Isotopes Park

Albuquerque Isotopes (Pacific Coast League)

10/10

The crowds file in for a Saturday Night Fireworks game v. Colorado Springs.

A very nice night was the scene for this PCL matchup. Check out the small hill way out there in Center Field.

The seating bowl has only just begun to fill up, as most people are still coming in, or waiting for food.

I first rolled into Albuquerque in 2015, after a long drive from the Salt Lake City area, having seen a game in Ogden the night before. This place opened in 2003, after the old Albuquerque Sports Stadium was knocked down after the PCL's Albuquerque Dukes moved north to Portland. This park sprung up and the Calgary Cannons moved here to become the Albuquerque Isotopes, as a homage to The Simpsons, when the hometown Springfield Isotopes threaten a move to Albuquerque.

The park is located on an intersection with features the University of New Mexico's Football stadium on one corner and their basketball arena "The Pit" (which features the name of local pizza chain)across the street. You can park in the University's lot for 5 dollars, which is what most people seemed to do. It's built in a southwestern sort of style, with lots of different colours on the exterior. There is a large lower bowl, with a fair number of club seats and a large berm. There is an elevated portion in the very deep center field, with goes to 428 feet. I thought this was a unique design, with the larger than average field owing its existence to the hot, dry climate for baseball here. There is a large upper deck that wouldn't be out of place as the middle level at a major league game, as far as design goes.

The concessions are pretty impressive, with lots of southwestern dishes that I couldn't get anywhere near. Green chiles and beans were in everything I think. I settled on the hot dog cart, as it was slightly less crazy. My neighbours had a donut about the size of a small pizza, which was modelled after the stereotypical Simpsons donut. There seemed to be a good mix of southwestern and baseball favourites and the lines were very long, which given the game not selling out, I took as a sign of quality.

The atmosphere here was incredible as well. A close game saw the Isotopes lose the lead in the later innings, only to come back and get a few hits out of the bottom 3 of their order, with the winner being driven into the left field gap to bring in 2 runs. The crowd went home happy, or those that left when I did, as it was fireworks night. The park has numerous tie ins with The Simpsons, including the aforementioned donut, as well as large decals of characters from the show on doors around the stadium and some life sized statues of them for people to have their picture taken with.

Overall, the facility, concessions and atmosphere here are amazing and I rate it all very highly. The only thing I'm not sure about is when I'll be back, as it's not on the way to anything I plan on doing for awhile, hopefully, it isn't too long.

Update 2021: I still really enjoyed my game here, hard to beleive it was over 5 years ago. Albuquerque was a shoo-in to survive the reduction in minor league teams, as this place is still amazing. They're still affiliated with Colorado. The prospect who hit the game winner? Trevor Story, who went 2 for 5 and would make the Rockies out of Spring Training the following year. The only reason I haven't been here since is that it's not on the way to much else, but with a trip to Texas being my main baseball priority in '21 or '22, Isotopes Park might make it onto the list. 

I will adjust the league on the post and the label, once the minor leagues receive their new names.

Linescore

2015-08-29          

                                          123    456   789  R H E

Colorado Springs(MIL)      010   010    030  5 8 1

Albuquerque(COL)            100   111    002  6 11 2

Temp: 84F  Time: 2:43  Att: 14,299  

Coors Field

Colorado Rockies, National League

8/10

Another park with a circular rotunda for a front door, plus a redbrick facade.

Besides the forested bullpens, the right field corner has several restaurants on the upper deck.

The view from behind home plate, with the "rockpile" in center field.

I rolled into Denver in September 2015 as part of my summer loop. It was a Monday night and I drove up from Amarillo, Texas after catching an afternoon game there the previous day. Traffic in and around Denver was not the greatest, but I still showed up about half an hour before the 6:30 start time. The park is just north of Downtown Denver, in the midst of your average upscale entertainment oriented neighbourhood.It is a chip off the Retro-Modern block for sure, but it does have some things that you can only find here.

