Ballpark P*rn

Orel Miraculous

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I can't be the only person who loves the architecture of baseball.  I can literally spend hours looking at photos of old 19th century urban ballparks, WPA era Midwest town fields, and shiny 21st century Asian stadiums.  When it comes to beautiful ballparks, Fenway and Wrigley are just the tip of the iceberg.
 
That said, I thought it might be a good idea to have a thread to post pictures and discuss unique ballpark experiences.  I'll start off with some gorgeous hidden gems around New England.
 
Joe Wolfe Field, North Adams MA
North Adams Steeplecats, NECBL

 

 

 
 
 
Recreation Field, Montpelier VT
Vermont Mountaineers, NECBL

 

 
 
Alumni Field, Keene NH
Keene Swamp Bats, NECBL

 

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Orel Miraculous

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And a couple of ballparks from the other side of the world:
 
Asahi Stadium, Koror, Palau
(they should just rename this one heaven)

 

 
 
Intercontinental Stadium, Taichung, Taiwan
(Remarkably, no team in the CPBL calls this ballpark home)

 

 
 
New Daegu Baseball Stadium, Daegu, Korea
Future home of the Samsung Lions and, potentially based on this rendering, the most breathtaking professional ballpark in the world
 

Bozo Texino

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I'm sure most here are familiar with it, but I've always been partial to the jewel of NPB, Koshien Stadium.
 

 
That all-dirt infield sure is something.  The exterior of the place is just as colorful...
 

 
Add to that an old-school scoreboard that really stands out in a league full of such modern [read: soulless] stadiums, and you've got yourself a real charmer.
 
 

Sprowl

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I just moved to Hanover and am impressed by the renovations to Dartmouth's Red Rolfe Field. Haven't seen a game yet though.
 
 
Not a bad place to watch baseball, nor to move to. Enjoy Dartmouth!
 
Every P*rn thread deserves some mediocre contributions, if only to make you appreciate the really good pix. In that vein, I present Vancouver's Nat Bailey Stadium, formerly home to the Oakland A's AAA affiliate, the Vancouver Canadians. Now the Canadians are the A short-season affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays.
 
 

Major Offense

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Not a bad place to watch baseball, nor to move to. Enjoy Dartmouth!



My lovely alma mater - and now I know where my tuition money went. Definitely a beautiful place to come home to. If you read Bill Bryson, you'll catch some Hanover references, as he lived there for several years.

Enjoying the thread! I once made the trek to Camden and, despite the game being rained out, it was worth the trip just to see the place.
 

LogansDad

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Man, those Pepperdine pics are nice.  I really like the simplicity of the stadium with the Pacific backdrop.  Just awesome.
 

VORP Speed

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Al Lang Field. Every time you're forced to watch the Sox play in the ugliest baseball stadium in the universe, you should realize that this field is about 2 miles up the road. With a few bleachers put up in the outfield it would seat as many people as they actually ever get at the Trop. It's an absolutely gorgeous location for baseball. Boston Braves and then the Yankees played there in the spring way back when, then the Cardinals for a long, long time and later the Mets and Cardinals and then some other teams and eventually the Rays for a few years before they moved to Port Charlotte. Now it's used primarily as a freaking soccer stadium while the Rays play in the warehouse a few miles away from the gorgeous waterfront in the ghetto/industrial wasteland.
 
 

 

 
 

canderson

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Here in Harrisburg, the stadium is one of the more unique in that it's on an island in the middle of the Susquehanna River. They did a ground-up renovation/rebuild three years ago and it's pretty badass now.



The coolest stadium I've been to was probably a local field in Minneapolis. It's tucked downtown in a park, surrounded by trees and buildings. I don't know the name but we stopped and watched a semi-pro team for a while. Awesome place. Sorry for the kinda crappy cell phone pic, it's the best I could do.



I've always thought Modern Woodmen Park was pretty unique.
 

