In 2019, Bob Greeley took on the herculean task of finding the top 100 ballparks within the state of Minnesota. He used a criteria that include these parameters: Ballpark needed to be the home field for a MBA team; no artificial turf fields; no college, university or professional-owned team field, playing surfaces, seating, accessibility, lights, concessions, parking, signage, press box, sight lines, dugouts, fencing, atmosphere/ambiance, storage & auxiliary facilities, pa system, scoreboard, batting cages, ability to move around, safety, site upkeep and TLC, landscaping and shade.
Here's the list that follows in reverse order:
100: Veseli Ballpark (Veseli)
99: Laker Field (Pearl Lake)
98: Nelson Field (Dawson)
97: Chauncey Martin Field (Pelican Rapids)
96: Don Timpe Field (Maple Plain)
95: Orioles Ballpark (Leavenworth)
94: Veterans Field (Hastings)
93a.: Hamlin Field (Hanska)
93b.: Elmer Becker Field (Deer Creek)
92: Schumacher Field (Forest Lake)
91: Rosen Ballpark (Rosen)
90: Tony Stukel Field (Warroad)
89: Wendelin Koep Sr. Stadium (Urbank)
88: Varsity Field (St. James)
87: Roscoe Ballpark (Roscoe)
86: Sacred Heart Field (Sacred Heart)
85a.: Jake Wolford Field (Dent)
85b.: Jacobson Field (New York Mills)
84: Robert G. Fritz Memorial Field (Cologne)
83a.: Wacker Field (Jackson)
83b.: Carlos Ballpark (Carlos)
82: Schneider Field (St. Joseph)
81a.: Memorial Field (Madison)
81b.: Veterans Memorial Field (Blue Earth)
80: H.M. Solheim Stadium (Princeton)
79a.: Tony Sipe Athletic Field (Ada)
79b.: Memorial Park (Montgomery)
78a.: Stark Ballpark (Stark)
78b.: Parade Stadium (Minneapolis)
77: Willkommen Park (Young America)
76a.: Poppitz Field (Victoria)
76b.: Wintercrest Park (Coon Rapids)
75a.: Big Willow Park (Minnetonka)
75b.: SM Rec Center (St. Michael)
74a.: Richmond Ball Park (Richmond)
74b.: Sechler Park (Northfield)
73a.: Veterans Memorial Field (Kimball)
73b.: Jim Karn Field (Crookston)
72: Al Nyberg Field (Hibbing)
71: New Munich Baseball Park (New Munich)
70: Searles Ballpark (Searles)
69: Ray Weber Field (St. Martin)
68a.: Bluejay Stadium (Plato)
68b.: Essig Ballpark (Essig)
67a.: Hellie Field (Pierz)
67b.: A’s Field (Pipestone)
66a.: Veterans Field (Prior Lake)
66b.: Alimagnet Park (Burnsville)
65a.: Saints Field (Elrosa)
65b.: Eagles Field (Regal)
64a.: Knute Nelson Memorial Field (Alexandria)
64b.: Braemer Baseball Field (Edina)
63a.: Dunning Stadium (St. Paul)
63b.: Lilleberg Field (Raymond)
62a.: Polecats Field (Monticello)
62b.: Palm Field (St. Anthony Village)
61a.: Red Bird Field (Luverne)
61b.: Trenda Memorial Park (Lonsdale)
60a.: Highland Park (Watertown)
60b.: Red Haddox Field (Bloomington)
59: Veterans Memorial Park (St. Peter)
58: Bob Cross Field (Sauk Rapids)
57: William J. Gross Park (Waterville)
56: American Legion Field (Fergus Falls)
55: Chuck Fuller Field (Owatonna)
54: Don Giesen Field (Union Hill)
53a.: Black Sox Park (Freeport)
53b.: Redbirds Field (Isanti)
52: Fredrickson Field (Elko)
51: Barney Tadsen Field (Brownton)
50: Bonin Field (St. Patrick)
49: Bell Field (Faribault)
48: Marcusen Park (Austin)
47: Chizek Field (Morris)
46: Memorial Park (Howard Lake)
45a.: Milroy Yankees Field (Milroy)
45b.: Castle Field (Anoka)
44: Bruce Frank Field (Le Sueur)
43: Optimist Park (Litchfield)
42: Arnold Klaers Field (Loretto)
41: Schleper Brothers Field (Farming)
40: Mayo Field (Rochester)
39: Riverside Park (Springfield)
38: Central Park (Avon)
37: Krueger Field (Perham)
36: Sleepy Eye Baseball Park (Sleepy Eye)
35: Milroy Irish Yard (Milroy)
34: Richter Field (Granite Falls)
33: St. Cloud Orthopedics Field (Sartell)
32: Vollmer Field (Glencoe)
31a.: Clippers Baseball Park (Watkins)
31b.: Marthaler Field (Minnewaska)
30: Brennan Field (Hinckley)
29: Baker Field (Willmar)
28: Veterans Memorial Field (Hutchinson)
27: Spicer Ballpark (Spicer)
26: Memorial Park (New Prague)
25: Walsh Field (Gaylord)
24: Memorial Park (Fairfax)
23: Irish Stadium (Maple Lake)
22: Hawks Field (Hamburg)
21: Tink Larson Field (Waseca)
20: Arlington Ball Park (Arlington)
19: Legion Field (Marshall)
18: Paynesville Baseball Stadium (Paynesville)
17: Faber Field (St. Cloud)
16: Tiger Park (Belle Plaine)
15: John Burch Park (Cannon Falls)
14: Lions Field (Waconia)
13: Lions Memorial Park (Bird Island)
12: Irish Yard (Green Isle)
11: Red Wing Athletic Field (Red Wing)
10: Storm/Red Bird Stadium (Chanhassen)
9: Memorial Park (Dundas)
8: Chaska Athletic Park (Chaska)
7: Johnson Park (New Ulm)
6: Cold Spring Baseball Park (Cold Spring)
5. Joe Schleper Stadium (Shakopee)
4: Jordan Mini-Met (Jordan)
3: Saints Field (Dassel)
2: Jack Ruhr Field (Miesville)
1: Delano Municipal Park (Delano)
*Been to most; not all of these ball parks. Used my connections & baseball friends from across MN to help compile & provide feedback with these rankings.
*Will I update the rankings moving forward? Perhaps post COVID-19. We shall see.
*Minnesota has tremendous ballparks!
BY THE NUMBERS: (Top MBA Leagues)
River Valley: 13
Crow River Valley: 9
Dakota-Rice-Scott: 9
Tomahawk East: 9
North Star: 8
Classic Cannon Valley: 7
Corn Belt: 7
Stearns County: 6
Central Valley: 4
County Line: 4
Eastern Minny: 4
Land O’ Ducks: 4
Metro Minny: 4
Countryside: 3
Gopher: 3
Hi-10: 3
Lakewood: 3
Resorters: 3
Riverview: 3
Sauk Valley: 3
Victory: 3