Sam Lynn Ballpark set for unexpected $2 million in improvements this year
Jan. 10—Pecos League Commissioner Andrew Dunn could hardly believe it when he heard the Kern County Board of Supervisors had set aside money for improvements to Sam Lynn Ballpark.
"We didn't know about it, the people that I report to didn't know about it, nobody knew about it," Dunn said. "... Everybody thought it was a practical joke, bud, I'm gonna be honest with you."
But there had indeed been written on the Nov. 29 afternoon consent agenda a swiftly approved line item CA-19 reading in part: "Request to appropriate unanticipated revenue from the American Rescue Plan Act in the amount of $2,700,000 for mid-year major maintenance project for Sam Lynn Park improvements in the amount of $2,000,000 and the Rosamond Park Improvements in the amount of $700,000."
Ally Soper, Kern County's chief communications officer, wrote in an email to The Californian that the $2 million for Sam Lynn "will be used for parking lot improvements, locker room improvements, and concession area improvements."
"That's the three areas we need the most, and they know that, so that's great, and we're really glad that we're doing that," Dunn said.
For decades, Sam Lynn was home to an affiliated minor league baseball team, the Bakersfield Blaze, despite the fact that the nearly 82-year-old ballpark predates the conventional wisdom that baseball fields should face away from the setting sun. Games at Sam Lynn have historically had to start late in the evening to avoid blinding their batters.
During a brief stint as Blaze owners when the team was associated with the Cincinnati Reds, local businessmen Chad Hathaway and Gene Voiland reported investing $800,000 in the park, but their ultimate goal was to move the team to a new facility at Coffee and Brimhall roads as part of the Bakersfield Commons project. That fell through due to insufficient funding.
After numerous efforts to remove baseball from Bakersfield over the years, the California League finally contracted the Blaze in 2016.
The next year, the independent Pecos League colonized Sam Lynn with the Bakersfield Train Robbers franchise, which has played there since and dealt with ballpark idiosyncrasies like light malfunctions and a scoreboard that caused random numbers to appear on the board without prompting.
This year's funding won't contribute much to the on-field experience, but Dunn said it's the biggest improvement since the Reds era.
In terms of timing, Soper added that the project, referred to as "mid-year" in its line item, "will likely take some months to get through design, engineering, and permitting."
Dunn, who via the Pecos League operates the facility year-round, is particularly enthusiastic about the opportunity for parking-lot paving. He said that Sam Lynn's parking lot hosts events such as its Halloweenville festival and drive-in movies, along with everything from military training to truck driving tests.
The concession area, Dunn said, needs to stay up to code, and the locker room "drastically has needed help."
Sam Lynn will play host to the Train Robbers this year, as well as a men's league and a new summer collegiate league.
It will not feature the Wasco Reserve, which played at Sam Lynn rather than Wasco Ballpark in 2022 and has now folded completely, joining the defunct California City Whiptails in local baseball obscurity. Dunn has instead added a team in Lancaster to occupy a now-vacant minor league park, The Hangar.
The Train Robbers open their season against those Lancaster Sound Breakers at Sam Lynn on May 22.
Reporter Henry Greenstein can be reached at 661-395-7374. Follow him on Twitter: @HenryGreenstein.