 
 

gixer1k

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Our Oklahoma Redhawks are the AAA affiliate of the Houston Astros. The Bricktown Ballpark is a top 10 selection for best minor league parks.
 
My favorite feature, monitors over the concession stands so you can watch the game while in line for a beer.
 
 

OttoC

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I have been to a LOT of ballparks and I'll slowly be adding pictures to this thread.
 
Let's start with this winter shot of the New Hampshire Fisher Cats park in Manchester, NH (Eastern League).
 
 

OttoC

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Yale Field scoreboard: former home of the New Haven Ravens of the Eastern League (AA)
 
 

OttoC

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Brent Brown Ballpark: home of the Orem Owlz (UT) of the Pioneer League (Rookie)
 

 
 
 

OttoC

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Lindquist Field: home of the Ogden Raptors (UT) of the Pioneer League (Rookie)
 

 

 
 

OttoC

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Fred not Lynn said:
So what brings you to Utah, Otto?
 
Gorgeous ballpark settings in Utah.
 
Every year, since 1991, a small group (8-12) of us from around the country get together for a baseball weekend, almost always in a minor league town and preferably one that offers more than one team to visit.
 
1991  Louisville, KY (Louisville)
1992  Anaheim, CA (Angels/San Bernardino)
1993  Boston, MA (Pawtucket)
1994  Kansas City, IL (none--strike)
1995  Rockford, MD (Rockford/Beloit/Kane County)
1996  Bowie, MO (Bowie/Frederick/Prince William County)
1997  South Bend, IN (South Bend)
1998  Omaha, NE (Omaha)
1999  Toledo, OH (Toledo)
2000  East Tennessee, TN (Johnson City/Elizabethton/Bristol/Kingsport) (and Lynchburg/Asheville/Salem)
2001  Colorado Springs, CO (Colorado Springs/Rockies)
2002  Wichita, KS (Wichita) (and Oklahoma City)
2003  Connecticut  CT (New Haven/New Britain/Norwich)
2004  Memphis, TN (Memphis)
2005  Rochester/Syracuse, NY (Auburn/Rochester/Syracuse) (and Williamsport/Batavia/Buffalo)
2006  Sacramento, CA (Sacramento/Stockton/Modesto)
2007  Nashville, TN (Nashville)
2008  Salt Lake City, UT (Salt Lake City/Orem/Ogden)
2009  Portland, OR (Portland/Salem-Keizer)
2010  Durham, NC (Durham/Zebulon)
2011  Manchester, NH  (Manchester/Lowell)
2012  Little Rock, AR (Little Rock)
2013  Round Rock, TX (Round Rock)
 
(Note: where I added and with teams in parens, those are stops I made going to and from the scheduled weekend.) I also get to other ballparks when I attend SABR national conventions (since 1983) and trips by myself.
 

Fred not Lynn

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You're right about how beautiful Utah's ballparks can be. This is Gates Field, at Kearns High School. And no, while most HS parks are pretty good here, this is far beyond average. Note the manual scoreboard...
 

Orel Miraculous

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Can someone explain to me why New England doesn't have it's own version of Minnesota's Town Ball?  I want it right now, and I want all these ballparks along with it:
 
Chaska Athletic Park
Chaska Cubs

 

 

 
Memorial Park
Fairfax Cardinals

 
 
The Mini Met
Jordan Brewers

 

 
 
 
John Burch Park
Cannon Falls Bears

 

 
 
Barney Tadsen Field
Brownton Bruins

 

 

 
 
 

OttoC

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Orel Miraculous said:
Can someone explain to me why New England doesn't have it's own version of Minnesota's Town Ball?  I want it right now, and I want all these ballparks along with it:
New England has three summer wooden bat leagues:
The New England Collegiate Baseball League
The Futures Collegiate Baseball League
The Cape Cod Baseball League
 
While those may not be the same as Minnesota town ball, they do offer inexpensive baseball at alternative locations. I know that the Nashua (NH) team in the FCBL plays at Holman Stadium where Roy Campanella and Don Newcombe played in 1946
 

Hendu for Kutch

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Here's a stitched shot I took a few years back of PNC Park in Pittsburgh from the upper deck behind home plate.  I've seen the Sox play in 23 cities, and Pittsburgh's park is my favorite.
 

