Major excitement at Southern California's minor league parks

With school out (or about to be) and long, sunny days in, the charms of baseball beckon. But if big league prices put a dent in your budget, you can still find excitement at minor league parks.

Southern California has five minor-league teams strung in a crescent on the area's northern and eastern rims. They play in intimate parks that are far enough away to provide a getaway but close enough to constitute a day's outing. Heading to a minor-league game is equivalent to running away to baseball never-never land, an affordable destination that can fill a summer evening to the brim.