The Ballpark Guide

If you've been to Truist Stadium (home of the Winston-Salem Dash), you know there's a lot to like about this ballpark. My latest blog post breaks down my 5️⃣ favorite things about Truist Stadium. I was so happy to finally check this park off my list this summer, and can't wait to visit again! Take a look at the link below and let me know your favorite things about this North Carolina ballpark! ⚾️

5 Things I Love: Truist Stadium - The Ballpark Guide There are lots of cool features to check out when you visit Truist Stadium in Winston-Salem. Here are my five favorite things about this SAL ballpark.

Some of you might remember the (surprisingly) delicious poutine hot dog that I ate at Rogers Centre last season. Although I was tempted to get another one during last week's visit, I broadened my culinary horizons and ordered the new hot honey maple bacon hot dog instead. And you know what? It was outstanding, too. This one was topped with Ontario honey, marinated maple bacon, and garlic aioli. Sweet, spicy, salty perfection. The Blue Jays food team has been hitting home runs lately, and I wouldn't hesitate to order this one again.

At Huntington Park (Columbus Clippers), you can get a selfie with a player in the background before you even enter the ballpark! To learn how to pull this shot off, as well as read some other suitable selfie spots around the park, take a look at my new post below:

5 Places to Snap a Selfie at Huntington Park - The Ballpark Guide If you're planning to visit Huntington Park and want to document the occasion with a selfie, here are five backdrops that you'll want to consider.

Working from Dome today. 😉⚾

I wanted to document my visit to Huntington Park in Columbus a few weeks back with a selfie, so I climbed to the bleachers atop the AEP Power Pavilion and took in the view. Perfect.
- Position myself with the ballpark sign in the background ✅
- Move my phone to get some of the sky in the background ✅
- Ensure I didn't have any food on my face ✅
- Wipe some sweat off my forehead ✅
- Fail to notice my buds, Tom and Mark, jumping and waving over my shoulder ✅ 😂
Perfect.

By the way, I ended up with some selfies that didn't include them, but they were insistent that I share this shot. So here it is.

Thanks for a great weekend, gents. And for dramatically improving my selfie. 😉

Another cool baseball gift from my buddy, Mark, to share! This one's a game-used New York Collegiate Baseball League baseball. Like the PGCBL baseball I posted a couple of days ago, this one also has a sweet-looking logo. A great addition to my collection! ⚾️

Loving this game-used Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League baseball that was a gift from my buddy, Mark! I've never watched a game in this league, but would love to check one out someday. I'm a big fan of this bold and colorful logo. A great addition to my collection. Thank you, Mark!

Last week's visit to Huntington Park (Columbus Clippers) got me thinking about my favorite things about this International League facility. I've been lucky to visit on a few different occasions, and these are the things I love best about the ballpark:

5 Things I Love: Huntington Park - The Ballpark Guide There are lots of things to enjoy about Huntington Park in Columbus, Ohio. Here are my favorite things about the home of the Clippers.

Freshly squeezed lemonade with a view, up here on The AEP Power Pavilion at Huntington Park. 🍋

I'm in Columbus tonight to see the Clippers, and you know I had to find something unique to eat. Here's the Puff the Magic Popper hot dog, featuring cream cheese, fresh jalapenos, and bacon bits. 🌭

I spent the final day of my May baseball trip in Visit Hickory Metro, where I saw the Hickory Crawdads Baseball Club at L.P. Frans Stadium. This visit was special because I "completed" North Carolina ... I've now seen all 🔟 of the state's minor league teams in their home ballparks! ⚾️ Take a look at the link below to read all about my fun Crawdads experience. ⤵️

https://mlblogstheballparkguide.wordpress.com/2024/06/28/hickory-crawdads-may-18-2024/

