By Gary Fauber
Assistant Sports Editor
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By no means does Chris Davis consider himself a hot dog connoisseur. He doesn’t load them up with toppings like chili or relish, preferring to stick to the old standbys of ketchup and mustard.
But he wanted to come up with a unique way to show his support for the West Virginia Miners. He and his family decided traveling to every away stadium the Miners play would certainly stand out.
“We tried to plan last fall how we were going to do it schedule-wise,” Davis said. “I talked to my law partners, John Wooton and Jody Wooton, and they said they would do whatever we had to do to cover my schedule, because it’s so sporadic with the (schedule) these guys are playing.”
The Davises — Chris, wife Jennifer and sons Grant, 9, and six-year-old Gavin — have stuck to the plan. It’s added up to one brutal travel schedule and two oil changes for the family car since the season began a mere two months ago.
But Davis wanted to take it further, even though there’s no questioning the dedication it takes to commit to night-long trips to places like Sycamore, Ill. — 611 miles one way.
That’s when the idea for “The West Virginia Miners Weiner Tour” was hatched.
What could be more American than a hot dog at the ol’ ballpark?
“We were thinking about what we were going to call it,” Davis said. “So we decided what we would do is eat a hot dog at every away stadium, and that’s when we decided we would call it ‘The West Virginia Miners Weiner Tour.’ The boys thought that was great. My wife preferred to call it a hot dog tour, but it wasn’t as funny.”
It’s doubtful that any fan is more in touch with the Miners than Davis and his family.
They serve as the host family to first baseman John Spirk, who usually travels back to Beckley with them after a road trip is complete. And the Davises try to stay in hotels close to where the team stays because of the interaction they are afforded not just with Spirk, but also his teammates and coaches.
“Very open and family-oriented, and that’s what has made it that much more special,” Davis said.
In traveling to so many locations, Davis has noticed one big difference between Beckley and other cities in the Prospect League.
“We’ve noticed at other stadiums (teams) really don’t have (as) great (a) following, it seems, that we have here,” Davis said, although he said he wishes more people would come to see the team. “The interaction that (owner) Doug (Epling) has with the people here, and with (mascot) Miner Mike, we’ve really noticed that at other stadiums.”
It’s not just about watching baseball. The whole thing has provided Chris and Jennifer plenty of quality time with Grant and Gavin.
“Oh, they love it,” he said. “Of course, it’s simple when most of our traveling is at night. They’re sleeping, and we’re just going to the next location.”
For the boys, the tour has meant a certain amount of sacrifice. Grant, for example, had to give up part of his Little League season.
“He made the decision that he wanted to go on the tour and enjoy these guys and spend time with John,” Davis said. “That’s been his biggest focus. My boys, there are certain activities they would normally participate in, (but) they absolutely said, ‘No, we want to spend time with John and the rest of the guys.’”
Davis said his favorite stadium has been League Stadium, home of the Dubois County Bombers in Huntingburg, Ind. League Stadium was used in the filming of “A League of Their Own.”
“Very old stadium,” Davis said. “I believe the stadium was actually built in the late 1800s and became a baseball stadium probably in the early 1900s. Just a real great nostalgic value.”
As for the hot dog, The Pipe Yard at Lorain County, Ohio, gets Davis’ approval.
“It was just a great hot dog,” he said.
“Of course, the best hot dogs are at the Linda K.”
Even with all that time on the road, there really is no place like home.
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The Miners (27-25) open a two-game homestand against the Chillicothe Paints at 7:05 p.m. today. Thursday will be Fan Appreciation Night and West Virginia’s regular-season home finale. A fireworks show will take place after the game.
A crowd of 2,168 saw last year’s home finale, also against the Paints.
— E-mail: gfauber@register-herald.com
