The best of Class A
There are some nice, new parks at this level of the minors -- including
a couple that are among the nicest in all of professional baseball.
And there are some nice old parks. And there are some that
simply deserve to be benched! One thing's for sure: there
are a lot of parks at this level, more than at AAA and AA combined
. . . so our listings are kind of lengthy. And when you're done
reading, don't forget to take a look at the Minor
League Photo Album.
- Holman Stadium -- It's a little unfair to include facilities that
are also used by Major League teams in the spring (see also Legends
Field below), but Holman Stadium is a must-see ballpark. This
is the home of the Vero Beach Dodgers during the Florida State League
season as well as being the spring home of the LA Dodgers. In
fact, it was the Brooklyn Dodgers that first moved here in 1953.
Nestled in the middle of the incredible baseball and golf complex known
as Dodgertown, there really is no other park like Holman anywhere in
baseball: trees and flowers grow within the seating areas;
the dugouts have no roofs; only "theater-style" seats throughout
-- no benches or bleachers; and there's a small lake ("Dodger Lake")
within the confines of the park. They don't build 'em like this
any more! Happily, after strong speculation that Vero Beach's
FSL franchise was going to disappear in 2001, it was announced that
the Dodgers intend to keep their "High A" farm team in Holman
for years to come after all. Thank goodness!
- KeySpan Park -- Baseball returned to Brooklyn in 2001, and it's being
played in one of the most fun parks in the country. The
Brooklyn Cyclones -- named for the roller coaster that is clearly visible
from within the ballpark -- play in the New York-Penn League, and their
home games are in a stadium that does a truly wonderful job of implementing
a Coney Island-amusement-park theme throughout the park. Also,
it was named BASEBALLPARKS.COM's New
Minor League Park of the Year for 2001.
- The Diamond -- A number of ballpark aficionados think this park in
Lake Elsinore, CA is the most beautiful in all of the Minors.
I have to admit that it does have a lot going for it, not the least
of which is the setting: the mountains beyond the outfield fences
and the lovely lake and huge mountain that you see as you enter
the park behind home plate. The facility itself is first-class,
too.
- Centennial Field -- Like Vero Beach's park, this one sends you back
to another era . . . but in this case, the era is the 1920s! Built
in 1922 and lovingly maintained over the years, the home of the Vermont
Expos of the New York-Penn League is a wonderful example of "classic"
ballpark design, with its enormous wooden roof. The park is in
quaint Burlington, VT -- with lovely Lake Champlain and the Green Mountains
just minutes away.
- Richmond County Bank Ballpark at St. George -- The name of Staten
Island's park is a mouthful, but the architecture of the park (designed
by HOK, the heavyweights of ballpark design) is fantastic and its view
of lower Manhattan is positively breathtaking. All without leaving
your seat, you can see the Statue of Liberty, the (now changed forever)
Manhattan skyline, Brooklyn, the Staten Island Ferry, tugboats, cruise
ships and massive tankers. The Staten Island Yankees of the NY-Penn
League play here.
- Legends Field -- It is hard to imagine a more gorgeous, elaborate
park anywhere in the Minors. Not only do the Tampa Yankees of
the Florida State League play here, so do the Major League Yankees during
Spring Training. In true New Yorker style, though, the people
who work at the park are pretty unaccommodating and border-line rude.
And I hate the street address of the stadium: One Steinbrenner
Drive (yes, King George himself lives only a short distance from the
park).
- John C. O'Donnell Stadium -- Without a doubt, this is another of the
must-see parks at the Class A level. Located in Davenport, IA,
the stadium is situated just a few yards from the banks of the Mississippi
River. Wow! What a view of the river! It is so distracting
that the game going on becomes quite secondary to watching the Mighty
Mississippi -- carrying barges and pleasure craft -- flow by.
The ballpark itself, which is home to the Quad City River Bandits of
the Midwest League, is also a delight. It received a multi-million-dollar
facelift prior to the 2004 season, and now you can walk around the entire
field and see the river even better. A good bit of the restoration,
by the way, was to eliminate the chronic flooding problem that had plagued
the park throughout the years.
- Arthur W. Perdue Stadium -- This park in Salisbury, MD (which is the
home of the Perdue Poultry empire) is the home of the Delmarva Shorebirds.
Many feel this facility is the class of the South Atlantic League --
and it shows in the prices of the seats and the food, which are much
higher than average in the Class A minors. The park itself is
lovely, with one of the most attractive features being that the fronts
of the upper-level luxury boxes look almost like Southern plantation
homes. The color scheme used throughout is also very nice.
