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National treasure


The National Trust for Historic Preservation has a special category for places like Hinchliffe Stadium. They call them “National Treasures.”

It’s easy to see why. This ballpark has a fascinating, unparalleled backstory: it was built just up the hill from one of the most scenic and historic waterfalls in the country (you can see its light towers high up on the hill beyond the falls in the photo) … it was used by Negro League teams in the 1930s and ’40s … then for high school sports … then it fell into such a state of disrepair that it was condemned … it was scheduled for demolition … but it was saved from the wrecking ball by the valiant efforts of some heroic people … and it was rebuilt to look as beautiful as it did in the 1930s.

Such is the story of Hinchliffe Stadium, which now is within the boundaries of the Paterson Great Falls National Historic Park in Paterson, New Jersey. Your first directive is to read all about this wonderful, miraculous stadium. Then your directive is to visit it.

Our in-depth review weighs in at over 5,000 words and includes 26 pictures you won’t see anywhere else. So what are you waiting for? Start reading

A product of the Ice Age


Check out our in-depth review of Wisconsin Brewing Company Park located in the heart of Lake Country. We take you back to the Ice Age when glaciers carved up the landscape, creating depressions that are now lakes, and bring you back to the present where Wisconsin baseball fans are flocking to Oconomowoc.

This new park, not completely finished in 2022 but now hitting on all cylinders, is the home of the Lake Country DockHounds of the American Association, an independent MLB Partner League. We take you behind the scenes to see how the park’s design was developed over decades, and why it was necessary for the design to change even after construction began. There was even input from a current Major Leaguer.

And we tell you about the costs of attending a game, and the wonderful gameday experience you’ll find there. So take a refreshing dip in Lake Country by reading our review and viewing all 37 photos.

2022 — The Ballpark Year In Pictures


Following two tumultuous years on the baseball landscape, baseball park news was fairly quiet in 2022. That didn’t stop us from doing our annual look at The Ballpark Year in Pictures. See what was new and which parks celebrated major anniversaries, all right here.

Tale of the Tape


Just as they do prior to boxing matches, the two fighters get weighed and measured. On the eve of the World Series, we have weighed and measured the two ballparks in the 2022 Fall Classic, and the result is our annual Tale of the Tape feature.

This year’s contestants are Minute Maid Park in Houston and Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. May the better park win!!

New on the scene: Flathead Field


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!

Celebrating Camden Yards’ 30th birthday


It was a writing assignment that I desperately wanted: now that Oriole Park at Camden Yards is turning 30 years old, how did it come to be?

I was living in Maryland in 1992. In fact, my office was just a couple of blocks away from the shiny new ballpark. You could look out of our conference-room windows and watch the construction as the park took shape.

I attended the first game ever played at the park — a five-inning exhibition against the Mets three days before the regular-season opener on April 6, 1992. On that Opening Day, I watched the proceedings from the roof of our office building.

The City of Baltimore was absolutely alive. Everyone was excited that the new baseball park was a reality.

At that time, though, we had no idea that Camden Yards was going to change the sport in profound ways.

So I put all I had into writing the article for USA TODAY Sports. I spoke to Jon Miller, the Orioles’ broadcaster at the time. Larry Lucchino, the team’s president. Janet Marie Smith, arguably the greatest ballpark consultant of all time (and should be in the Hall of Fame). Joe Spear, lead architect. Rick Sutcliffe, the O’s pitcher in the Opener. Lainy Lebow Sachs, the top aide to mayor-then-governor William Donald Schaefer. Kurt Schmoke, Baltimore’s mayor when the park opened.

It made for a very long article, but the editors at USA TODAY HQ didn’t flinch. They ran the entire piece, giving it three full pages in USA TODAY Sports Weekly, and posting it for all the world to see on USATODAY.com. It was a testament to the popularity and the impact of Camden Yards.

I had a lot of great material that I couldn’t fit into that print article, so I asked for permission to post it on this site — with additional quotes from all of the people I interviewed. Just click here and you can read the expanded piece.