndham’s partnership with Minor League Baseball also includes a series of additional touchpoints designed to raise visibility of the program among fans while simplifying travel to and from their favorite Minor League games” according to this official press release. “These include a heavy presence at over 8,000 scheduled Minor League games in the form of branded stadium features, sponsorship of Minor League Baseball’s Official Ballpark Guides, a robust social and digital media presence, and Wyndham booking links on MiLB.com as well as all 120 Minor League Baseball Club sites. The deal also carries additional benefits for Wyndham franchisees. Notably, official MiLB League travel will now include stays at Wyndham hotels. What’s more, franchisees will have access to all team logos, allowing for cross marketing opportunities between hotels and their local Minor League team.”
Final Boarding Call
Because Minor League Baseball is affiliated with the 30 teams of Major League Baseball, you can attend a game and either see players who will one day advance to the most professional level in the sport. You can also watch players who are undergoing the tail end of rehabilitation to get back into playing on a team in Major League Baseball.
I have attended Minor League Baseball games in several stadiums — including at Nymeo Field at Harry Grove Stadium, where the Frederick Keys play baseball. At that time, the Frederick Keys were the minor league affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles.
Attending a Minor League Baseball game can be a superior experience to that of a Major League Baseball game for the following reasons:
- The smaller stadium lends to a more intimate atmosphere
- More giveaways — usually one between every inning
- Less expensive — including admission, food, beverages, and parking
- Less hassle — especially with parking and traffic
- Hungrier players who seem to have more passion in playing baseball
Earning and redeeming Wyndham Renards points becomes more valuable if you enjoy Minor League Baseball games.
As an aside, I will never forget when I attended a Minor League Baseball game where the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes played the Lake Elsinore Storm in California — and people in the stands joked about the name of B.J. Weed, who was in the outfield and definitely heard the comments. I will refrain from listing all of the crude and vulgar variations of what was said about his name; but he remained professional and concentrated on playing the game…
All photographs ©2017 and ©2018 by Brian Cohen.