Firstly, the food here is something else. I opted for the "Jalapeno Elk Brat", which was amazing. There was lots of craft beer here too, despite the sponsor. There are some restaurants on the 3rd level in right field, which looked somewhat expensive. The game featured the Arizona Diamondbacks opening a series with the Rocks. A.J. Pollock took advantage of the thin air hitting a fly ball into the left-field alley that just kept flying. But, things came apart for the D-Backs in the bottom of the 9th, with Brad Ziegler struggling to catch the game winning out, then throwing it away, breaking a streak of something like 25 consecutive save opportunities converted. Arizona went to the bullpen, but their 2nd pitcher of the 9th couldn't stop the Colorado comeback, giving the Rockies a win they had no business getting. You don't really notice the thin air as a spectator, until you walk a lap of the concourse and come up slightly short of breath, which admittedly, was a little worrying.  The most unique architectural feature is the center field bleacher known as "The Rockpile". I found Coors Field to be a nice ballpark and all, but nothing spectacular. It gets an 8 because of it's concessions. I will likely be back sometime soon though.

Update 2019: I managed to get back here when we ended up visiting friends in the Denver area. We headed down very early, owing to Denver's lousy traffic situation and ended up eating at a pub a few blocks from the park, before heading over. This place hasn't changed that much at all, which I'd say is a good thing. The only obvious difference was, for a variety of reasons, that the latest game was much better attended.  This is hardly a bad ballpark, but I feel like if I charted out all the MLB parks I'd been to, this would be just into the bottom half. Still, our friends aren't moving anytime soon, so I can see us ending up here again, maybe even this summer.

2015-08-31
                      123   456   789  R H E
Arizona            003   010  000   4 11 2
Colorado          001  000   004   5  11 0
Temp: 68F  Time: 3:30  Att: 21,386



2018-09-12
                        123   456   789  R H E
Arizona               012  100  000  4 4 0
Colorado             002  010  002   5 13 0
Temp: 91F  Time: 3:07  Att: 31,687

The Hangar

Lancaster JetHawks, California League

7/10

The hangar has an F-18 on a post in front of the park.

A somewhat hot Mother's day drew about 1,000 people out to the park.

This place is a virtual carbon copy of at least 3 other parks in the southwest.

I came into Lancaster after making the relatively short trip up from Victorville, where I'd stayed after catching a game in the High Desert the previous evening. It was a pretty warm Mother's Day Sunday, featuring the Lancaster JetHawks, then an affiliate of the Houston Astros, hosting a Visalia team that got off to a solid start in the season and this game. 

This was my last new Cal League park of the 6 I took in in May 2016 and it's probably a tie with Modesto for the most average. There just isn't anything unique about it at all. It's the same design as Mesa, San Bernardino and Peoria, but some of those parks have done a little more with the overall appearance as here, where everything is very beige and grey. Food was ok, but nothing spectacular and the atmosphere never really had a chance to get going, as only about a thousand people were actually here at any point and the Rawhide just blasted Lancaster without mercy, getting revenge for a similar scoreline against them the night before. 

After my visit here, the shuffle of affiliations in the Cal League led to Houston leaving the league altogether, to move their high A team to the Carolinas. Colorado took this affiliate after their old affiliate in Modesto was snapped up by Seattle. At any rate, this is a perfectly acceptable facility for the level it hosts, but there's nothing unique or "must see" about it. A textbook 7.

Linescore

2016-05-08

Temp: 70F Time: 3:09 Att: 1,403 

Visalia Rawhide(ARI) 19, Lancaster JetHawks(HOU) 2

Changing it up for the linescore! Lancaster didn't get a run in the bottom of the ninth.

Memorial Stadium

8/10

Boise Hawks, Northwest League

A much better picture of the exterior in 2015.

Final preperations for Hawks/Hops, in September 2015.

You get a decent look at the park from the 3rd base side.

