Where you've been and impressions
by phillybmore on Jul 13, 2009 7:25 PM EDT
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PrintOk, so I'm taking an idea they had at Camden Chat and running with it here since many people there also listed their favorite minor league parks, so I figured this was an appropriate fanpost... What minor league parks have you been to and if you would like you can put your impressions of each. I'm including the independent ball stadiums i've been to as well, as though they're technically not minor league ball, they're probably "aa" level players.
For Me:
Wilmington Blue Rocks: Frawley Stadium. This is my home park, so i'm biased, but I truly love it here(If you've never seen it look at my profile pic, thats me at Frawley Stadium with my boys and dog) Not bad skyline views, plenty of free parking, very good food, and a good variety of mascots(Rocky Bluewinkle) Also love it that a celery runs out after every rocks run..Also helps that the royals suck, so theres always good prospects here!
Reading Phillies: First Energy: The best park in the minors. You literally can walk right by players while waiting to buy a soda as their locker room is on the concourse. The food is great and CHEAP. I love the Reading railroad thats runs by outside. Nice modern ammenties too like a exploding train sign and board, and pool in the outfield. GA seats are abundant and right next to the field, OR high behind home plate. You can't make parks like this anymore, its from 1950.
Aberdeen Ironbirds: Ripken Stadium. Great stadium, but VERY pricey tickets $15/10/8 FOR ROOKIE BALL is a lot!(if you can get them, they're always sold out) And if you're not a season ticket holder, you don't get a giveway item on hat night etc..Food is expensive too,its $3 for a hot dog $4 for a soda.. free parking though. I love the whole complex around it though. It truly does look like mini camden yards.
Bowie Baysox: Prince Georges County Stadium: Good park, but waaaaaaaay back off the main road,no views at all,its behind a home depot and chick fila if it is a good crowd, traffic snarls. Lots of good seats for ga price though, the whole upper part is..
Norfolk Tides: Harbor Park: Great views, I love the grilled pretzels they have. Tickets were reasonable, food not so much. It was $4 for a pretzel. Plenty of parking$3, and the seats from the upper deck have an awesome view of the field.
Trenton Thunder: Mercer County Waterfront park: Not bad water views, easy to get to from pa, tickets cheap, food not, and they charge $2 to park, only aa team i've ever had to pay to park at..
SWB Yankees: PNC Park: A mini Vet. Love the mountain views though. Upper deck was steep, but when I sat in the lower deck it was nice. Not too expensive $3 to park and food was reasonable
Orlando Rays: Cracker Jack Stadium: Not bad, but a bit big for AA, disney prices everywhere!
Bonus Orlando: Al Lang Stadium: Not great, but easy to get to, and I like the water/airport views
Independent Teams:
Cambells Field: Camden riversharks. AWESOME! Honestly the best views, the bridge here, Philly there. Well thought out park, wide aisles and concourses..No bad seats at all! I love the sharks name too...$3 to park, not bad at all for Camden, i've paid $10 to park at the aquarium before..
Ac Surf: The sandcastle: Great casino views, It was $3 to park very hard to get to though, and you have to go through a BAD area to get there.. which is probably a reason the team folded. I did like the park though, it had wide aisles and plenty of legroom..
Harford CC: Aberdeen Arsenal: Yikes! Just a temporary set up till ripken stadium, not fun at all, just seats and a few bleachers
Lancaster Barmstormers: Clipper magazine stadium. Very nice, plenty of FREE parking, a little hard exiting, but several ways to get in. Gotta love the bumper boats!
And finally 1 park that is no more:
Clearwater Phillies: Jack Russel Stadium. YIKES! Bad neighberhood, hard to get to, ok seat views though
Look forward to reading where you've been!
Bonus 2
I've driven by the Diamond in Richmond, didn't look like anything special, probably why the braves left..
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me
syracuse chief- it’s a dump, expensive for a poor team 10 bucks and near train tracks, worst scoreboard in AA-AAA level. 4 bucks to park in a terrible parking lot
binghamton- nice stadium, great scoreboard, better prospects, 10 bucks for HP tickets.
oneonta-A lot like a rookie ball stadium, can sit anywhere for 6 bucks and can talk to players before they take the field. I talked to Ryan Westmoreland, Derrik Gibson, and a few other before a game. Free parking
Where I've been
Pulaski – Calfee Park is one of the oldest stadiums in minor league baseball but was remodeled in the late 90s. It maintained the charm of an older park but at the same time has comfort that you don’t normally get in an older park. Great seats everywhere and very easy access to both home and visiting players. If you haven’t gotten a chance to see a game in an Appalachian League park I’d encourage you to do so… I worked in the league for 10 years and can’t speak highly enough of the baseball environment
every spring...
in college we played at jack russel and just the mention brings back some good memories… the enormous wall in CF which was already 400+ precluded most college hitters from ever sniffing a HR to dead center
Memphis
The Red Birds stadium in Memphis is really cool. Tucked right in the middle of downtown with a lot to do around the park. Great way to spend a day; Rendevouz for dinner, ballgame, and then Beale St. for the evening.