 
And another...
 
 

OttoC

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One of my very favorites...
PGE Park, was home to Portland Beavers of the PCL (AAA) through 2009. It was shared by Portland's professional soccer team until the owner decided that he wanted to go with soccer and the Beavers could not reach na agreement with the city for a new ballpark.

At the very top of this picture, you can see the sidewalk and people could simply watch games from there.
 


The banners around the stadium were left over from the 2009 AAA All-Star Game just held there.
 


The grandstand behind the plate, showing luxury boxes.
 


View from a field-level box. The building on teh far right had apartments/condos with balconies overlooking the park.
 

 
 

Orel Miraculous

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Red Sox World Series Edition!
 
1903
Boston 5 - Pittsburgh 3
Huntington Avenue Grounds
Exposition Park
 
Chaos reigns on the field before Game 1 of the first modern World Series:

 
The Series shifts to Pittsburgh's Exposition Park for Game 3.  Because of temporary seating set up in the outfield, 17 ground rule triples were hit in the four games played at the park:

 
The mound of Huntingon Avenue Grounds as it looks today, on the campus of Northeastern University:

 
 
 
1912
Boston 4 New York Giants 3
Fenway Park
The Polo Grounds
 
Ray Collins warms up before the first World Series game ever played at Fenway:

 
Yawkey Way before it was Yawkey Way:

 
Fans take over Duffy's Cliff for the Series:

 
Giants fans at The Polo Grounds before Game 1, blissfully ignorant of the fact that their team is about to lose it's second Series in a row:

 
 
1914?
The Miracle Boston Braves defeat the Philadelphia A's four games to none, playing the final two games of the Series in Fenway Park, which they had called home since mid-August that season:

 

 
 
1915
Boston 4 - Philadelphia 1
Braves Field
Baker Bowl
 
The next season, the Sox returned the favor to the Braves, choosing to play the Series in the brand new and larger Braves Field (note that Boston once had a riverfront stadium of it's own, that's the Charles off to the left):

 
Philly's Baker Bowl, which beat Petco and Camden to the whole warehouse-as-part-of-ballpark thing by over 100 years, and beat Fenway to the whole absurdly-tall-wall-absurdly-close-to-the-field thing by 25:

 

 
 
 
1916
Boston 4 - Brooklyn 1
Braves Field
Ebbets Field
 
For the fourth time in five years the World Series invades Boston, and for the second year in a row Red Sox fans invade Braves Field:

 
Ebbets Field is just three years old as it hosts its fist Series:

 

 
 
 
1918
Boston 4 - Chicago 2
Fenway Park
Comiskey Park
 
The Red Sox return to Fenway to capture their fourth title in seven years, cementing the team as the dominant force in baseball:

 

 
The Cubs, not wanting to stain their brand new North Side Ballpark with the stench of losing baseball, decide to play the Series at Comiskey:

 
 
1946
St. Louis 4 - Boston 3
 
A capacity crowd for the first ever World Series at Fenway Park II:

 
I surprisingly couldn't find many photos of Fenway in the 46 Series.  Sportsman's Park must have been considered the more photogenic venue of the two:

 

 
 
 
1967
St. Louis 4 - Boston 3
Fenway Park
Busch Stadium
 
Bob Gibson's wife shows that someone in the family is capable of smiling:

 
Petrocelli hits two homeruns in Game 6, and the Cardinals do NOT win on this day:

 
Busch Stadium, one year old and already ugly:

 
 
