On June 29, 2024, after four years, five driving hours and 223 miles, Bps finally made his way to Dunkin’ Park, home of the Hartford Yard Goats, the Double-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies. This trip has been in the works since our site leader and good friend, Scott Greene, extended the invitation to me, @jeffreyce and @myyymannn. The experience was definitely worth the wait.
#BpsRips is back!! In Hartford at @GoYardGoats game. So happy these jobbers from Philly could make the trip today. L to R: Ballgame, @tonybps1, @Jeffreyce and @myyymannn. #NoGoatsNoGlory #thehobby pic.twitter.com/FRxb9W2xpQ
— Scott Greene (@Scotty_Ballgame) June 29, 2024
The park first opened in 2017 after construction issues delayed the original target year of 2016. The Yard Goats have called it home since. The Rock Cats played about 20 minutes down the road in New Britain, CT, and were Colorado’s affiliate for their final season in 2015, before the move to Hartford. Dunkin’ Park can hold close to 7,000 visitors and has been named the best Double-A park four times by Ballpark Digest (2017, 2018, 2021 and 2022) and in 2024 by Bps.
The Notable Alumni
Adael Amador, was promoted to the majors, now back with Hartford following an IL stint
David Dahl
Hunter Goodman
Garrett Hampson
Chris Iannetta
German Marquez
Ryan McMahon
Brendan Rodgers
The Ballpark
The park is located a few blocks from exit 32A-32B off I-91. Parking is plentiful with a number of $5 lots. It’s a two block walk to the stadium from the parking lot and the area is very modern with plenty of shops and restaurants. The first thing I saw while approaching the park is a bullpen. That’s right – a bullpen. As you walk up Trumbull Street to the main gate, there is the home bullpen behind tinted windows and you can actually see the pitchers throwing from the pavement before you even get into the park. As I entered through the main gate, I noticed just how clean the place is and how friendly everyone is. Walking in with Scott was like being with a rock star, how everyone was saying hi to him and welcoming him warmly.
Our seats were behind home plate in section 109, row D (thanks Reminder Publishing!). I could almost reach out to high-five the batters while they were practicing their swings in the on-deck circle. The seats are pretty wide and give plenty of leg room.
When the rain started coming down, we took shelter upstairs in the YG Club, which is their suite club on the 2nd level behind home plate. There is a full-service bar and concessions available there for very good prices. Pictures on the wall honor all time greats such as Ted Williams, Lou Gehrig, Negro League stars, among others.
The outfield has a Budweiser SkyDeck, Travelers Patio and a Picnic Pavilion along with other seats to watch the game. While I didn’t walk by them, the views from my seat looked like they would be great spots to sit next time.
Don’t forget to use the hashtag #NoGoatsNoGlory when you’re at Dunkin’. You just might make it onto the video board, like I did!
The Promotions and Concessions
The team held a Unity Day where they celebrated the Negro Leagues with a block party, fireworks and the Yard Goats were renamed the Hartford Schoolboys for the day, and they wore special uniforms. The name comes from legendary Negro Leagues pitcher, Johnny “Schoolboy” Taylor who was a native of Hartford. I had the honor of meeting his daughter, Lynette Grande, at the block party prior to the game.
As for the concessions, there is the usual ballpark menu – hot dogs, nachos, burgers, but there are plenty of other options to choose from. Bear’s BBQ has some nice selections on their menu like Moink Balls (meatballs wrapped with bacon) and the Bear Attack (pulled pork or beef brisket over macaroni and cheese and cornbread). There are also Bacon Wrapped Munchkins at the concession stand behind section 104, but alas, they were sold out right before I ordered them. The apple enchilada was a nice consolation prize. It reminded me of those McDonald’s apple pies that burn the roof of your mouth if you eat it too fast, but this one had a much nicer consistency to it. Dunkin’ Park is cashless, so make sure you have plastic with you, or you can add cash to gift cards to be used at the park. It’s also a peanut-free community,
The stadium boasts one of the finest team stores I’ve seen in a minor league park. There are shirts and hats for every promotional night the team holds – Schoolboys, Marvel, Steamed Cheeseburgers, Pride, Los Chivos de Hartford, Bouncing Pickles, with all kinds of cool merchandise at reasonable prices. The cashier behind the counter was very sweet and smiled the whole time I was debating what hat to get.
