Yard Goats’ Dunkin’ Donuts Park named best in Double A for record fourth time

Dunkin’ Donuts Park was named the best Double-A ballpark in America by Ballpark Digest for the fourth time since opening in 2017, it was announced Tuesday.

It is the first time that a minor-league ballpark has received the recognition four times (2017-18 and 2021-22). In 2018, Dunkin’ Donuts Park became the first to be named in back-to-back seasons.

The park has sold out 23 times this season, two of which came when fans expected to see Mets ace Max Scherzer pitch in a rehab start in June. The last five weekends have been sold out and more than 254,000 fans have attended45 home games so far.

“Year over year we continue to be impressed and humbled by our fans’ loyalty and dedication,” Yard Goats General Manager Mike Abramson said in a press release. “Ensuring Dunkin’ Donuts Park is once again named best Double A ballpark in America is a great example of how they shout their allegiance from the rooftops. There’s an energy here that doesn’t exist anywhere else and that starts with the fans.”

From the Dunkin’ Donuts cup over the left field scoreboard to the game day promotions and the concourse food, baseball fans have enjoyed making the nearly $72 million ballpark in downtown Hartford a staple despite only being in its fifth year of use. The stadium was meant to be finished in 2016 but because of lateness in construction, the team was forced to play the 2016 season fully on the road.

There was no 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Repeating as a champion in the Ballpark Digest Best of the Ballparks’ fan vote is a challenging task, and it’s a testament to the popularity of the Yard Goats,” said Ballpark Digest Publisher Kevin Reichard in the release. “Double A features an abundance of great ballparks and great fan experiences, so congratulations to Mike Abramson, team ownership and the front office for achieving and sustaining such a high level of excellence.”

The Yard Goats began a six-game series against the Portland Sea Dogs (Boston Red Sox affiliate) on Tuesday. Hartford finished one game shy of a playoff berth in the first half of the season and is currently second in the Eastern League Northeast Division, a half-game behind the Sea Dogs for a second-half playoff berth.

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