Editor’s Note: Mark Cryan, former MiLB general manager and Ballpark Digest contributing editor, is embarking on an epic ballpark tour this summer, and he’ll be filing regular dispatches from the road. Day Two: a trip to Johnson City’s Howard Johnson Field. (more…)
Author Archive | Mark Cryan
Baseball Across America: Greeneville
Editor’s Note: Mark Cryan, former MiLB general manager and Ballpark Digest contributing editor, is embarking on an epic ballpark tour this summer, and he’ll be filing regular dispatches from the road. Day One: a trip to Greeneville’s Pioneer Park. (more…)
Baseball and the road: The American Dream
Editor’s Note: Mark Cryan, former MiLB general manager and Ballpark Digest contributing editor, is embarking on an epic ballpark tour this summer, and he’ll be filing regular dispatches from the road. Today: An overview of his journeys. (more…)
A sneek peak at Charlotte’s new ballpark
It’s a new era in North Carolina baseball as the Charlotte Knights (Class AAA; International League) open a new Uptown ballpark tonight. Our Mark Cryan was on hand yesterday for a sneak preview. BB&T Ballpark is largely complete, and the ongoing work seemed to be mostly typical last-minute items like installing the padding on the […]
State Mutual Stadium / Rome Braves
You don’t just happen to stop by Rome, Georgia on your way somewhere. It’s just an hour and half from Atlanta, but it is not served by any major interstate highway. For the ballpark fan, there’s one big attraction: State Mutual Stadium, home of the Rome Braves, as Mark Cryan explains. FAST FACTS Opened: April […]
The ten stupid things new team owners do
During fifteen years working in leagues ranging from the National Hockey League to the Appalachian League and the Coastal Plain League, I’ve have a front-row seat to the sale of lots of teams. I’ve been involved with absentee owners, community–minded local owners, and even community-owned teams. There have been some of the finest people I’ve […]
Ballpark Visit: Dutchess Stadium / 1
When Dutchess Stadium opened in 1994 as the new home of the relocated Erie (PA) franchise, it was a watershed moment for the league. Just like the folks around Augusta, the folks in the Hudson Valley were thrilled to have a team to call their own. This, too, was a place that had always been […]
Ballpark Visit: Dutchess Stadium, home of the Hudson Valley Renegades
When Dutchess Stadium opened in 1994, it raised the fortunes of the short-season NY-Penn League. Since then teams like Brooklyn may have surpassed the Hudson Valley Renegades in attendance, but the team is still going strong, and the ‘Gades put on a party every home game. Mark Cryan looks at Dutchess Stadium and tells us […]
Ballpark Visit: Skylands Park, home of the Sussex Skyhawks
Everyone knows this is nowhere — or do they? We visit one of the more remote, but interesting ballparks in pro baseball: Skylands Park, the home of the Sussex Skyhawks. Mark Cryan tells us what makes this ballpark unique and worth a visit. Everyone knows this is nowhere — or do they? We visit one […]
Skylands Park / Sussex Skyhawks
Welcome to the middle of nowhere. Sussex County, New Jersey, is tucked away in the northern tip of the state near the New York state line. It s not Bruce Springsteen’s gritty urban Jersey, but rather rolling hills and pastures. The ballpark, the former home of the New Jersey Cardinals, sits at the crossroads of […]
A surreal scene at the Coliseum
When the Los Angeles Dodgers hosted the Boston Red Sox in an exhibition at the Los Angeles Coliseum to commemorate the team’s 50th anniversary in Tinsel Town, a surreal time was had by all. Let me begin by saying that I will never move to Los Angeles. But, there’s so much more. Where to start? […]