Pohlman Field

Beloit Snappers, Midwest League

6/10

The main entrance is pretty unremarkable, this is just inside the fenceline.

A cloudy, damp, overcast day saw the Snappers and Timber Rattlers playing two to make up the night before.

A patio seciton with a grill looks back on the largely empty seating area.

I rolled into Beloit in the late afternoon after seeing an afternoon game in Milwaukee, the first pitch was at 4:30 and I was walking up to the park as the game was starting. The game the previous evening had been rained out, so they played two 7 inning games instead, which meant I was here for the better part of 5 hours. The matchup saw the Beloit Snappers taking on their cross state rivals, the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers. This park is not new, but is much newer than it looks, having only been built in 1981. Recently, it's been in jeopardy of losing it's team, not only because of the facility, but even the field itself. The Brewers were the parent club for many years, but left for the other franchise in Wisconsin because of the park. Minnesota was next for 8 seasons, but also left when the chance arose. Oakland, a team that constantly seems to get the last minor league city available, ended up here as of 2013 after being in Burlington before that. If the team wasn't community-owned, it almost certainly would have left town by now.

The two 7 inning games were both one run games, with the weather seemingly favouring pitching. A crowd announced at just under 600 may have featured half of that, as people wandered in and out over the course of the twin bill. It was all locals, who seemed to mostly know each other and kept the noise down.  Concession is limited to a small stand under the bleachers and a BBQ area in right field.


As much as I respect a venue and small market like this keeping a team for so long, the ratings just aren't kind. Firstly, the facility is wholly inadequate for full-season affiliated baseball with metal bleachers with a few bucket seats in a smaller grandstand, that on a cool, damp and windy day, offered pretty much no protection from the weather. Concessions were actually a notch better than I'd have expected in a place like this, but nothing too memorable. The atmosphere was flat, with well under a thousand people as announced attendance. The only reason there were as many as there were is because the Wisconsin starting pitcher for Game 2 was a Beloit native.  I ended up taking a point off for the facility and a half for the atmosphere.

There's been a positive development since I went to my games here, as another locally based group of investors has made a proposal to buy the team and build a new park in the centre of town as of September 2018. Hopefully this will be the case and this franchise can get a shot in the arm, instead of be just another team in a smaller city to move on. I'll absolutely come back if there's a new park, but as for this one, I feel like it isn't worth a return trip.



Linescores

2017-05-24
Game 1
                                                        123  456  7   RHE
Wisconsin Timber Rattlers (MIL)          000   000  1  150
Beloit Snappers (OAK)                        000   001  1  261
Temp: 58F Time: 2:04 Att: 588

Game 2
                                                        123  456  7   RHE
Wisconsin Timber Rattlers (MIL)          022 000  0   460
Beloit Snappers (OAK)                        001  000 2  331
Temp: 58F  Time: 2:04  Att: 588

Miller Park

Milwaukee Brewers, National League

8/10

Milwaukee was another park that fell victim to the great camera caper, but rest assured, I went, I have the fridge magnet to prove it.


I swung through Milwaukee after driving from Indiana, back through Chicago(and it`s total gridlock) and up in time for a Saturday night game against the Washington Nationals. The gates opened pretty early, which gave me time to have a look around. The stadium is one of the few newer parks with a retractable roof, similar to Seattle`s Safeco Field or Marlins Park in Miami. I've heard complaints that it is somewhat cavernous, but I honestly enjoyed my visit.

I was looking forward most of all based off my multiple visits to Maryvale Ballpark, the Brewers' spring home. Maryvale has some of the best food and atmosphere you'll find anywhere and the Brewers home field is much the same. People were tailgating on a hot Saturday afternoon in the nearby parking lots and had clearly driven from all over the state to take in the game(as evidenced by stadium cups lying around at a rest stop a few hours away after the game).

The food at Miller was pretty good I have to say and by food, I mean Brats. You must have a Bratwurst at either Miller Park or Maryvale, they're easily the best at any ballpark anywhere. People also enjoyed their beer at Miller, I can't remember if I had one here, but Leinenkugel's is a favourite of mine from Spring Training that's popular in Wisconsin.

The game itself was Negro League night, with the Brewers taking on the colours of the Milwaukee Bears and the Nationals the Homestead Grays. I enjoyed it pretty thoroughly, people were into it and just seemed to really enjoy being there. I thought Miller did a relatively decent job of being an outdoor park with the roof open. Now, Safeco Field is still the best in that regard and I think Phoenix does better too, but Milwaukee is ahead of Toronto in this regard for sure.

The only real drawback to my trip to Miller Park was the Parking. Getting in was easy. Getting out was almost an hour. Showing up early punishes you in the end. Also, leaving the game, Milwaukee had to be the most intoxicated crowd I've ever been around. Even getting out of the parking lot was an adventure, as a drunk thought he'd assist me in getting out by standing in front of me and giving me hand signals(not that hand signal, but still). Overall, I'd say Miller Park is slightly above average, the Brewer fans are some of the most fun to watch a game with anywhere and combining that with the food, I would absolutely go back to Miller Park. I likely will if I go back to Wrigley again in the near future.

Update 2016: This place could maybe factor into my summer travel plans. Looking back on it almost 4 years after the fact, the question is, if the atmosphere and food were both good points, why isn't Miller Park a 9 under the new rating system? I have no good answer for this. I have upgraded the rating here from 8 to 9.

Linescore
2012-07-28 
                        123     456   789     R H E
Washington       000    310    000    4 11 0
Milwaukee         000    100    000    1  6  0
Temp: 76F    Time: 2:41 Att: 41,890