Washington Park - Minor League Baseball Stadiums on Waymarking.com

I was researching something entirely unrelated when I found a reference to this park and team. In 1979, the Oakland A's decided to elevate the San Jose Bees minor league team to the AAA level, and renamed them the Missions. The class A California league wanted to keep a presence in the Bay Area, so the defunct Salinas franchise was awarded to new ownership, who would place them in Santa Clara. The hope was the team would attract a following large enough to spur the development of a new stadium. Sadly, this was not to be. Attendance was a disappointment at the very least, so for 1980, the team was relocated to Rohnert Park, about two hours north. The franchise was subsequently relocated to Palm Springs (1986) before finally finding a home in Lake Elsinore in 1994.

As the pictures will show, the only thing that distinguishes this field from your garden variety softball diamond are the presence of crude locker rooms, and the ancient grandstand. The 2,000 capacity figure is my estimate of the number of chair seats. There are no bleachers. Those wishing to visit the location should avoid doing so during school hours, as the field is located adjacent to both elementary and high schools. The best parking is off of Monroe St.