If you want a stark look at how ballparks have evolved, let’s go back 50 years and review the MLB facilities in play for the 1965 season — the dawn of modern ballpark design, when the Astrodome and Shea Stadium were on the cutting edge. (more…)
Tag Archives | washington senators
In memoriam: Connie Marrero
Connie Marrero, the oldest former major leaguer at 102 years old, passed away yesterday, just shy of his 103rd birthday. The Cuban-born Marrero pitched for the original Senators — now the Minnesota Twins — at the tail end of his career, making his Major League Baseball debut as a 39-year-old rookie with the 1950 Senators, […]
Tinker Field receives reprieve after community outrage
The demolition of Orlando’s Tinker Field is on hold, after politicos and community leaders expressed outrage that the historic facility was set to meet the wrecking ball with little notice. Mayor Buddy Dyer announced that plans to demolish the former home to spring training and Minor League Baseball in Orlando would be put on hold […]
Movement to save Tinker Field emerges
A movement to save historic Tinker Field, the longtime home of spring training in Orlando, is afoot, as preservationists want to see it declared a landmark, with accompanying protections. The call to preserve Tinker Field comes from Orlando’s Historic Preservation Board, which oversees the management of historic properties for the city. Last week Mayor Buddy […]
Historic Tinker Field to be torn down
Tinker Field, the historic Orlando ballpark where the Washington Senators and Minnesota Twins trained for decades, will be torn down to make way for the Citrus Bowl expansion. The above photo shows the 91-year-old Tinker Field in the 1920s, when the orginal grandstand was built to house Cincinnati Reds spring training. (The Reds trained there […]
Appreciating RFK Stadium
The venue is probably is not long for the world, but there’s still a devoted fanbase appreciating RFK Stadium, twice home to MLB in Washington, D.C., and a historically significant facility. Of course, what makes it historically significant — its status as the first cookie-cutter stadium, designed both for the NFL’s Washington Redskins and the […]
An historic day in an historic city: Nats host playoffs
It’s been 79 years since the District of Columbia hosted playoff baseball, as the Washington Nationals host the St. Louis Cardinals in the National League Division Series — but local fans are upset at how MLB is handling the game. Washington last hosted a playoff fame on Oct. 7, 1933, when the New York Giants […]
Connie Marrero, oldest former major leaguer, turns 101
Connie Marrero, who pitched for the original Washington Senators and is the oldest former major leaguer, turned 101 years old yesterday. The Cuban-born Marrero pitched for the original Senators — now the Minnesota Twins — at the tail end of his career, making his Major League Baseball debut as a 39-year-old rookie with the 1950 […]
RFK Stadium at 50: Will there be 50 more?
At 50 years old, RFK Stadium — the first major multiuse facility to open in the 1960s as the home of the Washington Senators — may not live to see another 50, as District of Columbia officials debate its future. The facility is home to MLS’s DC United and was home to the Washington Nationals […]
Hounds add Hondo as team ambassador
The Loudoun Hounds (independent; Atlantic League) added former Washington Senator Frank Howard to the team’s front office as a corporate adviser and ambassador, as the team preps for a 2012 debut — somewhere. Howard’s duties will include public and media appearances on behalf of the Hounds, as well as offering his accumulated wisdom toward bringing […]
In memoriam: Harmon Killebrew
Harmon Killebrew, a gentle slugger who put the Minnesota Twins on the map and later served as an effective ambassador for the game of baseball, passed away this morning in a Phoenix hospice after battling esophageal cancer. He was 74. Killebrew, signed out of Payette High School in rural Idaho by scout Ossie Bluege, made […]
Are final days near for RFK Stadium?
RFK Stadium is falling down, but what happens next to the former home of the Washington Senators and the Washington Nationals is anyone’s guess, as it will take lots of money to fix it up when there’s no obvious financial payout or an Act of Congress — literally — to tear it down. RFK Stadium […]
World Series launches Wednesday
The schedule for this year’s World Series has been released, and it begins Wednesday when the San Francisco Giants host the upstart Texas Rangers at beautiful AT&T Park. Gametime for Wedneday’s game is 7:30 p.m. Eastern. Cliff Lee is expected to start for the Rangers, with Tim Lincecum slated for the Giants. Here’s the rest […]