Wednesday, September 4, 2013

Baseball Stadiums: 2013 Final Recap

With minor league baseball's regular season officially over, it is time to recap the baseball stadiums I visited this year.  In the spring, I visited three ballparks in California (LoanMart Field in Rancho Cucamonga, Angel Stadium of Anaheim in Anaheim, and Lake Elsinore Diamond in Lake Elsinore).  I was able to visit those stadiums because I attended the 2013 AAG Annual Meeting in Los Angeles.

Although I had been to many games at ONEOK Field in Tulsa, Okla., I finally documented my experience with photographs and a write-up with a visit in May.  This summer I visited two new ballparks: Arvest Ballpark in Springdale, Ark., and Hammons Field in Springfield, Mo.  Those stadiums were the highest on my list to visit this year because I have moved from Oklahoma, and wanted to catch a game at those parks before I left the region.

I'm currently living in Alabama, so I'm planning to visit a few ballparks within a four-hour drive by the end of next summer.  I'm aiming to visit Mobile's Hank Aaron Stadium (home of the Mobile BayBears), Pensacola's Pensacola Bayfront Stadium (home of the Pensacola Blue Wahoos), and Birmingham's Regions Field (home of the Birmingham Barons).  I have attended games at Joe W. Davis Stadium (home of the Huntsville Stars), but have not documented my experience.  So that stadium is also on my list.

I'll also be attending the 2014 AAG Annual Meeting in Tampa, Fla., in April, and hope to visit a few Florida ballparks while I'm there.  Right now, I don't know what stadiums I may get to visit because I have not seen the 2014 schedules yet.

I've also made a change to my Google map, and removed college stadiums.  I decided to remove college ballparks because the data about the stadiums is inconsistent, and I felt that I should create a map featuring all the college sports venues where I have seen a contest.

Here my current baseball stadium tally:
  • MLB = 20 (13 active)
  • AAA = 9 (8 active)
  • AA = 17 (13 active)
  • High A = 2
  • Low A = 3 (1 active)
  • Short-Season A = 6 (5 active)
  • Independent = 5 (4 active)
  • Spring Training = 10 (9 active)

As of this post, I have seen professional baseball games (including Spring Training) in 27 states, the District of Columbia, and one province.  The only new state I added this year was California, as I have previously seen games in Arkansas (2012) and Missouri (2008).

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