Shaw Park

Winnipeg Goldeyes, American Association

9/10

The park has a decent looking facade from across the street.

This place looks about 7-10 years newer than it actually is.

The backdrop is pleasant, but nothing spectacular.

I swung through Winnipeg after a game in St. Paul the night before. Unlike in St. Paul, I had plenty of time to drive and made it across the border and into the area around 90 minutes before the game started. I was into the park around 45 minutes before the first pitch, which came with large clouds overhead and a risk of thundershowers. I had a good amount of time to fully look around. The food options here could be the best I've seen anywhere. The "Hu's on First Asian Bistro" has been replaced with an Indian restaurant, which has a few other locations than besides the ballpark. There's also a pizza chain, plus another local chain, Salisbury House, which I was almost into, but I went to the Indian cart for some great Butter Chicken instead.

It's hard to believe this park was opened in 1999, as it looks and feels like something from the mid 2000s, if not later. A pretty wide open concourse goes from roughly foul pole to foul pole, with a good view of the field all the way. There is an upper deck, featuring suites with both a few rows of seating and an enclosed back area, which on a cooler, damp night like this, would have been a plus. It's amazingly well designed. I parked a block and a half away, I think for under 10 dollars.

The Goldeyes were in the midst of a late season charge for a wildcard berth, with Fargo-Moorhead, having also had a good year, but missing the playoffs, in town for a Saturday nighter. The visitors stormed out to a 4 run first and a 6-0 lead, but the Goldeyes persevered and went up 8-6, before spotty showers at some points during the game, turned into a total and utter monsoon in the middle of 8. After about 20 minutes, it wasn't so much about when the game would continue, as the field was clearly unplayable, but how would we all get to the car?

The atmosphere, while interested in the pennant, wasn't much more than that. It was a slightly cool night with storms in the forecast, so some likely stayed home. I'd been wanting to get this one in for a long while and was not dissapointed, as the food and park are a cut above, only the atmosphere keeps this from a 10 and even that's not by much.

Linescore
                                                  123   456   789 RHE
Fargo-Moorhead Red Hawks          400  200  00X  692
Winnipeg Goldeyes                       000  033  2XX 881
Temp: 27C  Time: 3:06  Att: 5,289
From Boxscore: Game delayed 29 minutes by rain. Game called after field deemed unplayable.

Kindrick Legion Field

Helena Brewers, Pioneer League

8/10

A better picture of the exterior from 2015, still painted sheet metal.

A lighter moment as the sprinklers suddenly turn on during the game in 2015 gave as good a chance as any to get a picture from behind home.

There are a few more stands down the first base line, but this is what there is behind home plate. A very basic stand.

I stuck the lens through the mesh during a break in play in 2010 and got this picture, which is still one of my favourites from anywhere.

 I went here in 2010 as part of a 3 park Pioneer League loop with my stepbrother. This is an old park, originally dating from the 1930's. It is a VERY simple wooden grandstand. It's located off of US 12, just north of downtown. It was a bit difficult to find, as it's not actually next to the street, but down a hard to see side street, which leads to a gravel lot. We parked for free about two blocks east.

The stadium has no real concourse to speak of, but a fenced in area behind the grandstand. Concessions offered a good variety, but especially of ice cream, which can be a requirement in Montana. The stadium was renovated by adding bright orange stadium seats which were removed from the Oakland Coliseum, when "Mount Davis" was built there. My cup holder still had an Oakland A's logo stuck to it.

If the stadium itself is less of an old gem and more aging, the atmosphere is incredible. Helena are last in attendance for the Pioneer League, but draw a little under a thousand a game in a city only about 30,000 total. There are not many casual fans passing through here, but with front row seats going for 9(N-I-N-E) Dollars, you end up with real fans instead. We moved into the front row, where our seats were, around the 6th inning and ran into a grizzled fellow who misunderstood what was going on and informed us that he would let us use some of his ticket stubs "if anyone gives you any shit" (pronounced sheeit). Nice fellow.

In summary, this park looks hideous from the outside, amazing once you're inside and is a 1930's era wooden bandbox. Food's slightly above par and the atmoshphere is way above, which is why I give it an 8/10. I am going to attempt to head back here again, possibly even this year.