 
1975
Cincinnati 4 - Boston3
Fenway Park
Riverfront Stadium
 
Helicopters Dry the field after a rainy few days in Boston:

 
Fans invade the field after a disappointing Game 7 loss:

 
Pomp and circumstance at Riverfront:

 
 
1986
New York 4 - Boston 3
Fenway Park
Shea Stadium
 
A band plays before Game 5 at Fenway:

 
Shea from above during the Series:

 
 
2004
Boston 4 - St. Louis 0
Fenway Park
Busch Memorial Stadium
 
Game 1, on the brink of an exorcism:

 
The final out at Busch:

 
 
2007
Boston 4 - Colorado 0
Fenway Park
Coors Field
 
Batting practice before Game 2:

 
The first World Series game played at Coors Field.  The Rockies are still looking for their fist World Series win:
 

VORP Speed

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Really great photos from Series past. How cool would it be to see a stadium full of people dressed up in their Sunday finest instead of a white-out or a bunch of people waving towels and doing the wave?
 

Al Zarilla

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Hope this isn't too big. It's a picture my father in law got at Fenway in 1936. I think that was the year because that's the one year that all four players he mentioned on the back were on the right teams. His exact words: Hill of Washington out at the plate on a perfect relay from Doc Cramer in center field to  Eric McNair at shortstop to Billy Werber at third base. Note the Socony sign over the RF wall and the Hotel Kenmore in left.
 
Long delay edit: oops, I think he meant out at third base.
 
 

jcaz

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Campbell (soup) Field in Camden NJ, under the watchful eyes of the Ben Franklin Bridge.  As a transit junkie, I used to spend time between pitches watching the PATCO trains travel from Philly to Camden.
 
 

Lose Remerswaal

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Those pics don't really show much of Wahconah, do they?
 
 
This is better
 
 

 
 
as is this (linking, as it's huge).
 
 
But it's not really that pretty a ballpark.  Old? For sure.  Historic?  You bet.  Ballpark porn?  Uh-uh
 

Red(s)HawksFan

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Lose Remerswaal said:
Those pics don't really show much of Wahconah, do they?
 
They do emphasize one of Wahconah's "charms" though, which is that home plate sits at the east end of the field.  Evening games there are routinely delayed at sunset so the batters aren't looking directly into the sun to see the pitcher.  Most parks, especially in the days when Wahconah was built, are set up with home plate in the west end of the field.  That's the origin of the term southpaw for left-handers.  Their pitches were coming from the south side of the mound.
 

terrisus

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Red(s)HawksFan said:
 
They do emphasize one of Wahconah's "charms" though, which is that home plate sits at the east end of the field.  Evening games there are routinely delayed at sunset so the batters aren't looking directly into the sun to see the pitcher.  Most parks, especially in the days when Wahconah was built, are set up with home plate in the west end of the field.  That's the origin of the term southpaw for left-handers.  Their pitches were coming from the south side of the mound.
 
Yeah, that's what I was going for, the sun angle. 
Only attended like 2 games there, but, it was interesting.
 

Orel Miraculous

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The World Series is over, but there are still two more major domestic championships to be decided around the world, with Japan Series heading to Game 6 and the Korean Series heading to Game 7.  The final games will be played at the smallest ballparks of both leagues.
 
Kleenex Stadium Miyagi
Sendai, Japan
Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles
 
A charming little ballpark built in 1950.  It was heavily damaged in 2011 Earthquake, forcing the Eagles to play the first month of the season on the road.  It's now the home ballpark of Andruw Jones and (for only one or two more games) Masahiro Tanaka.
 

 

 

 
 
Daegu Baseball Stadium
Daegu South Korea
Samsung Lions
 
The oldest ballpark in the Korean league (1948) and the tiniest.  It is not long for this world, as the two-time defending champion Lions will soon move into the palace that's rendered in post #2.
 

