Doubleday Field

Home-plate entrance to Doubleday Field, Jul-2005.

A look at the seating from down the third-base line.

The park sits in a neighborhood.

• Location: Behind Main and Chestnut streets, Cooperstown, N.Y.
• Opened: 1939
• Home teams: Oneonta, New York-Penn League (one game per season)

The main grandstand, which is sheltered by a roof as well as a protective screen, holds a thousand fans at most. In order to accommodate the ten thousand or more spectators who show up for the Hall of Fame exhibition game that used to be played during induction weekend in late July or early August, additional aluminum bleachers have been erected all the way down both base lines as well as beyond the right-field fence. Until the Oneonta club left the New York-Penn League, they also came in and played one of their games during that weekend.

The park is tucked into a residential neighborhood. It is very difficult to see from the nearby streets, although it is flanked by a municipal parking lot. For the rest of the year, amateur teams utilize the facility extensively. The American Legion holds its New York state tournament annually at Doubleday Field. The field size is more suited to amateur baseball, as the fences are unusually close to home plate.