Jaunted

The Best Minor League Ballparks

Best Minor League Ballparks: AutoZone Park

April 6, 2007 at 10:15 AM | 0 Comments

What's not to love about Minor League Baseball? It's got easier parking, cheaper food, wackier traditions, contests and great deals on last-minute seats. Seats that are close enough to the action that the visiting team can hear your heckling loud and clear. This week, we'll be guiding you around the country to play ball with the stars of tomorrow and the washed up heroes of yesterday on a Bull Durham-style road trip. We've even got the whole thing all mapped out for you.

Best Minor League Ballparks ::: Map

The Memphis Redbirds
This relatively new behemoth is the home of the St. Louis Cardinals farm club, the Memphis Redbirds. And last night was the home opener. The home team lost to the Oklahoma Redhawks, it's true, but it could still be a big season for the Redbirds. After all, they're affiliated with last year's World Series victors. (Then again, maybe that isn't such a good thing.)

Post-season or not, the Redbirds should be happy to call AutoZone Park home. One of the largest parks in the minors, it has a major league feel. The concourse that wraps around the diamond has an unobstructed view of the field, so when you're hiking to find a hot dog, you won't have to miss a pitch.

If you scoured the city, you'd probably find some Memphis fans who think the park is a little too major league. And it does have lots of party suites and boxes and other elitist doodads that don't have much to do with playin' ball. But hey, less than $10 for field level seats? Nothing major about that.

Getting There:
AutoZone Park is in downtown Memphis, which means it's surrounded by thousands of parking spots. If you go for a night game, it shouldn't be too hard to find a place. Check our
map or the official guide to plot your strategy.

Insider's Tip:
You also don't want to miss the cheerleaders. That's right. Baseball cheerleaders--after the jump.