When I was researching Visit Asheville before my visit, one of the food recommendations that I kept seeing was HOLE - Hot Doughnuts and Fresh Coffee. Named the Best Dessert of 2016 by Bon Appetit, these doughnuts are formed by hand (hence the funky shape) and fried to order in one of the cutest bake shops I've ever visited. I bought two, cinnamon sugar and sumac, and they were both outstanding. Easily the best doughnuts I've ever had. I'd be a regular customer if I didn't live almost 1,000 miles from Asheville!! 😂 If you're visiting the city for some baseball or any reason, be sure to swing past this outstanding local business. A word of warning, though — you won't find chain-shop donuts nearly as appealing after your visit! 🍩

I'm changing up my content a little this week by looking at MLB's City Connect jerseys – and, specifically, breaking down my five favorite looks. I'm curious to hear which jerseys you like best, so feel free to leave me a comment. ⚾️👕

My 5 Favorite City Connect Jerseys - The Ballpark Guide Some fans love MLB's City Connect jerseys, while others aren't so happy. In this post, I break down the City Connect designs that I like best.

I made an eight-hour round trip to Asheville, only for the Tourists game to be rained out. Still, I got to spend a couple of hours at the historic McCormick Field, which was great. And I also had an outstanding hotel with a great view of the mountains, which helped me get over the letdown of the rainout. 😎

You can read all about my time in Asheville in my latest blog post, here:

Asheville Tourists – May 17, 2024 The four-hour drive to Asheville from North Carolina’s Triangle is beautiful, but I can’t deny that by the time I reached the city, I was ready for a rest. (A week of baseball road trip…

I've wanted to attend an NCAA baseball game for years. On May 12, I finally made it happen by taking in a Wake Forest Baseball game. There were lots of great things about this visit — I was really impressed with the ballpark's energy and enjoyed thinking about its history. I ate a timeless ballpark classic for lunch and found a BP baseball about 475 feet from home plate!

Wake Forest Demon Deacons – May 12, 2024 I’m the type of baseball road tripper who meticulously plans every small detail of a trip. This approach helps to ensure I don’t miss anything I want to see or do, but it also doesn& #82…

If you're attending a Durham Bulls Baseball Club game this summer, here's a post-game photo idea for you: Exit the ballpark on the third base side, cross Blackwell Street, and enter the American To***co Campus. Take the elevator or stairs to the top of the parking deck, and then snap a shot toward the famous Lucky Strike water tower. The American To***co Campus is highly photogenic during daytime hours, but the views after dark are especially breathtaking.

After several factors kept me from getting to Visit Winston-Salem over the last few seasons, I was happy to finally check out Truist Stadium (Winston-Salem Dash) earlier this month. This beautiful facility was my 85th different affiliated ballpark visited since 2010, and I thoroughly enjoyed my evening. Hype Hens, a memorable meal, and a unique vantage point outside the ballpark all contributed to the experience. I was also thrilled with my stay at The Historic Brookstown Inn, which is just a short walk from the ballpark. To read about a great day in Winston-Salem, check out the link here ⤵️

Winston-Salem Dash – May 11, 2024 Good things, as the saying goes, come to those who wait. And while I had to wait longer than I’d have liked, finally seeing a ballgame at Truist Stadium was a reward in itself. I’m no s…

I attended two NCAA Div. I baseball games (Wake Forest and NC State) during my recent North Carolina trip, and thoroughly enjoyed both experiences. An added bonus was getting traditional paper tickets for each game — something that seldom happens in today's world of digital tickets. These were the first paper tickets I'd received in a long time, and I was happy to add them to my collection!

Meat sweats alert! 😅 One of the more memorable ballpark meals from my recent trip to North Carolina was the "Cheesapeno" sausage on a bun, topped with peppers, onions, and cheese, at Truist Stadium (Winston-Salem Dash). The concession stand sign described the sausage as, "A hot n' poppin', hardwood smoked blend of real cheddar cheese, premium jalapenos, and hand-crafted sausage made with beef and pork." It was a tasty meal ... and it ensured I didn't need any post-game snacks back at my hotel! Oof. My blog post about my Truist Stadium visit will be published next week.

