Spring training may be totally gone from Tucson, but it looks like the city found a great use for former MLB training facilities: professional MLS soccer will bring six teams to the Kino Stadium complex. Six MLS teams will be training in Tucson this spring, with four of them set to participate in the Desert Diamond […]
Tag Archives | arizona diamondbacks
Don’t look now, but spring training is around the corner
Oh, the weather outside is frightful, but spring training is around the corner. Time to make your plans, as tickets are going fast at some spring-training ballparks. At least, that’s the report from Scottsdale, where Salt River Fields general manager David Dunne reports that opening day and some weekend games for the Arizona Diamondbacks and […]
Gebhard, Jirschele receive Bender, Coolbaugh awards
Arizona Diamondbacks Vice President & Special Assistant to the General Manager Bob Gebhard and Omaha Storm Chasers manager Mike Jirschele are the recipients of the Sheldon “Chief” Bender and Mike Coolbaugh awards, respectively. Gebhard and Jirschele will be honored on December 8 at the annual Banquet during the Baseball Winter Meetings at the Hilton Anatole […]
2012 MLB schedule released; no realignment or playoff expansion
Major League Baseball released a 2012 schedule this morning, with no changes in the division or league lineups, no expansion of wild cards in the playoffs and a regular season beginning with a Miami Marlins game on April 4. Yes, that’s right: the Miami Marlins (nee the Florida Marlins) will open the 2012 MLB season […]
Rawhide set third consecutive attendance mark
We’ll be seeing a lot of stories like this the next few days, so let’s get rolling: the Visalia Rawhide (High Class A; California League) set a franchise attendance record for the third consecutive season in 2011. Visalia’s paid attendance of 118,065 for the season surpassed last year’s previous record of 108,681, and represents a […]
Astros to AL West: Report
The Houston Astros will be moving to the American League West as Major League Baseball tackles the issue of realignment, according to a report from Fox Sports Arizona. Jack Magruder, a very reliable reporter, is writing that two sources told him the Arizona Diamondbacks would not be asked to move from the National League West […]
Prepping Chase Field for the All-Star Game
Chase Field, the home of the Arizona Diamondbacks, has always been an underrated ballpark, in our view. Now fans across the country will be exposed to its many charms during the All-Star Game this week. When it opened in 1998, Chase Field — then Bank One Ballpark — was a fairly subtle facility with a […]
Salt River Fields earns LEED Gold Certification
Salt River Fields at Talking Stick, the new spring-training home of the Arizona Diamondbacks and Colorado Rockies, achieved a significant milestone and a first for a Major League Baseball facility: It was awarded LEED Gold Certification for New Construction from the United States Green Building Council (USGBC). The spring-training facility, which opened in February 2011, […]
Collmenter enjoying success with D-Backs
Rookie pitcher Josh Collmenter has made quite the splash with the Arizona Diamondbacks this season, compiling a 2.09 ERA over several starts and relief appearances. His is a great story, rising from small-town Homer to college and eventually to the majors. He’s starting today for the D-Backs in Comerica Park against the Detroit Tigers. Quite […]
MLB eyes realignment for 2012
Major League Baseball is examining several different realignment options for the 2012 season, including a move to two 15-team leagues and the potential elimination of divisions as a method for determining playoff teams. The options, first reported in USA Today and ESPN.com, could be something as simple as one team moving from the National League […]
Cubs notch lowest attendance since 2002
The Chicago Cubs have been a box-office machine in recent years, but yesterday Wrigley Field saw its smallest crowd in nine years, with only 26,292 showing up for a matinee against the Arizona Diamondbacks on a chilly, windy Monday. Harbinger or aberration? Of course, many teams would be happy with announcing 26,292 fans in the […]
Parsing the spring-training attendance numbers
With Spring Training 2011 now over, it’s time to look at the winners and losers in the annual tune-up to the Major League Baseball season, with over 3.5 million fans attending games in Florida, Arizona and other exhibition venues. There are actually a few different sets of spring-training numbers floating around out there: MLB tallies […]
Solar structure going up on Chase Field
Another improvement to Chase Field as the Arizona Diamondbacks prepare for a big season: an addition that will generate 75 kilowatts of solar power and also provide needed shade for fans as they enter and exit the ballpark. A product of a partnership between the D-backs, Maricopa County Stadium District and APS, the structure will […]