We have our first game of Spring Training 2012 today, as the Philadelphia Phillies host the Florida State Seminoles at 1:05 p.m. at Bright House Field. Let the games begin! Speaking of spring training: We’ll be in Florida next week and Arizona later in the month. Here’s the schedule for our upcoming Florida trip: March […]
Archive | Major-League Baseball
Seven groups still in running for Dodgers
Seven groups remain in the running to land the Los Angeles Dodgers and Dodger Stadium, as two groups were eliminated from the proceedings. The Los Angeles Times has a summary of the groups remaining: Of the nine parties still in contention last week, the two eliminated Monday were Michael Heisley, owner of the NBA’s Memphis […]
Dodgers sale complicated by McCourt’s decision to keep land surrounding ballpark
The decision by Frank McCourt to hang onto the parking lots and land surrounding Dodger Stadium is already complicating the sale of the team and caused one high-profile group to withdraw from the bidding process. Developer Rick Caruso and former Dodgers manager Joe Torre decided to pass on bidding for the Los Angeles Dodgers and […]
Tigers upgrading Comerica Park videoboard for 2012
The Detroit Tigers are spending a lot of money this offseason: Besides signing Prince Fielder, the team is also spending millions on one of the largest high-definition LED video displays in Major League Baseball. Incorporated into the existing left-field structure, Daktronics will install a new state-of-the-art light emitting diode (LED) video display. Measuring approximately 48 […]
Twins: We like Target Field fences where they are
Though other teams are moving in their ballpark fences to pump up the offense, the Minnesota Twins braintrust says they’ll keep the spacious dimensions at Target Field — for now. Target Field is known as a pitchers’ ballpark, partly thanks to the spacious dimensions and partly thanks to the high fences. (In right field, for […]
Summer ballpark concerts: Roger Waters, Madonna, The Boss
It’s shaping up to be an active summer on the ballpark concert front, with Roger Waters, Madonna, Kenny Chesney and Tim McGraw slated to play at MLB facilities — with rumors of Bruce Springsteen gigs as well. The most extensive ballpark tour this summer will be undertaken by Roger Waters, who is staging Pink Floyd’s […]
It’s Truck Day — and the first day of workouts
We have a weird situation this year in spring training: it’s Truck Day for the Boston Red Sox and the reporting date for the Seattle Mariners. In other words: baseball season has officially begun. Normally we don’t see Truck Day for most MLB teams so close to a reporting date. But this is a weird […]
Another sign of spring: changes at Digital Domain Park
With reporting dates fast approaching, we have another sign of the times: the New York Mets released some photos of changes to its spring-training home, Digital Domain Park. The two big changes to Digital Domain Park this spring: the installation of a new high-definition scoreboard in left field and a picnic area/party deck down the […]
Blue Jays considering grass field at Rogers Centre
The Toronto Blue Jays are considering a major change to Rogers Centre: replacing the artificial turf with grass. It’s not uncommon anymore to find grass at a retractable-roof ballpark — it’s been done for years in Seattle, Houston and Arizona — but it’s a challenge to add grass to a facility built for artificial turf. […]
Comerica Park, Michigan Stadium to host ’13 Winter Classic
The chatter was true: Michigan Stadium and Comerica Park, home of the Detroit Tigers, will both host games at the 2013 NHL Winter Classic. The University of Michigan Board of Regents approved a lease of the historic football stadium today for Dec. 1, 2012 until mid-January 2013; the NHL will pay $3 million for it […]
Lee County pitches Nats on spring-training move
Lee County officials are once again pitching Washington Nationals brass on a move to the vacant City of Palms Park, but there are no plans yet for the team to shift from Viera’s Space Coast Stadium. The information comes from Lee County Commissioners pursuing another MLB team for spring training. How much serious interest there […]
Braves reveal new alt home uniforms
The Atlanta Braves today unveiled a new alternative home uniform patterned after the 1966 team uniforms. The cream-colored uniforms feature the traditional Braves script in red across the chest minus the tomahawk, red numbers on the front and back, navy piping, navy player letters and a new logo patch on the left sleeve. The logo […]
Solar power on agenda for Kauffman Stadium
A solar array — the largest in the major leagues — has been installed at Kauffman Stadium, home of the Kansas City Royals, with the capacity to generate 36,000 kilowatt hours of electricity per year. That’s enough electricity to power four average houses in a year. The ballpark uses much more electricity than that, of […]