I went to Memorial stadium on my 2nd Northwest League trip in 2008, between games in Pasco and Salem, to watch the Hawks battle the Tri-City Dust Devils. It isn't overly horrible, but I'd have to say it's probably the worst of the 8 parks in the Northwest League.

Firstly, the park is barely within the city limits of Boise, located about 10 minutes northwest of Downtown. It's located at the local fairgrounds, so there isn't much to do in the immediate area. The park, opened in 1989, is a testament to all that went badly in 1980s ballpark design. The park has basically no façade at all, with some concrete and chain link fencing, with only some signage to indicate what it even is.

The layout is divided into three separate stands, which as of my visit in 2008, are all named after Dodge cars. Concessions were not memorable for any reason, either way. There is a large child's play area down the right field line, which meant that a small child was hit by a line drive when I was there. There was likely a better spot to put all this.

But, the atmosphere was not bad. The crowd was very much into the game. One of the on field contests involved three fans in potato themed costumes(Fries, a perogy and something else) racing from 1st to 3rd base. During the race, one of the contestants shoved the perogy into the unsuspecting Tri-City shortstop, knocking him over. His counterpart at second base then doubled over laughing.

The park has it's issues, but it's not like people in the Cubs organization, or in Boise, don't know about these shortcomings, as the Hawks made a proposal in 2012 to build a new, 25 million dollar ballpark/soccer stadium in downtown Boise. Renovating Memorial Stadium was also being considered as a less acceptable option.  This was the last mention of the debate I could find, so it's safe to say that the new ballpark is not happening anytime soon, if at all. In my opinion, the Hawks are the most vulnerable of the 8 franchises in the NWL and could be up for a move in a few years, should a more suitable market be found. The current setup is good on atmosphere but is clearly a rung below the current standard for most minor league ballparks. Still, Boise is a good market for baseball and hopefully it won't come down to the Hawks leaving town.

Update 2016: I ended up back here in September 2015, on the way back from points south, as part of a dedicated effort to redo some older reviews. It was 7 years between visits, so I was unsure how things had gone. The Hawks, as a result of numerous affiliations switching in the NWL, were now a Colorado farm team. It was a late season game against the Hillsboro Hops, featuring Dansby Swanson, who had just been picked first overall by the Diamondbacks that summer, after starring at Vanderbilt. He went 3 for 5. The game wasn't much to take in, as a few 5 run innings for Hillsboro and Boise getting more errors than hits made the final a decisive 12-0.

But the ballpark had changed in a few ways. Firstly, the sponsored sections were gone. I sat in the main stand, behind home plate and was shocked to find out that the first 10 rows or so were full service. Ushers would run out and get you food so you didn't have to get up, and would happily come scoop your trash when you were done. For 12 dollars, that is craziness. For 2016, these seats had been jacked up to 35 dollars each. The crowd, largely wasted on a lopsided game, was somewhat into it and until the 2nd 5 run inning, held out home for their Hawks to turn things around.

The food is also miles ahead of where it once was, with a new stand on the third base side offering Fish Tacos, and one of the more unusual offerings I've seen, Rocky Mountain Oysters. The main concessions I can't really speak to, because Fish Tacos were an immediate deal.

Overall, much improved atmosphere and concession bring this place up to an 8, which is about as good as I think it could be. Nothing new regarding new ballpark construction as far as I know. With Yakima losing its team, Boise is probably the most vulnerable of the 8 NWL markets and if something better pops up, the old park combined with Boise being the league's eastern outpost could mean it's number will be called. Hopefully that does not happen.

Linescore
2008-07-14
                                               123  456   789   R H E
Tri-City Dust Devils(COL)    004  001  000   5 10 1
Boise Hawks(CHC)                011  300 12x   8  13 1
Temp: 94F Time: 2:51   Att: 2,300

2015-09-03 
                                    123   456   789   R H E
Hillsboro Hops(ARI)    105  100  050  12 16 0
Boise Hawks(COL)       000  000  000  0  3  4
Temp: 68F Time: 2:44 Att: 2,359

John Thurman Field

Modesto Nuts, California League

7/10

The home plate fence backs onto a golf course, so one must enter on the sides. This was the 3rd base side, will call is on the other side. This is as fancy an entrance as you'll find.

