Turtle Creek Stadium, home of the Traverse City Pit Spitters and host in 2020 of a two-team Northwoods League pod, is your winner in the Best of the Ballparks 2020 summer-collegiate fan vote.
Fans chose Turtle Creek Stadium over Duncan Field, home of the Hastings Sodbusters (Expedition League), by a 53-47 percent margin in the final round. Last year the home of the Pit Spitters finished second in the competition. Overall, over 13,000 fans voted at some point in the summer-collegiate bracket of the Best of the Ballparks 2020 competition, with more than a half-million participants this year.
“We are incredibly excited to have Turtle Creek Stadium selected as the best summer collegiate ballpark in the country! When we brought the Pit Spitters to Traverse City in 2019, one of our primary objectives was to reinvigorate our fanbase and to make Turtle Creek Stadium a venue known for great baseball, great events and most importantly a venue that is embraced by the Northern Michigan community,” said team CEO Joe Chamberlin. “Knowing that Pit Spitters fans made this happen reaffirms that we have something special going in Traverse City.”
As noted, Turtle Creek Stadium is host to a two-team Northwoods League pod, with the Pit Spitters facing off against the Great Lakes Resorters. The above photo shows game action on a socially distanced basis.
“Turtle Creek Stadium is a beautiful ballpark in a market tailor-made for summer-collegiate baseball,” said Ballpark Digest Publisher Kevin Reichard. “Congratulations to the Pit Spitters ownership and management for creating such a passion for baseball in Traverse City.”
Turtle Creek Stadium joins a wide-ranging list of champs in the Best of the Ballparks fan votes, including Travis Field, home of the Brazos Valley Bombers (2019); Corbett Field, home of the Souris Valley Sabre Dogs (2018); Warner Park, home of the Madison Mallards (2017); and Kokomo Municipal Stadium, home of the Kokomo Jackrabbits (2015 and 2016).
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 (winner: Whitaker Bank Ballpark, Lexington Legends)
High A: Completed (winner: The Diamond, Lake Elsinore Storm)
Class AA: Completed (winner: Blue Wahoos Stadium, Pensacola Blue Wahoos)
Class AAA: Completed (winner: Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark, Oklahoma City Dodgers)
Short Season A: Completed (winner: Gesa Stadium, Tri-City Dust Devils)
Rookie: Completed (winner: Motor Mile Field at Calfee Park, Pulaski Yankees)
Independent: Completed (winner: Clipper Magazine Stadium, Lancaster Barnstormers)
Summer Collegiate: Completed (winner: Turtle Creek Stadium, Traverse City Pit Spitters)
MLB: Now-August 14