Welcome to the first round of voting for best summer-collegiate facility in the Best of the Ballparks 2017 competition, as we ask you to choose your favorites from an expanded list of 50.
There is a wide range of summer-collegiate facilities on our list, ranging from older Triple-A and Low-A ballparks to facilities built specifically for summer-collegiate ball. Last year we listed 64 ballparks for voting, but that was a slog for many readers. So we’re revamping the contest to a play-in round of 50 ballparks — recognition of the high number of great summer-collegiate facilities. After an extended voting period, the top 16 will make it through to the next round, when we will reseed the results and launch a bracketed competition.
Here is our ranking of the top 50 summer-collegiate ballparks. This is partially based on prior votes (last year’s results in early rounds helped us pare this list from 64 to 50) and partially based on our visits. Occupying the top spot is Kokomo Municipal Stadium, home of the Kokomo Jackrabbits, the winner of the Best of the Ballparks 2015 and 2016 voting. Yes, we know there are some good summer-collegiate ballparks aside from this 50, but we went back to last year’s vote and adjusted this seeding to reward teams whose fans turned out to vote.
We began this year’s Best of the Ballparks vote in May with fans asked to choose their favorite Triple-A, Double-A, High-A and Low-A affiliated ballparks. We’ll launch voting later this month for Short Season A and Rookie ballparks. And, of course, we’ll run another round this month for MLB ballparks.
We know from our marketing/user research 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.
Voting in this play-in round ends June 18, 7 a.m.
Here are the ballparks selected for the first round of voting:
1. Kokomo Municipal Stadium (Kokomo Jackrabbits; Prospect League)
2. Warner Park aka The Duck Pond (Madison Mallards; Northwoods League)
3. Cardines Field aka The Nest (Newport Gulls; NECBL)
4. Fleming Stadium (Wilson Tobs; Coastal Plain League)
5. Wahconah Park (Pittsfield Suns; Futures League)
6. Holman Stadium (Nashua Silver Knights; Futures League)
7. Wade Stadium (Duluth Huskies; Northwoods League)
8. Hanover Insurance Park at Fitton Field (Worcester Bravehearts; Futures League)
9. Simmons Field (Kenosha Kingfish; Northwoods League)
10. Grayson Stadium (Savannah Bananas; Coastal Plain League)
11. Lowell Park (Cotuit Kettleers; Cape Cod League)
12. Athletic Park (Wisconsin Woodchucks; Northwoods League)
13. Lexington County Baseball Stadium (Lexington County Blowfish; Coastal Plain League)
14. Goss Stadium at Coleman Field (Corvallis Knights; West Coast League)
15. Homer Stryker Field (Kalamazoo Growlers; Northwoods League)
16. Veterans Field (Chatham Anglers; Cape Cod League)
17. Copeland Park (La Crosse Loggers; Northwoods League)
18. Finch Field (High Point-Thomasville HiToms; Coastal Plain League)
19. Old Mountain Field (Ocean State Waves; NECBL)
20. Carson Park (Eau Claire Express; Northwoods League)
21. Kapco Park (Lakeshore Chinooks; Northwoods League)
22. Witter Field (Wisconsin Rapids Rafters; Northwoods League)
23. Robin Roberts Stadium (Springfield Sliders; Prospect League)
24. Holly Springs Ballpark (Holly Springs Salamanders; Coastal Plain League)
25. Campanelli Stadium (Brockton Rox; Futures League)
26. Danville Stadium (Danville Dans; Prospect League)
27. RE/MAX Field (Edmonton Prospects; Western Major Baseball League)
28. Dunn Field Stadium (Elmira Pioneers; Perfect Game League)
29. Royal Athletic Park (Victoria HarbourCats; West Coast League)
30. Damaschke Field (Oneonta Outlaws; Perfect Game League)
31. Borleske Stadium (Walla Walla Sweets; West Coast League)
32. Muzzy Field (Bristol Blues; Futures League)
33. Mulcahy Stadium (Anchorage Bucs; Anchorage Glacier Pilots; Alaska Baseball League)
34. Pat Thomas Stadium (Leesburg Lightning; Florida Collegiate Summer League)
35. Herr-Baker Field (Fond du Lac Dock Spiders; Northwoods League)
36. Sanford Memorial Stadium (Sanford River Rats; Florida Collegiate Summer League)
37. Buck Hardee Field (Wilmington Sharks; Coastal Plain League)
38. McNair Field (Forest City Owls; Coastal Plain League)
39. Nutrabolt Stadium (Brazos Valley Bombers; Texas Collegiate League)
40. VA Memorial Stadium (Chillicothe Paints; Prospect League)
41. Phil Welch Stadium (St. Joseph Mustangs; MINK League)
42. Mayo Field (Rochester Honkers; Northwoods League)
43. J.P. Riddle Stadium (“The Swamp”) (Fayetteville SwampDogs; Coastal Plain League)
44. Fraser Field (North Shore Navigators; Futures League)
45. Rivets Stadium (Rockford Rivets; Northwoods League)
46. Bismarck Municipal Stadium (Bismarck Larks; Northwoods League)
47. Recreation Field (Vermont Mountaineers; NECBL)
48. War Memorial Stadium (Peninsula Pilots; Coastal Plain League)
49. McCrary Park (Asheboro Copperheads; Coastal Plain League)
50. Seaman Stadium (Okotoks Dawgs; Western Major Baseball League)
You can select up to five ballparks from this list. The top 16 will make it through to the next round. This vote ends on July 18 at 7 a.m. Eastern.
Voting in this round has ended.