Tutor: A ballpark and a history worth remembering
From Phillip Tutor at The Hardball Times on March 25, 2020:
One of the misfortunes of baseball’s past is how the game’s demolished parks are remembered. Often they aren’t, save for a placard here or a signpost there that reminds us of the greatness that once occupied these places. The repurposing of real estate is too lucrative to linger in historic nostalgia.
Forbes Field, the wonderful park forever linked to the Pittsburgh Pirates, was torn down in 1971, its property now owned by the University of Pittsburgh.
Metropolitan Stadium, the Minnesota Twins’ first home, was razed in 1985. The Mall of America now sits in its place.
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And here’s another: Martin Stadium, the former home of the Memphis Red Sox of the Negro Leagues, was razed in 1961. A trucking company — Tri-State Truck Center — resides there today. A Tennessee Historical Commission marker planted on the sidewalk is the only tangible reminder of the site’s significance to baseball history and 20th-century African-American life in that city.
Read the full article here: https://tht.fangraphs.com/a-ballpark-and-a-history-worth-remembering/
- Related link: Get your free e-book download of Green Cathedrals, 5th Edition, on every MLB and Negro League ballpark
Originally published: March 27, 2020. Last Updated: March 27, 2020.