Quirky minor league ballparks
There’s something irresistible about a minor league ballpark. Reasonably priced game tickets, for one thing. Quirky digs and local flavor, for another. Some teams woo with crazy concessions, others with over-the-top entertainment zones — in case you’re not really there for the baseball. Here are five minor league ballparks worth a trip, starting with a charming Northern California stadium.
1. Stockton’s Banner Island Ballpark: The home of the Stockton Ports, an Oakland A’s affiliate, this ballpark holds 5,200 fans and a whole lot of history. Locals say Stockton was the inspiration for Ernest Thayer’s famous 1888 poem, “Casey at the Bat.” Grab a bite at the park’s Casey’s Corner Grill — a nod to the mighty slugger who whiffed when it mattered. Head for the cart behind Section 117 for fried asparagus stalks — Stockton’s most celebrated crop — coated in tempura batter. Or head for the park’s Back Porch, whose rocking chairs-with-a-view and all-you-can-eat buffet got a shoutout from ESPN.
2. Michigan’s C.O. Brown Stadium: Ever since the Battle Creek Bombers introduced their hot dog-stuffed Twinkie topped with whipped cream and rainbow sprinkles a few years ago, they’ve tried to top themselves. So far, the follow-ups have included Leggo My Eggo burgers, Poptarkos and a Cheboygaroni and Cheese.
3. Texas’ Dr Pepper Ballpark: The Frisco RoughRiders’ stadium took the idea of “ballpark swimming pool” — that’s a thing in the South — and kicked it up a million notches or so when they opened the stadium’s Choctaw Lazy River in 2016. Now fans can float along a figure eight-shaped waterway, tucked just above the outfield, watching the game.
4. Iowa’s Modern Woodmen Park: It’s not the hot tub and tiki village on the banks of the Mississippi River that wowed us. It was the “Field of Dreams”-style cornfield in the outfield at the Quad Cities River Bandits ballpark.
5. South Carolina’s TicketReturn.com Field: The Myrtle Beach Pelicans’ home turf has a beach. No surfing, but you can enjoy your Chicago-style, deep-dish pizza-burger — a patty tucked between two deep-dish pies — from a beach chair nestled into the sandy expanse that runs down the left-field line.