Doubleday Field

It’s a lot of fun to stop in here during a game. It’s also a little strange because apparently teams from all over the region rent the field to play each other. At any given time, any two teams from any location, at any skill level could be playing each other. The crowd is always neutral which is kind of nice. There doesn’t seem to be much to see here if there isn’t a game going on. It’s a baseball field like many others, though I am not a huge baseball fan.

There’s nothing better than a classic, American ballpark. There have been far, far, far too many ballparks torn down to make room for glitzy, new stadiums. And as classic parks like Comiskey, Ebbets and Rosenblatt (former home of the CWS) disappear, so does a piece of Americana that can’t be reclaimed. I suppose that’s why Cooperstown is the way it is – here to preserve that moment of magic you experienced as a kid at your first ball game, glove in hand and begging the players in the bullpen to throw you a ball up in the bleachers.
Here’s to Doubleday standing, well, forever.

This is a beautiful old field that is a nice throwback to vintage baseball. The field is usually open and is definitely a nice place to check out if your in town to see the museum. It is free to go in and walk around. They play an all star type game with retired players here every May. They also do an awards presentation during induction weekend in this stadium.

Supposedly the birthplace of baseball. If you are going to the museum, you may as well walk over here too. Once a year, a preseason MLB game is played here with current teams dressed in their retro outfits. I was lucky to see the Boston Red Sox against the Detroit TIgers. If no game is happening, you can walk in and check it out. Bring your camera. Maybe you’ll have a Field of Dreams moment.

This place was pretty cool to see. You can just walk into the open stadium and walk around. There was a game about to start shortly after we arrived so we decided to stay for a few innings.

This was the first place we stopped in Cooperstown. Well, technically it was the city parking lot attached to it, but considering the 5 hour drive we’d just completed, I was sprinting for the bathrooms as soon as I got out of the car.
Lucky for me, even though it was a rainy day with no game on the field, the bathrooms were open. They reminded me of the old school rest stop bathrooms in states that haven’t made any improvements in 3 decades in terms of style and accessories, but they were clean, open, and free, so I thought they were awesome.
The field itself is also always open. The grandstands are old school wood stands with lots of room. No field in America has seats that big any more.
They’ve got some signs and plaques all around, though we didn’t spend much time here since we were headed to the museum.