It’s been a big year for the Brooklyn Cyclones in a first year at full-season status: Maimonides Park is your winner in the 2021 MiLB Best of the Ballparks fan vote for High-A facilities.
Fans chose Maimonides Park in the finals over Four Winds Field, home of the South Bend Cubs. It was quite a run for the ballpark in the 2021 fan vote: The Coney Island baby scored two wins over former champs–Four Winds Field and Parkview Field (Fort Wayne TinCaps)–in the final two rounds of the competition. It’s been quite a year for the Cyclones, rising from Short Season A with the MiLB offseason reorganization and signing up a new naming-rights sponsor.
“It’s been an interesting year for us,” said Cyclones Vice President Steve Cohen. “Our ballpark got a new name, we had a change in ownership, we became a full-season club. All of that, plus trying to figure out baseball in the Covid-19 era. But one thing that hasn’t changed is the unbelievable support we receive from our fans. We’re humbled to receive this award and thankful to everyone who voted for us. We are proud of our ballpark and the fan experience that we have created over the last 20 years – from racing hot dogs to unintentional in-game fireworks to Elaine Dancing Contests, there truly is nothing like baseball on Coney Island.”
Maimonides Park opened in 2001, when the Cyclones became the first professional sports team in Brooklyn since 1957 when the Dodgers headed west, and ushered in a new era for the borough including a revitalization of the surrounding Coney Island area and the eventual development of the Barclays Center.
“This is certainly a year of change in Minor League Baseball, but especially for the Brooklyn Cyclones,” said Kevin Reichard, Ballpark Digest publisher. “With a new naming-rights partner and a move to High-A, this win for Maimonides Park in our Best of the Ballparks vote–against some very solid competition–shows how much the fans have embraced the ballpark and many changes for the team.”
Other fan favorites in the 2021 Best of the Ballparks fan vote include Publix Field at Joker Marchant Stadium, Detroit Tigers (Grapefruit League); Salt River Fields at Talking Stick, Arizona Diamondbacks/Colorado Rockies (Cactus League); O’Brate Stadium, Oklahoma State University (college baseball); PNC Park, Pittsburgh Pirates (Major League Baseball); Las Vegas Ballpark, Las Vegas Aviators (Triple-A); Dunkin’ Donuts Park, Hartford Yard Goats (Double-A); and Clipper Magazine Stadium, Lancaster Barnstormers (MLB Partner Leagues). Voting continues in the MLB Summer Leagues and Low-A ballparks contests.
