MiLB.com, the Web site of Minor League Baseball, has published an article about three Texas League teams, and advocates traveling on Route 66 part of the way to see them.
The Drillers of Tulsa, the Cardinals of Springfield, Mo.; and the Naturals of Northwest Arkansas all are part of the league. The story advocates checking out a Drillers game first; the team is about to open the new ONEOK Field just a few blocks from the original Route 66.
After that, the story recommends taking the Mother Road to Springfield:
While Route 66 is no longer recognized as part of the U.S. highway system, drivers can still travel along the iconic route. Two early proponents of Route 66 were businessman Cyrus Avery of Tulsa and John Woodruff of Springfield, and a drive between the two cities represents an opportunity to check out some attractions that are alternately funny, strange and poignant, but always deeply American.
Examples include an 80-foot replica of a sperm whale, built out of pipe and concrete, which resides in Catoosa, Okla. And how about a stop at the Will Rogers Museum in nearby Claremore? The legendary humorist and traveling lecturer is perhaps Oklahoma’s most well-known native, and Route 66 used to be known as “Will Rogers Highway.” Traveling onward to Foyil, one will find a monument to Andy Payne, who won the 3,400-mile Transcontinental Footrace of 1928. (Foyil is also home to “The World’s Largest Totem Pole.”) After crossing the state line, a stop in Carthage, Mo., may be in order. The town is home to the Precious Moments Inspirational Park, a gaudily decorated chapel created by the man behind the wildly popular Precious Moments figurines.
The tour finishes at Springdale, Ark., where the Naturals play.