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 Forbes Field
Pittsburgh Pirates (1909-1970)
Early History of Forbes Field
After Philadelphia’s Shibe Park was built for the start of the 1909 season, another Pennsylvania franchise sought to outdo its rivals. Green with envy, Pirates owner Barney Dreyfuss vowed to find his team a home that would “make people forget about Shibe.”
With the help of steel tycoon Andrew Carnegie, Dreyfuss ordered the construction of a larger-capacity stadium to replace Pittsburgh’s Exposition Park.
Dreyfuss’s vision resulted in Forbes Field, named after a British general in the French and Indian War. Before the park’s grand opening, a reporter claimed that “every detail at Forbes Field is many years ahead of the so-called modern effects and innovations elsewhere.”
The park would indeed give rise to several innovations over the years, and was one of the first parks to include luxury boxes on the third tier of the grandstand. It was also one of the first venues to allow greater movement for fans through the installation of ramps and elevators, and to have public telephones installed on all floors.
Distinguishing Features
The park’s signature quirk was a deck of seats on the grandstand roof known as the “Crows Nest.” As for the playing field itself, the spacious dimensions allowed for many triples and inside-the-park home runs. Barney Dreyfuss was said to hate cheap home runs, and was insistent on not having any in his park.
Dreyfuss set the original Forbes Field dimensions at 376 feet to right, 442 feet to center, and 360 feet to left. In 1925, when seating was added to the park that shortened the right-field line, the owner requested that a 28-foot-high screen be added to the wall.
Ironically, despite its reputation for suppressing home runs, the park did bear witness to some home run history. On May 25, 1935, Babe Ruth played a game with the Boston Braves at Forbes Field and hit the final three homers of his career.
Notable Games at Forbes Field
Although it’s typically associated with the Pittsburgh Pirates, Forbes Field also played a role in Negro Leagues history. From 1940 to 1950, the Homestead Grays of the Negro National League split their home games between Forbes Field and D.C.’s Griffith Stadium.
And, according to legend, Negro Leagues icon Josh Gibson (often called the “black Babe Ruth”) hit a home run at Forbes that traveled so far no one saw it come down.
Forbes Field was the site of one of baseball’s most storied moments: Bill Mazeroski’s walk-off home run to beat the Yankees in Game 7 of the 1960 World Series. It also served as a filming location for the 1951 movie Angels in the Outfield.
Want to learn more about other classic ballparks in The Show™ ? Click these links below to explore!!
