Originally written December 3, 2011

Phoenix Municipal Stadium was the first ballpark I visited in my first-ever trip out to Phoenix for Arizona Fall League baseball action.  In hindsight, it was probably for the best that I hit up Phoenix first, because if I were to rank the AFL parks I visited during my trip, I would probably put Phoenix Municipal at the lower end of the list.  No, it wasn't a nightmarish trip that gave me a horrible experience, but compared to some of the other ballparks in Arizona, Phoenix Municipal just falls a little short in comparison.

Phoenix Municipal Stadium also serves as the Spring Training home to the Oakland Athletics.  And as every baseball fan knows, the Oakland Athletics are known as possibly, baseball's most frugal (read: cheap) team, which has been known to take some extreme cost-cutting measures and financial shortcuts in order to spend as little as possible.  With such a reputation, it's really no surprise that Phoenix Municipal serves as Oakland's Spring Training home.  As far as the AFL goes, Phoenix Municipal is home to the Phoenix Desert Dogs, a team built from parts sent by the New York Yankees, Cincinnati Reds, Cleveland Indians, Toronto Blue Jays and of course, the Oakland Athletics.

As a whole, Phoenix Municipal is really nothing special.  It's location, closest to the actual city part of Phoenix makes the ballpark serve as a place that works around the needs of the surrounding area, instead of the other way around.  As a result, the parking lot surrounding the ballpark is extremely small, but I was still fortunate to have found a spot to park, because in November, and the AFL in general, is a relaxed, lowly-populated event that is apt to have some available parking here and there.

From the outside, there is nothing that makes the ballpark stand out like a must-go place to see some live baseball action; there is more to draw attention to the adjacent Phoenix city zoo, as well as some of the Hall of Flame firefighter's museum.  Standing outside of the ballpark, it's all very nondescript and unassuming.  But at least it was clean; then again, there's not entirely a lot of space to really make a mess.

The inside of the ballpark is really not a whole lot different than a minor league ballpark, in the A or A+ class, maybe even rookie-level.  The capacity is listed at 10,500 people, but I have to really imagine hard to see that many people actually fitting in the amount of seats available.  But being the AFL, there's no egregious crowds, and movement around the park is easy, level, and everything seems to be conveniently located.

I can make a definitive statement, since one ballpark did manage to elude me (Peoria), but as far as my trip was concerned, Phoenix Municipal was the only AFL park that didn't allow for outfield bern grass seating.  It's not that it wasn't allowed during the AFL, Phoenix Municipal just didn't have any outfield space, period.  Home runs and unfortunately placed foul balls are lost to the dirt, sand, and weeds that lie beyond the outfield walls, and even that area is sealed off by chain-link fences with barbed wire.

As a whole, most everything about the ballpark seemed kind of low-quality.  I know there is a limit to the pleasantries I should expect from a glorified exhibition practice league, but Major League Baseball places a lot of importance in the satisfaction of the fans.  Much like the Oakland A's business model, it felt like Phoenix Municipal did as much bare minimum to remain passable, at best.  From the minimalistic design of the park as a whole, all the way to the playing field, which looked sloppy and minimally cared for, everything had an air of plainness to it.

Whenever I go on baseball trips, especially ones that encompass more than one ballpark, I prefer to traverse the destinations I consider to be lower, first.  They're calculated risks, but if I'm right, it knocks the weaker aspects of travel out of the way sooner, leading for trips to be headed in an uphill direction, instead of down.  With that in mind, visiting Phoenix Municipal first seemed to turn out to be a good call.

Notable Performances: It's difficult to pick out a genuinely notable performance in the veritable league of minor league all-stars, but on this particular day, if I had to pick out anyone who stood out a little above the rest, it would be none other than the guy who seemed determined to steal the show at the AFL in 2011 – Washington Nationals' prospect, Bryce Harper.  After a slow start to the league, Harper found himself on the upper echelon of hitting towards the tail end of the season.  With bat speed and power that show immense promise for the future, Harper went 2-for-3 on the afternoon, with a double, and the go-ahead RBI in later innings.  His performance in the outfield is still a work-in-progress, but the bat is pretty much already ready for the big leagues.

Game Result: The game turned out to be a seven-inning game, due to the fact that throughout the AFL season, the Scottsdale Scorpions blew through some of their pitchers a little haphazardly.  I didn't actually arrive until the very top of the third inning either, so all in all, I really only got to see three and a half innings at Phoenix Municipal.  It didn't really matter, because I was really hungry that afternoon, not having eaten in quite some time due to travel and time gained in the trip.  In seven innings, the Scottsdale Scorpions defeated the Phoenix Desert Dogs, by a score of 3-2.

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