Update 2017: I got back here for a second game in 2015 to watch them play Missoula as the first night of my summer loop. It was a bit on an anticipated game, with the season winding down and Osprey Pitcher Bo Takahashi having a steller season. The Brewers handed him his first loss however, in front of an unusually large crowd for here. In reevaluating this place, there's a lot to consider. Is the facility old? Yes. But is it bad enough to dock a point? No, it isn't.....barely. The food here is actually really good though, with a ton of local microbrews and food items are lacking in selection, but also very cheap. It's a plus. The atmosphere is good for such a small crowd, but nothing remarkable. This one stays at an 8, but was slightly more enjoyable than last time.

The Brewers managed to break 1,000 in terms of average attendance for the first time in many years. The city only has about 25,000 people, with 75 thousand in the area, although many of them are at least an hour from town and not well off. There has been zero talk of a new park here, as attendance and the local economy just don't justify it. However, rumours of a potential move for the AAA franchise in Colorado Springs for the 2019 season have led to speculation that the H-Brewers could be a good candidate to move, as both teams are owned by the same conglomerate. The ballpark and market there would be a massive upgrade, but it would also mean just another small town losing their team. I'd be just fine if that didn't happen, but will keep this place in mind for the next two seasons, just in case.

Linescores
2010-07-20
                                     123    456   789    R H E
Orem Owlz(LAA)             001   020   011   5 7 1
Helena Brewers(MIL)       100    800   20X   11 13 1
Temp: 82F  Time: 2:57  Att: 1,287

2015-08-27
                                        123    456   789   R H E
Missoula Osprey(ARI)        200   100   000    3 7 0
Helena Brewers(MIL)          042  100    00X   7 12 0
Temp: 86F   Time: 2:27  Att: 1,869

CHS Field

St. Paul Saints, American Association

9/10

My exterior shot is somewhat blurry, as I arrived late.

A large crowd takes in a Friday nighter.

By this point, the ball pig had been sent to the showers early, for poor behaviour.

I swung into St. Paul nearly an hour late for first pitch. I'd made a long, long trip from just over the border in Saskatchewan and after a delay just waiting for the cars ahead at the border itself, I knew I'd be late very early in the day. I was held up further when a Saints rooter named Greg needed help push starting his motorbike. After a few tries, Greg was off and running. This was part of a quick back to back, featuring games in St. Paul and Winnipeg on a Friday and Saturday night. The St. Paul Saints, of the American Association, were fighting for a division title with Winnipeg, headed into the final week of the season.

The Saints had left their first home to move into this, a brand new ballpark in downtown St. Paul. Attendance ended up sitting at just over 8,000, which was even more impressive that considering a short drive away, the Minnesota Twins(who were well out of contention) were playing the White Sox.

There were a lot of things I liked here. Firstly, the park itself is located downtown and is not only new, but actually well designed. A large concourse with a very high ceiling reminded me somewhat of Salt River. The section numbers were listed on the ceiling as well. A wraparound concourse saw more than a few people watching the game from the outfield. Parking wasn't the best, but I eventually found decent street parking two blocks away for not much money. Still, I found this place to be just amazing for Independent level baseball. I don't know how the facility could be any better.

But, even with that, the best part here is for sure the atmosphere. The Saints, when they were in the infant Northern League, adopted a strategy of making the atmosphere as quirky as possible and while the new park isn't anything like their old one, they've kept a lot of the quirks, including a somewhat unorthodox pair of PA announcers at a table in the front row and a live Pig bringing balls out to the umpire between innings. Sadly, the pig had a meltdown before I got a picture and was as far as I knew, sent home early. The PA announcing was comparable to a Top 40 station's morning show. It took some getting used to, but after awhile, I felt it added to the experience, as more regular spectators seemed to enjoy it.

I did have some cheese curds here and while they weren't bad, they weren't terribly special either.

Overall, showing up late(....again) took away from this place, but not enough to keep me from really enjoying it. I'd really like to get a return visit in again this year. 9/10.

Linescore

2016-09-02 
                          123    456  789   R H E
Lincoln Saltdogs    001  010  300  5 12  0
St. Paul Saints       001 001  000   2 6 1 
Temp: 72F  Time: 3:07 Att: 8,339 

Kingdome

Demolished

6/10

The good news is that I do have, buried somewhere, photos from inside the Kingdome. The bad news, is that I have little clue as to where they are. Such is the problem of printed photos.

