Doubleday Field is a baseball stadium in Cooperstown, New York named for Abner Doubleday and located two village blocks from the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.

Doubleday Field
Map
LocationCooperstown, New York
Capacity9,791
Field sizeLeft field: 296ft
Left-center field: 336ft
Center field: 390ft
Right-center field: 350ft
Right field: 312ft
SurfaceGrass
Construction
Opened1920
Expanded1924, 1939
Tenants
MLB Hall of Fame game (1943-2008)

Baseball Hall of Fame Classic (2009-present)

Cooperstown Hawkeyes (PGCBL) (2010–2013)

The grounds have been used for baseball since 1920, on what was Elihu Phinney's farm. A wooden grandstand was built in 1924, later replaced by a steel and concrete grandstand built in 1939 by the Works Project Administration.[1] Subsequent expansion has increased seating capacity to 9,791 spectators.[2]

Hall of Fame Game

edit
 
Doubleday Field, view from behind home plate.

Each year from 1940 to 2008, Doubleday Field hosted the Hall of Fame Game, an exhibition game between two major league squads. Originally, the game and induction ceremony for new Hall of Fame members were held on the same day, a Monday. Starting in 1979, the induction ceremony was moved to Sunday, with the game played on Monday.[3] Starting in 2003, the game was scheduled in May or June, to better accommodate the participating teams' travel schedules.

As MLB's last remaining in-season exhibition game, its results did not count in the official standings, and substitute players were generally used to avoid injury to starters. The curiosity factor of two teams from different leagues playing each other in this game outside of a charity game, World Series, or spring training situation was eventually removed in 1997 with the advent of interleague play, further reducing the game's cachet. As it was placed in the major league schedule and delaying the game was logistically impossible, several times the game was cancelled and not played in a year due to weather or other circumstances, including rain, the 1981 player's strike, and one, year, a plane malfunction. Games going into extra innings stopped with the 1988 edition, with only nine innings played and ties being declared.

On January 29, 2008, Major League Baseball announced that the final Hall of Fame Game would be played on June 16, 2008, between the Chicago Cubs and San Diego Padres, citing "the inherent challenges" of scheduling teams in the modern day as the reason for ending the annual contest.[4] The 2008 game was rained out and never rescheduled,[5] making the 2007 matchup between the Baltimore Orioles and Toronto Blue Jays the last Hall of Fame Game that was played.

