Montpelier Recreation Field

Montpelier Recreation Field is a baseball venue located in Montpelier, Vermont, United States and is the home field of the Vermont Mountaineers of the New England Collegiate Baseball League. The field has served as home of the Mountaineers since 2003.[1]

Montpelier Recreation Field
LocationWorcester Branch Road and Baseball Drive, Montpelier, Vermont, USA
Coordinates44.279421°N 72.572486°W / 44.279421; -72.572486
Capacity1,200
Field sizeLeft Field: 307 feet (94 m)
Left Center Field: 347 feet (106 m)
Center Field: 419 feet (128 m)
Right Center Field: 340 feet (100 m)
Right Field: 311 feet (95 m)
SurfaceNatural grass
ScoreboardElectronic
Construction
Built1940
Tenants
Vermont Mountaineers (NECBL) (2003-present)

History

The Montpelier Senators and the Twin City Trojans

The field was constructed in 1940 by the Works Progress Administration,[2] with support from the depression-era Federal Government, featuring a 1,200 seat capacity grandstand (which is still in use today) and bleachers down the firstbase and thirdbase lines.[3] In the first decade of its existence, starting from 1941, it was home to the Montpelier Senators and, later the Twin City Trojans.

Robin Roberts

During this time the Robin Roberts played at Rec Field for the Twin City Trojans. He remembers his time at the Rec Field fondly: "It was a great experience ... you can't imagine a guy that age having a better summer then we had in Vermont."[4] "We were really good then. I won 17 straight starts that year in Vermont."[5] In 1976 he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.[6]

Vermont Mountaineers

When the league folded in 1952 Rec Field endured a half-century without a professional tenant. This ended in 2003 when the New England Collegiate Baseball League voted to award a franchise to a local Montpelier baseball group.[7] Since then the Rec Field has been the home of the Vermont Mountaineers, enjoying high attendances and success on the field, with the Mountaineers reaching the post-season in six of their seven seasons, including an active six-year streak.

Full list of tenants
  • 1941-1952 - Montpelier Senators of the Second Northern League.
  • 1941-1952 - Twin City Trojans of the Second Northern League.
  • 2003–present - Vermont Mountaineers of the NECBL.

Attendance

In their inaugural season the Mountaineers enjoyed the highest average attendance in the league and have consistently been near the top of the league in this category since.[8][9][10]

The field's grandstand during a playoff game against the Keene Swamp Bats on August 4, 2012.
Season Game Avg. League Rk.
2003 1,666 1st
2004 1,643 3rd
2005 1,707 2nd
2006 1,754 2nd
2007 1,518 3rd
2008 1,720 3rd
2009 1,350 3rd
2010 1,038 4th
2011 1,743 3rd
2012 1,498 2nd

Notable events
  • Robin Roberts Night, July 21, 2003. Robin took the mound at the Rec Field for the first time since 1947, throwing out the ceremonial first pitch in front of nearly 3,000 fans.
  • The 2004 NECBL All-Star Game drew 4,127 spectators to Montpelier Recreation Field, a then-NECBL record for highest All-Star Game attendance.[11]
  • The 2012 NECBL All-Star Game was played at the venue on July 22, 2012.[12][13]
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References
  1. Vermont Mountaineers stadium page at thevermontmountaineers.com
  2. Montpelier Recreation Field at waymarking.com
  3. Baseball in Vermont at the vermontmountaineers.com
  4. Robin Roberts at thevermontmountaineers.com
  5. Robin Roberts and the Mountaineers by Bill Doyle at thenorthfieldnews.com
  6. Robin Roberts Archived 2009-08-13 at the Wayback Machine at baseballhalloffame.org
  7. Vermont Baseball Archived 2011-05-04 at the Wayback Machine at dufresnegroup.com
  8. NECBL team statistics archive Archived 2007-10-20 at the Wayback Machine at necbl.com, URL accessed December 21, 2008
  9. "2010 NECBL Season - Attendance". NECBL.com. Archived from the original on 2012-02-15. Retrieved 15 February 2012.
  10. "2011 NECBL Season - Attendance". NECBL.com. Archived from the original on 2012-02-15. Retrieved 15 February 2012.
  11. All-Star Game 2004 Archived 2008-05-09 at the Wayback Machine at necbl.com
  12. "All-Star Game Itinerary". NECBL.com. Archived from the original on 2012-03-04. Retrieved 4 March 2012.
  13. "Mountaineers Power West to 11-6 All-Star Game Win". TheVermontMountaineers.com. 22 July 2012. Archived from the original on 2012-08-09. Retrieved 8 August 2012.
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