If Mayor Luke Bronin has his way, the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox will play in Hartford, CT. Why because it just may be the home park for the Toronto Blue Jays. The Mayor yesterday tweeted “Hey Blue Jays, Hartford’s ready. And CT is just a better place to be.â€
This all started when the Canadian Health Department refused to let the Blue Jays play in their home park, Roger’s Center. This sent the Blue Jays on a rushed wild chase to find a place to play their home games. In the last several days they have checked out several parks that were not television acceptable. They then made a deal to play their games in Pittsburgh, the home of the Pirates. They even started to adjust their schedule to alternate with the Pirates. Then yesterday, the State of Pennsylvania refused to let them play there.
Mayor Bronin’s offer could be that jackpot for the Jays. Hartford has the brand new huge Dunkin Donuts minor league park that is home of the minor league Colorado Rockies. It is a state of the art stadium that has the facilities and lighting required for televised MLB games. So far, the Blue Jays have not commented, but are surely looking into it.
Hartford is the perfect location for the Blue Jays; it will reduce their travel as Hartford is halfway between New York Yankees Stadium and Boston’s Fenway Park. Connecticut also has the lowest coronavirus infection rate in the country. The only glitch is that the stadium is not stat cast ready. But when you can’t find a park to play in, that requirement may be overlooked.
Hartford has huge Marriot, and Hilton Hotels that would love the business created by the Blue Jays and their crews would provide and would be a boost to the Hartford economy that has been suffering due to the coronavirus reduction in travel. At present, it appears that Hartford and Baltimore are the cities of last resort. If they choose Baltimore, there will be scheduling problems. With the use of the Colorado Rockies Yard Goats park, they would have the full use of the park and would not cause any scheduling problems.
For residents of Connecticut and Massachusetts, the move of the Blue Jays to Dunkin Donuts Park would allow them to watch both the New York Yankees and Red Sox play in Hartford without having to take that nightmare trip to the Bronx or Boston. With the Blue Jays’ first home game next Wednesday, the choice of a home park will be announced shortly.
