Here are the BEST of the best in MiLB ballparks
This is an excerpt from the latest edition of the Ben's Biz Beat Newsletter, bringing Minor League Baseball business and culture news to your inbox each and every Thursday. Check out the full newsletter HERE. Subscribe HERE.
This is an excerpt from the latest edition of the Ben's Biz Beat Newsletter, bringing Minor League Baseball business and culture news to your inbox each and every Thursday. Check out the full newsletter HERE. Subscribe HERE.
You may recall that last month saw the launch of the Minor League Ballpark Guides project presented by Wyndham, an interactive road trip planning tool featuring searchable maps and in-depth write-ups of every Minor League Baseball park.
If you are one of the (presumed) millions of people who have already enjoyed perusing the Ballpark Guides, perhaps you noticed a section on the landing page entitled “Best of the Ballparks.” It includes links to six articles, of which I shall now provide a handy overview.
Longest Affiliations: Loyalty rewards go to the Phillies and the Tigers, who both boast two organizations on the current Top 10 list. PERUSE THE LONGEST AFFILIATIONS ARTICLE HERE
Oldest Ballparks: The 11 most venerable facilities in the Minors opened between 1914 and 1951. It’s not a coincidence that many of my all-time favorite ballparks can be found in this article. READ ABOUT MiLB’s OLDEST BALLPARKS HERE
Best Concessions: This article, and the three that follow, give me anxiety. It’s hard to pick favorites, and I could justify any number of selections at each level of play. It’s a burden that I must bear, and bear alone. READ ABOUT AND DISAGREE WITH MY FAVORITE CONCESSION PICKS HERE
Best Views: Every ballpark’s got ‘em, but some views stand out about the rest. READ ABOUT BEAUTIFUL MINOR LEAGUE BACKDROPS HERE
Best Mascots: They can’t talk, but boy do mascots get irritable when they’re not mentioned in articles like this. I love them all. I really do. READ ABOUT MY MOST FAVORITE MASCOTS HERE
Ben’s Best: If I could only set foot in four Minor League ballparks for the rest of my life, it’d be this spectacular quartet. READ ABOUT MY ALL-TIME FAVORITE BALLPARKS HERE
To read the rest of the Ben's Biz Beat Newsletter, click HERE.
Benjamin Hill is a reporter for MiLB.com and writes Ben's Biz Blog. Follow Ben on Twitter @bensbiz.
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