 

 
 
 

phrenile

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Red(s)HawksFan said:
Most parks, especially in the days when Wahconah was built, are set up with home plate in the west end of the field.  That's the origin of the term southpaw for left-handers.  Their pitches were coming from the south side of the mound.
Not likely, since the term was already in general use for a century before Wahconah was built (and half a century in baseball in particular).
 

Red(s)HawksFan

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phrenile said:
Not likely, since the term was already in general use for a century before Wahconah was built (and half a century in baseball in particular).
 
I wasn't implying that Wahconah had anything to do with the coining of the term.  Just pointing out that the orientation of the field was opposite of most ballparks then and now.
 

Orel Miraculous

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The 2014 Caribbean Series starts in three weeks and it's notable for two reasons.  First, the champion of Cuba's Serie Nacional will compete for the first time in decades.  And second, the tournament is being played in one of most beautiful ballparks in the world: Estadio Nueva Esparta in the gorgeous seaside resort town of Porlamar, Venezuela:
 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
 

Van Everyman

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Bold stuff from up north:
@BlueJays: Beeston: "We know that we can put real grass at Rogers Centre. Our goal is for the 2018 season."
 

JimRiceHOFer

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The baseball field at Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego is often referred to as "America's Most Scenic Ballpark": 
 

 
A Home Run here means you lose the ball:

 

Orel Miraculous

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Sajik Stadium in Busan, Korea. Home to the Lotte Giants and quite possibly the single best ballpark experience in all of baseball:
 

 

 

 
 

 
 
(It's also the only place in the world where you can see 26,000 people tie garbage bags to their heads)
 
 

Orel Miraculous

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110 years ago to the day, Boston (AL) v. Chicago (AL), at South Side park. Really struggling to figure out the defensive alignment here:
 

 
 
 
 
 
And in honor of the Czech Republic sending a team to the Little League World Series for the first time ever, I give you Eagles Stadion, home of the Prague Eagles.  Obviously Europe's prettiest little city has the continent's prettiest little ballpark:
 

 
 
 

 

 
 

Lose Remerswaal

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Orel Miraculous said:
110 years ago to the day, Boston (AL) v. Chicago (AL), at South Side park. Really struggling to figure out the defensive alignment here:
 

 
 
 
 
 
Top HR hitter in 1904 had 10 dingers as this was the dead ball era.  RF is playing on the infield dirt and CF is pulled well over towards left, otherwise it looks similar to what we see now.  Other than the fans on the field, of course.
 
Edit:  Also other than it looks like the defense has 8 fielders plus pitcher + catcher
 

phrenile

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Lose Remerswaal said:
Edit:  Also other than it looks like the defense has 8 fielders plus pitcher + catcher
It's a panorama stitched together from three separate photos, presumably taken sequentially, so an extra guy could be the same guy twice.
 

SLC Sox

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Lose Remerswaal said:
 
Edit:  Also other than it looks like the defense has 8 fielders plus pitcher + catcher
 
It kind of looks like there is no defender at first and the two people standing there are the baserunner and 1st base coach.  Did they not hold the runner on back then?  Was the stolen base not really a threat?
 
Edit: Looking back through some old numbers I see that there were plenty of stolen bases.
 

Orel Miraculous

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Just stumbled upon this little gem, and immediately put it on my ballpark bucket list:  Parque Municipal de Beisbol Jose Aguilar y Maya in Guanajuato, Mexico, which is a drop-dead gorgeous colonial city north of Mexico City.
 

 
 
No Delta Suite here, your ticket options are sun or shade:
 

 
 
For some reason I couldn't find a lot of pictures of the stands.  I wonder why that is...
 

 
 
Oh.
 

 
 
Yeah, it probably has something to do with this ballpark having the single most beautiful outfield backdrop I've ever seen.
 

 
The Green Monster's nice and all, but in terms of charming hand-operated scoreboards, I think this one may just have it beat:
 
 

 
One day, Guanajuato, one day.