Herald Journal

Serving the communities of Howard Lake, Lester Prairie, Winsted, Watertown, Mayer, New Germany, Waverly, MN and the surrounding area

It’s the people, and the parks, that sets amateur baseball apart


Take a drive down any highway, county road, or even sometimes a back road, and you’re bound to run into something that Minnesotans hold dear. No, it’s not one of the tens of thousands of lakes we have. It’s something that holds a special place in each community for all those who attend and play there.

Amateur baseball is a special thing. Those fields all across the state that amateur teams take a few times each week during the summer are something special entirely on their own. It seems like no matter what direction you go, you’re bound to run into a beautiful baseball field with an even better story behind it.

Todd Mueller, author of “Town Ball Parks of Minnesota”, did an incredible job capturing stunning photos, as well as sharing intimate stories that make these ballparks so special.

Mueller travels across the state to be able to feature some of the state’s best ballparks and stories. He features ballparks from Arlington and Belle Plaine, to New Ulm, Hinckley, Marshall, and Rochester.

Each park featured has great stories shared, along with breath-taking photos.

Mueller features 27 different ballparks in his book, and although there are more than 300 amateur teams in the state of Minnesota, even the ones not featured have their own special story and place in aspect of amateur baseball.

Minnesota is often referred to as the “State of Hockey”, but there really is nothing like taking in an amateur baseball game on a summer night. The beauty of amateur baseball, and what makes it so special, is how it brings people together, and lets grown men run around the bases a few times a week and play for the love of the game.

Amateur baseball also goes beyond the players. Behind every gorgeous field around the state, is a person or community that takes charge of making sure each blade of grass is perfect, and the chalk line is as straight as an arrow down the first and third base line. The time, resources, and work put into fields all across the state is something to take pride in.

Each ballpark around the state is a reflection of that team and that community. Each one has a story and a history that can be shared among others who love the game.

One of my favorite stories I was lucky enough to learn about an amateur ballpark during my time working in Sleepy Eye was how one of the best baseball players ever decided to come to the small town of Sleepy Eye to play a baseball game. Yep, the Great Bambino himself, Babe Ruth, came to Sleepy Eye in 1922 to play a game during a barnstorming tour with fellow Yankee teammate Bob Meusel.

Ruth and Meusel played a pickup game with players from southwestern Minnesota on the same field that stands today in Sleepy Eye. Ruth hit two home runs that game at the Sleepy Eye Ball Park, and even to this day, everyone remembers the day Babe Ruth came to town and played on that field.

Babe Ruth’s visit to Sleepy Eye isn’t the only time amateur teams or their fields have been recognized. When Target Field opened up back in 2010, one of the more interesting aspects of the new stadium was the new Town Ball Tavern, which pays homage to the beautiful thing that is amateur baseball.

Inside the tavern features photos and memorabilia from town teams all across the state. Even the state tournament champions are honored each and every year in the tavern. It’s pretty cool for the Twins, a professional ball club at the highest level, to recognize how big of a thing amateur baseball is in this state, and how much it means to the players and the towns. They even host the Town Ball Classic at Target Field, which allows two team from each class to play a game at Target Field.

It’s an honor for those teams to get the chance to play in a Major League stadium, but ask anyone and there’s nothing like being able to play the game you love, on the field that you call home and can truly call your own.

Amateur baseball is an amazing thing, but it’s the people, and their parks that they can call home and their own, that makes it stand alone.

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