i've actually been wanting to go to memphis soon
i may have to plan that one around a redbirds game for sure.
the only minor league game i’ve been to have been in Peoria, IL @ the cubs low class A affiliate, the Chiefs. i had the pleasure of playing there twice in high school as our team was generally pretty good and was featured in the central illinois baseball showcase that they had there. we got to tour the underground of the stadium and it was really sweet to see how much shit there is underneath the stadiums that a lot of people never get to see (batting cages and clubhouses) and their clubhouse was pretty well stacked too when we got to use it before the game (big screen tvs and leather couches). so altogether a pretty great experience.
You Should Go
Dunno if you would be taking a family or what but it’s really a great time. If you aren’t from the area – go eat at the Rendevouz (nearby). It has world famous ribs – you wont be disappointed. Around the park there was plenty of family stuff to do – radar guns and the like. They also do a great job of entertaining inbetween innings. I can’t remember how long ago this was – but I remember they had Shark McGwire vs. a Salmon Sosa in a HR derby or something like that. And it’s all right by Beale St. too if you feel like going out after the game.
It’s a great time whether you have a family or are just a young single dude like me. The Cards have realized that Memphis is an important place to try to attract Cards fans and have done a great job with that atmosphere.
Jeez
Just went to a game the other day… let’s see if I can get the three parks I frequent.
Fieldcrest Cannon Stadium (Lo-A Kannapolis Intimidators): Good little park- got seats right behind the visitors dugout for $8 and parking was like 2 bucks. Food was pretty good, if standard ballpark fare. Kinda average prices for a ballpark, but there’s a lot more in terms of food selection- they have a cafe near the front of the park that offers burgers and deluxe hot dogs, among other things. The kitschy promos can kinda be a little overbearing at times- they airlifted small plush cows and dropped them over the stadium before the game (the players were distracted from their stretches big time) and I kinda had to sit next to a cow for an inning (it was Chic-Fil-A night apparently), but if you can avoid that kinda annoyance, it’s fun.
Knights Stadium (AAA Charlotte Knights): I love Knights Stadium perhaps a little too much. It’s not exactly the newest facility, but it’s big and has a big-league feel to it (maybe because it’s AAA, I dunno). Food is good, scoreboard is reasonably sized- perhaps it’s average for a minor league park, but I really like it for some reason.
Ernie Shore Field (formerly Hi-A Winston-Salem Dash, now the Wake Forest Demon Deacon baseball team’s): Not as spacious as Fieldcrest Cannon (kinda crowded in fact), but the prices are the same. Parking lot sucks, but if you park next door at BB&T Field, it’s free. Food is pretty good, but there’s not a whole lot of options. On the plus side, I’ve never seen them drop cows on unsuspecting baseball fans (and players), so that’s a nod in their favor.
Durham
I’ve really only been to the Durham Bulls’ park, but it’s extremely nice.
Also, I went to the Pittsfield Mets a bunch when they were still around, now it’s a NECBL park. Wahconah is kind of cool because it’s so old (wooden grandstand and all), but really not a great place to watch a game these days, as it was built in the days before night games and thus faces due west; the sun’s right in your eyes at dusk. It’s still cool to check out if you live in the Albany area or the Berkshires though, as it’s kind of a museum of a ballpark.
Victory Field in Indianapolis
is the only minor league park I’ve been, but it’s beautiful. It’s been a couple of years since I’ve been down there, but tickets were very reasonable, $10 or $12 for seats right behind the dugouts. There is grass behind the OF for families, you can bring in coolers with your own food/drinks if you sit out there in the picnic area, no alcohol allowed out there though. I wanna say the food is just your standard burgers/dogs/brats kind of stuff, probably average priced from what I recall, one or two stands used to sell a local beer or two on tap. But the location of the park is just a few blocks from the center of downtown, so you’re probably 10 blocks at most from plenty of restaurants/bars. There is a TGIFriday’s a block or two away, for Colts games they used to charge $10 to park at the hotel(Marriott I think)/TGIFriday’s, but you’d get a $10 voucher for Friday’s when you paid for parking(not sure if that applies for Indians games or not). I’m 99% sure the lot where I used to park is where they built Lucas Oil Stadium, so I’m not sure what kind of cost/where the best place to park is now. You don’t get the same number of top prospects coming thru in AAA as you would in lower levels, but you do get the odd rehab stint for MLB guys. I saw Nomar about 8 or 9 years ago, and Schilling on a rainy opening day 3 or 4 years ago.
I’d like to get up to both South Bend and Fort Wayne to see some MWL games, but I figure I’ll have to wait a few years until my daughter is old enough to make it thru a game before I make the trip with her and the wife. Kane County and Dayton are other places I’d like to get to in coming years, as they’re possible day trips from where I live.
RIP Nick Adenhart
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