I've just updated my website's Game Archive page with the games from my recent trip to North Carolina. Three more new-to-me MiLB ballparks brings my total to 87 different affiliated parks visited since 2010. As you'll see, I also visited a pair of NCAA Div. I ballparks — the first time I've attended baseball games at that level. If you're interested in seeing everywhere I've been, you can check out the link below.

https://www.theballparkguide.com/game-archive

Happy Saturday from LP Frans Stadium in Visit Hickory Metro! This is my 87th different affiliated ballpark, and I've now visited all 10 of the MiLB parks in Visit North Carolina. The Hickory Crawdads are slated to play a doubleheader tonight. Fingers crossed that the skies stay clear.

Happy to be here at McCormick Field in Asheville, home of the Asheville Tourists Baseball Club. (Ballpark #86 for me!) This historic ballpark opened in 1924, and it's amazing to be here a century later! It's definitely a place with a lot of unique design features, and I'm excited to write about it soon. In the meantime, it's time to wait out a rain delay. 🌧️ Maybe I'll find some food to pass the time. 😉

I couldn't resist checking out another NCAA game before I get back to my minor league ballpark visits. Last night, I attended an NC State Wolfpack game at Doak Field at Dail Park, and really enjoyed the experience. The atmosphere was just outstanding, and the hot dog was good, too ... although I'll spare everyone the food photo at this early hour! 😂

When you're driving through Winston-Salem during a Wake Forest game day, you have to stop for a quick "walkaround." I got lucky and found this baseball on Shorefair Drive, which runs beyond the ballpark's right field. I used the Google Maps measurement tool to determine it was about 475 feet from home plate! This is why it's important to search wide and far when you're trying to find a baseball. 😎⚾️

I was driving out of Winston-Salem on Sunday, and decided to stop at David F. Couch Ballpark at Wake Forest to snap a quick pic. As I got closer to the park, it was apparent that it was a Demon Deacons gameday! I didn't have time to attend the whole game, but I watched the first few innings of Wake Forest against Clemson. This was my first NCAA Div. I game, and I really enjoyed what I saw. Affiliated baseball will always be my priority, but it was fun to change things up a little.

Happy Saturday from Truist Stadium, home of the Winston-Salem Dash! This is ballpark #85 for me, and I'm pumped to be back in North Carolina to check out another ballpark. This one is beautiful! I'm excited to experience it tonight and write about it soon.

My brand-new blog post was a ton of fun to research and write! Definitely one of my favorite pieces of content to put together. It looks at five "monster" outfield fences around baseball that pay tribute to Fenway Park's Green Monster, but are unique in their own ways. I'd love for you to check this one out. 🙂

5 Monsters That Loom Beyond Fenway - The Ballpark Guide Boston's Fenway Park is known for its towering Green Monster outfield fence, but there are other ballparks around pro baseball that have monsters of their own.

If you're an American, this post is for you!

Are you looking to check out some ballparks in Canada this summer? Looking for some options beyond the obvious choices? I've got you covered! My latest blog post breaks down five ballparks in Canada that are worth visiting ... including one that is the oldest baseball facility in the world!

🇺🇸 ⚾️ 🇨🇦

Click here to read more:

5 Canadian Ballparks for Americans to Visit - The Ballpark Guide If you're an American who is thinking of visiting Canada for baseball this summer, you have many options beyond Rogers Centre. Here are five parks to check out.

In my latest blog post, I break down my five favorite things about Atrium Health Ballpark, home of the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers.

Have you been to this ballpark? Let me know your favorite things about it!

https://theballparkguide.com/blog/5-things-i-love-atrium-health-ballpark

My latest "5 Things I Love" post focuses on Atrium Health Ballpark, home of the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers. I was fortunate to visit this facility in 2023, and it has been a blast to reflect on the things that I thoroughly enjoyed. Have you visited Atrium Health Ballpark? Take a look at my list below and see how it compares to yours!

https://www.theballparkguide.com/blog/5-things-i-love-atrium-health-ballpark