Results

edit
Key to colors
     National League victory over American League
     American League victory over National League
Date Winning Team Score Losing Team Score Notes Series
June 13, 1940 Chicago Cubs 10 Boston Red Sox 9 7 innings-rain NL, 1–0
June 13, 1941 Cleveland Indians 2 Cincinnati Reds 1 6 innings-rain Tied, 1–1
August 3, 1942 St. Louis Cardinals 5 Philadelphia Athletics 2 NL, 2–1
July 19, 1943 Brooklyn Dodgers 7 Chicago White Sox 5 NL, 3–1
July 10, 1944 Detroit Tigers vs. New York Giants canceled-rain  
1945   canceled-war restrictions  
June 13, 1946 New York Giants 9 Detroit Tigers 5 NL, 4–1
July 21, 1947 Boston Braves 4 New York Yankees 3 10 innings NL, 5–1
July 12, 1948 St. Louis Browns 7 Philadelphia Phillies 5 NL, 5–2
June 13, 1949 Washington Senators 8 Pittsburgh Pirates 7 NL, 5–3
July 24, 1950 Boston Red Sox 8 New York Giants 5 NL, 5–4
July 23, 1951 Brooklyn Dodgers 9 Philadelphia Athletics 4 NL, 6–4
July 21, 1952 Cleveland Indians 4 Chicago Cubs 2 NL, 6–5
July 27, 1953 Cincinnati Reds 16 Chicago White Sox 6 NL, 7–5
August 9, 1954 New York Yankees 10 Cincinnati Reds 9 NL, 7–6
July 25, 1955 Boston Red Sox 4 Milwaukee Braves 2 Tied, 7–7
July 23, 1956 New York Giants 11 Detroit Tigers 10 12 innings NL, 8–7
July 22, 1957 Chicago White Sox 13 St. Louis Cardinals 4 Tied, 8–8
August 4, 1958 Washington Senators 5 Philadelphia Phillies 4 AL, 9–8
July 20, 1959 Kansas City Athletics 5, Pittsburgh Pirates 5 6 innings-rain (tie game) AL, 9–8–1
June 27, 1960 Chicago Cubs 5 Cleveland Indians 0 Tied, 9–9–1
July 24, 1961 Los Angeles Dodgers 6 Baltimore Orioles 2 NL, 10–9–1
July 23, 1962 Milwaukee Braves vs. New York Yankees cancelled-rain  
August 5, 1963 Boston Red Sox 7 Milwaukee Braves 3 Tied, 10–10–1
July 27, 1964 Washington Senators 6 New York Mets 4 AL, 11–10–1
July 26, 1965 New York Yankees 7 Philadelphia Phillies 4 AL, 12–10–1
July 25, 1966 St. Louis Cardinals 7 Minnesota Twins 5 AL, 12–11–1
July 24, 1967 Baltimore Orioles 3 Cincinnati Reds 0 AL, 13–11–1
July 22, 1968 Detroit Tigers 10 Pittsburgh Pirates 1 AL, 14–11–1
July 28, 1969 Minnesota Twins 7 Houston Astros 2 5 innings-rain AL, 15–11–1
July 27, 1970 Montreal Expos 10 Chicago White Sox 6 AL, 15–12–1
August 9, 1971 Cleveland Indians 13 Chicago Cubs 5 AL, 16–12–1
August 7, 1972 New York Yankees 8 Los Angeles Dodgers 3 AL, 17–12–1
August 6, 1973 Texas Rangers 6 Pittsburgh Pirates 4 AL, 18–12–1
August 12, 1974 Atlanta Braves 12 Chicago White Sox 9 AL, 18–13–1
August 18, 1975 Boston Red Sox 11 San Francisco Giants 5 AL, 19–13–1
August 9, 1976 Milwaukee Brewers 9 New York Mets 3 AL, 20–13–1
August 8, 1977 Minnesota Twins 8 Philadelphia Phillies 5 AL, 21–13–1
August 7, 1978 Detroit Tigers 4, New York Mets 4 6½ innings-rain (tie game) AL, 21–13–2
August 6, 1979 Texas Rangers 12 San Diego Padres 5 AL, 22–13–2
August 4, 1980 Pittsburgh Pirates 11 Chicago White Sox 8 AL, 22–14–2
August 3, 1981 Cincinnati Reds vs. Oakland Athletics canceled-players' strike  
August 2, 1982 Chicago White Sox 4, New York Mets 4 8 innings-rain (tie game) AL, 22–14–3
August 1, 1983 St. Louis Cardinals 4 Baltimore Orioles 1 AL, 22–15–3
August 13, 1984 Detroit Tigers 7 Atlanta Braves 5 AL, 23–15–3
July 29, 1985 Houston Astros 5 Boston Red Sox 3 10 innings AL, 23–16–3
August 4, 1986 Texas Rangers 11 Kansas City Royals 4 AL, 24–16–3
July 27, 1987 New York Yankees 3 Atlanta Braves 0 AL, 25–16–3
August 1, 1988 Chicago Cubs 1, Cleveland Indians 1 9 innings (tie game) AL, 25–16–4
July 24, 1989 Boston Red Sox vs. Cincinnati Reds canceled-plane malfunction  
August 6, 1990 Baltimore Orioles vs. Montreal Expos canceled-rain  
July 22, 1991 Minnesota Twins 6 San Francisco Giants 4 AL, 26–16–4
August 3, 1992 New York Mets 3 Chicago White Sox 0 AL, 26–17–4
August 2, 1993 Cleveland Indians vs. Los Angeles Dodgers canceled-rain  
August 1, 1994 Seattle Mariners 4 Philadelphia Phillies 3 AL, 27–17–4
July 31, 1995 Chicago Cubs 8 Detroit Tigers 6 AL, 27–18–4
August 5, 1996 California Angels 6, Montreal Expos 6 9 innings (tie game) AL, 27–18–5
August 4, 1997 Los Angeles Dodgers 16 San Diego Padres 8 @
July 27, 1998 Baltimore Orioles 7 Toronto Blue Jays 1 @
July 26, 1999 Texas Rangers 11 Kansas City Royals 9 8 innings-rain @
July 24, 2000 Arizona Diamondbacks 12 Cleveland Indians 7 AL, 27–19–5
August 6, 2001 Milwaukee Brewers 6 Florida Marlins 2 @
July 29, 2002 Colorado Rockies 18 Chicago White Sox 10 AL, 27–20–5
June 16, 2003 Philadelphia Phillies 7 Tampa Bay Devil Rays 5 AL, 27–21–5
June 14, 2004 Atlanta Braves 10 Minnesota Twins 7 AL, 27–22–5
May 23, 2005 Detroit Tigers 6 Boston Red Sox 4 @
May 15, 2006 Cincinnati Reds vs. Pittsburgh Pirates canceled after 2½ innings-rain  
May 21, 2007 Baltimore Orioles 13 Toronto Blue Jays 7 @
June 16, 2008 Chicago Cubs vs. San Diego Padres canceled-rain  

Notes:

† A New York–Penn League game between the Elmira Pioneers and Oneonta Yankees was played in 1981.
‡ The Boston Red Sox played an intra-squad game in 1989.
@ Denotes games played between teams in the same league.
With the participation of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in 2003, every MLB franchise had participated in a Hall of Fame game.

