Welcome to SamLynnBallpark.com a website dedicated to the home of Bakersfield Train Robbers named after Sam Lynn.
Sam Lynn Ballpark (also known as "Historic" Sam Lynn Ballpark) was a baseball venue in Bakersfield, California (address: 4009 Chester Avenue, Bakersfield, CA 93301) and was the oldest ballpark of the Class-A Advanced California League. It was built in 1941 for the Bakersfield Badgers who began that season as a charter member of the California League. The current tenant is called the Bakersfield Train Robbers, who play in the Pecos League and are not affiliated with any team in Major or Minor League Baseball.
It is one of two ballparks in organized professional baseball where the batter faces west, and as such, faces directly into the setting sun (the other being Wahconah Park in Pittsfield, Massachusetts). This forces the Blaze to start most games later than any team in professional ball. From mid-June to mid-August, it's not unusual for games to begin as late as 7:58 PM.
Sam Lynn Ballpark was named for the former local owner of a Coca-Cola bottling company who donated much of his income to youth baseball leagues in the area.
Sam Lynn Ballpark's faces west (into the setting sun).
Due to the setting sun creating a potential hazard for batters, night games were scheduled for several decades with an 8:00 PM start. Years later, night games were scheduled for earlier starting times then delayed in progress until the sun had set and it was safe for the batters. The last in-game sun delay took place on July 3, 1996 and lasted three minutes. Since 1997, the game's first pitch during the summer months takes place after the sun sets and is based on a timetable that has been updated annually by the official scorer. During this part of the season, the time of the game's first pitch ranges from 7:15 PM to 7:45 PM. A large steel and sheet metal screen (125 by 50 feet) was constructed in left-center field, but it only offers a minimal amount of help since the measurements for the sun screen were taken during the off season prior to 1993 when the setting sun was not a factor.
The question of the ballpark's strange construction was finally solved by Kevin Eubanks, then-editor of Bakersfield Life Magazine. Eubanks, a former public address announcer for the Bakersfield Blaze, discovered documentation that stated that the ballpark was built inside the one-mile oval horse racing track at what was the original Kern County Fairgrounds, on Chester Avenue.
According to a December 4, 1940 article appearing in the town's newspaper, The Bakersfield Californian, the story begins: "Preliminary work of grading and planting grass seed was under way today by the county work relief department within the mile track at the fairgrounds in preparation for the 1941 baseball season, when Bakersfield will be represented in a Class C professional league. Present plans call for moving lights over from the softball diamond, constructing dressing rooms, and depending largely the present grandstand for seating facilities."[citation needed] In that era, night games across America were usually scheduled for 8 or 8:15 PM starts thus it really didn't matter, except for tradition, which way the ballparks faced, especially in the lower minors when ballparks were built pretty rapidly with WPA funding. It wasn't until the 1970s that starting times across America began moving earlier, first 7:30 then later around 7:15 PM.
Who is Sam Lynn?
Sam Lynn Ballpark was named for the former local owner of a Coca-Cola bottling company who donated much of his income to youth baseball leagues in the area.
What Teams played in Sam Lynn Park?
- Badgers 1941–1942
- Indians 1946–1955
- Boosters 1956
- Bears 1957–1967
- Dodgers 1968–1975
- Outlaws 1978–1979 (Independent)
- Mariners 1982–1983
- Dodgers 1984–1994
- Blaze 1995–2016 (Rays, Reds, Mariners)
- Train Robbers 2017-(Independent)
- Date Opened 1940
- Dimensions Left Field: 328 feet Center Field: 354 feet Right Field: 328 feet Backstop: 50 feet
- Height of Wall Left - 12' Center - 12' Right - 12'
- Elevation 404
- Kern County, Bakersfield, California USA
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