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Which minor-league baseball team is right for you?

The best part about minor-league baseball? It's half game, half game center. Minor-league baseball is more than a training ground for future big-leaguers - it's also a great value for families looking for a day or night out.

Reading Fightin Phils
Reading Fightin PhilsRead moreDonald Holohan/Reading Fightin Phils

The best part about minor-league baseball? It's half game, half game center.

Minor-league baseball is more than a training ground for future big-leaguers - it's also a great value for families looking for a day or night out.

Consider the experience of Timothy Field from Palmer Township, in the Lehigh Valley: He brings his 8-year-old son to games in Allentown when the boy visits during the summer. "I love the time here," Field says, adding that, while attending any sporting event with his son is special, there's something even more special about being together at a baseball game.

But which team is the one for you and your family? The Phillies have three minor-league affiliates within driving distance. We've come up with this handy guide to help you choose the minor-league team you should buy tix to.

You want a little history with your baseball

Team: Reading Fightin Phils.

Level: Double-A affiliate. (Players with two or more years of experience.)

Reading features the usual activities found at minor-league parks (and has a pool), but it also offers what many other clubs lack: an extensive history. The team is celebrating its 50th season as a Phillies affiliate, the longest such tenure in baseball.

On the stadium concourse are team photos of every Reading club since 1967. Check out the 1968 team picture, and there's 20-year-old Larry Bowa looking even younger. In 1971's picture, there's Mike Schmidt, sitting in the front row, oblivious to a future in which he will become the greatest player in Phillies history.

Farther down are displays of newspaper stories when the team was a Cleveland Indians affiliate in the 1950s, and include articles about Hall of Famers Roger Maris and Rocky Colavito.

FirstEnergy Stadium, 61 S. Central Ave., Reading. $5 to $11. 610-375-8469.

Your baseball could use a side of bacon

Team: Lehigh Valley IronPigs.

Level: Triple-A affiliate. (One step away from the major leagues.)

This club takes the pig in its name seriously: It has a bacon strip imprinted on the field behind home plate, and refers to itself as Bacon USA. You can get bacon (or shredded pork) on just about anything. Try the Mac Daddy Dog, an all-beef hotdog topped with macaroni and cheese and crumbled bacon; the bacon funnel cake; a "parfait," layers of mac and cheese separated by layers of pork served in a parfait cup; or a sandwich called the Three Little Pigs: pulled pork, bacon, and ham on a Kaiser roll.

There's a grassy slope behind the center-field fence where fans can lie on a blanket and watch the game. Bernard and Christina Kress came from California to visit their daughter and her children, ages 2 and 3. They watch the game from the slope because it offers the toddlers extra space. "They are a handful," Christina says, "and they have more freedom here, than in a seat," to move around.

Coca-Cola Park, 1050 IronPigs Way, Allentown. $9 to $17 ($2 off for advance purchases). 610-841-PIGS.

You can't decide between the beach and the ballpark

Team: Lakewood BlueClaws.

Level: Single-A affiliate. (Features many players at the early stage of their careers.)

Here in Ocean County, you can get two trips in one: the beach and the ballpark. It's about 15 minutes from the stadium to the ocean.

"For people on vacation, it's the perfect place to come," says Gabrielle Burkart, who manages the park's Kid Zone, with rides and activities for children. "You can be on the beach during the day and bring the kids here at night."

There's also a beach motif. Five regulation-size lifeguard stands are situated behind the right and left center-field walls, offering a good view of the game.

At the Kid Zone, there are several rides/games with two age versions, such as a "speed pitch" for toddlers and one (with a radar gun) for older children and parents.

Tracey and Pete Decanto of nearby Toms River, also take advantage of a beach and ballgame for their daughters, Violet, 3, and Harper, 1. Like many parents at minor-league games, mom and dad don't get much time for themselves, but Tracey says that watching their children "having fun is something we get joy from."

FirstEnergy Park, 2 Stadium Way, Lakewood, N.J. $10 to $17. 732-901-7000.