It’s been an amazing year for the Texas Rangers: besides fighting it out with the New York Yankees for the best record in baseball, the team has already set one attendance record and on pace for another. The Rangers are just a half game behind the Yankees for the best record in baseball (57-38 for […]
Archive | Major-League Baseball
Whose ballpark roof is open the most? Seattle
Despite the reputation of Seattle’s climate as being cool and damp, the roof at Safeco Field, home of the Seattle Mariners, is open the most among covered ballparks in Major League Baseball, according to a local meteorologist. The roof at Safeco Field was closed around 19 games a season (making for 23 percent of the […]
Developer: I can build new A’s ballpark with private financing
Hard to say how realistic this is, but a developer says he can build a privately financed ballpark for the Oakland Athletics at the current Coliseum site — provided Lew Wolff wants to keep the team in Oakland, that is. Developer Rick Tripp told the Press-Democrat he can tap into foreign and domestic investors to […]
Diamondbacks: We want more control over future of Chase Field
The Arizona Diamondbacks could gain greater control of Chase Field if the ballpark is transferred from the Maricopa County Stadium District to the city of Phoenix, as the team looks at major renovations down the road. The issue: the ballpark, funded with a special Maricopa County tax that expired in 1997, is controlled by the […]
Japanese players: We’re ready to skip WBC
Japanese professional baseball players are threatening to boycott the 2013 World Baseball Classic because of a revenue deal giving two-thirds of the proceeds to MLB and players union, and only 13 percent to them. The split is unfair, they say, because the event is popular in Asia and derives a lot of the $18 million […]
Reds enjoying great year on field, at box office
A first-place team has good crowds filling Great American Ball Park, home of the Cincinnati Reds, as the team is on pace to come close to setting a franchise record for GABP attendance. At the current pace, the Reds would draw 2,340,576 fans this season, just a little less than the Great American Ball Park record of […]
Forgotten Ebbets Field plans surface; will be displayed in NYC
Rare blueprints of Ebbets Field, the former home of the Brooklyn Dodgers, were uncovered by a researcher in the Brooklyn Buildings Department and will be displayed at the city’s Municipal Archives Visitors Center. The blueprints have gone through quite the odyssey after being filed with the city in 1912 or so. They were basically forgotten, but […]
Despite bomb threat, Tigers game proceeds
A bomb threat called into the 911 system proved to be a bust, as last night’s Tigers-Angels game at Comerica Park wasn’t interrupted by a large-scale search for an explosive device. Instead, police searched the ballpark in vain for a bomb. There was no evacuation of the 33,950 fans on hand, and the game experience […]
MLB preps for interleague play in 2013
Plans are coming into place for Major League Baseball to feature permanent interleague play when the Houston Astros join the American League, leaving MLB with a 15-15 split in the two leagues. Scheduling is the biggest change when it comes to interleague play, and not every fan is going to like the changes, as it […]
Can Bud Selig warm relationship between Cubs, politicians?
We’re not entirely sure Bud Selig will be able to patch things up between the Ricketts and Chicago politicians, but he reportedly will take a crack at lobbying for public money toward Wrigley Field renovations — holding an All-Star Game as an enticement. The Chicago Cubs ownership, led by Tom Ricketts, wants to spend $500 […]
Newly available land parcel could bring downtown Tampa ballpark — maybe
It’s not as though there are plenty of downtown Tampa land parcels suitable for a new ballpark, but the potential move of a large flour mill could get things rolling for a new Tampa Bay Rays facility. A mill owned and operated by ConAgra is a major presence in downtown Tampa in many ways: besides […]
European football hits American ballparks this summer
Ballparks in major cities are serving another sporting purpose this summer: hosting international soccer matches. In the past it wasn’t unusual for ballparks to host non-baseball sporting events, especially college and pro football. But soccer is a new player in the ballpark world. For a baseball team, converting the field for use as a soccer […]
Twins, Lee County negotiating over player dorms, naming rights at spring-training complex
A renovation of Hammond Stadium and the Lee County Sports Complex, spring home of the Minnesota Twins, may or may not feature player dorms and naming rights, as the two sides negotiate a new lease covering some $30 million in improvements. It’s an unusual situation. In order to qualify for $15 million in state funds […]