Montgomery Blair Stadium
Silver Spring, MD
Review by Gary
During June and July in Silver Spring, Maryland, Montgomery Blair Baseball Stadium becomes home to the Cal Ripken Collegiate Baseball League’s (CRCBL) Silver Spring-Takoma Thunderbolts. During the school year, the local high school baseball teams plays here. When the Thunderbirds joined the newly created CRCBL in 2005, they did the work to turn a simple baseball diamond here into an attractive stadium, adding 700 individual seats to a new seating area consisting of three sections. Limited standing room is available on the concourse in front of the stands and is right up against the fenced-in field.
Due to the lack of any extra space around the diamond, there are no viewing options anywhere else. Both bullpens are right beyond their respective dugouts. Fences on both sides prohibit any fans from sitting or standing along the fence in hopes of snagging a foul ball. A multiuse, red-bricked building serves as the press box facing the field above home plate while the concession stand and restrooms are on the main level below.
The scoreboard is next to the left field foul pole and in front of the local fire department behind it. A forested area runs from left center to the right field pole, framing the landscape nicely. A softball field sits directly behind the third base stands while the adjacent high school football/soccer field is right up against the first base side, completing the sports complex. The soccer pitch is so close to the diamond that the two fields exchanged errant balls within five minutes of each other.
The SS-T Thunderbolts have had their share of players and front office personnel move up the ranks to the majors. Jonathan Papelbon (2000) is the most recognized of the players who have worn the Thunderbolt uniform while current Cleveland Guardians General Manager, Mike Chernoff, toiled for the T-Bolts in 2001.
The Thunderbolt motto is “Big League Dreams, Small Town Charm.” This is certainly true at Blair Baseball Stadium as it is one of the most amiable venues in the CRCBL. Plenty of free parking abounds and the admission and concessions will not break the bank for anyone looking for an economical option to an MLB game at Nationals Park just 12 miles to the south in The District of Columbia.
2024
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