Balsitis Park
California City, CA
Review by Mike
I have praised the Pecos League in the past for thinking outside the box and putting professional baseball teams in places that might not seem able to sustain a franchise. However, Balsitis Park in California City was just a ridiculous idea. The town itself has an interesting history which is worth Googling. The “ballpark” is simply the worst place to host professional baseball that I have ever seen.
What is truly amazing is that the team lasted three seasons! This is a baseball field in the middle of nowhere. The entirety of the seating is made up of four very small aluminum bleachers. The setting is uninspiring; the middle of a dusty plain in a dusty park with some distant mountains. There is no protection from sun… in a desert. It didn’t even have a real scoreboard, just a portable unit attached to one of the bleachers.
Since the Whiptails turned tail and ran, the town has let the ballpark return to nature. The batters eye is gone and the place has been overtaken by spiky, gnarly weeds. One expects to see an unshaven Charlton Heston ride in from the outfield on a horse shouting obscenities. It is one of the saddest baseball-related places I have ever been.