In between innings there were a number of fun happenings on the field such as the Baby Goats Race, where youngsters run from the left field foul line to the right field foul line, dressed in goats costumes, and the Goat Rodeo, which features dizzy bat racing and bouncing on inflatable goats.
There are also two mascots to entertain the crowd. Chompers is a male green goat with blue horns and Chew Chew (pictured above) is a blue female goat with green horns. Both were very friendly to everyone who encounters them during their visit.
In addition to the Bash Brothers making the trip up from Philly, one of the best parts about tonight’s trek to Dunkin’ Park was speaking with Lynette Grande, daughter of Johnny “Schoolboy” Taylor. @GoYardGoats celebrated the Negro Leagues tonight, playing as Hartford Schoolboys. pic.twitter.com/XzvY0KCPJ1
— Scott Greene (@Scotty_Ballgame) June 30, 2024
Join us TODAY at Dunkin’ Park as we celebrate the Negro Leagues! From a documentary screening to a lively block party and an exciting game honoring Johnny ‘Schoolboy’ Taylor, it’s a day you won’t want to miss. TICKETS: https://t.co/goSMEEYuR0 pic.twitter.com/SY1BkhmHYT
— Hartford Yard Goats (@GoYardGoats) June 29, 2024
The Prospects
We saw six of our Preseason Top 50 Rockies Prospects on Hartford:
Yanquiel Fernandez – #2
Sterlin Thompson – #3
Warming Bernabel – #11
Ryan Ritter – #15
Jarrod Cande – #35
Zach Kokoska – #38
Several other Rockies Top 50 are rostered in Hartford and did not play, and two others, Zac Veen #6, and Benny Montgomery #9, are on the IL.
Four of our Preseason Top 50 Blue Jays Prospects played for New Hampshire:
Josh Kasevich – #18
Gabriel Martinez – #22
Rainer Nunez – #39
Devonte Brown – #47
The Game
The game we attended was against the New Hampshire Fisher Cats, Toronto’s AA affiliate. After an uneventful first inning, Hartford exploded for five runs in the 2nd inning, capped off by a grand slam by Braiden Ward (Scotty caught that blast on video!), who went 2-4 and was named Bps Player of the Game. Hartford tacked on seven more runs in the middle innings to win 12-2.
Braiden Ward deposits the first pitch he sees in the bottom of the 2nd into the Hartford upper deck; grand slam puts @GoYardGoats up 5-1 over New Hampshire. Knocks @FisherCats SP Michael Dominguez out of the game. #Rockies #MiLB pic.twitter.com/Smu9GRb2Si
— Scott Greene (@Scotty_Ballgame) June 29, 2024
The Wrap-Up
This was the cleanest, friendliest park I’ve been to in my travels. All of the workers were super friendly and the fans were all having a great time. Everything, from concessions to restrooms, are easily accessible but there is plenty of room to walk around and enjoy the park. As @jeffreyce said on our way out: “it feels like a major league park in miniature” and I couldn’t agree more. I will definitely return in the future and when I do, I’ll make sure to get those bacon wrapped munchkins in the first inning!
Tony Bps Spina is a lifelong baseball fan hailing from the City of Brotherly Love - Philadelphia! Tony has loved baseball since 1980 and has followed the Phillies through good and bad times. Tony is married with 3 kids and works for a financial institution but has enough free time to play in 20 fantasy baseball leagues with 75% of them being Dynasty Leagues. He lives a few blocks away from Citizens Bank Park and attends many Phillies games per year in addition to their minor league teams in Lehigh Valley and Reading. He can be reached on Twitter at @TonyBps1.
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