Widely regarded as the best of MLB’s 23 spring-training complexes, Salt River Fields might never have been built if it weren’t for the Salt River Pima Maricopa Indian Community. They provided the land on their reservation, and paid for the construction. But how did the relationship between the tribal council and the two MLB teams (Rockies and Diamondbacks) come about? Read our article to find out.
Blog / Page 7
2023: the Ballpark Year in Pictures
It’s time for our annual summary of the ballpark news of the year! Check out the 2023 edition here!
The best right now
When it came time to write my 100th article for USA TODAY Sports, my editor and I decided on an interesting topic. Since I’m the “sports facilities beat writer” for USA TODAY publications, we thought writing a piece on the best venue in each pro sport would be a fun undertaking — both for me and for the readers. It was published 11/29/23 in USA TODAY Sports Weekly. You can read it here for free. Leave a comment with your reactions to my selections!
A look at the parks where the Fall League is played
This autumn marks the 30th season of the Arizona Fall League, the premier developmental league for MLB prospects.
For USA TODAY, we took a close look at the people and parks that make this such a special place to spend some of your time during the fall each year. Check it out!
2023 Tale of the Tape
While TV network executives might not be thrilled with the matchup, the 2023 World Series should be a good one!
As we do every year, we break down the two ballparks being used. Which one is more of a hitters’ park? What architects designed them? What non-baseball events have been held in them? And more!
So check out our “tale of the tape” of these two heavyweight ballparks! It’s gonna be a slugfest!
One thing is for sure: there won’t be any rainouts this year, since both stadiums feature retractable roofs!
Montana park wins
We’ve been presenting our Ballpark of the Year award since the year 2000. It’s been an annual affair, except in 2020 when COVID wiped out the Minor League season, and last year when there weren’t really any new, fully finished parks. So we pushed the unfinished parks from last year (Glacier Range Riders and Lake Country DockHounds) to 2023, when a completely rebuilt park opened for the New Jersey Jackals. So following no award for 2022, that meant that there were three parks in the running for the 2023 plaque.
We visited all three, and wrote in-depth reviews of them all. At the top of this page are links that lead you to those reviews.
For years, we’ve used a committee of three (webmaster Joe Mock, broadcaster Doug Greenwald and author Graham Knight) to select the winner of the award. This year, there was no disagreement among the three: the winner is Glacier Bank Park in Flathead Valley in Montana, home of the Glacier Range Riders of the Pioneer League.
Read the press release announcing the award, then check out our review of the park to see all it has going for it!