Sims Legion Park is a 3,000-seat

baseball park A ballpark, or baseball park, is a type of sports venue where baseball is played. The playing field is divided into two field sections called the infield and the outfield. The infield is an area whose dimensions are rigidly defined in part ba ...

Gastonia, North Carolina Gastonia is the most populous city in and the county seat of Gaston County, North Carolina, United States. It is the second-largest satellite city of the Charlotte, North Carolina, Charlotte area, behind Concord, North Carolina, Concord. The po ...

that is the home field for Gaston College baseball. It has hosted the Gastonia Grizzlies of the

Coastal Plain League The Coastal Plain League (CPL) is a wood-bat collegiate summer baseball league, featuring college players recruited from throughout the nation. The league takes its name from the Class D level Coastal Plain League which operated in the area f ...

, as well as

American Legion baseball American Legion Baseball is a variety of amateur baseball played by 13-to-19-year-olds in fifty states in the U.S. and Canada. More than 3,500 teams participate each year. The American Legion Department of South Dakota established the program in 1 ...

. The Grizzlies moved to Spartanburg,

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

starting with the 2021 season and were renamed the Spartanburgers. The stadium underwent a total rebuild in the 1970s in order to attract a

Minor League Baseball Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with MLB clubs. It was founded on September 5, 1901, in response to the growing dominance of the National Le ...

team. Since then the stadium has seen many tenants come and go. An ongoing effort to build a new ballpark in Gastonia in 2021 produced CaroMont Health Park, home to the

Gastonia Honey Hunters The Gastonia Honey Hunters were a professional baseball team based in Gastonia, North Carolina. They played in the South Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, a "partner league" of Major League Baseball, at CaroMont Health Pa ...

of the Atlantic League. Sims Legion Park was further renovated between the 2021 and 2022 baseball seasons. Players who've played here include

Andy Van Slyke Andrew James Van Slyke (born December 21, 1960) is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) center fielder and coach. Early life Van Slyke earned All-American honors in baseball as a senior at New Hartford Central High school in New Hartf ...

(Cardinals, Pirates),

Sammy Sosa Samuel Peralta Sosa (; born November 12, 1968) is a Dominican-American former professional baseball right fielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 18 seasons, primarily with the Chicago Cubs. After playing for the Texas Rangers and ...

(Rangers, White Sox, Cubs, Orioles), Juan González (Rangers, Tigers, Indians, Royals),

Iván Rodríguez Iván Rodríguez Torres (born November 27, 1971), nicknamed "Pudge" and "I-Rod", is a Puerto Rican former professional baseball catcher who played 21 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for the Texas Rangers (baseball), Texas Ran ...

(Rangers, Marlins, Tigers), and former Major Leaguer

Tug McGraw Frank Edwin "Tug" McGraw Jr. (August 30, 1944 – January 5, 2004) was an American professional baseball relief pitcher. McGraw played in 19 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), from 1965 to 1984, for the New York Mets and Philadelphia Philli ...

(Mets, Phillies), who pitched one game for the Rangers in 1989.

References

External links

Ballpark Reviews - Gastonia
* Buildings and structures in Gaston County, North Carolina Minor league baseball venues Baseball venues in North Carolina 1950 establishments in North Carolina Sports venues completed in 1950 Softball venues in the United States {{NorthCarolina-baseball-venue-stub