Let the voting begin! Here’s the start of the Best of the Ballparks 2019 fan vote for Low-A MiLB facilities, encompassing the ballparks of the Midwest League and the South Atlantic League.
Since the voting began in 2015, three different Low-A ballparks have snared the Best of the Ballparks honors, and they’re all from the Midwest League: Modern Woodmen Park (2015), Parkview Field (2016 and 2018) and Four Winds Field (2017). Will this year’s voting break that streak? Can the fans of a Sally League team rise to the occasion?
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 are the seedings for this year’s fan vote among Low-A ballparks, comprising the Midwest and South Atlantic (Sally) Leagues. As winner of the 2018 Best of the Ballparks fan vote for Low-A ballparks, Parkview Field is placed as the top seed, followed by Four Winds Field, the 2017 winner. There are some changes in the seedings from 2018 to 2019. First, some ballparks are higher in the ratings as the result of a strong showing in the 2018 voting: we trust the judgement of our readers. Second, there are some higher rankings thanks to upgrades happening in the offseason. These rankings are a gentle guide, to be sure: this is a level filled with great ballparks.
- Parkview Field (Fort Wayne TinCaps; ML)
- Four Winds Field (South Bend Cubs; ML)
- Modern Woodmen Park (Quad Cities River Bandits; ML)
- Segra Park (Columbia Fireflies; SL)
- Fluor Field (Greenville Drive; SL)
- SRP Park (Augusta GreenJackets; SL)
- First National Bank Field (Greensboro Grasshoppers; SL)
- Cooley Law School Stadium (Lansing Lugnuts; ML)
- Joseph J. Riley Jr. Park (Charleston RiverDogs; SL)
- Fifth Third Field (Dayton Dragons; ML)
- Neuroscience Group Field at Fox Cities Stadium (Wisconsin Timber Rattlers; ML)
- Fifth Third Ballpark (West Michigan Whitecaps; ML)
- McCormick Field (Asheville Tourists; SL)
- Dow Diamond (Great Lakes Loons; ML)
- FirstEnergy Park (Lakewood BlueClaws; SL)
- Whitaker Bank Ballpark (Lexington Legends; SL)
- Appalachian Power Park (West Virginia Power; SL)
- Perfect Game Field (Cedar Rapids Kernels; ML)
- L.P. Frans Stadium (Hickory Crawdads; SL)
- Perdue Stadium (Delmarva Shorebirds; SL)
- Bowling Green Ballpark (Bowling Green Hot Rods; ML)
- Northwest Medicine Field (Kane County Cougars; ML)
- Classic Park (Lake County Captains; ML)
- State Mutual Stadium (Rome Braves; SL)
- Dozer Park (Peoria Chiefs; ML)
- Ashford University Field (Clinton LumberKings; ML)
- Intimidators Stadium (Kannapolis Intimidators; SL)
- Community Field (Burlington Bees; ML)
- Municipal Stadium (Hagerstown Suns; SL)
- Pohlman Field (Beloit Snappers; ML)
We are running the contest with seeded brackets, so there will be plenty of action in coming days. Here’s our schedule for the Best of the Ballparks 2019 Low-A vote:
First Round: Now through Central through 5/20, 3 p.m. Central
Second Round: 5/20, 3 p.m. Central through 5/25, 3 p.m. Central
Third Round: 5/25, 3 p.m. Central through 5/30, 3 p.m. Central
Semifinals Round: 5/30, 3 p.m. Central through 6/5, 3 p.m. Central
Finals: 6/5, 3 p.m. Central through end of day, June 9
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
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.