The Epicenter

Rancho Cucamonga Quakes, California League

7/10

The entrance on my visit in 2016.

A clear sunny day saw Bakersfield in town for School Day in 2016.

Most of the fans retreated into the shade, even with the temperature in the mid 60s.

                                         

Bonus: Still, my favourite sign, anywhere, ever. HEADS UP!

"The Epicenter" (LoanMart Field for the 2013 season) was my 2nd game in one day on my 2009 trip, having watched the A's and Angels at the Big A in the afternoon. I headed up I-15 to Rancho Cucamonga to watch the local nine, the Angel affiliated Quakes, take on the Stockton Ports. This park was part of the trend along with Lake Elsinore towards disproving the notion that minor-league parks have to be minor league. Don’t get me wrong, places like Eugene's Civic Stadium and Quebec's Stade Municipale are what it’s all about, but there are plenty of pre-1990 parks that are just horrible, isn’t that right? 

The Epicenter was a successful experiment in placing a relatively large, well-built stadium within driving distance of the Major leagues. Every season since has from an attendance standpoint, gone very, very well. The park is a concrete and plastic seat structure, with the electronic scoreboard in left and the video board in right. But, it didn’t do a lot for me. Maybe the 110 degree heat at the Big A that afternoon took a big chunk out of me, but after reading about this park in books and online, it wasn’t as good as I thought it would be, but it was ok. A big knock for me was the seating, which was confusing, I never did find my seat, I mean I thought I had, with other people sitting in it, but I guess not. The mascot, Tremor and a female accomplice are both dinosaurs. They are pretty active.

Rancho Cucamonga is a blooming suburb of Los Angeles, up the I-15. The area right next to the park is a rec complex(keep an eye out for a “Watch for Foul Balls” sign) and beyond that it’s commercial, with a couple of decent restaurants. I opted to forgo the concession at the park and return to Anaheim for a late night trip to Carl's Jr. It's in the eastern part of the Southland area, so easily 15 parks are within a day's drive, or like me, you can make it part of a multiple night stay in the LA area. I went to Angel games the night before and afternoon of, and a Dodger game on the way out of the city.

It was an evening game, the last home game of the season, so the crowd was around 4,500 or so, but awfully quiet. Still, there were some quirks. When a Rancho player hit a homerun, the booster club had a guy walk the seats with a helmet collecting money. During one of the intervals, one of the mascots courted the base umpire, who eventually got down on one knee and offered a bouquet. I expected, like in another gag involving an “umpire” in Tacoma that the real umpire would trot back onto the field and this guy would leave, but that didn’t happen, as he just went out to first base to get going.

Looking back on this review in 2014, I think I was a bit hard on this one. I think I caught it on a bad day or something. At any rate, I upped the score from 6 to 7. This one could very well be on my list for a second trip this year.

Update 2014: The Quakes are now affiliated with the other team in metro LA, the Dodgers, as of 2011, with the Angels entry now being in San Bernardino. Re-scoring this place was easy, it's a very average place, so it still gets a 7.

Update 2026: I made it back here as part of my 2016 California trip(still one of my best trips), so all new pictures. This was a "school day", so an early start meant I could get this in, then make it over to San Bernardino for a night game there. I'd still rate this as a 7. I still don't remember much about the concession, except for the school kids all being in line. A Quakes win did get me a free "Jumbo Jack" later. It was another atypical day, not really fair to judge the park on. But 7 still seems fine. The entire California League dropped into Low A for 2021. The park is now Morongo Field at the Epicenter. See why I don't change the post names?

For this season, the affiliation has fallen back to the Angels, after the Dodgers moved their affiliation to a new park in Ontario, east of Downtown LA and the Angels elected to come back here. It looks a lot like a Populous designed park, but it actually isn't. I wouldn't turn down a return visit here, but there are some others I need to get in first.  

Linescore
2009-08-30
                                                            123    456   789    R H E
Stockton Ports(OAK)                           000    001   020   3 10 2
Rancho Cucamonga Quakes(LAA)     003    001   00X   4  7 1 
Temp:102F   Time: 2:45    Att: 3,951

2016-05-04

                                                          123   456  789  R  H E

Bakersfield Blaze(SEA)                     150   002  020  10 10 0  

Rancho Cucamonga Quakes(LAD)   002  301   60X  12 19 3

Temp: 61F Time: 3:14 Att: 4,106 

Dehler Park

Billings Mustangs, Pioneer League

7/10

The entrance to the park is very straightforward. In fact, the only sign saying
"Dehler Park" that I saw was on top of the scoreboard.

                                    

                                  The park has a good view of the rolling hills leading out of Billings.
             

The park is centrally located only about 10 blocks north of downtown.

I headed to Dehler Park, my 5th in the Pioneer League, in September 2013, just in time for the first game of the final homestand of the season for the Billings Mustangs, against the Missoula Osprey. I drove all day from Grand Junction to make it(nearly running out of gas 30 minutes away due to my own incompetence), and drove to Edmonton the next day. The park itself is new as of 2008, replacing venerable Cobb Field. Of note, Dehler park holds almost 1,000 people less than Cobb, checking in at an eyelash over 3,000. The name comes from a local businessman, who bought the rights.

