Doubleday Field

Last updated
Doubleday Field
Doubleday Field exterior.jpg
Doubleday Field
Location Cooperstown, New York
Capacity 9,791
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)

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.

Contents

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

Doubleday Field, view from behind home plate. Doubleday Field interior.jpg
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

Key to colors
    National League victory over American League
    American League victory over National League
DateWinning TeamScoreLosing TeamScoreNotesSeries
June 13, 1940 Chicago Cubs 10 Boston Red Sox 97 innings-rainNL, 1–0
June 13, 1941 Cleveland Indians 2 Cincinnati Reds 16 innings-rainTied, 1–1
August 3, 1942 St. Louis Cardinals 5 Philadelphia Athletics 2NL, 2–1
July 19, 1943 Brooklyn Dodgers 7 Chicago White Sox 5NL, 3–1
July 10, 1944 Detroit Tigers vs. New York Giants canceled-rain 
1945 canceled-war restrictions  
June 13, 1946New York Giants9Detroit Tigers5NL, 4–1
July 21, 1947 Boston Braves 4 New York Yankees 310 inningsNL, 5–1
July 12, 1948 St. Louis Browns 7 Philadelphia Phillies 5NL, 5–2
June 13, 1949 Washington Senators 8 Pittsburgh Pirates 7NL, 5–3
July 24, 1950Boston Red Sox8New York Giants5NL, 5–4
July 23, 1951Brooklyn Dodgers9Philadelphia Athletics4NL, 6–4
July 21, 1952Cleveland Indians4Chicago Cubs2NL, 6–5
July 27, 1953Cincinnati Reds16Chicago White Sox6NL, 7–5
August 9, 1954New York Yankees10Cincinnati Reds9NL, 7–6
July 25, 1955Boston Red Sox4 Milwaukee Braves 2Tied, 7–7
July 23, 1956New York Giants11Detroit Tigers1012 inningsNL, 8–7
July 22, 1957Chicago White Sox13St. Louis Cardinals4Tied, 8–8
August 4, 1958Washington Senators5Philadelphia Phillies4AL, 9–8
July 20, 1959 Kansas City Athletics 5, Pittsburgh Pirates 56 innings-rain (tie game)AL, 9–8–1
June 27, 1960Chicago Cubs5Cleveland Indians0Tied, 9–9–1
July 24, 1961 Los Angeles Dodgers 6 Baltimore Orioles 2NL, 10–9–1
July 23, 1962Milwaukee Braves vs. New York Yankeescancelled-rain 
August 5, 1963Boston Red Sox7Milwaukee Braves3Tied, 10–10–1
July 27, 1964 Washington Senators 6 New York Mets 4AL, 11–10–1
July 26, 1965New York Yankees7Philadelphia Phillies4AL, 12–10–1
July 25, 1966St. Louis Cardinals7 Minnesota Twins 5AL, 12–11–1
July 24, 1967Baltimore Orioles3Cincinnati Reds0AL, 13–11–1
July 22, 1968Detroit Tigers10Pittsburgh Pirates1AL, 14–11–1
July 28, 1969Minnesota Twins7 Houston Astros 25 innings-rainAL, 15–11–1
July 27, 1970 Montreal Expos 10Chicago White Sox6AL, 15–12–1
August 9, 1971Cleveland Indians13Chicago Cubs5AL, 16–12–1
August 7, 1972New York Yankees8Los Angeles Dodgers3AL, 17–12–1
August 6, 1973 Texas Rangers 6Pittsburgh Pirates4AL, 18–12–1
August 12, 1974 Atlanta Braves 12Chicago White Sox9AL, 18–13–1
August 18, 1975Boston Red Sox11 San Francisco Giants 5AL, 19–13–1
August 9, 1976 Milwaukee Brewers 9New York Mets3AL, 20–13–1
August 8, 1977Minnesota Twins8Philadelphia Phillies5AL, 21–13–1
August 7, 1978Detroit Tigers 4, New York Mets 46½ innings-rain (tie game)AL, 21–13–2
August 6, 1979Texas Rangers12 San Diego Padres 5AL, 22–13–2
August 4, 1980Pittsburgh Pirates11Chicago White Sox8AL, 22–14–2
August 3, 1981Cincinnati Reds vs. Oakland AthleticsDagger-14-plain.pngcanceled-players' strike  
August 2, 1982Chicago White Sox 4, New York Mets 48 innings-rain (tie game)AL, 22–14–3
August 1, 1983St. Louis Cardinals4Baltimore Orioles1AL, 22–15–3
August 13, 1984Detroit Tigers7Atlanta Braves5AL, 23–15–3
July 29, 1985Houston Astros5Boston Red Sox310 inningsAL, 23–16–3
August 4, 1986Texas Rangers11 Kansas City Royals 4AL, 24–16–3
July 27, 1987New York Yankees3Atlanta Braves0AL, 25–16–3
August 1, 1988Chicago Cubs 1, Cleveland Indians 19 innings (tie game)AL, 25–16–4
July 24, 1989Boston Red Sox vs. Cincinnati RedsDouble-dagger-14-plain.pngcanceled-plane malfunction 
August 6, 1990Baltimore Orioles vs. Montreal Exposcanceled-rain 
July 22, 1991Minnesota Twins6San Francisco Giants4AL, 26–16–4
August 3, 1992New York Mets3Chicago White Sox0AL, 26–17–4
August 2, 1993Cleveland Indians vs. Los Angeles Dodgerscanceled-rain 
August 1, 1994 Seattle Mariners 4Philadelphia Phillies3AL, 27–17–4
July 31, 1995Chicago Cubs8Detroit Tigers6AL, 27–18–4
August 5, 1996 California Angels 6, Montreal Expos 69 innings (tie game)AL, 27–18–5
August 4, 1997Los Angeles Dodgers16San Diego Padres8@
July 27, 1998Baltimore Orioles7 Toronto Blue Jays 1@
July 26, 1999Texas Rangers11Kansas City Royals98 innings-rain@
July 24, 2000 Arizona Diamondbacks 12Cleveland Indians7AL, 27–19–5
August 6, 2001Milwaukee Brewers6 Florida Marlins 2@
July 29, 2002 Colorado Rockies 18Chicago White Sox10AL, 27–20–5
June 16, 2003Philadelphia Phillies7 Tampa Bay Devil Rays 5AL, 27–21–5
June 14, 2004Atlanta Braves10Minnesota Twins7AL, 27–22–5
May 23, 2005Detroit Tigers6Boston Red Sox4@
May 15, 2006Cincinnati Reds vs. Pittsburgh Piratescanceled after 2½ innings-rain 
May 21, 2007Baltimore Orioles13Toronto Blue Jays7@
June 16, 2008Chicago Cubs vs. San Diego Padrescanceled-rain 

Notes:

Dagger-14-plain.png A New York–Penn League game between the Elmira Pioneers and Oneonta Yankees was played in 1981.
Double-dagger-14-plain.png 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

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."

Cooperstown Classic

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

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 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.)

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References

  1. ↑ "12 WPA Projects that Still Exist". How Stuff Works. Publications International, Ltd. 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 (2008-06-18). "Final Hall of Fame Game canceled by rain". Yahoo! Sports. Associated Press. Retrieved 2008-06-16.[ dead link ]
  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.

42°41′57.4″N74°55′36″W / 42.699278°N 74.92667°W / 42.699278; -74.92667

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