2025 Baseball Stadium Tour: Louisville Slugger Field

 Initially our baseball trip this summer was going to take us to South Bend and Indianapolis until we discovered the Indiana State Fair was going on also downtown Indianapolis. Hotels and parking were nearly non-existent or exorbitant. When I saw that Louisville was home, we decided to due South Bend and Louisville. Louisville was on my short list of Minor League Parks to see. 

Louisville Slugger Field is the home of the Louisville Bats. The Bats are the AAA-Affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. Slugger Field is downtown Louisville with a parking lot across the street. If you arrive early enough, you can snag street parking with is free after 6 PM. We ended up paying like $2 for parking which is better than $10 and it was the same walk. 

Slugger Field reminds of the Louisville Slugger Museum in terms of looks. It has the same appearance. 

Inside you could watch them make bats.

Of course our first stop was the team store to get my stamp. The lady was wonderful and let me stamp since someone yelled at her for messing it up once. We are particular when it comes to our stamps. I also got my Louisville Bats bat. 

The field was a great field to walk around. Very roomy and open. 

We even got to make our own bobbleheads courtesy of State Farm. 

The game was actually the best we saw all week. It looked like major league baseball. Hunter Green pitched on rehab for the bats. He didn't look very good and got beat up early. 

Because we had pizza before the game, we didn't eat anything at the game. Maybe next time. 

Louisville Slugger Field was a great ballpark and we would definitely go back. It was easy to get to and easy to get back into Indiana where we stayed. 

2022 Baseball Tour -- CHS Field

 Last year we were trying to figure out where to go for our Labor Day trip. The Brewers were out of town and no other team close was home. The hubby said to go farther out and we settled on Denver. However, Denver is too far to drive to in a day or two. The minor league schedules were not completely friendly as all the teams in Iowa and Nebraska were not home when I needed them to be but the St. Paul Saints were. That is how we ended up at CHS Field.

The hubby decided to work prior to us leaving for the game since it was a 7:10 start and we got a late start. We were able to get into the Twin Cities right around game time. As I plan these trips, I'm starting to learn what I need to scope out ahead of time.. parking, bridges, etc. The parking for CHS Field is in lots around the stadium. We parked in the Farmer's Market lot for $8. It was card only which was fine by me.

It was a few block walk to CHS field. On the way we passed some of the Peanut statues that are all around St. Paul. I want to get back and look for more. I'm also not sure what the pigs are all about.

We entered CHS Field through the center field gate so we never got a real good look of the front of the stadium. Based on where we parked this was the easiest option. Like Davenport, you must climb stairs to get into the actual stadium.

Once we were in the park, our first stop (after getting my passport stamped) was the City of Baseball Museum. This museum featured the history of St. Paul Baseball. The Saints used to play in an independent league until 2021 and the realignment of baseball brought them into MiLB. They became the AAA team for the Minnesota Twins. The museum was very interesting and full of a lot of old baseball memorabilia. It is definitely worth checking out while if you are even at CHS Field.

The Saints hosted the Omaha Storm Chasers. It really was not that exciting of a game. Omaha was down early and had to play catch up. 

Like Target Field, the foot print of CHS is really tight. There is not much foul area and the netting only goes to the end of the dugouts. Those foul balls get into the stands rather quickly down the lines. 

Our seats weren't too bad. There were a lot of people and dogs since it was Bark at the Park which we try to avoid but this time it was unavoidable. The crowd was a younger crowd and I wouldn't really say a baseball crowd. It was definitely a definite vibe going on in that stadium. Not sure if it was because of Bark in the Park, the Saints used to be independent, or a lot of young people live in St. Paul. The crowd seemed to be enjoying themselves.

Most parks have a ball boy. CHS Field has a ball pig. Again I don't know why but they do. That alone is worth price of admission.

Overall, not really impressed by the stadium. It is not high on our list of stadiums to visit again. The cream soda, the ball pig, and the museum were my favorite parts. At least we can say we have been there and I have my stamp. 4 AAA Parks down, 26 more to go.