On the plus side, the field is not quite downtown, but not in a parking lot 12 miles outside of town either. It was a 30 minute walk from my hotel, which I would have done, if I'd arrived early enough. There's a fair bit of on street parking and with the crowd being around 1,500 or so, traffic wasn't really an issue, even right before game time. The ambience was around average, of note an elderly lady wandered the park with a small megaphone, leading cheers twice during the game. It wasn't a baseball heavy experience, but on the other hand, it wasn't a three ring circus like some places. A man in my section attempted to explain the rules to two women from Sweden, to no avail. The concourse is very wide, which allows for a good flow of the crowd when the game ends, room for lines for food or drinks and even allows lots of room for wheelchairs.

The only real drawback I found were the large, thick posts used to hold up the screen. Most places are able to keep the obstructions to a minimum, but I found myself having a hard time seeing just what was going on. A move a few seats over around mid-game helped this out.

The concessions were above average, even though my Cheesesteak turned into a slice of Cheesecake. I guess that'll happen with a bigger selection. When it showed up, it was a hot dog bun, with a slice of white processed cheese and some ok steak. They did, however, have local beers on tap at a halfway decent price, which is a huge plus for me. I'm a bit of a beer snob and will usually only grab a local brew. They actually had a ton of staff on and while only so many seemed to be actively doing anything, the line moved steadily.

Billings itself is the "Metropolis" of Montana, checking in at around 115,000 people, it reminds me a fair bit of Regina, which makes a little sense. I would have liked to have gotten in in the mid-afternoon, to poke around a bit before the game.

Overall, I found Dehler to be somewhat generic, but at the same time, a little frugal. It looks like the City of Billings did their homework and built the ballpark they needed, as well as one they wanted too. There simply never was(at least to my knowledge) a debate about building a new park vs. losing the team, as besides Billings being one of the better markets in Pioneer League territory, they've always had a good stadium to play in. It's is a little bland, but it's entirely appropriate field for Rookie level baseball, which is what Montana does best. Maybe in time, it can take on a bit more character, but for now, it's a strong 7/10.

Update 2016:  I have not been back for a 2nd game here. The Mustangs are still a Reds affiliate, one of the longest active affiliations in the minors, going back to the 1970s. Under the new ratings system, this place gets average scores for facility and atmosphere, with a token half point for the variety of food items available. I may end up back here this summer.

Update 2026:  While typing this update, I knew I'd be adding a trip in '22, but totally forgot about going back in '18. In addition, I mistakenly typed that I'd been here in 2009, but it was actually at 2013 loop. The 2018 trip was an Independence Day matinee against Helena, where I got a lot of good pictures. Billings, along with the rest of the Pioneer League, ended up getting shuffled out of affiliated baseball for 2021. So they carried on as an independent league, with Billings naturally a part of it. We stopped here for a game in 2022 on the way back from Colorado, but my Wife didn't feel great, so we arrived late and left early, getting in a look around Billings' half decent downtown. Looking at this place now, it's a very adequate, if not kind of nice park for Independent baseball. 7/10 is still very accurate.  

Linescore
2013-09-05
                                           123     456    789   R H E
Missoula Osprey(ARI)        000    600    000    6 6 0
Billings Mustangs(CIN)      120    000    100    4 10 0  
Temp: 84F  Time: 2:41 Att: 2,143

2018-07-04

                                           123  456  789  RHE

Helena Brewers(MIL)        000  000  001  14X
Billings Mustangs(CIN)     001  002  000  34X

Temp: 72F  Time: 2:28  Att: 3,948

2022-08-20

                                      123   456  789   R H E

Great Falls Voyagers    200   120   010   6  9  1

Billings Mustangs         331   000   12x  10 12 2

Temp: N/A   Time: 3:11 Att: 2,804

Recreation Park

Visalia Rawhide, California League

6/10

When the team changed from the Oaks to the Rawhide, the equipment shed got a makeover as a barn.

A relatively good crowd for a fireworks night.

Still, Visalia draws better than only Bakersfield in the league.

      The crowd mills around waiting for fireworks night to begin, while I sneak out to beat the traffic.

Recreation Park is the smallest in affiliated minors and advertises itself as the smallest pro ballpark in the US. It really is very small. There is about 1,700 seats behind the plate and about 500 more up the first base line. It's located in a residential/industrial area, around 7 minutes north of CA 198, the main freeway through town. I went in 2009, on my way to Los Angeles, having been in San Francisco the day before. I caught a game between the hometown Visalia Rawhide and the Lake Elsinore Storm. It had recently been renovated, so there is an outfield barn as part of the wall, part of the team changing it’s name from the Oaks to the Rawhide, as a result of switching affiliations from Oakland to Arizona. The big knock is the “concourse” being right in front of the first row behind the aisle, where I sat. It meant that people would stop to watch the game and block my view. Tipper, the cow and Smokey the bear would stop to “entertain” the children right in front of me. It generally was one of the least enjoyable games on the trip. I wish that I’d have gone to maybe Modesto or Stockton instead. Most of the people who seemed like more baseball oriented regulars sat at the back. Either there or the front would be a good call. The middle, where I was, is pretty high traffic. This was back when I usually ate before I came, so I didn't try any food and don't remember anything about it.