This stadium was supposed to be built in time for the Seattle Pilots' first season. However, the Kansas City expansion team was eager to get into the league ASAP, to replace the Athletics franchise that had moved to Oakland, so Seattle's entry into the league was moved up, before the "King County Domed Stadium" could even be financed. So the Pilots played 1 season at the aging Sick's Stadium, before moving to Milwaukee. Still, it would not be long before 1977 saw the Mariners start up at the Kingdome.

We came here for the first time in 1996 to watch the Mariners and the Yankees under the dome. I was looking forward to watching former Blue Jay Jimmy Key, who then promptly left the game in the first inning after being hit with a comebacker. We saw the Mariners play the Red Sox the next year and that was it. I have only my 12 year old memory to go on, so here it is.

The area around where the dome was isn't a whole lot different than it is now. Some bars/pubs and Pioneer Square was close by. Seattle was a bit of a grittier city then, as the Microsoft boom hadn't come into full swing yet.

The dome itself was very dark. The wall in right field "Walla Walla" was about double height compared to the rest of the stadium. Ken Griffey Jr. can attest to the fact that this was a hitter's park to the extreme. I remember very little about coming here, other than the fact that the concourses would get very busy after games. Still, this was my 2nd MLB park ever and my last new one for about 6 years.

The Mariners were in a vulnerable spot again in the mid-90s, playing in an aging Kingdome, before Edgar Martinez's game winning hit in the division series against the Yankees all but guaranteed the construction of Safeco Field. The site of the former dome is now occupied by CenturyLink Field, home of the NFL Seahawks and MLS Sounders.

Update 2017: This place is still gone, but I did manage to locate the one linescore from here, the game against the Yankees where I remember Key being the starter. I don't remember the Boston games clearly, but I do remember them being at least the season after. They were likely in 1997, but maybe 1998 as well. I'll have to find a ticket stub or something to figure it out for sure.  

Linescores
1996-08-26
                            123  456  789   RHE
New York(AL)         000  000  100  150
Seattle                   000  100  010  290
Time: 2:59  Temp: 68F Att: 32,857

Prince George Citizen Field

Vacant

No Rating

The exterior of Citizen Field just prior to game time

Between innings of Thurston Co. v. Japan

The seating area empty between games.

It was August of 2016 and I had a minor issue. I had progressed well into the season and besides my California trip in May, I had nothing new. Days off from work were all but nonexistent, as vacation was snapped up by everyone but me during that same Cal trip. I was not too sure what to do, when in my random surfings, I noticed that the Pecos League's Roswell Invaders were in the "World Baseball Challenge". My interest piqued, I found that the tournament was in Prince George, BC, about 8 hours away and also included a team from Japan. I picked dates and drove out the morning of the doubleheader I chose to do, arriving just at the first game featuring a rep team from a summer league in Washington and a rep team of Japanese senior amateur players.

It was a clear, hot day, with the Japanese pulling out to an early lead thanks to some fundamental Japanese baseball, and the Evergreen staters, playing with something like a total roster of 11, battling in the late innings to pull back within a few runs, before running out of time. The second game saw the aforementioned Invaders take on a senior league team from Kamloops, the Sun Devils,who held it close, before Roswell showed off some fundamental Pecos League baseball by proceeding to knock every hanging breaking pitch they saw over the fence. Quickly, the game ended via Mercy rule(or "Slaughter Rule" in Japan, maybe a little more accurate).

As for this ballpark, it is Amateur to the core. It's a smaller, raised grandstand, with no fixed seating at all. A temporary structure built from scaffolding had some folding plastic chairs, but that's it. The atmosphere was very laid back, with only around 250 people present. What sounded like a disused train horn was sounded for every home run. The concession was super cheap, with a daily special for the tournament, the big event at this park. Usually, this place sees higher levels of junior and senior baseball, although it's unclear how popular any of that is.

Overall, if I had to rate this park, it'd likely get a 5, if it was lucky, as the facility is alright, but the lack of actual seats is a major flaw. The atmosphere is flat, but not bad, and the concession, while great for a park of this ilk, gets only a half point. Fortunately, this place doesn't get a rating, as while I saw a pro team, I didn't see a pro game. I doubt I'll run out to PG anytime soon.