And a word about the concession stands: I hope you like poultry!
- McCormick Field -- In all respects, the setting for this park is perfect.
Asheville, NC itself is a lovely little town, home to beautiful mountains
and the world-famous Biltmore Estate (it's incredibly expensive to get
into it, but it's worth it to see a mansion and grounds like this).
McCormick Field is no less scenic, as a steep hill encircles the park
on three sides -- giving it, according the wonderful book Green Cathedrals,
"the most beautiful outfield in the world." The Asheville
Tourists certainly have one of the prettiest places to play in the entire
South Atlantic League, that's for sure. And there is a sense of
history here (even if there's practically no parking!), as Asheville's
baseball teams have been playing on this exact spot since 1924.
- Riley Park -- This beautiful park opened in 1997. It sits in
a very interesting spot: first, it's just to the north of lovely,
historic downtown Charleston, SC; second, just beyond right field is
the scenic Ashley River; third, immediately behind the first-base stands
is a very moist swamp (foul balls often splash/splat upon impact --
and you don't want to go in after them!); and fourth, just a
few hundred yards away is the stately campus of The Citadel. And
playing baseball in the midst of all this are the Charleston RiverDogs
of the South Atlantic League. Of note: actor Bill Murray
is a part owner, and he's been known to show up in the first-base coach's
box; the folks at this ballpark have the strange habit of eating their
peanuts boiled! I tried 'em, but I didn't like 'em . .
. but I loved the ballpark!
- Bright House Networks Field -- Here's another Florida State League
park that is also used for spring training. The Clearwater Threshers
play in the HOK-designed stadium, and their parent club, the Phillies,
play here in March. This stunningly beautiful facility opened in 2004.
- Nat Bailey Stadium -- Not all of the "classic" looking ballparks
are in the Eastern half of the U.S., either! This one in British
Columbia is the home of the Vancouver Canadians of the short-season
Northwest League. Its massive roof -- and the resulting obstructed-view
seats from its supports -- offer a look of traditional ballpark design
from decades past.
Other Class Acts in Class A
And because there are so many parks at this level, there are others
that deserve to be mentioned: Fifth Third Field in Dayton, OH, which
opened to rave reviews in 2000, has both a beautiful design and fantastic,
record-breaking fans. . . LeLacheur Park in Lowell, MA is always sold
out, but if you can get a ticket, you'll enjoy the great entry plaza and
the pretty view of the bridge beyond right field . . . L.P. Frans Stadium
in Hickory, NC, where they really do love their baseball . . . The Epicenter
in Rancho Cucamonga, CA, where the view of the mountains takes your breath
away -- but unfortunately so does the smog that often obscures the view
of those mountains . . . Fieldcrest Cannon Stadium in Kannapolis, NC,
has a good size lake just down the hill, so you definitely have to run
for cover when the geese fly right over the stands! . . . The Hangar in
Lancaster, CA, which is an appropriately named park, since the aerospace
industry means everything to this beautiful city in the desert . . . Arrowhead Credit Union Park (formerly called The Ranch)
in San Bernardino, CA has a mustard-yellow color scheme throughout that
fits perfectly with the Spanish-style Nineteenth Century California architecture.
Bench It, Please
One park that really needs to be benched, though, is Municipal Stadium
in Hagerstown, MD. It is now over 70 years old, and it looks every
bit of it. But, hey, how many towns as small as this even have a
professional baseball team? Every year it seems there is a new push
for a brand-new park in Hagerstown, but frankly, you have to wonder if
it will ever happen..
Not Pretty on the Eyes
And I guess I have to throw in that, in my opinion, two other Class A
parks are pretty much eye-sores: Philip Elfstrom Stadium in Geneva,
IL, which is the home of the Midwest League's Kane County Cougars; Pfitzner
Stadium near Woodbridge, VA, the home of the Potomac Cannons.
The Cougars' unattractive home park is next to the largest land fill I've
seen west of New Jersey. And as far as Woodbridge's park goes, it
is one of my least favorite in all of the Minors. It appears that
it was thrown together as cheaply as possible (using aluminum everywhere,
plus there's no overhang or roof at all), making it an uncomfortable place
to attend a game. They even make it hard to find your seat, as there
are three different Section Ones, three Section Twos, etc.
To read about a particularly miserable time at this ballpark, click
here. This facility, thankfully, is due to be replaced someday.
I have to admit, though, that the Cougars and the Cannons are always among
the attendance leaders in their leagues. I guess it proves that
a lot of true baseball fans will show up even if the facility hosting
the game stinks.
Go to the Minor League Photo Album
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