Montpelier Recreation Field

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Montpelier Recreation Field
Montpelier Recreation Field from Right Field.JPG
Montpelier Recreation Field
LocationWorcester Branch Road and Baseball Drive, Montpelier, Vermont, USA
Coordinates 44°16′46″N72°34′21″W / 44.279421°N 72.572486°W / 44.279421; -72.572486
Capacity 1,200
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)

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]

Contents

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 numerous times, winning the NECBL championship in 2006, 2007, and 2015. The Mountaineers are consistently one of the best teams in the NECBL, and set the record for wins in a season in 2022 with 32 wins. The Mountaineers reached the NECBL Finals in that year, before falling to the Martha’s Vineyard Sharks. The Vermont Mountaineers have produced over 50 Major League players, including A.J. Polluck, Tyler Rogers, Nick Martinez, and Stephen Strasburg.

Full list of tenants

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. Montpelier Recreation Field Grandstand.JPG
The field's grandstand during a playoff game against the Keene Swamp Bats on August 4, 2012.
SeasonGame Avg.League Rk.
20031,6661st
20041,6433rd
20051,7072nd
20061,7542nd
20071,5183rd
20081,7203rd
20091,3503rd
20101,0384th
20111,7433rd
20121,4982nd

Notable events

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 [usurped] 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 2012-03-23. Retrieved 15 February 2012.
  10. ↑ "2011 NECBL Season - Attendance". NECBL.com. Archived from the original on 2012-05-26. 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 2012-03-07. 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 2016-03-04. Retrieved 8 August 2012.
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