With the nation on lockdown because of the coronavirus pandemic, many fans are turning to MLB® The Show™ 20 to satisfy their baseball craving. Like the previous installments in the series, the most recent version of The Show™ gives users the option to play in historic ballparks from generations past.

These parks may no longer be in existence, but employing them as a backdrop in The Show™ transports the gamer to bygone eras of baseball bliss. These parks not only possessed quirky features and alluring architecture; they also had eventful histories worth exploring.

Researching the six classic ballparks featured in MLB® The Show™ 20 has given me profound insight into early 20th-century baseball and how the game has evolved in the ensuing decades.

In order to share that knowledge, I have provided the historical background and descriptions of each those parks: the Polo Grounds, Shibe Park, Sportsman’s Park, Crosley Field, Forbes Field, and Griffith Stadium.

MLB Teams that Played at Crosley Field

Cincinnati Reds (1912-1970)

Early Crosley Field History

Known as “Redland Field” for the first 23 years of its existence, this park was renamed when entrepreneur Powel Crosley Jr. bought the Reds in 1934. Unlike Philadelphia’s more ornate Shibe Park, Crosley Field was far from extravagant in its steel-and-concrete design.

The architecture was utilitarian and allowed the stadium to blend in with the industrial neighborhood in which it resided. Over the years, Crosley Field became known as the “old boomerang” because of the unique V-shape of the stands.

Distinguishing Features

Inside, the park boasted a scoreboard designed by superintendent and groundskeeper Matty Schwab, who developed the modern format for displaying team lineups.

The park’s signature feature was known as “The Terrace,” a 15-degree incline of the outfield grass in left field. It was not uncommon for outfielders to chase balls over their heads in left, only to trip over themselves while running up the small hill. A modern equivalent would be Tal’s Hill, the 30-degree center-field incline that was a defining characteristic of Houston’s Minute Maid Park for 16 seasons.

The early years of Crosley Field were part of the Dead Ball Era, a time when pitching dominated and home runs were extremely rare.

And how crazy is this: it wasn’t until the stadium’s tenth season in 1921 that a player actually hit a ball over the fence. The park’s original dimensions were pitcher friendly (360 ft to both left and right, 420 ft to center), but the increasing popularity of home run hitters like Babe Ruth inspired the Reds to adjust the playing field and move home plate forward by 20 feet prior to the 1927 season.

The park’s most impressive item was its scoreboard, which at one point stood 58 feet tall. Adorned with a Longines clock that proudly displayed its status as the Reds’ “official watch,” the Art Deco-style scoreboard required five men to operate.

During the ballpark’s peak years, the scoreboard displayed certain numbers electronically (balls, strikes, outs) while still maintaining some manual elements (lineups and out-of-town scores).

Notable Games at Crosley Field

In 1919, Crosley Field provided the backdrop for four games of the World Series between the Reds and White Sox. That Fall Classic would live in infamy when, in what would become known as the “Black Sox” scandal, it was revealed that key members of the White Sox were bribed by gamblers to lose the series.

Crosley Field was also the site of the first night game in MLB history, on May 24th, 1935 when the Reds hosted the Phillies. President Franklin D. Roosevelt had the honor of lighting up the stadium by pressing a telegraph key from the White House.

Want to learn more about other classic ballparks in The Show™ ? Click these links below to explore!!