Doubleday Field
 | |
| Location | Cooperstown, New York |
|---|---|
| Capacity | 9,791 |
| Field size |
Left field: 296ft Left-center field: 336ft Center field: 390ft Right-center field: 350ft Right field: 312ft |
| Surface | Grass |
| Construction | |
| Opened | 1920 |
| Expanded | 1924, 1939 |
| Tenants | |
|
MLB Hall of Fame game Cooperstown Hawkeyes (2010–present) | |
Doubleday Field is a baseball stadium in Cooperstown, New York named for Abner Doubleday and located two village blocks from the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.
The grounds have been used for baseball since 1920, on what was Elihu Phinney's farm. A wooden grandstand was built in 1924, later replaced by a steel and concrete grandstand built in 1939 by the Works Project Administration.[1] Subsequent expansion has increased seating capacity to 9,791 spectators.[2]
Hall of Fame Game
Each year from 1940 to 2008, Doubleday Field hosted the Hall of Fame Game. Originally a contest between "old-timers" teams, it later became an exhibition game between two major league squads. Traditionally, the game was held during the annual induction weekend of the nearby Baseball Hall of Fame, but in later years it was scheduled in May or June, to accommodate the participating teams' travel schedules.
As MLB's last remaining in-season exhibition game, its results did not count in the official standings, and substitute players were generally used to avoid injury to starters. The curiosity factor of two teams from different leagues playing each other in this game outside of a World Series or spring training situation was eventually removed in 1997 with the launch of interleague play, further reducing the game's cachet.
On January 29, 2008, Major League Baseball announced that the final Hall of Fame Game would be played on June 16, 2008 between the Chicago Cubs and San Diego Padres, citing "the inherent challenges" of scheduling teams in the modern day as the reason for ending the annual contest.[3] However, the contest was canceled on account of rain.[4]
Results
| Date | Winning Team | Score | Losing Team | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 13, 1940 | Chicago Cubs | 10 | Boston Red Sox | 9 | 7 innings-rain |
| June 13, 1941 | Cleveland Indians | 2 | Cincinnati Reds | 1 | 6 innings-rain |
| August 3, 1942 | St. Louis Cardinals | 5 | Philadelphia Athletics | 2 | |
| July 19, 1943 | Brooklyn Dodgers | 7 | Chicago White Sox | 5 | |
| July 10, 1944 | Detroit Tigers vs. New York Giants, canceled-rain | ||||
| 1945 | canceled-war restrictions | ||||
| June 13, 1946 | New York Giants | 9 | Detroit Tigers | 5 | |
| July 21, 1947 | Boston Braves | 4 | New York Yankees | 3 | 10 innings |
| July 12, 1948 | St. Louis Browns | 7 | Philadelphia Phillies | 5 | |
| June 13, 1949 | Washington Senators | 8 | Pittsburgh Pirates | 7 | |
| July 24, 1950 | Boston Red Sox | 8 | New York Giants | 5 | |
| July 23, 1951 | Brooklyn Dodgers | 9 | Philadelphia Athletics | 4 | |
| July 21, 1952 | Cleveland Indians | 4 | Chicago Cubs | 2 | |
| July 27, 1953 | Cincinnati Reds | 16 | Chicago White Sox | 6 | |
| August 9, 1954 | New York Yankees | 10 | Cincinnati Reds | 9 | |
| July 25, 1955 | Boston Red Sox | 4 | Milwaukee Braves | 2 | |
| July 23, 1956 | New York Giants | 11 | Detroit Tigers | 10 | 12 innings |
| July 22, 1957 | Chicago White Sox | 13 | St. Louis Cardinals | 4 | |
| August 4, 1958 | Washington Senators | 5 | Philadelphia Phillies | 4 | |
| July 20, 1959 | Kansas City Athletics | 5 | Pittsburgh Pirates | 5 | 6 innings-rain (tie game) |
| June 27, 1960 | Chicago Cubs | 5 | Cleveland Indians | 0 | |
| July 24, 1961 | Los Angeles Dodgers | 6 | Baltimore Orioles | 2 | |
