It was Whitaker Bank Ballpark over Four Winds Field in the final round of the Best of the Ballparks 2020 MiLB Low-A fan vote, as voters chose the home of the Lexington Legends as their favorite Low-A facility.
The final margin: Whitaker Bank Ballpark 53.7 percent, Four Winds Field 46.3 percent. We frequently warn that these are wide-open contests, and the win by Whitaker Bank Ballpark proves it: the Legends home entered competition as the #26 seed and knocked off #7 seed Day Air Ballpark (Dayton Dragons), #10 seed Cooley Law School Stadium (Lansing Lugnuts), #2 seed Segra Park (Columbia Fireflies) and #11 seed Joseph J. Riley Jr. Park (Charleston RiverDogs) before prevailing in the finals. Since the voting began in 2015, three different Low-A ballparks have snared the Best of the Ballparks honors: Modern Woodmen Park (2015), Parkview Field (2016, 2018 and 2019) and Four Winds Field (2017). By winning 2020’s title, Whitaker Bank Ballpark becomes the first South Atlantic League ballpark to prevail in the voting.
In the end, 84,565 individual fans participated in the Low-A voting bracket, up from the 83,013 individual fans participating in the 2019 vote.
“We are very proud of our fans and ballpark,” said Andy Shea, President & CEO, Lexington Legends. “A huge thank you to Legends fans nationwide for supporting us now and always. And a special ‘thank you’ to my wife, family, and Legends family for non-stop promoting the Legends and our beautiful ballpark to earn this victory. We love winning Championships!”
“Everyone in baseball loves a great underdog story, and it’s a great day for us when a #26 seed conquers some pretty notable opponents to snare the title,” said Kevin Reichard, Ballpark Digest Publisher. “Our congrats to the Legends for corralling the win, and thanks to all the teams who help us on this fan vote–we really appreciate the support.”
Here’s our schedule for Best of the Ballparks 2020 vote:
Spring Training: Completed (winners: Publix Field at Joker Marchant Stadium and Salt River Fields)
Low A: Completed (Whitaker Bank Ballpark)
High A: Now-June 22
Class AA: June 16-July 8
Class AAA: June 18-July 10
Short Season A/Rookie: June 22-July 17
Independent: June 24-July 16
Summer Collegiate: June 29-July 20
MLB: TBD
