Kevin Reichard

It seems appropriate this Opening Day to announce a big change in the future of Ballpark Digest: twenty-some years aftervlaunching this site and August Publications, I’m retiring early and focusing instead on family.

Facing issues regarding new-ballpark financing, the Bristol State Liners (summer collegiate; Appalachian League) are leaving Boyce Cox Field for the 2024 season and will play a hybrid schedule out of Greeneville’s Pioneer Park.

Our noses have been buried in our next three book projects; hence the lack of postings. Here’s some updates from the last month, beginning with the sad news that Winter Haven’s Chain of Lakes Park, former spring-training home of the Boston Red Sox and Cleveland Indians, has been torn down–but baseball will still be played at the site.

This plan has been in the works since 2016, and now it’s finally coming to fruition, as Georgia State University is moving forward with a new college ballpark on the footprint of the former Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium.

We have some upcoming book titles to announce, including a full-length biography of the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers’ Jim Gilliam and the impending release of our 2025 spring-training guides.

We have some book news to pass along: The Complete Guide to Spring Training 2025 / Florida is now available for order in paperback and eBook editions!

With Hurricane Milton bearing down on Florida, the baseball world is sending home players and staffers and hunkering down for one of the most severe storms to ever slam the state.

With most of the Tropicana Field roof shredded by Hurricane Milton, the Tampa Bay Rays and MLB must address ballpark needs five months before the 2025 season.

Capital City Stadium is one of the more historically interesting ballparks once part of Minor League Baseball. But as Columbia (S.C.) struggles to identify a future for the facility, one big question remains: Can this ballpark be saved?

Imagine owning a sports franchise worth $1.25 billion. You’ve worked for years on a new ballpark plan, finally proposing redevelopment everyone likes. One hurricane and one election later, and suddenly your current home is trashed and the future home is in doubt. Welcome to the joys of owning the Tampa Bay Rays.