Hall of Fame Classic

edit

In November 2008, the Hall of Fame and the MLB Players Alumni Association announced the creation of the Hall of Fame Classic, an exhibition game involving Hall of Famers and other retired MLB players to be played on Father's Day weekend, and in recent years on the Saturday before Memorial Day. The inaugural Hall of Fame Classic was played on Sunday, June 21, 2009.[6] The Hall of Fame game lasts seven innings or two hours, whichever comes first. In addition to the game, there is a parade and a home run derby beforehand.[7] The game has been played annually since 2011, except in 2020 and 2021 when it was canceled "in accordance with recommendations by the Centers for Disease Control and government officials to limit opportunities for large gatherings and the further spread of the COVID-19 virus."

In 2024, the Hall of Fame game was the "East-West Classic", celebrating the Negro League's All Star Game.[8][9]

Cooperstown Classic

edit

The Cooperstown Classic was an International League regular season game played in honor of the 125th anniversary of the league in 2008. The game was held on a Sunday afternoon in May between the Rochester Red Wings and the Syracuse Chiefs. The game was the third of a four-game series in which the Chiefs were the home team. The crowd for the game was very respectable and Major League Hall of Fame member Carlton Fisk threw out the first pitch. The game was postponed after the second inning after a rain delay in which Syracuse led 1-0 and went on to win the following day in its completion at Alliance Bank Stadium. In an attempt to give the fans another game, the Cooperstown Classic Two was played on a Sunday in June 2009. This game was played between the Pawtucket Red Sox and the home team Syracuse Chiefs. The game was played in full with the PawSox winning 15-3. This game was not played after that but many have expressed interest in it after the demise of the MLB Hall Of Fame Game in 2008.

Other uses

edit

Doubleday Field is used primarily for amateur and American Legion ball; The Legends of Baseball rents out Doubleday for three weeks over the summer. The Cooperstown Hawkeyes of the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League use the field during the summer, while Play at the Plate Baseball and JSB Baseball also has an annual event at Doubleday Field every September.

No professional team has ever called the stadium home, although in 1996 the Northeast League considered placing a franchise in Cooperstown; this idea was rejected because Doubleday Field has no lights, a necessity for a team in a pro league. Also, some felt that Cooperstown should be the home of all baseball, and not just one team. However, the New York–Penn League played an annual regular-season game at Doubleday Field from 1991-2019, with the team based in nearby Oneonta serving as the home team through 2009. (The team was known as the Oneonta Yankees until 1999, when they switched affiliations to become the Oneonta Tigers. The franchise moved to Connecticut in 2010, but continued to host the Cooperstown game.)

On September 16, 2023, the Savannah Bananas would wrap up their 2023 Banana Ball Word Tour at Doubleday Field against their rivals, the Party Animals. In front of a sold out Doubleday Field, the Party Animals would defeat the Bananas 2-1.

References

edit
  1. ^ "12 WPA Projects that Still Exist". How Stuff Works. Publications International, Ltd. 16 September 2007. Retrieved 2009-03-11.
  2. ^ "Cooperstown Connection: Doubleday Field, A Diamond in the Pasture". Archived from the original on 2005-12-14. Retrieved 2012-05-07.
  3. ^ Dobinsky, Anne (August 5, 1979). "Baseball Shrine Celebrates 40th Anniversary". The Star Press. Muncie, Indiana. UPI. p. C-6. Retrieved October 11, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Baseball Hall of Fame Game in Cooperstown will end after this year". Archived from the original on February 2, 2008.
  5. ^ Kekis, John (June 16, 2008). "Final Hall of Fame Game canceled by rain". Rockford Register Star. Retrieved 2024-09-12.
  6. ^ O'Connell, Jack (2008-11-17). "New Hall tradition to feature legends". MLB.com. Archived from the original on 2011-07-14. Retrieved 2009-04-01.
  7. ^ "Hall of Fame Classic-Baseball Hall of Fame". baseballhall.org. Baseball Hall of Fame. Retrieved July 16, 2018.
  8. ^ Cichalski, Dan. "East-West Classic a true throwback celebration at Cooperstown". mlb.com. MLB Advanced Media, LP. Retrieved 26 May 2024.
  9. ^ Cichalski, Dan. "East-West Classic highlights HOF's celebration of Black baseball this weekend". mlb.com. MLB Advanced Media, LP. Retrieved 26 May 2024.
edit

42°41′57.4″N 74°55′36″W / 42.699278°N 74.92667°W / 42.699278; -74.92667