The biggest knock I have on this place is that seemingly nobody was there to watch the game. The kids were loud and out of control on the concourse. I don’t normally care, but it made it impossible to follow the game. The Rawhide were apparently out of it late in the season, their best player having been summoned to AA Mobile, but still, wow. The people sitting behind me were complaining about the view from two rows up. If you want to see, you need to sit at the back. The attendance average was only about 1,500 all year and if this is it, I can see why. Attendance was only what it was because it was fireworks night, which allowed me to depart early. Even the mascot, Tipper the Steer had a rough night being both roped to the ground during a demonstration and kicked in the stomach by a teenaged girl sitting in my row. It’s a hard knock life.

Visalia is a city of roughly 90,000 just off of CA 99. It earns a brief mention as the possible next stop for Crash Davis in Bull Durham, as a possible manager. Nearby is the Sequoia National Park, which I made a brief stop at on the way out. You have to drive through Visalia on the CA 198 until it turns into a two lane highway, then keep on going. It's a bit expensive to get in, but was worth poking around. 

The best thing about Recreation Park is probably it's location within the State, it's almost equal distance between San Francisco and Los Angeles, with 198 connecting to CA 99 after only a few miles. Still, I would have gone to Fresno, just up the highway, if they'd been at home. You could easily drive to any Major or Minor league park in California within 5 hours(and even some outside of it), without much hassle.

Overall, it’s just way too small and crowded, Other than the lack of other good options, I don’t understand how the Cal league can put a team here, as they’re apparently locked in until at least 2019. After that, with Bakersfield being a constant candidate to move, look for Visalia to come up in the mix. Still, the fact that even now there's 5 years left on the lease might allow Visalia to hang around in the league for awhile longer. 

Update 2016: I still haven't been back here, but I really hammered it in retrospect. Under the new ratings system,  I can't offer any insight into the concessions here, the atmosphere was terrible and the park was adequate, if not small. That bumps this one up from a 4, which is now pretty hard to pull off, to a 6, which is a little more forgiving and in line with the other reviews on here.

Update 2026: It has now been almost 17 years since I stopped here. It took some digging(baseballcube.com ?), but the team averaged around 1,800 fans a game in 2025, which is very average for the league. I was a little surprised that this place survived the minor league contraction of 2020, but it did and is still in affiliated baseball, still in the Arizona organization. It's Visalia's 81st year in the California League. This place is now Valley Strong Ballpark, after a local credit union. I would love to go to a game here, it's totally overdue and with more and more minor league parks looking like carbon copies, it's pretty much one of a kind now. Next California loop, whenever that is, I think it has to be in.

Linescore 
2009-08-28 
                                            123    456    789    RHE
Lake Elsinore Storm(SD)        103    000    100    550
Visalia Rawhide(ARI)              000    010    000    171
Temp: 86F Time: 2:41  Att: 2,544

Roger Dean Stadium

Miami Marlins/ St. Louis Cardinals, Grapefruit League

Jupiter Hammerheads/ Palm Beach Cardinals, Florida State League

6/10

One of several entrances to the stadium

A view of the park during the rain delay. The teams have matching offices on either power alley.

Clearwater players run for the dugout after a brief respite from the downpour turned out to be exactly that. False alarm.

 Update 2016: This entry used to be copied and pasted from the old format, so I fixed the captions on the pictures and retyped the entry and rescored it as well, besides adding the boxscore.

 I pulled double duty on this day, catching the afternoon matchup in Miami, before Hitting I-95 for the hour or so drive to Jupiter for a Flordia State League game between Clearwater and Jupiter, arriving during the 2nd inning. That weekend had seen bands of heavy rain from Tropical Storm Debby swoop in. This resulted in a delay of nearly an hour that chased all but about 25 of the 350 announced fans away.

This park is perhaps the busiest in the pros in terms of number of games. It hosts the Cardinals and Marlins in March, then from April to September it's a minor league park for the baby Cardinals and Hammerheads. The layout is straightforward with a box section in front, a wide aisle, then loge seats in the back, similar to Mesa or Peoria in Arizona. It's entirely adequate for Spring Training, I'm sure, but like a lot of places in Florida, it is a big empty stadium for Single A. More on that later.

