The Birmingham Barons are set to return to their former home, announcing a 2025 Rickwood Field game for June 4, hosting the Rocket City Trash Pandas in an afternoon game.
While it’s not being billed as a Rickwood Classic, this will still be a notable game on the Minor League Baseball schedule. The 2025 Rickwood Field game will honor the legacy of the Negro Leagues pioneering team, the Birmingham Black Barons, with players wearing specialty jerseys to pay tribute to their contributions to baseball. (Interested in the history of Rickwood Field? Mark McCarter covers its colorful past in Never a Bad Game: Fifty-Plus Years of the Southern League.)
“Rickwood Field has been such an important part of the cultural fabric of Birmingham for many years, and we are proud to continue the legacy of playing a vintage game there again in 2025,” said Jonathan Nelson, General Manager of the Barons, via press release. “When we first returned to Rickwood for an annual game from 1996 to 2019, we, along with the Friends of Rickwood, created a special baseball game that allows us to celebrate and truly honor legendary teams, players, and eras of Black Barons, A’s, and Baron’s history. In 2024, we were honored to work with Major League Baseball in Saluting the Negro Leagues and specifically Willie Mays and the Birmingham Black Barons. We now look forward to continuing the tradition in 2025 and remain focused on paying tribute to the incredible contributions the Black Barons and Negro League Legends provided not only to the game of baseball but to America.”
Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Jim Kaat, a 16-time Gold Glove winner who spent 25 seasons in Major League Baseball, will be in attendance for the game. Kaat’s MLB career spanned from 1959 to 1983, and he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2022.
“On behalf of the Friends of Rickwood Field, I’m pleased to announce the Barons’ return to Historic Rickwood Field,” said Gerald Watkins, President & Executive Director of Friends of Rickwood, via press release. We appreciate Jonathan Nelson and the Barons for renewing the tradition of Barons baseball at this iconic ballpark. We look forward to June 4!”