Angel Stadium of Anaheim

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, American League

10/10

 The crowds file in for a game with Seattle in April, 2014.

 Just about ready to begin against Oakland in August 2009.

I enjoyed my 3rd game at the Big A probably most of all, thanks to a good atmosphere in the upper deck.

Angel Stadium is now one of my favourites. I have been here a total of five times now, twice against the Athletics in 2009, once on a cool April evening against Seattle in 2014 and twice in September of 2016 against the Blue Jays.

It's located near a trifecta of freeways and about a 10 minute drive from the Disneyland area. It's surrounded by a ton of parking in the immediate area and a little further there are actually some bars and restaurants, over towards the Honda Center, the home of the NHL's Anaheim Ducks.

The park was built in the mid 1960's as a new home for the Angels after they spent their first few years at LA's Wrigley Field and "Chavez Ravine" as Dodger Stadium was called when it hosted them. It was massively renovated when the NFL's Rams moved in and massively renovated again when they moved away. The results are incredible. Compare the before(By watching the remake of Angels in the Outfield maybe?) and the after(by going) and be amazed. From the outside it is very obvious it's an older park and maybe in the upper deck, but on the bottom it appears 30 years younger than it really is. That's my favourite thing about this park, it was turned from a gargantuan NFL-sized stadium into something more reasonable.

The fans here are passionate about supporting their team, instead of the other team in the LA area.

I like the food here quite a bit. There's lots of good options. As of 2014, it included Panda Express and Jack in the Box, as well as a very good pizza chain that replaced California Pizza Kitchen, the name escapes me at the moment....

The atmosphere is great, very baseball-oriented, with just enough quirks to keep things interesting.

The backdrop of the Honda Center and hills makes it a nice place to spend an evening.

In 2009, I went for a night game against Oakland and was so impressed by the crowd at atmosphere that I went back the next afternoon and sat in the sun on a 112 degree afternoon. The guy at the pulled pork sandwich stand (Reggie?) insisted on selling me a medium pop instead of a small saying "You'll thank me later."

Thanks Reggie.

I returned in April 2014, for the final game of a season opening series between the Angels and the Seattle Mariners. It actually did get cold in the upper deck later on and some of the dining options had changed, but it was more or less the same park, which was good. If you haven't gone, try to go and if you have, go back, it's just as good the 2nd time.

Update 2017: I went back here for two more games in September 2016, as the Blue Jays were in town. They lost to the Angels without much of a struggle both games I saw. There was still a good crowd both days, despite the latter being the same afternoon as the first home game for the new Los Angeles Rams.  It reminded me of the game versus Oakland in 2009, where it was very, very hot.

Food service options at the park changed again with "Oggi's" now the pizza of choice and Jack In the Box having taken over the burger stands. I frequented a custom gourmet hot dog stand, which while expensive, was fantastic. There's also a healthier concession deep in the outer concourse of the park, as well as several others in a sort of food court. I made it onto the mezzanine this time around and was not dissapointed. I'd still give this park a 10/10, it's a favourite. I wonder if now that Oakland is without the NFL, they could renovate it in the same vein?


Linescores
2009-08-29
                                123    456   789  RHE
Oakland                    000   000   310  491
Los Angeles(AL)        001  200   000   390
Temp: 89F  Time: 3:01  Att: 43,011

2009-08-30
                             123   456   789    R H E
Oakland                  001   000  000   1 6 0
Los Angeles(AL)     000   040   05x   9 13 1
Temp: 92F  Time: 2:12  Att: 38,018

2014-04-02
                                 123   456  789    R H E
Seattle                      001     014   002  8  13 0
Los Angeles(AL)        000     000    002  2  3  1
Temp: 57F  Time: 2:39   Att: 38,007

2016-09-17
                               123   456  789    R  H E
Toronto                     000   000  010  1 10 3
Los Angeles(AL)       010  012   20x  6  8  0
Temp: 83F  Time: 3:08  Att: 39,195

2016-09-18
                              123   456   789   R H E
Toronto                    000   000   000   0 4  1  
Los Angeles(AL)      010   010   02x   4 10 0
Temp: 84F Time: 3:25  Att: 36,270

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.