| July 23, 1962 | Milwaukee Braves vs. New York Yankees, cancelled-rain | ||||
| August 5, 1963 | Boston Red Sox | 7 | Milwaukee Braves | 3 | |
| July 27, 1964 | Washington Senators | 6 | New York Mets | 4 | |
| July 26, 1965 | New York Yankees | 7 | Philadelphia Phillies | 4 | |
| July 25, 1966 | St. Louis Cardinals | 7 | Minnesota Twins | 5 | |
| July 24, 1967 | Baltimore Orioles | 3 | Cincinnati Reds | 0 | |
| July 22, 1968 | Detroit Tigers | 10 | Pittsburgh Pirates | 1 | |
| July 28, 1969 | Minnesota Twins | 7 | Houston Astros | 2 | 5 innings-rain |
| July 27, 1970 | Montreal Expos | 10 | Chicago White Sox | 6 | |
| August 9, 1971 | Cleveland Indians | 13 | Chicago Cubs | 5 | |
| August 7, 1972 | New York Yankees | 8 | Los Angeles Dodgers | 3 | |
| August 6, 1973 | Texas Rangers | 6 | Pittsburgh Pirates | 4 | |
| August 12, 1974 | Atlanta Braves | 12 | Chicago White Sox | 9 | |
| August 18, 1975 | Boston Red Sox | 11 | San Francisco Giants | 5 | |
| August 9, 1976 | Milwaukee Brewers | 9 | New York Mets | 3 | |
| August 8, 1977 | Minnesota Twins | 8 | Philadelphia Phillies | 5 | |
| August 7, 1978 | Detroit Tigers | 4 | New York Mets | 4 | 6½ innings-rain (tie game) |
| August 6, 1979 | Texas Rangers | 12 | San Diego Padres | 5 | |
| August 4, 1980 | Pittsburgh Pirates | 11 | Chicago White Sox | 8 | |
| August 3, 1981 | Cincinnati Reds vs. Oakland Athletics, canceled-players' strike (New York–Penn League game between Elmira Pioneers and Oneonta Yankees played instead) | ||||
| August 2, 1982 | Chicago White Sox | 4 | New York Mets | 4 | 8 innings-rain (tie game) |
| August 1, 1983 | St. Louis Cardinals | 4 | Baltimore Orioles | 1 | |
| August 13, 1984 | Detroit Tigers | 7 | Atlanta Braves | 5 | |
| July 29, 1985 | Houston Astros | 5 | Boston Red Sox | 3 | 10 innings |
| August 4, 1986 | Texas Rangers | 11 | Kansas City Royals | 4 | |
| July 27, 1987 | New York Yankees | 3 | Atlanta Braves | 0 | |
| August 1, 1988 | Chicago Cubs | 1 | Cleveland Indians | 1 | 9 innings (tie game) |
| July 24, 1989 | Boston Red Sox vs. Cincinnati Reds, canceled-plane malfunction; Red Sox played intra-squad game | ||||
| August 6, 1990 | Baltimore Orioles vs. Montreal Expos, canceled-rain | ||||
| July 22, 1991 | Minnesota Twins | 6 | San Francisco Giants | 4 | |
| August 3, 1992 | New York Mets | 3 | Chicago White Sox | 0 | |
| August 2, 1993 | Cleveland Indians vs. Los Angeles Dodgers, canceled-rain | ||||
| August 1, 1994 | Seattle Mariners | 4 | Philadelphia Phillies | 3 | |
| July 31, 1995 | Chicago Cubs | 8 | Detroit Tigers | 6 | |
| August 5, 1996 | California Angels | 6 | Montreal Expos | 6 | 9 innings (tie game) |
| August 4, 1997 | Los Angeles Dodgers | 16 | San Diego Padres | 8 | |
| July 27, 1998 | Baltimore Orioles | 7 | Toronto Blue Jays | 1 | |
| July 26, 1999 | Texas Rangers | 11 | Kansas City Royals | 9 | 8 innings-rain |
| July 24, 2000 | Arizona Diamondbacks | 12 | Cleveland Indians | 7 | |
| August 6, 2001 | Milwaukee Brewers | 6 | Florida Marlins | 2 | |
| July 29, 2002 | Colorado Rockies | 18 | Chicago White Sox | 10 | |
| June 16, 2003 | Philadelphia Phillies | 7 | Tampa Bay Devil Rays | 5 | With this game, every MLB club has participated |
| June 14, 2004 | Atlanta Braves | 10 | Minnesota Twins | 7 | |
| May 23, 2005 | Detroit Tigers | 6 | Boston Red Sox | 4 | |
| May 15, 2006 | Cincinnati Reds vs. Pittsburgh Pirates, canceled after 2½ innings-rain | ||||
| May 21, 2007 | Baltimore Orioles | 13 | Toronto Blue Jays | 7 | |
| June 16, 2008 | Chicago Cubs vs. San Diego Padres, canceled-rain | ||||
Hall of Fame Classic
