Tinker Field, what happened?
by Marc Viquez
July 21, 2006 - Southern League (SL1)
Orlando Rays
Poor Tinker Field what have they done?
The first time I saw a game here you were home to the Southern League (AA) Orlando Cubs. Your playing field was sparkling, your seats filled with baseball fans and you walls were shining with color. So much love.
I know I have been gone a long time, sorry about the delay, but here I am 12-years-later and, wow, what I see is decay!
Your playing field is covered with white chalking powder that has never been seen before on a playing field. Your wooden bleacher seating, once a pristine blue, is now warped, aged and uncouth. The outfield walls, once a symbol of pride, were strong. Now they look worn out and blah. Your seats underneath your roof have paint that is chipping away, while your concession area bares not a sole in sight. I have nothing more to say.
Watching a game here at Tinker Field is like visiting a city where no one's around. A veritable ghost town.
Yes, that's the good euonym.
What has occurred here in Orlando, Fla., is nothing new to ballparks across the country. A brilliant new facility opened up a few exits south on I-4 at the Disney World Complex and Tinker Field was left vacant. The city does not seem to have any plans to replace ballpark or renovate the ballpark from what I saw this past July.
The field opened in 1923 and Clark Griffith brought his Washington Senators here for spring training in 1936 when the majority of the stadium was constructed. For the next 54-years Tinker Field was the spring training home for the Senators, who later became the Minnesota Twins, in 1961. The stadium was also home to AA-baseball in the Southern League from 1973-1999 where the Twins, Chicago Cubs and Tampa Bay Devil Rays placed teams.
The ballpark is now home to the Florida Collegiate Summer League's Orlando Shockers who had to cancel two games at the field during the first week of July due to poor field conditions from a recent concert. The three-year-old league has cited that Tinker Field is one of the best playing fields in the league, but after the looks of the July 6th game you might rethink that statement.
White chalking powder was spread out throughout the outfield to cover up track marks left by the stage from the concert. Brown dirt also mixed in to make the outfield look more and feel like the back of New York City alley.
"This is a historic ballpark, built at a time where the game was much different then it is today," said long time fan Pete Smith of Winter Haven. "The city is more concerned with building a new arena and football stadium then they are with renovating Tinker Field"
There were a collective few who remember watching AA-baseball here and are happy that baseball is back to his purest form here at Tinker Field. Many fans digressed at the fact that they had to drive to the Walt Disney World Wide World of Sports Complex to watch the Orlando Devil Rays after they vacated Tinker Field after the 1999 season. The O-Rays had captured the Southern League title and lasted four more seasons at the Disney Complex before relocated to Montgomery, Ala., in 2004.
The ballpark just seems a little creepy when I was there with the front entrance locked up, old XL 106.7 signage hanging up, O-Rays logos prevalent throughout the concourse and a Southern League lineup card hanging up. All of the concession windows were closed, except for one and the only entrance was at the 1st base corner of the ballpark.
The outfield wall was another story as it looked worn and decayed. You could see slits in it and it definitely needed a paint job. It could have used a few nails, a paint brush and a few gallons of paint. In fact the dugouts, ceilings and walls could also use a paint brush to spruce up the place.
I would not expect a major overhaul to the facility, a fresh coat of paint would do wonders along with the removal of the long warped wooden bleachers down the leftfield line. I am not expecting a Double-A team to relocate here, but perhaps a Single-A Florida State League team could move in from one the massive spring training facilities that house them in the area
However, this is a perfect situation for the 6-team FSCL with teams in nearby Winter Park, Sanford, Altamonte Springs and being next season Leesburg. In fact all the teams are within an hours drive from one another making it a financially logical choice to ensure baseball being played at Tinker Field.
Perhaps when I return to Tinker Field down the road I will see a different ballpark, one that reads like a melody and less like an elegy.
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Southern League Stories from July 21, 2006
- BayBears upend Birmingham, 4-1 - Birmingham Barons
- Smokies Win With Long Ball & Small Ball - Mississippi Braves
- BayBears beat Birmingham - Mobile BayBears
- West Tenn-Montgomery Suspended - Jackson Generals
- Carolina defeats Huntsville - Carolina Mudcats
- Tinker Field, what happened? - OSC Original by Marc Viquez
- West Tenn tops Biscuits 5-3 - Montgomery Biscuits
- Mobile defeats Barons, 8-3 - Birmingham Barons
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer(s), and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
