After an uneventful first round of vetoing, we move on to the second round of the 2019 Best of the Ballparks fan vote for MiLB Short Season A ballparks. So you know what to do: vote!
Because there are only 22 ballparks at the Short Season A level, there were 10 byes in the first round of voting, leaving to only 6 contested votes. With only one small departure from our seeds — go Funko Field! — the first round of voting was uneventful, to be sure. So we move on to a second round, where the fun begins.
Short Season-A covers 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. There are former Double-A and Triple-A ballparks in the mix as well.
We know from marketing stats that 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 ranking of Short Season A ballparks, combining NY-Penn League and Northwest League ballparks. Results of last year’s vote also played a part in our seedings, as well as improvements entering this season. Occupying the top spot is Gesa Stadium, home of the Northwest League’s Tri-City Dust Devils, the winner of the Best of the Ballparks 2018 voting. We 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. Gesa Stadium (Tri-City Dust Devils; NWL)
2. BB&T Ballpark at Bowman Field (Williamsport Crosscutters; NYP)
3. LeLacheur Park (Lowell Spinners; NYP)
4. MCU Park (Brooklyn Cyclones; NYP)
5. Ron Tonkin Field (Hillsboro Hops; NWL)
6. Medlar Field at Lubrano Park (State College Spikes; NYP)
7. Leidos Field at Ripken Stadium (Aberdeen IronBirds; NYP)
8. Avista Stadium (Spokane Indians; NWL)
9. Scotiabank Field at Nat Bailey Stadium (Vancouver Canadians; NWL)
10. Centennial Field (Vermont Lake Monsters; NYP)
11. Monongalia County Ballpark (West Virginia Black Bears; NYP)
12. Dodd Stadium (Connecticut Tigers; NYP)
13. PK Park (Eugene Emeralds; NWL)
14. Dutchess Stadium (Hudson Valley Renegades; NYP)
15. Richmond County Bank Ballpark (Staten Island Yankees; NYP)
16. Joseph L. Bruno Stadium (Tri-City ValleyCats; NYP)
17. Volcanoes Stadium (Salem-Keizer Volcanoes; NWL)
18. Eastwood Field (Mahoning Valley Scrappers; NYP)
19. Funko Field (Everett AquaSox; NWL)
20. Memorial Stadium (Boise Hawks; NWL)
21. Falcon Park (Auburn Doubledays; NYP)
22. Dwyer Stadium (Batavia Muckdogs; NYP)
NWL = Northwest League
NYP = NY-Penn League
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 Short Season-A vote:
First Round: Completed
Second Round: Now-June 27, 3 p.m. Central
Third Round: June 27, 3 p.m. Central- through July 2, 3 p.m. Central
Semifinals Round: July 2, 3 p.m. Central through July 7, 3 p.m. Central
Finals: July 7, 3 p.m. Central through end of day, July 12
Here’s our schedule for Best of the Ballparks 2019 vote:
MLB: Completed
Low A: Completed (Fort Wayne TinCaps)
High A: Completed (LECOM Park)
Class AA: Now-June 23
Class AAA: Now-June 30
Short Season A/Rookie: Now-July 12
Independent: Now-July 8
Summer Collegiate: Now-July 13
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.