It is a strange setup to have so many minor league teams in a state where baseball is more of a spring or closed roof kind of sport. I realize it's nice to have the teams so close to a hub like the spring training facility, but I still don't get it. At any rate, the impending bad weather(which I knew nothing about) and the fact it was a Sunday evening kept attendance to around 350, with maybe 150 showing up. A strong and long shower sent everyone but the diehard fans, relatives, road warriors like me or people who had to walk home anyway; home early. It led to me moving under a small ledge at the back of the loge section, where once the game started again, I could hear everything people in the press box were saying. This included a Seinfeld reference for a batter by the name of Cartwright, a comment on how after the delay there were literally more people on the field than in the stands and encouraging the Clearwater closer to finish the save, so his promotion to AA could go ahead as scheduled(it did). The hot dog guy told me that the "seniors night" promotions draw bigger crowds. The Hammerheads and Cardinals match promotions, so any day of the week is the same thing regardless of who's playing. Attendance for both teams correlates very closely most years, with the figures being within 20 for 2015.  The atmosphere was non-existent, but at the same time, the bad weather and press box chatter led to a unique experience. So overall, atmosphere is neutral.

The only knock is the concessions. I had a simple hot dog and ended up stopping later on. The choices were beer, pop and hot dogs. Baseball minimums really. The team seemed to know there wasn't a big crowd in store and didn't waste food. Still, it would have been nice to have something else to pick.

Overall, for FSL play, I give it a 6, due to the limited food options, with atmosphere being "non-traditional" but quirky enough to be enjoyed and the park being just fine. It's in a good spot, with lots of home dates, so I could be back.

Update 2026: It's been an eyelash under 14 years since I spent a memorable evening at this place. It's still one of the more unique games I've ever been to. This park was renovated since my last visit and it now has a prominent roof on at least one side of the stadium. We'll see when I end up back in Florida. It may be awhile.

Linescore

2012-06-24

                                                  123      456    789    RHE

Clearwater Threshers(PHI)            000      100    200     354

Palm Beach Cardinals(STL)          001      000    000     111

Temp: 75F  Time: 2:22(:57 Delay)  Att: 350

Aces Ballpark

Aces Ballpark

Reno Aces, Pacific Coast League

7/10

            The crowd files in for a game in July 2019. I got way better pictures the second time.

Pretty much perfect weather for a game.

                                The casinos loom in the background over a close to full stadium.

So, I am randomly drawing parks until I catch up. Reno was my 2nd last park on my 2009 loop from my hometown of Victoria, to LA and back. I decided to take the long way back(it wasn't that much longer actually) and take in the then brand-new park in somewhat-small-for-AAA Reno. That year, a group of investors bought the attendance-starved Tucson Sidwinders and moved them to Reno, to play in their brand new park, right in downtown. The stadium is part of the "Freight House District" development, which will have the park and numerous restaurants and such right downtown in an effort to revitalize what in 2009, was a city that appeared to be somewhat unhealthy. This meant that the park was only a five block walk from the Sands Regency, where I scored a room on Hotwire for something like 27 dollars.

The game itself saw the hometown Reno Aces battle their closest PCL opponent, the Sacramento River Cats. A slugging first baseman named Tommy Everidge(who I would see again the next spring in Phoenix) crushed two homeruns, much to the delight of the River Cat "team mom"(that's what her jersey said), who made the trip from Sac-Town. An Aces run would see these poles of strobe lights in right field go off, which got somewhat old.

The park itself was just a little too generic to be enjoyed. It's clean, well laid out and sightlines are great. But it's really just another bland minor-league park, which seems to be more of the rule than the exception with the parks opened in the last 10 years or so. The atmosphere involved the strobe-lights, a baseball that inflates over the batter's eye to "sing" Take Me Out To The Ballgame and believe a ton of sound effects. The food was about average, though I don't remember much about it. Overall, just a very non-descript place to watch a game.

Update 2016: Even under the new ratings, which are a little more forgiving, I still give this place a 6/10, deducting one point for atmosphere. Don't think I'll be back this season either. The Aces are drawing just under 5,400 people a game, with is good for 11th of 16 in the PCL. This is till around a thousand more than they drew in Tucson.

Update 2026: I went back to this one! This was as far south as I made it on my 4 stop post Canada day loop in 2019. In my nearly 10 years between visits, lots had changed. First of all, the park was totally finished. the renderings of the fancy side entrance had come to pass. The park now had a naming sponsor and was now Greater Nevada Field, a local credit union. I also had dozens more parks under my belt, so a lot more perspective. This is an entirely adequate, average, Triple-A park. The atmosphere was actually a lot more standard this time, with the crowd pretty into a back and forth game that ended with a walk off homerun for Reno. I can't tell you a thing about the food. I'm going to upgrade this one to a 7. I'd go back if it worked out schedule wise. Being between two other PCL cities on I-80, it just might.

 

Linescore
 2009-09-01
                                                       123  456  789  RHE
Sacramento River Cats(OAK)             010  101  210  6 8 3
Reno Aces (ARI)                               052  100  00x  8 11 1
Temp:N/A Time 3:13  Att: 5,504

2019-07-05

                                                     123 456 789  R  H  E

Sacramento River Cats(SF)         011 101 302   9  17  1

Reno Aces(ARI)                           201 011 312   10 13  0 

Temp: 84F Time: 3:09 Att: 6,612

Yakima County Stadium

Yakima County Stadium

Yakima Valley Pippins, West Coast League

5/10

The Stadium's Exterior was very plain.

