Little Park With a Lot of History

Valley Strong Ballpark is a blend of old and new in Visalia, Calif.

Of the 10 oldest minor league ballparks in the United States, I can say I’ve been in half of them. There’s another stadium that’s tied for 10th, but it’s in Vancouver, B.C., so let’s just stay with the U.S. for now. Besides, the Vancouver Canadians are playing their home games in Oregon this year, so of the 10 oldest minor league ballparks “currently being used,” I can safely say I’ve been in half of them.

Now that I’ve got that out of the way, let’s turn our attention to No. 7 on the list, Valley Strong Ballpark, also known as Recreation Park, in Visalia, Calif.

The home field of the Visalia Rawhide is kind of a movie star. Visalia is mentioned in Moneyball because of the team’s long association with the Oakland A’s, and in Bull Durham, as a likely landing spot for Kevin Costner’s catcher, who is nearing the end of his playing career.

It’s the smallest of all the affiliated minor league stadiums with a seating capacity of 1,888. There’s room for another 500 or so fans in standing room and in the grassy area known as The Pasture.

The Pasture wraps around the right field foul pole.

The stadium was built in 1946 and had a major renovation that was completed around 2009 when the team adopted the Rawhide name. It’s been the same team in the same ballpark the whole time, but with about a dozen different names and major league affiliations. The Rawhide is currently the Low-A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks. Visalia Oaks was the team’s name for the most years up until the change to Rawhide. You can still get caps featuring Chatter the Squirrel, the team’s old mascot, as well as other throwback items.

In fact, the team is paying tribute to the past this week, playing as the Oaks in throwback jerseys. A lot of new players have been added to the roster recently, so for their at-bats, the scoreboard shows a picture of Chatter next to their stats.

They’ve made the best use out of all their space at Valley Strong Ballpark. The bullpens are tucked into the left and right corners. The grassy Pasture wraps around the corner of the field, starting at right center almost all the way to where the infield dirt starts. The right field entrance leads onto a concourse with the team store and a food and beverage stand, ending at the doorway to the Hall of Fame Club with stairs that lead to premium box seats next to the visitors’ dugout.

View from the Hall of Fame Club

The Hall of Fame Club is for season subscribers, but tonight there’s an Alzheimer’s Awareness package for $20 that includes a box seat close to the field, access to the air-conditioned Hall of Fame Club and a purple Visalia t-shirt. This is an especially good deal with the temperature over 100° and with the sun still high in the sky for a 6 p.m. first pitch.

The tiny grandstand behind home plate barely reaches as far as first and third base, although there are additional seats extending toward left field and two party tents the rest of the way. The crowd tonight is small, but that’s probably because it’s Wednesday, or because it’s hot, or both. The announced attendance is 980, but I don’t think everyone showed up.

The sense of history is strong in Visalia. As one of the oldest members of the California League, the team pays tribute once a year to the Mudville 9, a team that played in Stockton, Calif., and might be the inspiration for “Casey at the Bat.” The Rawhide honor their own as well, with hall of fame plaques on the wall below the club of the same name, including Kirby Puckett, the beloved Minnesota Twins National Hall of Famer, whose retired number 28 is mounted on the left field fence.

Kirby Puckett's plaque is on the wall of fame at Valley Strong Park.
28, his number and mine, is on display in left field.

I bought a 2019 California League championship pin, which is the last of its kind since Major League Baseball reorganized the minor leagues and ditched the historic league names.

The clerk at the store noticed the other pins on my loaded lanyard and asked me how many stadiums I’ve been to.

“81,” I said. I think it’s actually 82. Even under her covid mask, I could see her jaw drop.

“What’s your favorite?” she asked.

“Right now? This one,” I told her. And I meant it. This is a great ballpark.

Visalia Rawhide celebrate an exciting victory at Valley Strong Park. 

The game was good too. The visiting Inland Empire 66ers (Los Angeles Angels) started things off with a 2-run homer in the 1st inning and held the lead for most of the game. The Rawhide, or Oaks, tied it up and took a two-run lead in the bottom of the 8th with some home run heroics of their own. The 66ers answered in the 9th with another home run to tie the score. In the bottom of the ninth, Visalia loaded the bases with a double, an intentional walk and a single. Then the “good eyes” of Ronny Simon drew the walk-off walk and a win for Visalia. Final: Visalia Oaks 7, Inland Empire 66ers 6.