.
In the month of May, we turn our attention to baseball’s Independent Leagues. I am happily surprised to see the Can-Am League still trudging along and the circuit even welcomes back a pair of returning teams that I never thought we would see again. In rural Sussex County, NJ, a franchise is back in the league after folding five years ago. The Sussex County Miners will play in Skylands Stadium, which curiously adjusted their name from “Park” to “Stadium”. It’s an interesting place for a team as the county is barely considered part of the NYC suburban network. I wish all the best for the Miners (only a half-hour or so away from where I live), but they need to improve the ballpark and the experience as it is rated the lowest out of the 49 minor-league facilities that I have been to thus far. Also making an unexpected re-appearance is the Capital of Canada. Remember the Fat Cats? Well they are not back, but instead we have the “Champions”. Hmmm…OK. Anyway they will play in a refurbished Lynx Stadium (the old AAA park), which has been renamed (deep breath): Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton Park. That’s not a person, but rather an advertisement for some advisory firm. I think we’ll call this place RCGT Park.
Over in the American Association, perhaps the nicest stadium in all of independent baseball is almost complete. The St. Paul Saints will move into CHS Field this summer and the gorgeous $63 million dollar ballfield is downtown and full of local character. I highly recommend a Twins-Saints weekend in the Land of a Thousand Lakes. As for Midway Stadium, it will become extinct as the land on which it sits is turned into an industrial park. Also joining the league is the Joplin Blasters. They will play in Joe Becker Stadium, which has had a facelift. It took me awhile to find the real capacity and even though it is listed at 4,200, about 2,500 of those “Seats” are of the grass variety, so they will not be included in The List. This is another place to root success for as Joplin continues it’s rebuild from the devastating tornado four years ago.
In league news, United League Baseball finally folded after prolonged folly. This does unfortunately mean that Texas ballparks LaGrave Field (Fort Worth) and Harlingen Field (Harlingen) go without a tenant. On the other side of the coin, we welcome the Mount Rainier Premier Baseball League and the East Coast Baseball League. Both are quite small, however the latter league includes Old Orchard Beach, where The Ballpark makes the move from Summer Collegiate ball to Independent.
.
Stadium and Arena Visits 