 The stands were built on top of the clubhouse, meaning that sightlines could be very poor, especially towards the back. There was however, an excellent view of the rolling hills outside of the park.

Boomer the Bear works the crowd. Unbeknownst to him, his career would end 5 years later, his faithful service forgotten.

This is as good a place as any to start, because it's the namesake of the blog. Boomer the Bear was the mascot of the Yakima Bears of the Northwest League, who, after the 2012 season, moved to Oregon. Boomer the Bear was a good mascot, he tried hard, he minded his own business and like so many others in baseball, the game left him after a few short years. All that are left for him are memories.

I went to my one and only game at Yakima County Stadium in 2007, as part of a 3 game loop of the Northwest League. The Bears, who we had seen two nights before in Spokane, played the Eugene Emeralds, who we had seen the previous night in Eugene. I had read poor reviews of it prior to going and wasn't able to find much to the contrary. It was honestly, nothing too special. The stands were blue plastic seats and aluminum. Sightlines, as mentioned, could be very bad. The atmosphere was not the best, as at a lot of other poor parks, the game was a secondary attraction. Without a lot of options, the game was about the only thing going on. Still, the little things that make the game such a pleasure to watch were in full effect. We made fun of a pitcher's stretch, the incredibly hot day gave way to a hot, windless night and..there was baseball. Future major leaguer Josh Collmenter was a member of the Bears though I cannot remember if he played.

The Bears had moved to Yakima in 1990 and moved into Yakima County Stadium in 1993. Only 19 years later, the Stadium was no longer adequate for the team's liking. Attendance was suffering and the worst of all for a Minor League team, the grass appeared to be much greener elsewhere, namely, in Portland, where there hadn't been professional baseball for two years after the Beavers moved away. Eventually, the Portland suburb of Hillsboro was selected, a brand new park was built and the Yakima Bears moved to become the Hillsboro Hops. Yakima County Stadium will host a team in the summer collegiate West Coast League in 2014, perhaps retaining the Bear nickname and perhaps, giving Boomer the Bear's life meaning again.


UPDATE: Yakima's WCL team will be known as the "Yakima Valley Pippins.

Update 2016: While the Bears are gone, the Pippins are drawing only slightly worse. The Bears drew in the around 1,600 a game in their last year and the Pippins draw around 1,400, good for 3rd in that league. While some people have clearly abandoned the seemingly lower brand of baseball, most have not and the stadium at least gets some use if nothing else.

With the new ratings system, the score is still the same, the somewhat tacky, baseball last atmosphere took a point, off, as did the stadium itself, for being entirely too much aluminum and the seating being on top of the clubhouses. Without major renos, this park will not be getting back into affiliated baseball, but for a summer league park, it's entirely adequate.

Update 2026: Well it's only been 10 years....it's been just under 19 since we went here. The Pippins, according to the stadium's Wikipedia page, have actually renovated the ballpark somewhat. Even in the West Coast League, there's easily 6 stadiums off the top of my head that I'd rather go see for the first time than come back here. Still, schedules being what they are, you never know.

Linescore
2007-07-18

                                      123   456   789  R H  E

Eugene Emeralds(SD)      402   000   100  7  7  1

Yakima Bears(ARI)           211   000   000  4 12 2

Temp: 80F Time: 2:30 Att: 1,941

AT&T Park

San Francisco Giants, National League

9/10

 

I replaced my exterior photo from 2013, with one from 2016 that's only a little better....

The view from the upper deck prior to a game at the 2013 World Baseball Classic.

The seats begin to fill for a late preseason game between the A's and Giants in 2016.

San Francisco marks the final of the 75 parks that I posted on the initial run through the blog, which took from July 2013 to February 2016, so about 2 and a half years, which is truly incredible looking back. At any rate, I saved a good one for the last one.

This place replaced the oft-maligned Candlestick Park and as if by magic, the Giants, who contemplated leaving the bay area a few times, saw their attendance slightly more than double. It was telling when I was in Oakland one night and the 1st place A's drew 18,000 and the last place Giants drew over 40. The reason, besides the much better, more accessible location is that the place is just a total gem. I have been here 5 times now, I went in 2009 to watch the Giants take on the Diamondbacks, then in 2013 for the two semifinals and final of the World Baseball Classic, then again in 2014, when me and my ladyfriend saw them play the Phillies. In all but the first game, I sat in the upper deck, which I highly recommend here, as there's a nice view of the bay that you can't really see from the ground floor. This park by the bay is well laid out, with the stereotypical redbrick exterior, but nestled in just the right spot. It's easily accessed by the Muni streetcar, or Caltrain from points south. The BART only runs to the area of the ferry building, so you'll need a transfer(or walk) the rest of the way. I drove straight here my first game and parked in a lot next door for 25 dollars(reminder: this was in 2009), which is particularly expensive, hence most people taking transit.

