Homer Stryker Field
Encyclopedia
Homer Stryker Field is a stadium
in Kalamazoo, Michigan
. The baseball field is located in Kalamazoo's Mayors Riverfront Park. It is primarily used for baseball
, and is the home field of the Kalamazoo Kings
minor league
baseball team. It originally opened in 1963, making it the oldest ballpark in the Frontier League
's Central Division. It holds 4,000 people.
Homer Stryker Field became the home of the Kalamazoo Kings in 2001. It had previously hosted another Frontier League
team, the Kodiaks; each team has made some renovations to a facility that has been in use in some form since 1925, although the oldest part of the current structure, a concrete grandstand now with aluminum benches, appears to date to 1963.
The 1995 renovation added new aluminum seating and a press box above the old grandstand, along with some additional bleacher sections flanking the central stand. Some new outbuildings have been constructed in the last few years.
The field is somewhat unorthodox in that home plate is at the northeast corner of the grounds; traditionally and commonly, baseball fields have home plate at the westenmost end of the grounds so batters do not have to face the sun while hitting.
Homer Stryker
was the patriarch of the Stryker Corporation
. The Stryker family bought the naming rights in 2002 and placed Homer’s name on the field.
Center Field: 395 feet
Right Field Foul Line: 330 feet
Stadium
A modern stadium is a place or venue for outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a structure designed to allow spectators to stand or sit and view the event.)Pausanias noted that for about half a century the only event...
in Kalamazoo, Michigan
Kalamazoo, Michigan
The area on which the modern city stands was once home to Native Americans of the Hopewell culture, who migrated into the area sometime before the first millennium. Evidence of their early residency remains in the form of a small mound in downtown's Bronson Park. The Hopewell civilization began to...
. The baseball field is located in Kalamazoo's Mayors Riverfront Park. It is primarily used for baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
, and is the home field of the Kalamazoo Kings
Kalamazoo Kings
The Kalamazoo Kings are a professional baseball team based in Kalamazoo, Michigan, in the United States. The Kings are a member of the Eastern Division of the Frontier League, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball...
minor league
Minor league
Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities. This term is used in North America with regard to several organizations competing in...
baseball team. It originally opened in 1963, making it the oldest ballpark in the Frontier League
Frontier League
The Frontier League, based in Sauget, Illinois, is a professional, independent baseball organization located in the Midwestern United States, Western Pennsylvania, and Southern Ontario. It operates mostly in cities not served by Major or Minor League Baseball teams and is not affiliated with either...
's Central Division. It holds 4,000 people.
Frontier League
The Frontier League, based in Sauget, Illinois, is a professional, independent baseball organization located in the Midwestern United States, Western Pennsylvania, and Southern Ontario. It operates mostly in cities not served by Major or Minor League Baseball teams and is not affiliated with either...
team, the Kodiaks; each team has made some renovations to a facility that has been in use in some form since 1925, although the oldest part of the current structure, a concrete grandstand now with aluminum benches, appears to date to 1963.
The 1995 renovation added new aluminum seating and a press box above the old grandstand, along with some additional bleacher sections flanking the central stand. Some new outbuildings have been constructed in the last few years.
The field is somewhat unorthodox in that home plate is at the northeast corner of the grounds; traditionally and commonly, baseball fields have home plate at the westenmost end of the grounds so batters do not have to face the sun while hitting.
Homer Stryker
Homer Stryker
Homer Hartmen Stryker, M.D., was the founder of Stryker Corp., a medical supply corporation.Dr. Stryker grew up in Athens, Michigan, a small farming community in Southern Michigan, before earning a teaching certificate from Western Michigan University in 1916. He taught in local schools before...
was the patriarch of the Stryker Corporation
Stryker Corp.
Stryker Corporation , is a Kalamazoo, Michigan based medical technology firm which develops and produces medical implants, surgical and imaging technologies, as well as patient handling and emergency medical equipment...
. The Stryker family bought the naming rights in 2002 and placed Homer’s name on the field.
Field Dimensions
Left Field Foul Line: 306 feetCenter Field: 395 feet
Right Field Foul Line: 330 feet