A clear may evening sees the local nine against Lake Elsinore.

A sparse crowd of hangers on rode it out until the late innings.

This was my first of 6 new Cal League parks in a week in May 2016. I literally landed at SFO, grabbed my rental and went to go fight with Bay Area rush hour to make it to Modesto in time for first pitch. Didn't work. I arrived in the 4th inning and my pictures all appear a little blurry, as does my memory regarding this place, but I will try.

This park is a little older than most of it's counterparts in the cal league, consisting of three separate stands with a bit of a gap between each one, the closest design I can think of is Boise , which funnily enough, is my next update. Seats are newer fold down stadium seats in front of the aisle, harder plastic bucket seats in the stand behind home plate and good old aluminum bleachers down the line. I'd take a point off for the facility itself, as it's a bit behind the curve, without any of the rustic charm that has helped some older parks survive. At least it's still named after a person. It's substantially older than I would have guessed, opened 1955 and renovated in 1997, I would have put it as a 1980's design.

The food helps get this place back up to an average rating. Prices were low, quality was above average. I sadly do not remember what I had, but I do remember enjoying it.

Atmosphere was pretty par for the course, there's really nothing here that jumps out at you as unique, but also nothing that ruins your night either.

Overall, between a short game(2:18) and me being a little late, I only got to see so much here, I'd be tempted to go back to try and fill in the gaps. 7/10 for now.


Linescore
2016-05-03
                                            123    456   789   RHE
Lake Elsinore Storm(SD)       000   000   000    023
Modesto Nuts(COL)               100  200   00x    360
Temp: 81F Time: 2:18 Att: 2,833

Hi Corbett Field

Arizona Wildcats (Pac-12)

No Rating

A photo stop at Hi Corbett in 2010 shows how the main tenants at the time were the Colorado Rockies for Spring Training and the Tucson Toros of the Golden League for summer baseball. 2010 was the last year for both.

                

A nice usher let us in to have a look, as long as we stayed in sight of him. You can see how the stadium was expanded a few times from this one.

2012 saw Hi Corbett alive with Spring Baseball again, as the Arizona Wildcats moved in. Here, a pause between innings versus Stanford.

                    
Firstly, I didn't rate Hi Corbett, because I have only seen a few college games there, still, I did see enough to write a review. Consider it an exchange.

I first saw Hi Corbett the way most people saw it, on the screen as the Spring Home of the Cleveland Indians in the baseball cinema classic Major League. I remember Willie Mays Hayes doing his happy dance outside the front entrance. I first saw it in person in 2010, when we made a photo stop between the Pima Air and Space museum and a quick bite at Jack in the Box. The Rockies were out of town for the day, but due to play the Dodgers the next afternoon. The park is more a collection of different stands than one big unit. There's the main grandstand, under a roof, to large bleachers offset to either side and smaller metal ones beyond that. The Rockies were due to leave for 2011, when they moved to Salt River Fields at Talking Stick, along with the other team in Tucson at that point, the Arizona Diamondbacks. The move ended Hi Corbett's run of 65(!) seasons of Spring Training between the Rockies and Indians. The local independent league team, the Tucson Toros of the Golden League, packed up after 2010, when it was revealed that the Portland Beavers would be moving to town for a 1 year pit stop as the Tucson Padres(they ended up staying for 3). The Padres ended up playing at Tucson Electric Park, although Hi Corbett was their first choice, with negotiations breaking down.