The 2nd neat thing here is the atmosphere. Giants fans love their baseball and after a few games in previous days with few people, or few interested people in attendance, it was great to see. People knew their players and were pretty vocal in their support of the team, which made the game that much more enjoyable.

The food here is pretty varied, with numerous options, including of course, the local "Anchor Steam" beer, which is an acquired taste, but I do like it. I was all ready to give it flying colours too, but I don't remember a whole ton about it, other than it being passable, so no points here. I did have a cheeseburger on one occasion and perhaps clam chowder another time, but I remember little else.

Overall, a tremendous park with a tremendous atmosphere. Not many memories about the food though and I could use a better shot of the entrance, so....9/10 for now. I may be back here in around a month, so I will take care of both issues then.

Update 2026: Well! The blog now has 113 stadiums this time through. San Francisco is the last one I've added linescores for. I've now been here seven times. Three MLB games, one exhibition and three games from the 2013 WBC. As of 2019, this is now called Oracle Park. Even just today a friend sent me a "top ten" list of parks and this one was on it(in 2nd!). 

Giants attendance has finally started to dip after years averaging over 40 thousand.  There's been no talk that I've seen about the Giants doing any major renovations, or looking to leave. It's the park they need, in a decent spot, so why do anything? This one could be up for a redo here soon. For now, it's still a 9.

Linescores

2009-08-27

                         123   456   789  R  H  E

Arizona            310   041   002  11 15 2

San Francisco  000   000   000   0  5   1

Time: 2:55 Temp: 70F Att: 28,575

2013-03-17

                      123  456  789  RHE

Puerto Rico   100  000  200  390

Japan             000  000  010  161

Time: 3:27 Temp: 55F Att: 33,683

2013-03-18

                                     123  456  789  RHE

Netherlands                  100  000  000  141

Dominican Republic    000  040  000   490

Time: 3:09 Temp: 57F Att: 27,527

2013-03-19

                                   123 456  789 RHE

Puerto Rico                000  000  000 030

Dominican Republic  200  010  00x  381

Time: 3:06 Temp: 58F   Att: 35,703 

Dominican Republic Wins the 2013 World Baseball Classic

2014 -08-15

                        123 456 789 10 R H E

Philadelphia     000 010 020 2  5 7 0

San Francisco  000 300 000 0  3 11 0

Time: 3:36 Temp: 60F  Att: 41,425

2016-03-31 

                        123  456 789  R H E

Oakland            000  000 100  1 3 2 

San Francisco  000  111  000  3 10 0

Time: 3:00  Temp: N/A  Att: 41,241

Exhibition-Spring Training

2016-05-09 

                            123  456 789  RHE

Toronto               102  000  000  370

San Francisco     000  001  000  140

Time: 2:52 Temp: 57F Att: 41,256

Kauffman Stadium

Kansas City Royals, American League

8/10

The crowd files in on a hot August night in 2022.

Photo stop on the upper deck in 2022.

The fountains pregame in 2015

I rolled into Kansas City in June 2015, coming from St. Louis and a trip earlier that day up the St. Louis Arch. The park is located on the eastern outskirts of the city, off of, or right next to I-70, and Arrowhead Stadium in the "Truman Sports Complex". The Royals were matching up against a divisional rival in Cleveland. I ended up staying at a hotel directly across the Interstate and just walked there. There's a bucket of parking around here, as besides the two stadiums, that's really all there is. The park has been recently renovated, with a bit more going in in the outfield, but still retaining some of the concourse.

I indulged in a brisket sandwich, or pulled pork or something like that, it was not too bad. Lines for concessions were relatively short.

The big plus here is atmosphere. In a strange way, KC feels like a big Triple-A park, but its not a bad thing. There's that kind of an intimacy between the fans and the players that you won't see too many places anymore. Doesn't hurt that this was a Royals team that would go on to win the World Series.

Overall, this is a bit of a quirky major league park with a minor league atmosphere(that's good, honest) and decent food. I'd give the park, food and atmosphere all half points, which would round down to an 8.

Update 2026: I made it back down here as part of a Midwestern loop in 2022. This was as far south as I went this trip. The hotel across the highway ended up being closed, so I stayed about 15 minutes away and drove in.

The park had been renovated since I'd been, with several open air bars in the outfield concourse that are open to the public. The waterfalls, were naturally still there. The parking ended up being 30 bucks prepaid. A half point for facility.

The food, like a lot of venues associated to MLB, was card only. Being KC, there was lots of BBQ and spinoffs (BBQ Nachos) plus ballpark staples. It seemed good enough. I'd give another half point. I did find the lines a bit wild, with about half the crowd as the first time.

The atmosphere was also a half plus. I noted it was definitely not a "Quadruple A" park anymore as the crowd got behind a Royals team that didn't last too long at all against a contending San Diego squad. I'd leave this one as an 8. I think it's one of the better parks in MLB for fans getting a good experience for the price of a ticket. One of the more "blue collar" parks in the Majors.

