Hartford Yard Goats (Eastern League) @ Dunkin’ Park (Hartford, CT)
Minor League Baseball in the "Hart" of Connecticut
26 IN 26 STOP 24
Our story for today begins a few miles west of Hartford in Bristol, CT in 1973 (although it technically starts before this, but that part’s mostly irrelevant and kinda confusing). Six years before ESPN was created to broadcast Hartford Whalers games (look it up), the Boston Red Sox established a Double-A franchise - the Bristol Red Sox - at Muzzy Field. In 1983, the team moved east to New Britain, CT and became the New Britain Red Sox.
In 1995, faced with a substandard stadium and the opportunity for newer facilities for their prospects, the Red Sox moved their Double-A operations to Trenton, NJ (the modern-day Thunder of the MLB Draft League). Meanwhile, back in New Britain, the team was renamed to the "Hardware City Rock Cats" and became an affiliate of the Minnesota Twins. In 1996, a new stadium was built for the Rock Cats adjacent to the old one (and "Hardware City" turned back into "New Britain"), and it became their home until 2015 - the same year the team switched affiliation to the Colorado Rockies.
In 2016, the team moved again - this time heading up Interstate 84 from New Britain to Connecticut’s capital: Hartford1. I’m not fully sure why the team decided to make this move (though my guess is that it's either due to outdated facilities again or to try and attract fans from east of Hartford), but it came with a brand new stadium: Dunkin’ (Donuts) Park.
...or at least it was supposed to. However, the park wasn’t ready for 2016, so the Hartford Yard Goats spent that whole season as a traveling team with no home (as well as causing legal battles between the city of Hartford and the stadium builders). However, on April 13, 2017, the Yard Goats finally played their first game in Hartford, and things have been largely the same ever since. Despite the Rockies being...the Rockies, the move to Hartford seems to have worked, as the team has been in the top three of attendance every year since their stadium opened (including a few years as the league leaders), and in addition to the Yard Goats, the stadium has hosted a few Cape Cod Baseball League games (among other things).
This is far and away the newest of the MiLB stadiums I've been to (it's the second newest in the Eastern League behind Richmond's shiny new stadium that just opened this year), and it's rather impressive IMO. The main concourse wraps fully around the field, but I must admit: it feels narrow in a few spots. I won't go over every single one of the party areas and beer in the stadium, but there are quite a few of them, and the seat I got for this game ended up being in a row ON the concourse. Several of the infield sections have a row on the concourse, and behind some of these rows are long "high top" seats which also have a table (I am NOT sure if these are typically "sold" however)
One thing here that I've not really noticed in MiLB: EXTENSIVE outfield seats. There's seats down both the left and right field lines, and while a decent, there's also upper deck seats that stretch essentially from center field towards the right field foul pole (which I don't think I've seen a Minor League stadium do). I thought about getting a seat here, but the lack of cover made me opt for a shaded seat (though I just so happened to scoop a t-shirt from the t-shirt toss in this area)2.
Similar to Delta Dental Stadium up in Manchester, this was a stadium where I’d been to the team store several times, but never been able to catch a game. It’s kinda sorta inconveniently far from BOTH Boston AND North Jersey, and Hartford...isn’t known as the best place in the world (fun fact: before settling on Trenton, the Red Sox almost moved to Springfield, MA - another city with a very much less-than-stellar reputation). However, since I’ve decided to try this whole 26 in 26 thing this year, I felt it was FINALLY time to check out more than the team store.
Originally, this trip and the Fisher Cats game I went to back in April were going to be part of a full weekend trip to New England, but something came up that made the trip unfeasible (and I should note that this was NOT the weekend I ended up seeing the Fisher Cats). I thought about just going on the day I intended anyway (it's about two and a half hours, which is far but not the worst), but rain ended that idea, and after I was unable to go to a different game WHICH I BOUGHT A TICKET FOR3, this ended up being the game.
The good news for the Yard Goats: they only left two men on base!
The bad news: those two men left on base represented the ONLY two Yard Goats to reach, as the team's offense was shut down (no walks and 13 strikeouts) by the pitching of the visiting Portland Sea Dogs - proud Eastern League affiliate of the Boston Red Sox (2026 notwithstanding). As Hartford more or less sits on Connecticut's "Boston/New York dividing line", I should also note that there were seemingly a LOT of Red Sox fans in attendance, with Red Sox hats/shirts/jerseys VASTLY outnumbering Yankees and Mets ones (though I may have to eventually see the Patriots visit to see how that flips when THEY'RE in town - but maybe not this year)4.
Also, since a lot of fans left early (again, 6-0 with only two baserunners on a fairly hot day) and there was more shade in the stands towards the end of the game, I saw the final inning from HERE:
MERCH
As I mentioned earlier, I’ve been to the team store here several times - scooping several jerseys, a few hats, and a logo baseball. Notably, however, I have never bought a flex fit hat here in the Yard Goats’ main color scheme (blue and green); the flex fit Yard Goats hats I have came from local malls, and any flex fit hats I've gotten here are alt identities. Speaking of alt identities, I ended up getting a hat for a "new" one the team introduced this year: the Hartford Rock Cats (which feels like a slap in the face to New Britain in several ways).
The main store here is right next to the main gates of the stadium (which, again, are in right field). Unlike the Fisher Cats, it's on the concourse itself, so it's a bit easier to get to (one thing I have yet to mention: the main concourse is at STREET level, and the field is sunk into the ground). The team also has two other kiosks on the main concourse (one in the outfield, and another behind home plate) - though I feel like it's worth noting that I don't recall seeing jerseys or fitted hats at the kiosks (or any alt identity stuff).
One FINAL final note: on some level, this game was "unnecessary", as I have plans to come back in about a month's time. However, I still wanted to talk about the stadium PRIOR to that visit, as I REALLY want to focus on the game next time - partially as it involves a certain former Portland Sea Dog5...
Footnotes
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New Britain's stadium was not left empty, however - more on that later. ↩
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I also saw a t-shirt go OUT OF THE STADIUM and onto the nearby street. ↩
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The ticket I originally got was part of the same deal I got my 2001 NYPL Ring Night ticket from. ↩
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The Yard Goats' next home opponent after this game is the Mets' Eastern League affiliate FWIW - though I don't know how many Met fans exist in central Connecticut (I've largely been under the impression that it's mainly Red Sox/Yankees, with Met fans more likely to be near the coast/in Bridgeport). However, I did see like three or four Yankees jerseys and exactly ONE Mets jersey at the game. ↩
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It's also good that I found out how narrow the concourses are, as this game was apparently an overflow sellout, and my next visit is likely to be another... ↩