The View From Section 416: Scouting the Cubs' farm teams on a road trip through time

Every year since the Major League Baseball strike of 1994, Wrigley Field Section 416 seatmates Old Style, Rich and I have taken a minor league road trip.

Chicago is perfectly situated for such travel. It's right in the heart of the Class A Midwest League and some independent leagues, and Triple-A Iowa and Indianapolis bring Pacific Coast and International League teams pretty close too.

We divide our tasks: I drive, Rich puts together the playlist, and Old Style scouts out food at and around the ballparks and hotels. The slower pace and smaller crowds of minor league ball are a perfect summer tonic, a palate-cleanser from the intensity of Wrigley Field.

Midwest League ball is especially sweet, as three great seats along the dugout or behind home plate can usually be had for less than the price of one ticket at Wrigley. The food, often served up by local charity or benevolent association volunteers, is excellent. And the craft beer selection always outdoes Wrigley.

Pro-tip: When at any park in Iowa-Quad Cities, Clinton, Burlington or Des Moines -- just get the pork sandwich. The cooks of that fair state know their swine. Torn between the pulled barbecue and breaded tenderloin options? Hell, get one of them in the first inning and the other one in the fifth. They have defibrillators handy.

Beyond the culinary pleasures, a minor league road trip is a form of time travel. You go back to the past, and project yourself into the future.

You go to see the Cubs' Class A or Double-A or Triple-A teams so that one day you can turn to someone at Wrigley or your local bar and say, "I saw that guy play when he was in the minors."

We can say that about Matt Szczur, Cubs backup outfielder. We saw him play for Peoria back in 2011, but my only firm memory is trying to figure out how to pronounce his name. Now it rolls off the tongue: Hail Caesar, king of the Cubs' 2016 pinch hitters.

Stars Javier Baez and Jorge Soler were playing for the Iowa Cubs when we drove all the way to Omaha to see them (and eat barbecue) in 2014. The Storm Chasers struck out Baez three times, and Soler came in as a pinch hitter late in the game. He hit a ball so hard that the crack of the bat silenced the whole crowd. It was foul by 10 feet, but, as Cubs radio voice Pat Hughes would say, "Looooooong gone!"

Had it been hit at Wrigley, it would have broken the window of some guy's SUV parked behind the firehouse on Waveland Avenue.

As we drove home over the plains the next day, the word came in over sports talk radio: Baez had been called up to The Show. We argued in the car over the wisdom of that move, but no longer do. Soler, who might turn out to be an injury-prone bust, is still a question mark, but Baez is looking stellar wherever Joe Maddon plays him defensively, as well as solid at the plate.

Now, they're two more guys we can say we saw them way back when.

Great minor league parks also transport you back to the game's past. Before television came to dominate our entertainment time, minor leagues covered the American landscape; B, C, and D-level leagues could be found all over the country, as well as industrial leagues and less formal town ball and sandlot games. Most of that is gone, but you can still get a taste of it.

In minor league parks, the pace of everything except the game itself is even slower and more relaxed. Pretty much every seat is a good seat, and children play on the outfield berms. Sure, some guys show up to impress business clients just like at Wrigley, but it's mostly families and dedicated fans.

This was our first trip to South Bend, and Four Winds Field was impressive, as was the team logo. Old Style loved their sterner version of the Chicago Cubs' bear. "He's coming to eat, not play like a little soft cubbie."

The team's Hall of Fame -- on the concourse behind home plate, with plaques modeled on those at Cooperstown -- was outstanding. They didn't just feature the sort of player you see commemorated at most minor league or spring training parks, the guys who played there and then went on to notable major league careers.

No, the South Bend Cubs also feature players from the South Bend Blue Sox of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. It was a pleasure to learn about Betsy Jochum, who struck out only 10 times in 400 at-bats in 1946 -- or Jean Faut, who threw four no-hitters (including two perfect games) while batting .290 for her career. The team also recognizes local connections to the Negro Leagues, enshrining Lafayette "Dusty" Riddle, who organized barnstorming Negro League ball in South Bend and was also the first African-American cop in town.

That respect for history even extends to the park's gift shop, a converted historic synagogue. You can buy souvenirs under an homage to the Sistine Chapel's "Creation of Adam," with God handing his creation a baseball under the eternally blessed words: "Play ball."

We probably won't brag about seeing anyone who played that day, as our trip coincided with the All-Star break and top prospect Eloy Jimenez was in San Diego for the Futures Game. But we did see the South Bend Cubs beat the Bowling Green Hot Rods, 10-6.

Yet I'll surely remember the first baseman, Tyler Alamo, even if he never makes the bigs.

Wonder if he'll ever play in the Texas League?