Here’s our look at brand-new Flathead Field, home of the expansion Glacier Range Riders of the indy Pioneer League. Not only is it a miracle that this site went from a treed hilltop to a special ballpark in just nine months (which included a frigid Montana winter), it’s in inarguably one of the most beautiful areas of the United States. Check out our review with 25 photos you won’t find anywhere else!
Blog / Author: Joe Mock
Giving baseball fans a Bill of Rights … and a voice
Check out our look at the organization called FansAlign. It seeks to unite fans of the National Pastime so the wishes of the ticket-buying public won’t be taken for granted by owners and players any longer.
The ballpark year in pictures
Each year, we provide a summary of the biggest ballpark news … and 2021 had far more than your average year! See what our camera had to show, because it was at all the noteworthy ballpark-related events in 2021!
Truist versus Minute Maid
Here’s our annual comparison of the two ballparks facing off in the Fall Classic! Click here
From 1 to 30
In preparing to write this year’s comparison of the two World Series parks, I thought through my ranking of the 30 Major League ballparks. I incorporated the Rangers’ new $1.2-billion air-conditioned palace, and moved a couple of others up and down. The #1 didn’t change (PNC Park) and the #30 didn’t change (RingCentral Coliseum, pictured), but there was a fair amount of jockeying in between.
Check out the updated ranking, and then post a comment telling me that I don’t know what I’m talking about!
2021 Ballpark of the Year
It only took one game …
Only one game was played at the MLB at Field of Dreams park in Dyersville, Iowa, but that was enough to do the following:
- Be the first big-league game ever played in Iowa;
- Generate the highest TV ratings for any regular-season baseball game on any network since 2005;
- Prompt Des Moines Register writer Randy Peterson to declare that the game “was a big-league event, historic for Iowa. It all seemed unbelievable. But it was more than that. It was perfect;”
- Bring Kevin Costner back to the site where he filmed the Field of Dreams movie;
- Cause the 32-year-old movie to become the most-ordered DVD on Amazon;
- Convince MLB to play another game there on August 11, 2022, when the Cubs will tangle with the Reds;
- Win the 21st annual BaseballParks.com Ballpark of the Year Award
That’s right. Even though there were nine new parks in the running, the one with the smallest construction budget of them all won the coveted award. The one that drew the fewest fans this year (8,000) won. The one that only hosted a single game won.
It was that special.
For much more about this ballpark, read the press release announcing the award, and check out our in-depth review of the ballpark and the experience that those 8,000 lucky folks enjoyed.