But, the only constant with teams and their stadiums is change. The Royals, in April 2026 announced plans to partner with the Hallmark corporation to build a new park, closer to downtown KC, to open for the 2030 season. Funding and whatnot is still getting lined up, but with the NFL's Chiefs already committing to build a domed stadium on the Kansas side of the river for 2031, expect local government to fully back keeping the Royals in KCMO. I'm not sure if I'll get a third and likely final visit to "The K" in, but I'm glad I got in two, especially the second one.

Linescores

2015-06-02

                    123  456   789  RHE

Cleveland    000   100   010  260

Kansas City 001   000  000  150

Time: 3:16  Temp: 74F   Att: 30,361

2022-08-26

                       123  456  789   R H E

San Diego      312  001  402   13 19 2

Kansas City    001  400  000   5 11  0

Time: 3:37  Temp: 88F Att: 16,479

Surprise Stadium

Texas Rangers, Kansas City Royals (Spring Training)

9/10

The third base gate is used more for leaving than entering, the front door isn't much more notable.

The view from behind home plate for 2011 Fall League action.

The view from centre field shows the grandstand, press boxes and a bit of the 2nd level seating.

I first came here in 2010 for a Cactus League contest and as of 2015, have been a total of 7 times, for 6 Cactus League games and one Fall League game in 2011, which featured a young Bryce Harper.

As the name suggests, the park is in the Phoenix suburb of Surprise, about 40 minutes northwest of downtown. The Kansas City Royals and Texas Rangers have been training here since 2003. 2005 saw Golden League baseball here as well, with the Surprise Fightin' Falcons lasting just the one season. It's more of an AAA style ballpark than one of the bigger stadiums built lately. It's pretty well laid out, with a ton of shade in the infield, a pretty wide concourse, that is a little dark, but nothing too wild. The two sections of upper deck seating are popular and are well shaded with a good sight line. The quirkiest plus of the park is the unique design of the roof, which has circle-shaped depressions in it to stop foul balls from rolling back down and landing on spectators. 

Concessions here are pretty good too, embracing the local tastes of the two teams. Kansas City naturally features BBQ, which in this case, meant a pulled pork sandwich. I believe that Tex-Mex also featured prominently, as do usual ballpark favourites.

Atmosphere here is subdued, rarely crowded, but always interested in the action on the field. There's no mascot or promotions as far as I can remember.

Overall, I am generally so engrossed in enjoying a game and the experience that I remember little else about it. This is among about 5 parks in the Cactus League that I would go to anytime, just a very enjoyable ballpark. A point for concession, plus a half point for the park and atmosphere gives it a 9.

Update 2026: Both the Royals and Rangers have been in Surprise for over 20 years now. There are some Facebook photos of the field itself being renovated in 2019, but I can't see anything more obvious. I have a total of 6 Cactus League and one AFL game here. I've added the scores as best I can.

Linescores

2010-03-25

                       123 456  789  RHE

Seattle            031  200 100 7

Kansas City   101  000 105  8

Time: N/A Temp: N/A Att: 4,510

2011-10-05                           R

Scottsdale Scorpions            1

Surprise Saguaros                10

2012-03-31

                         123  456  789   RHE

Arizona             101  040 400   10 

Kansas City       100 000  110   3

Time: N/A Temp: N/A Att: 5,997

2013-03-24

                       123  456 789  R H E

Cincinatti        000  000  020  2 5 0

Texas               100  200 04x  7 12 0

Time: N/A Temp: N/A Att: 7,117

2013-03-28

                       123   456  789  R H E

Arizona            000  040 401  9 11 3

Texas                100  000  101  3 7 3

Time: N/A Temp: N/A Att: 7,269

2014-03-22

                       123  456  789  R H E

Texas              000  000  130  4 9 0

Kansas City    050  020  01x  8 11 0 

Time: 2:42 Temp: N/A  Att: 9,341

2015-03-21

                     123  456  789   R H E

Milwaukee   120  003  600   12 19 0

Texas           000  010 100    2  7  0

Time:  N/A  Temp: N/A  Att: 8,027

Serauxmen Stadium

 Nanaimo NightOwls, West Coast League

This is the closest thing it had to a facade.

This is the closest I could get to behind home plate without climbing on someone.

From this angle, it's a cute little ballpark.

This was the only new park I made it to in 2025. The Nanaimo entry in the West Coast League set up in 2021. It sometimes, but not always, serves as a "travel buddy" for Victoria, with teams headed to Vancouver Island to play both. 

The park is in something of a sports complex, with a football/soccer stadium and an aquatics centre with a hockey rink attached also nearby. We parked at the pool for free and crossed the street to the ballpark. 

To be clear, they have done a lot of work getting this place ready for the WCL. But from the fan side, there's a lot to be desired. The seating is easily the worst of the 100+ ballparks I have on here, with the notable exception of Prince George, which didn't have seats at all. The seats in Nanaimo appeared to have been added recently, but are on preexisting concrete risers, so you essentially have to spread your knees around the person in front of you. There are metal general admission bleachers on the third base side, if I go back, I'll sit there instead. 

