Eastwood Field

From BR Bullpen

Eastwood Field in Niles, OH, was the home of Youngstown affiliated baseball from 1999 through 2019. After that and the Coronavirus pandemic-canceled 2020 season, MLB's 2021 Minor League Reorganization eliminated the Mahoning Valley Scrappers and most other New York-Pennsylvania League teams. They then joined the new amateur MLB Draft League.

Niles, roughly 10 miles from Youngstown, is best known as President William McKinley's birthplace. The team nickname salutes the scrap component of the steel business and the "scrappy" local populace.

Originally Cafaro Field, the ballpark opened in 1999 and landed the former Erie SeaWolves - who had been bumped by the Eastern League expansion franchise now called that. Like many NYPL stadiums, the main concourse and concessions are located underneath the grandstands. The majority of seating at the park is aluminum bleachers with backs, but there are several rows of box seating along the infield. The last sections of box seats are unique in that they turn sharply toward the foul line and face the infield. There are also a series of luxury boxes along the top of the seating.

Despite the peaceful wooded view from the outside fence, one of the park's unique features is sharing a parking lot with Eastwood Mall. With lots of free parking at the largest retail facility between Cleveland and Pittsburgh, the Scrappers charge a "walk-in" fee on anyone entering the stadium on foot.

Eastwood Field has Kentucky Bluegrass, rather than the Bermuda grass most baseball clubs favor, and its warning track is crushed red brick. It seats more than 6,000 for baseball and close to 10,000 for other events.