With a few close votes and upsets, we’re on to the second round in the 2018 Best of the Ballparks fan vote for Double-A MiLB ball, where you select the top ballpark in the Eastern, Southern and Texas Leagues.
Round two brings in the top two seeds receiving byes in the first round, a slew of high seeds, and some upset winners, including MGM Park (Biloxi Shuckers) over Peoples Natural Gas Field (Altoona Curve), AT&T Field (Chattanooga Lookouts) over Dickey-Stephens Park (Arkansas Travelers) and Hammons Field (Springfield Cardinals) over Hadlock Field (Portland Sea Dogs). The top vote-getters in contested brackets: Dr Pepper Ballpark (Frisco RoughRiders), Whataburger Field (Corpus Christi Hooks) and ARM & HAMMER Park (Trenton Thunder). This makes for some fascinating matchups in the second round, and we can’t wait to see what the fans decide.
We know from marketing 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’s our schedule for Best of the Ballparks 2018 vote:
MLB: Completed
Class A and Class AA: Now-June 19
Class AAA: June 14-July 6
Short Season A/Rookie: June 18-July 6
Independent: June 22-July 9
Summer Collegiate: July 2-22
We are running the contest with seeded brackets, so there will be plenty of action in coming days. Here’s a breakdown of the voting schedule:
First Round: Competed
Second Round: June 4, 2 p.m. Central – June 8, 2 p.m. Central
Elite Eight: June 8, 2 p.m.. Central – June 11, 2 p.m. Central
Final Four: June 11, 2 p.m. Central – June 15, 2 p.m. Central
Finals: June 15, 2 p.m. Central – June 19, 2 p.m. Central
Some things to note. 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. A running tally of the vote will be presented, and you can view the results to date in the brackets graphic at the bottom of this page.
Here’s our ranking of Double-A ballparks, combining Eastern, Southern and Texas League ballparks. This was an extremely difficult list to seed, as there are plenty of great Double-A ballparks, and it took several days of thought and deliberation. Results of last year’s vote also played a part in our seedings. Occupying the top spot is Dunkin’ Donuts Park, home of the Hartford Yard Goats, the winner of the Best of the Ballparks 2017 voting. We honestly don’t expect the voting to follow our seedings: our readers can be independent, and they share a love of ballparks and the fan experience.
1. Dunkin’ Donuts Park (Hartford Yard Goats; EL)
2. Blue Wahoos Stadium (Pensacola Blue Wahoos; SL)
3. Regions Field (Birmingham Barons; SL)
4. Dr Pepper Ballpark (Frisco RoughRiders; TL)
5. FirstEnergy Stadium (Reading Fightin Phils; EL)
6. Smokies Park (Tennessee Smokies; SL)
7. Dickey-Stephens Park (Arkansas Travelers; TL)
8. Whataburger Field (Corpus Christi Hooks; TL)
9. Riverwalk Stadium (Montgomery Biscuits; SL)
10. Hadlock Field (Portland Sea Dogs; EL)
11. The Diamond (Richmond Flying Squirrels; EL)
12. Peoples Natural Gas Field (Altoona Curve; EL)
13. ONEOK Field (Tulsa Drillers; TL)
14. ARM & HAMMER Park (Trenton Thunder; EL)
15. Bragan Field at the Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville (Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp; SL)
16. Canal Park (Akron RubberDucks; EL)
17. Northeast Delta Dental Stadium (New Hampshire Fisher Cats; EL)
18. FNB Field (Harrisburg Senators; EL)
19. Arvest Ballpark (Northwest Arkansas Naturals; TL)
20. Trustmark Park (Mississippi Braves; SL)
21. MGM Park (Biloxi Shuckers; SL)
22. Security Bank Ballpark (Midland RockHounds; TL)
23. Hammons Field (Springfield Cardinals; TL)
24. The Ballpark at Jackson (Jackson Generals; SL)
25. UPMC Park (Erie SeaWolves; EL)
26. AT&T Field (Chattanooga Lookouts; SL)
27. Prince George’s Stadium (Bowie Baysox; EL)
28. NYSEG Stadium (Binghamton Rumble Ponies; EL)
29. Wolff Stadium (San Antonio Missions; TL)
30. Henry Aaron Stadium (Mobile BayBears; SL)