Food options were pretty minimal and if memory serves, a bit expensive. We ended up getting food on the way out of town. There was alcohol service, but the beer garden is in the outfield(the third picture is from out there) The atmosphere was the lone positive, as the fans were into the game, even though the NightOwls were getting hit hard by one of the WCL's best teams, the Corvallis Knights. 

This park is close to the new house, so it could see a repeat visit at some point this year or next. I don't assign amateur parks a number rating, but if I did, this could be looking at a 6 or even a 5. Still, a lot of work was clearly put into this park to get it where it is, so credit where credit's due.

Camelback Ranch

Los Angeles Dodgers, Chicago White Sox (Spring Training)

9/10

Crowds line up at automated kiosks to print their tickets.

Another clear day in Glendale.

I made sure to go out into left field to get a shot on my first trip here.

This place is the spring home of both the LA Dodgers and Chicago White Sox. The Dodgers were coaxed west from their longtime spring home in Vero Beach, Florida and the White Sox left Tucson to join them here. It is technically just inside the city limits of Phoenix, but is on land owned by the city of Glendale, which is also the home of the NFL Cardinals and formerly the NHL Coyotes.

The stadium is visible from nearby Camelback Road and has a pronounced western theme, starting with the name, which is historically the name for the land and continuing with the rustic looking wood finish on the press boxes. This is definitely one of the new breed of Cactus league parks, which are more than just AAA calibre parks that host 20ish games a spring. It compares somewhat to Cubs Park or Salt River I have now been here a total of 7 times, 6 Cactus League and 1 Fall League game, so it's a place that I'm becoming familiar with, which is great, because there's lots to like.

Firstly, this place actually captures the possibilities of building a unique new park. There's no park you can point at and say it looks like Camelback Ranch, because there's not one. The theme of the architecture, wide open concourses, that somehow always seem to feature a gentle breeze on a hot day, some shade, some sun, lots of good places to stand, there's not much about the place to dislike. Parking is still free, egress is easy before the game, as long as you're 20 minutes early. Leaving can be a bit of a hangup, but traffic control here is good too, so it's not as long as it ought to be.

Food here is also good. The Dodgers naturally have the Dodger Dog on feature, but there's Vienna Beef for the Southsiders as well. There are some specialty places, but I haven't tried anything besides pizza and dogs here.

Atmosphere is pretty good too. There used to be disastrous sellouts here, with large crowds. My stepfather was even more averse to big crowds than me, so we'd usually head for Goodyear, Surprise or Maryvale. When we finally went in 2012, we both really liked it, the crowds for Dodger games are a little bigger, but only so much. The White Sox crowds are just fine, at around 6,500 or so.

Overall, this place is at the cutting edge of the newer spring parks and in the west valley, is always a good option to take in a game. I give it an extra point for the food and half points for atmosphere and the park. 9/10.

Update 2026: It has been 10(!) years since I posted about this place. I wasn't even putting up linescores then, so I've done my best to dig them up. I have been to six Cactus league games and one fall league game here, but nothing since 2015. The Cactus league website points out that for 2026, the White Sox saw the biggest increase in spring attendance in Arizona. There have been some minor renovations, such as the adding of some sun shades on the first base side, but nothing major. It appears both the Dodgers and White Sox are still satisfied with this park and aren't intending on moving anytime soon. I visited the Triple-A stadium in Omaha in 2022, and despite not being from the same architect, I found the seating bowl layout very similar. I would recommend to anyone headed to Arizona for Spring Training, but would suggest White Sox tickets are likely the cheaper bet.

Linescores

2012-03-22    

                       123   456   789   R

Kansas City    010   010  200  4

Chicago(AL)   400   061  23x 16

Time: N/A Temp: N/A  Att: 4,942

2012-03-26

                             123   456  789  R

Chicago(AL)         021   000  000  3

Los Angeles(NL) 000    021  001 4

Time: N/A/  Temp:  N/A Att: 5,816

2013-03-21

                       123   456  789  R H E

Milwaukee       101   001  000  3 5 2

Chicago(AL)   322   001  00x  8 13 1

Time: N/A  Temp: N/A  Att: 6,916

2013-03-25

                                123   456  789  RHE

Los Angeles(AL)      024   000  014  11

Chicago(AL)            001  000   022  5

Time: N/A Temp: N/A Att: 8,911

2015-03-23

                               123   456  789  R H E

Arizona                   100   003  000  4 6 1

Los Angeles(NL)     002  200   03x  7 11 0

Time: N/A  Temp: N/A  Att: 8,525

2015-03-25

                            123  456  789 R H E

San Diego            002  210  000 5 9 2

Los Angeles(NL)  203  211  00x 9 14 1

Time: Temp: Att: 8,363

2015-11-19                   RHE

Surprise Saguaros         1

Glendale Desert Dogs   4

Time: N/A Temp: N/A Att: N/A