Ballparks across the nation are represented in the Final Four fan vote for Best of the Ballparks 2017 selection for Short Season-A facilities, representing the ballparks of the NY-Penn League and Northwest League. So go vote!
Short Season-A baseball encompasses the 22 teams of the NY-Penn League and Northwest League. This is an interesting set of ballparks, ranging from historically significant ballparks like BB&T Ballpark at Bowman Field and Centennial Field to newer ballparks like Monongalia County Ballpark and Leidos Field at Ripken Stadium.
We began this year’s Best of the Ballparks vote in June, with fans asked to choose their favorite Triple-A, Double-A, High-A and Low-A affiliated ballparks, followed by votes for favorite independent and summer-collegiate facilities. We have also launched voting for Rookie ballparks, and Wednesday we’ll begin the vote for MLB ballparks.
Over 338,000 fans have voted so far in the Best of the Ballparks 2017 competition. Other 2017 Best of the Ballparks winners:
MiLB Triple-A: Huntington Park
MiLB Double-A: Dunkin’ Donuts Park
MiLB High-A: Publix Field at Joker Marchant Stadium
MiLB, Low-A: Four Winds Field
Independent: The Depot at Cleburne Station
Summer Collegiate: Warner Park
College: McKethan Stadium
Spring Training, Grapefruit League: LECOM Park
Spring Training, Cactus League: Salt River Fields at Talking Stick
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.
Some notes on the voting, as we’ve overhauled our bracketing and voting system. First, you are allowed to vote multiple times, but you can only vote once per day. Second, you don’t need to fill out a full slate: partially filled votes will count.
Leading this year’s seedings: last year’s winner, BB&T Ballpark at Bowman Field, home of the Williamsport Crosscutters. Here is the ranking used at the beginning of the vote:
1. BB&T Ballpark at Bowman Field (Williamsport Crosscutters; NYP)
2. Monongalia County Ballpark (West Virginia Black Bears; NYP)
3. Leidos Field at Ripken Stadium (Aberdeen IronBirds; NYP)
4. Centennial Field (Vermont Lake Monsters; NYP)
5. MCU Park (Brooklyn Cyclones; NYP)
6. Ron Tonkin Field (Hillsboro Hops; NWL)
7. Medlar Field at Lubrano Park (State College Spikes; NYP)
8. Scotiabank Field at Nat Bailey Stadium (Vancouver Canadians; NWL)
9. PK Park (Eugene Emeralds; NWL)
10. Joseph L. Bruno Stadium (Tri-City ValleyCats; NYP)
11. Avista Stadium (Spokane Indians; NWL)
12. Richmond County Bank Ballpark (Staten Island Yankees; NYP)
13. LeLacheur Park (Lowell Spinners; NYP)
14. Dutchess Stadium (Hudson Valley Renegades; NYP)
15. Dodd Stadium (Connecticut Tigers; NYP)
16. Volcanoes Stadium (Salem-Keizer Volcanoes; NWL)
17. Eastwood Field (Mahoning Valley Scrappers; NYP)
18. Everett Memorial Stadium (Everett AquaSox; NWL)
19. Memorial Stadium (Boise Hawks; NWL)
20. Gesa Stadium (Tri-City Dust Devils; NWL)
21. Falcon Park (Auburn Doubledays; NYP)
22. Dwyer Stadium (Batavia Muckdogs; NYP)
NWL = Northwest League
NYP = NY-Penn League