In November 2008, the Hall of Fame and the MLB Players Alumni Association announced the creation of the Hall of Fame Classic, an exhibition game involving Hall of Famers and other retired MLB players to be played on Father's Day weekend, and in recent years on the Saturday before Memorial Day. The inaugural Hall of Fame Classic was played on Sunday, June 21, 2009.[5]
Cooperstown Classic
The Cooperstown Classic was an International League regular season game played in honor of the 125th anniversary of the league in 2008. The game was held on a Sunday afternoon in may between the Rochester Red Wings and the Syracuse Chiefs. The game was the third of a four-game series in which the Chiefs were the home team. The crowd for the game was very respectable and Major League Hall of Fame member Carlton Fisk threw out the first pitch. The game was postponed after the second inning after a rain delay in which Syracuse lead 1-0 and went on to win the following day in its completion at Alliance Bank Stadium. In an attempt to give the fans another game, the Cooperstown Classic Two was played on a Sunday in June 2009. This game was played between the Pawtucket Red Sox and the home team Syracuse Chiefs. The game was played in full with the Red Sox winning 15-3. This game was not played after that but many have expressed interest in it after the demise of the MLB Hall Of Fame Game in 2008.
Other uses
Doubleday Field is used primarily for amateur and American Legion ball; The Legends of Baseball rents out Doubleday for three weeks over the summer. The Cooperstown Hawkeyes of the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League use the field during the summer, while Play at the Plate Baseball also has an annual event at Doubleday Field every September.
No professional team has ever called the stadium home, although in 1996 the Northeast League considered placing a franchise in Cooperstown; this idea was rejected because Doubleday Field has no lights, a necessity for a team in a pro league. Also, some felt that Cooperstown should be the home of all baseball, and not just one team. However, the New York–Penn League has played an annual regular-season game at Doubleday Field since 1991, with the team based in nearby Oneonta serving as the home team through 2009. (The team was known as the Oneonta Yankees until 1999, when they switched affiliations to become the Oneonta Tigers in 1999. The franchise moved to Connecticut in 2010, but has continued to host the Cooperstown game.)
References
- ↑ "12 WPA Projects that Still Exist". How Stuff Works. Publications International, Ltd. Retrieved 2009-03-11.
- ↑ "Cooperstown Connection: Doubleday Field, A Diamond in the Pasture". Archived from the original on 2005-09-06. Retrieved 2012-05-07.
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/20080202075649/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com:80/2008/baseball/mlb/wires/01/29/2010.ap.bbo.hall.of.fame.game.0131/. Archived from the original on February 2, 2008. Missing or empty
|title=(help) - ↑ Kekis, John (2008-06-18). "Final Hall of Fame Game canceled by rain". Yahoo! Sports. Associated Press. Retrieved 2008-06-16.
- ↑ O'Connell, Jack (2008-11-17). "New Hall tradition to feature legends". MLB.com. Retrieved 2009-04-01.
External links
- http://www.playattheplate.org
- Legends of Baseball
- Doubleday Field, A Diamond in the Pasture, explains how Elihu Phinney's farm became the famous ball park.
- Ball Parks of the Minor Leagues: Doubleday Field
- Rochester Area Ballparks: Doubleday Field
- Project Ballpark: Doubleday Field
- Baseball Hall of Fame: Rain washes away final Hall of Fame Game
Coordinates: 42°41′57.4″N 74°55′36″W / 42.699278°N 74.92667°W