The first round in the 2019 Best of the Ballparks 2019 MLB fan vote is done, with a few upsets in the books. Now it’s time to move on to the second round, so you know what to do — vote!
As noted, a few upsets were recorded in the first round, with #22 seed Busch Stadium edging #11 seed Kauffman Stadium by a single vote, and #17 seed Progressive Field edging #16 seed Comerica Park by seven votes. These were the two closest votes. The most popular ballparks in the first round among contested brackets: Fenway Park (by a single vote), Petco Park, Target Field and Oriole Park. In the end, more fans voted in the 2019 first round than in the entire 2018 MLB fan vote.
So we move on to the second round.
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, who we consider to be the smartest folks in baseball, say about the best of the ballparks.
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: Completed
Second Round: Now through 5/15, 3 p.m. Central
Third Round: 5/15, 3 p.m. Central through 5/20, 3 p.m. Central
Semifinals Round: 5/20, 3 p.m. Central through 5/25, 3 p.m. Central
Final Round: 5/25, 3 p.m. Central through end of day 5/30
Here’s our schedule for Best of the Ballparks 2019 vote:
MLB: Now-May 27
Low A: May 15-June 9
High A: May 22-June 16
Class AA: May 29-June 23
Class AAA: June 4-June 30
Short Season A/Rookie: June 14-July 9
Independent: June 10-July 7
Summer Collegiate: June 17-July 12
We have emailed every full-season MiLB team about the votes; later this month we’ll contact Short Season A, Rookie, independent and summer collegiate teams about the votes.
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 lineups will count. A running tally of the vote will be presented. Signing up for the Ballpark Digest newsletter means you’ll receive regular updates on the votes.