I made a point of travelling back in 2012 when I had seen all the Cactus League parks and wanted to pick up a game. I arrived late thanks to the Phoenix traffic and found out about something I noted in 2010: there isn't much parking. I highly recommend arriving early. The park itself is a nice place to watch a game. There is a relatively thick screen though, with large posts. I found moving up high on the third base side to be a smart move, you could see the whole field well, which is important, because this park is quite large. The college ballgame can be a lot of fun at the right place, Hi Corbett is one of them. The atmosphere was a good mix of baseball and college shenanigans(including a drunken student singing Take Me Out To The Ballgame). Old Park, good crowd, cheap everything, and a product that translates to somewhere between Rookie and Short Season A for the major conferences. I enjoyed my time here and if I was rating it, would give it an 8 or 9. I'm even considering a trip back just for the atmosphere.

Update 2016: I went back here in 2014 for another Wildcat game against Oregon State. I found out about something I didn't notice in 2012, the sun shines into the seats in the afternoon and it is very hot. The 2012 Wildcats ended up winning the College World Series. Pro baseball is giving Tucson another try this summer, with a Pecos League team setting up at Tucson Electric Park.

Salt River Fields at Talking Stick

Arizona Diamonbacks/ Colorado Rockies (Spring Training)

9/10

The exterior of this one kind of defies convention. I've been here three times and tried multiple angles, but this one I like best.

Finally got a good home plate photo of this one. This was a nice day.

A sizeable crowd sees the Rockies host the Mariners on a pleasant Arizona evening.

I went first went to Salt River in 2011, going straight from the airport to a night game between the Mariners and Rockies. Salt River fields were the talk of Spring Training that year, as its opening meant the end of Spring Training in Tucson, as the Diamondbacks moved there from Tucson Electric Park and the Rockies from Hi Corbett Stadium. In a word, this place is elaborate. Built on the Salt River Indian Reservation, in the Scottsdale area, the stadium seats 11,000, but has been known to squeeze in a thousand or so more. It is very popular, but also expensive, which is the biggest knock I have against it. Still, it is likely the class of the Cactus League at the moment, and was the scheduled as the site of two group games for the 2013 World Baseball Classic, with one moving to Chase Field at the last second due to weather. This is where Italy upset Mexico, to send the Phoenix group on the tournament into disarray. I've been to two Cactus League games and a fall league contest at last count.

But, even if it is expensive, there's a lot about Salt River I like. The layout of the seating is quite good, with a high capacity, but it still feels like there's enough room to be comfortable, with the spectators well spread out, which means it takes a few seconds to get to your seat. Sight lines are good and watching the game is an enjoyable experience. Parking is a bit of a pain, but there are enough spots and some of the farther lots are free, to make it a little easier to swallow. Speaking of easy to swallow, the food here, while expensive, is perhaps the best in the Cactus League. Bison Hot Dogs, numerous varieties of actual ice cream and many other terrific choices make Salt River a park you just have to grab a meal at. The games here are well attended, especially when Arizona is in action. A combination of locals going to their nearest park, fans from across the valley going to their favourite and the usual crowd following the visitors, Salt River has a pretty good atmosphere. It's one of two parks off the top of my head that looks like a strictly Cactus league park instead of a Triple-A park like some of the others.

Overall, Salt River is a good one to visit if you haven't been, or are in the area, but it is a bit of a chore to repeatedly justify the drive over from the western suburbs of Phoenix.

Update 2016: I got some newer pictures here in 2015. I've also been here 4 times now, for 3 cactus league games and one in the fall league. I upped the rating to a 9. The food here is great, I've had a Bison Hot Dog, Garlic Knots, Pizza and I'm not sure what else. A little expensive, but all good. Also, the facility itself is still impressive. Only the atmosphere wasn't amazing, and it was par for the course for the Cactus. Still, I wish I'd been able to sneak another game or two in here.


