Phil Welch Stadium

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Phil Welch Stadium is a baseball stadium in St Joseph, Missouri. It originally opened in 1939 as the home of the minor league St. Joseph Saints. It has a seating capacity of 3,600. The stadium is located at 2600 SW Parkway in St. Joseph.

Phil Welch Stadium was the home from 2006 to 2007 to the St. Joseph Blacksnakes, a minor-league team competing in the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball, and remains the home park of the Missouri Western State University Griffons. It has previously housed several minor league and independent league teams including a Saint Louis Cardinal farm team named the Cardinals. Hall of Famers like Mickey Mantle and Willie Mays played games there while rising through the ranks.

Stadium dimensions are 320-420-320 (left to right). The lighting poles in the outfield are constructed out of metal lattice frame and are located within the field of play, creating scenarios of balls bouncing off the metal frame or getting caught inside the framework.