Stadium Minor League History:
Florida State League
1963-1972
Southern League
1973-1999
Current Status:
Home of the Orlando Rays of the Southern League
(AA)
What's Good: This is a decent place to watch baseball. While architecturally nothing special, the stadium had enough interesting little touches to make it unique -- like the ceiling fans suspended from the roof, and the open-air pressbox. Down the lines are old wooden bleachers, and if you stand against the fence at the front of those sections you can peer right into the dugouts, which are set further back. And though the present grandstand was built only in 1963, there's still a lot of history, since baseball's been played here since 1923.
What's Not So Good: The most unnerving thing for me was the enormous Citrus Bowl hanging immediately adjacent to the field. Looming several stories high, it actually seemed to hang over the outfield in some places. It's sheer size and the way it blocked out so much of the view from the stands simply made me nervous. (To see a photo of the Citrus Bowl looming over Tinker Field's outfield, click here).
This Photo:
June 6, 1998 Orlando Rays vs. Huntsville Stars
