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Update, May 12, 2006:

It's official: I'm retiring. Here's the ugly truth -- going to ballgames simply isn't as much fun as it was 10 or 15 years ago. LED video displays, never-ending sound effects, constantly-changing corporate stadium names, blaring music, commercials between innings, and spiraling prices have all conspired to send me running for the exits (and even the exits probably have corporate sponsors now). Besides, most of the interesting old parks are either gone or sit unused, replaced by the color-by-numbers uniformity of new ballparks. It's true, I've seen professional baseball at over 200 ballparks in all 48 continental states, and that's enough. Why?

Because a trip to the ballpark these days is something like a cross between going to a shopping mall and becoming trapped in a baseball-themed pinball machine.

That's why I'm packing it in. It's been a fun decade and a half -- I've met a lot of great people and seen a lot of cool things. But still, enough is enough.

Obligatory Introductory Paragraph:

Since 1991 I have seen games at 200 ballparks across the country. Below are links to photographs of some of the 146 minor league ballparks I've seen games in, as well as 7 more that I photographed while passing through town or after a rainout. Each page also has information about the park, such as when it opened and what leagues have played there over the years, and many have additional photographs illustrating interesting or unique features. Links below marked with an asterisk denote ballparks that are not currently in use by a professional team (and there are a lot of them these days). (Photo above is of Avista Stadium, Spokane, June 2001.)

Ballparks are organized alphabetically by stadium name below. You can also view them organized by state or by city.

Note on stadium names: The names of the ballparks below are the names used at the time I visited them. Especially due to the sale of naming rights, the names of the stadiums may have changed since my visit. The Clinton Lumber Kings play at Alliant Energy Field, for example, but I have the ballpark listed as Riverview Stadium since that's what it was called the first time I went there. Confusing? You bet. Worse, sports venues traditionally had names that tied them to people or geography or other aspects of their community. The result? A stadium was a welcoming place, a community place. Now, with the sale of naming rights, the rhetoric instead removes the venue from the public trust and sells it to the hightest bidder. The rhetoric here? Everything's for sale, and you don't matter.

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URL: http://minorleagueballparks.com
This page was last modified on 12 May 2006.
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