If you’re a Canadian baseball fan, there’s a good chance that you’ve planned some baseball trips in one or more provinces. Maybe you’ve made the trek to Toronto to see the Blue Jays, the lone major league franchise north of the border, or maybe you’ve visited Vancouver to see the Canadians, the country’s sole minor league team.
Perhaps you feel that 2023 is the year in which you’ll pack your suitcase and your passport and head south to check out some games. While any of the MLB ballparks in the U.S. are worth being on your list, you shouldn’t overlook minor league and independent facilities — especially if they have a link to Canada.
I’ve compiled a list of five minor league or independent ballparks that are great choices for Canadians to check out for one reason or another. I’m presenting this list alphabetically because it’s virtually impossible to recommend one park over another. Here are five non-major league ballparks in the U.S. that Canadians should plan to visit.
Centennial Field (Vermont Lake Monsters)
There are plenty of reasons for any baseball fan to visit Centennial Field in Burlington, Vermont. This park opened in 1906, which means that it had seen several years of action before either Fenway Park or Wrigley Field hosted baseball. Its rich history and old-school design make it a fun place to visit, but it’s got some additional appeal for Canadians. Geographically, it’s a good choice for those who live in Québec, as it’s just over an hour from the Champlain-St. Bernard de Lacolle border crossing. This means that if you’re in Montréal or the surrounding area, Centennial Field can be an easy day trip. The ballpark’s connection to Québec extends beyond its location. Between 1994 and 2004, the park was home to the Vermont Expos, who were the New York-Penn League affiliate of the Montréal Expos. Lots of future big leaguers spent time at Centennial Field early in their careers, including Canadian Jason Bay, who played part of the 2000 season in Vermont. Today, the park hosts the Vermont Lake Monsters of the Futures Collegiate Baseball League. The last affiliated team to call the park home, also known as the Lake Monsters, had its final season in 2019.
Coca-Cola Park (Lehigh Valley IronPigs)
Approximately 400 miles separate Allentown, Pennsylvania, and Ottawa, Ontario, but these two cities share a baseball connection. The present-day Lehigh Valley IronPigs once played in Ottawa, Canada’s capital city, as the Lynx. The Lynx were the top affiliate of the Montreal Expos and, later, the Baltimore Orioles and Philadelphia Phillies, from 1993 through 2007. Following the 2007 campaign, the team left Canada and began its new life as the IronPigs. The ‘Pigs are still affiliated with the Phillies, and play in one of the nicest ballparks in the minor leagues. Coca-Cola Park is just a short distance from a long list of MLB and MiLB parks, so it’s easy to plan a multi-destination road trip in this area.
Dell Diamond (Round Rock Express)
Round Rock’s Dell Diamond can be a good travel option for Canadian baseball fans — particularly those from Alberta. That’s because the Round Rock Express franchise has ties to Alberta’s capital city of Edmonton. The average sports fan might think of hockey and Canadian football ahead of baseball when they think about Edmonton, but this city has a rich professional baseball history. Most notably, it played host to the Edmonton Trappers from 1981 through 2004. The Trappers won four Pacific Coast League championships, including back-to-back titles in 1996 and 1997, and were affiliated with several MLB clubs over the years. The 2004 season in Edmonton was the franchise’s last, as its new ownership group (led by Nolan Ryan) moved the franchise to Round Rock, a city close to Austin. If you once followed the Trappers, it can be a special trip to go see the Express in action.
FNB Field (Harrisburg Senators)
Currently affiliated with the Washington Nationals, the Harrisburg Senators were the longtime Double-A affiliate of the Montréal Expos. That partnership existed from 1991 to 2004, which meant that many future Montréal big leaguers spent time in Harrisburg. The extensive list includes Vladimir Guerrero Sr., Matt Stairs, Rondell White, Mark Grudzielanek, Jose Vidro and many more. If you cheered for Montréal, spending some time at FNB Field and thinking about the long list of future Montréal Expos who played at this venue can be fun. Driving from Montréal to Harrisburg is more than 800 kilometers (about 500 miles), so you may want to plan to spend a few days in Pennsylvania’s capital city or check out some other MiLB parks nearby.
Sahlen Field (Buffalo Bisons)
In terms of its location, Sahlen Field is just minutes from the Peace Bridge, an international border crossing that connects Buffalo, New York, and Fort Erie, Ontario. That’s reason enough to visit, especially if you reside in the Golden Horseshoe region of Ontario, most of which is an easy drive to the Peace Bridge crossing. There are additional reasons that Sahlen Field should be a part of your road trip plans. It’s the home of the Buffalo Bisons, a long-standing Triple-A franchise that has been the top affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays since 2013. At any given time during the season, you’ll see players on the Bisons who are bouncing back and forth between Buffalo and Toronto. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the link between Sahlen Field and Canadian baseball fans became even stronger, as the Toronto Blue Jays called the downtown Buffalo ballpark home for the 2020 season and part of the 2021 campaign. The ballpark received millions of dollars worth of upgrades to make it suitable for the Jays, so you’ll be impressed with the caliber of what you see. The short distance between Buffalo and Toronto — about 2 hours drive if traffic cooperates — even creates the possibility of planning a 1D2C doubleheader to see the Bisons and Blue Jays.
