Scary moment for Midland Rockhounds (Class AA; Texas League) pitcher Blake Hassebrock earlier this week when a drunken fan took exception to his pitching and stormed the field in Corpus Christi to confront the minor leaguer. It was in a game hosted by the Corpus Christi Hooks at Whataburger Field, with the Hooks up 9-0. […]
Archive | Minor-League Baseball
Debate rages over Shockoe Bottom ballpark site
It’s now a war of words over a proposed ballpark site for the Richmond Flying Squirrels (Class AA; Eastern League), as the debate rages over the future of the Shockoe Bottom area. The adversaries should be familiar to anyone following the arguments: Mayor Dwight Jones wants to see the area surrounding The Diamold sold for […]
Montgomery to host 2015 SL All-Star Game
The Montgomery Biscuits will host the 2015 Southern League All-Star Game at Riverwalk Stadium on Tuesday, June 23. This will mark the second time the Biscuits have hosted the All-Star Game, with Riverwalk Stadium being the site of the 2006 contest. It will be held in conjunction with the city of Montgomery and the Southern […]
Hartford pulls public bonding for Rock Cats ballpark
Hartford Mayor Pedro Segarra pulled his request for $60 million in public bonding for a new New Britain Rock Cats (Class AA; Eastern League) ballpark and will instead seek a developer to finance the project. The withdrawal, coming in a letter to the City Council, came after intense crticism from taxpayers and politicians of all […]
Biloxi ballpark bids busting budget
Well, you can expect some value engineering on a proposed new Class AA Southern League Biloxi ballpark, as the lowest bid on the project came in some $5 million more than the city’s budgeted amount. The lowest bid of $32.37 million for the ballpark came in more than $5 million over budget. The total project […]
Remembering the Inter-American League
It was the last new affiliated minor league, but it didn’t last a full season: remembering the 1979 Class AAA Inter-American League, with teams in Miami and the Caribbean. We’ve written in the past about Bobby Maduro, the visionary minor-league-baseball entrepreneur who owned the Havana Sugar Kings and later served as a liaison between baseball […]
Mud Hens to install putt-putt golf on Fifth Third Field turf after season
Well, this takes the cake for the most imaginative offseason use for a ballpark we’ve seen: the Toledo Mud Hens (Class AAA; International League) are converting the Fifth Third Field playing field to a putt-putt golf course after the season. An 18-hole miniature golf course, no less. The Links at Fifth Third Field opens to […]
Zombies set to invade Hammond Stadium Friday
Seeing as how southwest Florida (!) is the center of zombie culture in America, the Fort Myers Miracle (High Class A; Florida State League) are honoring that legacy Friday night by donning zombie uniforms. What’s the tie between Fort Myers and zombies? It’s where acclaimed filmmaker George Romero began filming the third installment of his […]
Bird meets baseball at Parkview Field
Shades of Randy Johnson and Dave Winfield! A small bird had an unfortunate experience after being struck by a pitch during Saturday’s Fort Wayne TinCaps-West Michigan Whitecaps game at Parkview Field. To set the scene: West Michigan’s Jon Maciel was throwing a 1-1 pitch to Fort Wayne’s Josh VanMeter, when a small bird flying across […]
Scenes from a ballpark flood in Davenport
We have some stunning shots of the island known as Modern Woodmen Park, as the home of the Quad Cities River Bandits (Low Class A; Midwest League) was largely unaffected by Mississippi River flooding over the Independence Day weekend. The images are by Rich Guill, the official photographer for the River Bandits. RELATED STORIES: Spring […]
Knights poised to break all-time attendance record tonight
Well, this is certainly an accomplishment: The Charlotte Knights (Class AAA; International League) should break their all-time attendance mark for a single season — in just 45 games at BB&T Ballpark. When the record is reached, the Knights will reward one lucky fan with a special prize pack at tonight’s game. The record of 429,132 fans […]
Great ballpark crowds greet Independence Day games
Record crowds in Albuquerque and Winston-Salem, a record-setting homestand in Colorado Springs, over 6,000 fans braving the cresting Mississippi River in Davenport, and sellouts in Omaha, Richmond and Birmingham were among the attendance highlights on the Fourth of July. Really, there’s nothing more American than a night at the ballpark, followed by fireworks. (We spent […]
Spring rains bring July flooding to Modern Woodmen Park
This has been one of the wettest seasons on record, and all that rain is causing some serious Mississippi River flooding — with Modern Woodmen Park, home of the Quad Cities River Bandits (Low Class A; Midwest League), prepped for the water. In and of itself, Modern Woodmen Park is very protected from the rising […]