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Colorado Rockies AA Team to Remain on Road Just a Bit Longer

By Jason Burke |
May 15, 2016; Denver, CO, USA; General view of a Colorado Rockies cap and glove in the fifth inning of the game against the New York Mets at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
May 15, 2016; Denver, CO, USA; General view of a Colorado Rockies cap and glove in the fifth inning of the game against the New York Mets at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

The Hartford Yard Goats, the Colorado Rockies Double-A affiliate, have been planning to move into their $63 million stadium in the coming week. Turns out they’ll have to wait just a bit longer. 

At the onset of the 2016 season, the Hartford Yard Goats knew that they’d be on the road before they were finally able to call Dunkin’ Donuts Park their home. Armed with an awesome new theme song (below), five of the Colorado Rockies top ten prospects and eight of their top thirty, Hartford stormed through April, collecting 18 wins against just four losses.

In May, the team has come back down to earth a little, going just 7-11, and is looking up at Reading (Phillies) who have gone 27-14 in their own right. Hartford’s “home” record stands at 13-10 on the season, so perhaps the team is better equipped to play on the road than most, or perhaps they are just stockpiling some of those wins for the display they’re about to put on at Dunkin’ Donuts Park.

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Either way, those plans will have to wait. As Steven Goode of the Hartford Courant reports, the ballpark is officially a bit behind schedule, and the Yard Goats will have to play at least another ten “home” games away from their new park. Goode states that their games on June 1, 2, 3, 5 and 6 will be played Dodd Stadium in Norwich with the June 5 and the planned opening day for their new park, May 31, being set for double dips. Dodd Stadium is home of the Connecticut Tigers, Detroit’s Class A short-season affiliate. Their season begins on June 17 and their first home game is scheduled for June 22, so a new venue may have to be sought after for upcoming home dates.

In addition to those dates, there will be another three games played out of state, which is nothing new for the team, but given recent developments should prove to be interesting. From June 14-16 the Yard Goats will call Reading home.

According to reports, the stadium will not be ready for baseball until July, which means more games will have to be relocated. Per Fox 61, with the ballpark missing its opening date, the developer, DoNo Hartford, is on the hook for a $50,000 penalty to the city and another $15,000 for every day the contract isn’t completed. Fox 61 is also reporting that the main issues holding up the completion of the project, per a representative for the team’s owners, are the elevators, food service, stairs and 50 non-compliant issues.

When the park does open, there will be plenty of star power there to put on a show for the fans in attendance. Like home runs? David Dahl, the Rockies’ number two prospect, has ten of them, good for second in the Eastern League.

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The main draw for this team will be their pitching staff which holds a team ERA of 2.63, good for tops in the League by more than half a run. Their staff is being led by left-handers Kyle Freeland (#7) and Harrison Musgrave (#26) who hold ERAs of 2.29 and 1.79 respectively.

Sometime before the end of the 2016 season, fans in Hartford should able to eat it up.

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