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2022 High-A Best of the Ballparks vote moves to Elite Eight round

Ballpark Digest squareWe saw a few more upsets and plenty of fan interest in the Sweet Sixteen round as we move to the Elite Eight round of the 2022 MiLB High-A Best of the Ballparks vote.

One of the fun parts of this competition across all levels is seeing what teams and ballpark make their first appearances in later rounds. There was a definite suspense level here as well: Jackson Field was triumphant by only four votes over Funko Field, for example.

After all, this is a fan vote, and this year we are seeing some very fine ballparks in this Elite Eight round. This year we will see a new champion, as Maimonides Park (Brooklyn Cyclones) was knocked from the competition, but there are still former champs in the running, including Parkview Field, Gesa Stadium and Four Winds Field. The ballparks receiving the most votes in the Sweet Sixteen round: Parkview Field (Fort Wayne TinCaps), Neuroscience Group Field at Fox Cities Stadium, Gesa Stadium, ABC Supply Stadium, Modern Woodmen Park and Truist Stadium, the latter two in losing yet noble efforts.

Here are the seeds for the MiLB High-A ballpark vote. Yes, the old classifications and leagues are back—mostly. It’s still High-A, but the geographic league names were replaced by the traditional league names: South Atlantic League (Sally League), Midwest League and Northwest League

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.

This was a challenge to seed: ballparks formerly in three levels of play, including Short Season A, were hard to compare. This isn’t the result of a formal grading system, but rather recommendations based on years of attending games, seeing how the ballparks function behind the scenes, how these ballparks have made an impact in their communities, performances in previous Best of the Ballparks competitions, and noting how ballparks are regarded within the industry. One of the reasons we love working in baseball is that many industry folks, including many on the player side, are ballpark geeks, and we think this list reflects broad sentiment among those who know ballparks best. This is a wide-open competition. Last year’s winner, Maimonides Park (Brooklyn Cyclones), is the #1 seed, followed by 2021’s runner-up, Four Winds Field (South Bend Cubs).

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 at the bottom of this page in the form of brackets. Vote below:

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