The Unofficial Appalachian League Stadium Rankings
Don’t worry, we will get you the daily Royals information with the Bullets, but, as promised, here are my rankings of every opponent’s stadiums. Included in the rankings are the positives and negatives that I saw with each park. We will go in reverse order, beginning with my least favorite and ending with my favorite.
9. Bowen Field (Bluefield Orioles)
Positives: The friendliest broadcaster/PA guy in the league — Buford Early; the uniqueness of being RIGHT on the West Virginia-Virginia border; having seats from old Angels Stadium; gorgeous backdrop of mountains
Negatives: No internet for broadcasts despite saying that they did (biggest disqualification for a broadcaster); lackluster atmosphere; low attendance with the exception of fireworks; awful dugouts
8. Hunnicutt Field (Princeton Rays)
Positives: Embraced tradition (pictures of former P-Rays in right-center); good dugouts; decent main concourse; good between-inning promotions
Negatives: Awful field condition (word is they are fixing that for ‘11); small press box; bland backdrop; poor seating outside main box area
7. Joe O’Brien Field (Elizabethton Twins)
Positives: Unique dimensions/wall sizes (I like that kind of stuff); embracing tradition (huge banners for guys like Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau and Kirby Puckett); active crowd
Negatives: Odd, small walkway behind the seats; press box located down the first base line; dugouts behind third base; below average playing surface
6. American Legion Post 325 Field (Danville Braves)
Positives: Great press box and media department; nice locker rooms/dugouts; great backdrop of trees; pretty good atmosphere; bonus points for free ice cream after the August 15th game between the Braves and Royals
Negatives: Nothing that sets itself apart (in other words, very bland); every “good” seat is almost completely enclosed; strange main concourse area
5. Hunter-Wright Stadium (Kingsport Mets)
Positives: Plenty of great seats; two-story press box; one of the best playing surfaces in the league; spacious locker rooms
Negatives: Poor internet connection; very dull atmosphere; poor between-inning games; nothing to set it apart
4. Boyce Cox Field (Bristol White Sox)
Positives: Lots of room around the park; presence of a picnic area; nice press box; unique seating arrangements
Negatives: Press box was really far from the action; dull crowds; no between-inning activities of note
3. Howard Johnson Field (Johnson City Cardinals)
Positives: The hill in right field (the most unique aspect of any park — although right fielders could probably do without it); fair amount of space; perfect press box; the friendliest staff
Negatives: Most box seats are almost completely enclosed; field condition is not great; not great atmosphere (but, in fairness, every game during the Royals series involved rain in some capacity)
2. Historic Calfee Park (Pulaski Mariners)
Positives: The most unique park in the league; all kinds of seating (chairbacks, open air boxes, concrete steps); good press box; middle-of-nowhere feel to it; best PA announcer; best atmosphere and crowd; food smelled delicious (unfortunately I never had any)
Negatives: lackluster internet connection; ugly wall in right field; not a lot of space around the seats
1. Pioneer Park (Greeneville Astros)
Positives: Most modern park in the league; great press box; chairback seats everywhere; fantastic main concourse; great locker room/batting cage area; in essence, this is an A or AA stadium in a rookie league; very good atmosphere
Negatives: Doesn’t totally fit in the Appy League; only average playing surface
Thoughts? Let me know in the comments page. Now, here is what you really care about — today’s Bullets.
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BURLINGTON BULLETS:
- We begin the notes with the game’s final play last night. Ryan Stovall ended Kingsport’s chance in the bottom of the ninth with a tremendous diving catch down the right field line. Stovall has played every infield position this season, but he has only had a handful of appearances at second. Still, his great play ended the contest. That was my first question during my pre-game chat with Royals skipper Nelson Liriano, and it made him chuckle. “We laugh and have a good time watching him play because we know he gives 100 percent every single time,” Liriano said while still smiling a bit. “We just enjoyed that play because we know he gives you great effort.”
- Naturally, last night’s only reliever, JJ Leaper, also enjoyed the tremendous grab. “I loved it,” Leaper said. “That’s what sets the mood for everything, that he’s willing to lay his body on the line. Players like that — you just admire them.”
- Behind Royals’ starter Leonel Santiago (we’ll get to him momentarily), Leaper went two and two-thirds and kept the Mets off the scoreboard. This outing followed a couple of tough outings that brought with them six runs (five earned) on nine hits. “I didn’t really try to throw a lot of off-speed,” Leaper said about the difference between that outing and the previous two. “I was trying to just throw the fastball.”
- Now to Santiago. The righty didn’t have his best stuff, but he did notch his sixth win of the season after six and a third frames. He worked out of a few jams and left a runner on base in every inning. “He threw well,” Liriano said. “He had a few problems, but he got out from there because he threw the right pitch at the right time.”
- Just so we are all clear, Santiago did not win the Appalachian League Pitcher of the Year. Instead, a guy (Johnson City’s Ryan Copeland) who does not even qualify for the ERA lead because he has not thrown enough innings did. In fairness, Copeland did have a slightly better ERA, so I guess I can concede that, but I don’t agree with it.
- But, Santiago did not even get the Right-Handed Pitcher spot. That went to Pulaski’s Tim Boyce. When you compare their stats prior to last night’s outing (because votes were due Wednesday at noon), Santiago is better in ERA (1.76 to 2.44), innings pitched (71.2 to 51.2), strikeouts (60 to 48), runs allowed (17 to 23), unearned runs allowed (3 to 9). The two are even in WHIP at 0.99. The only category that Boyce was better in is wins (9 to 5), and that is a stat that a pitcher cannot directly control. OK, I’m done now, but that is a shame. Nothing against Boyce (he has been terrific), but this mistake is on the voters.
- The team has a long trip back to Burlington this evening (around four hours) and then an early morning. Tomorrow is the day for end of season physicals. So, the Royals will simply hit in the cages and not take regular batting practice or infield tomorrow before the 7 p.m. game against Danville.
- How about Alex Llanos over the last three games. The Burlington center fielder is 6-for-10 with four runs batted in, including a 3-for-3 day yesterday with a big two-run single in the first. With men in scoring position, Llanos is hitting .309, 51 points higher than his regular batting average.
- Another quick update about the two other teams in the Eastern Division race. Second-place Danville aims for a sweep tonight at Greeneville. The Braves’ starter has yet to be announced. Whoever it is will go up against the Astros’ Ruben Alaniz (5–4, 4.59 ERA). Burlington is three games behind the Braves. Princeton must basically win out, and the Rays will try to salvage a game at Johnson City tonight. Princeton’s Victor Mateo (1–5, 5.45 ERA) will go against the aforementioned Ryan Copeland (7–0, 1.49 ERA).
- Finally, a special thanks to Mark Hunter and Bryan Levin back in Athens, Ohio. Tonight is the kickoff of high school football in Southeast Ohio, and I am normally the man behind the mic for the “Athens County High School Football Game of the Week,” but those two guys are filling in for me so I can call the rest of the season. Special thanks to them. They will certainly enjoy one of the best rivalries in the area — Trimble vs. Nelsonville-York.
Our pre-game coverage begins at 6:45 p.m., with the first pitch at 7 p.m. Enjoy the broadcast!
- Brian
