Last year, the New England Knockouts joined the Frontier League, sharing Campanelli Stadium with the Brockton Rox, a collegiate wood bat team. The Rox name has some history, however, as the franchise had been in three independent leagues before switching to the collegiate model. As you would expect, having two teams share a ballpark in a small market like Brockton is not sustainable, so the wood bat team threw in the towel and the Knockouts took over the Rox brand, with Jim Rice a part owner. I had hoped to visit Campanelli Stadium last season as part of my poorly conceived quest to see every MLB Partner League ballpark, but the schedule was not in my corner, so I waited until this season. The past weekend worked well as they hosted my hometown Ottawa Titans and fellow sports traveler Andrew, who lives in the area, agreed to join me and drive me around.
When I planned the trip, the game was scheduled for 7:00, but the two clubs had a contest suspended a couple of weeks earlier and that would be continued first, so the start time was moved to 5:30. My Amtrak train was supposed to arrive in Providence at 4, but as is often the case, it was delayed significantly, arriving nearly an hour late. We reached the ballpark at 5:45, parking in the library lot and picking up a pair of tickets for $10 apiece.
Inside, we were greeted with a lot of empty red seats. Sadly, the Rox are not drawing as well as they used to, averaging 1,100 to rank last in the 18-team circuit. I'm not going to pull any punches, the team is on the ropes and needs to come out swinging to avoid going down for the count.
The stadium opened in 2002 and has a capacity of 4,750. The structure is typical for ballparks built at that time, with an open concourse above the seating bowl and suites and the press box above.
The Knockouts were so named because Brockton has a history of producing champion boxers, including Rocky Marciano and Marvin Hagler (who was born in Newark, NJ but moved to Brockton as a teenager). Even the Rox name was a tribute to Marciano, combining Rocky with Sox after the Boston ballclub, so this is not a new tradition. The Rox logo also includes a pair of boxing gloves as you can see below, and Brockton calls itself the City of Champions, with the Rox contributing one as members of the Northeast League back in 2003.
The two retired numbers are for those boxers as well, with the numbers representing their wins as professionals (Marciano famously did not lose, with 43 of his bouts ending in knockouts).
The Brockton Boxers is the local high school team and their jersey is painted along the concourse. The restrooms also have some boxing artwork, but I am not taking pictures there.
The theme continues with two kangaroo mascots: K-O on the left looking angry, and a much friendlier Champ on the right. With only 917 on hand, they didn't have much to do, but did help out with the promotions on the field, which were hosted by a very energetic team of interns.
The highlight for me was a beer garden down the left field line, where full pints of Dogfish Ale were only $6.50. Tables next to the fence allowed for a clear view of the action too, and several families were playing cornhole and frisbee and chasing foul balls.
Overall, Campanelli Stadium has seen better days. It is not clear if the team will remain here much longer, but the new ownership seems committed to the cause. Time will tell if Brockton will again be a contender in the ever changing world of independent baseball.
The Games
The suspended game was restarted in the bottom of the third with the Titans up 2-0. We arrived an inning later, and soon thereafter, second base became dislodged a couple of times, one of many delays on the evening (below). Anyway, Brockton tied it, but the Titans scored a pair in the 7th and held on to win 4-2, with the match lasting the full nine rounds.
Game two was a 7-round affair that started at 8:25 p.m. Hopes for a quick game were immediately staggered as leadoff batter Jackie Urbaez reached on an error when the throw from third baseman Tommy Kretzler was off. First baseman Jamey Smart caught it and seemed to get his foot on the base in time, but Urbaez was called safe. We then needed two minutes for the umpires to discuss the play, with the ruling on the field confirmed. Brockton starter Joe Kemlage was injured after throwing a wild pitch to the next batter, necessitating a lengthy delay as Dillon Ryan warmed up. The following then transpired: walk, walk, wild pitch (1 run), error (1 run), HBP, strikeout, infield single (1 run), strikeout, walk (1 run), double by Urbaez (3 runs), walk, fly out. That's 7 runs on 2 hits in an inning that took nearly 40 minutes.
Brockton got one back in the bottom half, and Ottawa then had another weird inning in the third. With the first two batters retired, Justin Fogel singled, then Urbaez was hit by the pitch. Omar Melendez relieved and hit the first two batters to make it 8-1. Nolan McCarthy then doubled home three runs and it was 11 runs on just 4 hits. The Titans did not get another hit the rest of the way, walking 5 more times but stranding each runner. The final was 11-1, but what was interesting is that Ottawa scored those 11 runs on just 4 hits, with 11 walks and 4 hit batsmen doing much of the damage. Amazingly, this unusual combination had happened once in the majors, just over a century ago in May 1925 when the St. Louis Browns beat the Red Sox 11-6 with just 4 hits adding 8 walks and a hit batsman. Scoring seven more runs than hits is one shy of the MLB record, which happened in 1955 when the Brooklyn Dodgers scored 16 runs on 8 hits against the Cubs, who walked 12 batters
NotesEd Nottle, who managed here between 2002-05, was honoured between games and as you might expect from an 86-year-old, held nothing back, saying something along the lines of "The New England Knickerbockers, or whoever the hell they were...are gone! This team is the Brockton Rox and always will be the Brockton Rox!" to much applause. Nottle was the third base coach for Oakland in 1983, but otherwise managed in the minors or independent leagues for 28 seasons, finishing his peripatetic career in Ottawa in 2008.
In between games, we went to visit Paul Baker, a Stadium Journey member who does the P.A. work for a number of New England teams, including the Rox. He provided some insight into the struggles here; the team used to average well over 2,000 but mismanagement over the years has left fans less than enthusiastic.
This completes the 18 Frontier League ballparks for me, though several were visited when they hosted minor league teams. I have also seen all the Atlantic League and American Association stadiums, and with Northern Colorado folding, just have Glacier left in the Pioneer League. I somewhat regret adding independent leagues to my quests as the quality of ball is not that good, but it has allowed me to add 32 new ballparks to my list, with Campanelli number 388 in total.
Best,
Sean
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