Linescores

2011-03-23
                     123   456     789   RHE
Seattle           001   020     020   580
Colorado        005   010     00x   661
Temp: N/A  Time:  2:45 Att: 12,261

2011-10-05
                                123      456    789      R  H E
Peoria Javelinas         011     260     300      13 15 0
Salt River Rafters       000     070     000       7  8   2
Temp: 80F   Time: 3:14   Att: 479

2012-03-24
                           123      456     789     R  H  E
Kansas City          200     001     300     6  12  2
Arizona                 000     102     020     5  12  0
Temp: N/A   Time: 3:01  Att: 12,513

2015-03-27
                         123      456      789     RHE
Cleveland            000     000      011      241
Arizona              100     000      02x      381
Temp: N/A     Time: 2:42   Att:  11,537

Suplizio Field

Grand Junction Rockies, Pioneer League

8/10

 Like other parks of this type, Suplizio Field shares an entrance with the football stadium next door.

This park has a ton of seats, this is from the back behind home plate.

The giant shared press box/suites for Baseball and Football.

I stopped in Grand Junction after driving all day from suburban Phoenix. I arrived late, during the third inning, of a game between the "GJ Rockies" and the Ogden Raptors, the LA Dodgers' affiliate. The team was in their 2nd season in Grand Junction, around 2 and a half hours west of Denver, after moving from Casper, Wyoming, where the team drew around 1,400 a game, 7th of 8 in attendance. The team was lured to the area by extensive renovations to Suplizio Field, which also hosts the Junior College World Series. The stadium has a similar setup to Hillsboro Ballpark, where the ballpark shares entrances and some concourse with a football stadium next door, only at Suplizio, it joins on the first base side.

Parking's a bit of a nightmare, the lots were filled when I got there, so thanks to my ballparking experience, I bailed, rather than searching for that elusive "only unoccupied spot in the parking lot" and parked a few blocks away, for free on the street.

The extensive renovations to this park entailed firstly rebuilding the shared grandstand down the first base line, which is actually where all the season's ticket holder sit, in seats with backs on them. The press boxes and suites are in this building too. It towers over the field and does an effective job of blocking the football stadium from view. Then, they put in all new bleacher style seating all the way from just to the right of home plate, around to the left field foul pole. Then, a bleacher section in left field put the capacity way up to 12,000 people. This has the unintended effect of having the cheapest seats have some of the best views, which I thoroughly enjoyed. The only knock on them is that there isn't much room between rows, I'm glad I sat at the end of mine.

I stayed for around 2/3rds of the game in my original seat at the back of the section behind home plate, then moved down the third base line. I ended up with two foul balls, both of which ended up with kids. The atmosphere was not bad, with all the season ticket/suite types in their own little world by 1st base, the rest of the park was left for the unwashed masses. A large group of kids were led in cheers by the mascot, who otherwise kept to himself. Concessions were cheap, with good quality, but pretty bad lines, which confused me all the more considering the park had a crowd of around 3,000. I'm sure the lines for the JUCO tournament get very bad. When I went to leave, the concourse was blocked to allow the home side into their clubhouse, like in Hillsboro, which I though made way more sense than parading the visitors past the crowd.

The game went into extras and ended with one of the more anticlimactic plays in baseball, the walk-off walk. Oh well, at least I saw 9 innings.

The attendance at Suplizio puts the baby Rockies into the middle of the pack in the PBL, after being stuck in 7th, beating only Helena. The attendance is still roughly doubled from Casper, which makes the move look pretty good. I'd say the atmosphere puts this one up to an 8. It's relatively new, but it's quirky setup and interested fans give it some personality that other new parks sorely lack.  I would absolutely go back if the opportunity presented itself.

Update 2016: Not much to offer in the way of updates here. Attendance has slipped to an average of 2,100, good enough for 6th of 8 teams, but still almost twice as many as the bottom two clubs. The team was also named the best Short Season franchise in the minors by Baseball America, based on how the team is run, community involvement and so on. 

Linescore
2013-09-04
                                                      123    456     789  10  11   R H E
Ogden Raptors(LAD)                        101    051     210   0    0   11 16 1
Grand Junction Rockies(COL)           103    104     101   0    1   12 16 6
Temp: 95F   Time: 3:56   Att: 2,289