We have our first full round of voting coming up for the 2015 Best of the Ballparks at the rookie level, as we choose the most noteworthy facilities in the Pioneer and Appalachian Leagues.
In the two first-round matches, fans chose Kindrick Field (Helena Brewers) over the Home of the Owlz (Orem Owlz), and Joe O’Brien Field (Elizabethton Twins) over Legion Field (Danville Braves). Today we have a full set of matchup, and they’re all fascinating. We can’t wait to see what the fans choose.
Voting ends Friday at 10 p.m., with the next round beginning Saturday morning.
We have seen some fans aggressively register their preferences for the Best of the Ballparks by voting over and over. Don’t bother: we filter by IP address, so only your first vote counts.
We know from marketing/user research stats a third of our readers work in the baseball industry, so we’re tapping into that collective expertise. And we know from our research that a third of our readers sell to the baseball industry, so that expertise will be valuable as well. The remaining third — fans, media, government — will certainly have a different view on things as well. We can’t wait to see what our readers — whom we consider to be the smartest folks in baseball — say about the best of the ballparks.
Here is our ranking of rookie-level ballparks:
1. Dehler Park (Billings Mustangs; PL)
2. Pioneer Park (Greeneville Astros; AppL)
3. Lindquist Field (Ogden Raptors; PL)
4. Melaleuca Field (Idaho Falls Chukars; PL)
5. Burlington Athletic Stadium (Burlington Royals; AppL)
6. Suplizio Field (Grand Junction Rockies; PL)
7. Ogren Park at Allegiance Field (Missoula Osprey; PL)
8. Hunnicutt Field (Princeton Rays; AppL)
9. Centene Stadium (Grand Falls Voyagers; PL)
10. Hunter Wright Stadium (Kingsport Mets; AppL)
11. Calfee Park (Pulaski Yankees; AppL)
12. Bowen Field (Bluefield Blue Jays; AppL)
13. Boyce Cox Field (Bristol Pirates; AppL)
14. Howard Johnson Field (Johnson City Cardinals; AppL)
15. Legion Field (Danville Braves; AppL)
16. Home of the Owlz (Orem Owlz; PL)
17. Kindrick Field (Helena Brewers; PL)
18. Joe O’Brien Field (Elizabethton Twins; AppL)
Results are listed by percentage of votes cast.
