Becker Park

All photos of Becker Park available on Flickr.

An unseasonably mild April afternoon afforded me the opportunity to cross a local collegiate field off my list this past Saturday.  I've been excited to go to Becker Park since I moved out here, not only because it's the only major collegiate ballpark in the area I haven't been to yet (St. Cloud State shares a ballpark with the Rox Northwoods team), but because I've heard how stunningly beautiful Saint John's campus is from numerous people.  St. John's is a private liberal arts college that was founded by Benedictine monks in 1857, making it the oldest college in the state of Minnesota.  It is closely affiliated with the nearby women's College of St. Benedict, and both still offer theological and divinity study programs.  When you combine these facts with its location nestled amongst 3 lakes in a heavily wooded and secluded area, one can imagine how idyllic the setting and architecture are on campus.  There's really only one way into campus, which gives anyone driving there a very tranquil arrival experience that only further emphasizes how remote it is.  The athletic facilities are mostly globbed together on the north side of campus, and all are relatively new when juxtaposed with all the century-plus old academic buildings.  The baseball field is sandwiched between a brand new tennis facility and the inflatable Skalicky football dome, and I got to walk past an ongoing tennis match on my way from the parking lot to the ballgame.

Haugen Field at Becker Park opened for business in 2013.  It's fairly common nowadays for a team to name the playing field and the ballpark separately as St. John's has, but normally I don't care to acknowledge the field naming aspect as usually it's nothing more than a money grab.  But in this case, it's definitely worth mentioning the namesake for Haugen Field.  Jerry Haugen is the current manager for the St. John's Johnnies, as he has been for each of the past 47 seasons.  With 935 victories as of the start of 2024, that places him in the top 15 for winningest active D3 baseball coaches, to go along with 3 conference championships during his tenure.  Perhaps more astonishing than his 935 wins is the fact that there are 14 active managers ahead of him somehow.  A man for all seasons, he's also coached basketball, hockey, and football for St. John's as well, and the 100% synthetic field was dedicated to him in 2017.  It's common for managers to also double as the 3rd base coach at this level as well, and his 3rd base coaching box even has his number in it.  Aside from no longer being too swift on his feet at his age, he seemed as energetic and passionate as ever, yelling words of encouragement and direction to his players in the 3rd base dugout throughout the game.  

That 3rd base dugout is situated below and within one of the other reasons I went to see this ballpark - the brand new clubhouse designed by the firm I work for, BWBR.  It formally opened this season and houses some much needed locker rooms, indoor training facilities, and a rooftop deck that is occupiable for viewing the game.  Prior to this addition, players had to dress and shower at the football field up the hill and walk down to the ballpark, so it was long overdue.  Of course I am biased, but I think it is a very aesthetically pleasing building that blends in with the stadium architecture very well, and the rooftop deck space was a great space to watch a ballgame, unencumbered by nets and within spitting distance of the players below.  Overall I was very surprised with how nice the ballpark was for a D3 level facility at a small private college.  The entry portal into the inner courtyard of the ballpark, while not glamorous, was very functional and provided a welcoming entry sequence.  This "portal" also housed some storage, restrooms, and the main concession stand, which was another welcome surprise. The grandstand was very well thought out with a nice press box and a large shade canopy, and I loved the extra wide aisles down the lines where the bleacher seating was.  The bleachers had a nice detail where the bench was installed level with the walking aisle of the row behind, which gave these sections a very open feel.  On top of all that, I was shocked to see the park had a jumbotron as well.  It was a very comfortable, scenic, intimate, and well-intentioned place to watch a game, and that's all you can really ask for at a D3 ball field.  And certainly crushing a $1 dog on an 80° April day didn't hurt either.

The Johnnies won 13-8 as a part of an offensive barrage on the day.  I only stayed for the first game of a doubleheader against Carleton College, but the Johnnies also won game 2 by a score of 20-9.  And mind you, these were only 7 inning games.  After a quiet 1st inning, the floodgates opened, and there was at least one run scored in every subsequent inning.  The Knights jumped out to a 5-1 lead in the 3rd thanks to a couple of 2-run singles, but the Johnnies would score 12 unanswered over the next 4 frames for the victory.  There were 4 total homeruns in the game, 3 of which were by the home team, and one of those by 3B Joe Becker, who I can only assume is part of the Becker family for whom the stadium is named.  Owen Dauk was the offensive star of the day for St. John's, and Ryan Chang for the Knights.  Each of them had a homer and 5 RBI apiece in the game.  Despite the high score, Connor Hartley managed to toss a complete game win for the Johnnies.  His final line was 8 runs on 11 hits with 6 Ks, but it looks worse than he really pitched as there were 3 garbage runs scored by Carleton in the 7th with Haugen trying to preserve the bullpen for Game 2.  I certainly was not expecting to see a D3 game with 25 total hits and 4 long balls, but you never know what you're going to see on any given day at the ballpark.

Most of the time when I'm going to these smaller Midwestern collegiate fields in March and April, honestly I'm just going to add a ballpark to my tally, and/or as an excuse to enjoy a nice spring day, but Becker Park is definitely a field I will be returning to in the future.

park rankings and statistics:

aesthetics - 8
views from park - 8
view to field - 9
surrounding area - 5 (beautiful campus!)
food variety - 2
nachos - n/a
beer - n/a
vendor price - 10 (most things were a dollar)
ticket price - 10 (free)
atmosphere - 7 (much better than I was expecting)
walk to park - 6 (past tennis courts)
parking price/proximity - 9 (adjacent lot for free)
concourses - 2 (there isn't really a concourse)
team shop - n/a

kids area - n/a

best food - dollar dog (note: seeds and peanuts not allowed!)
most unique stadium feature - new clubhouse designed by my firm, honorable mention to the eagles nest platform on one of the light standards
best jumbotron feature - player graphics

best between-inning feature - employee appreciation day raffle

field dimensions - 330/395/330

starters - Ananth Iyer (CAR) v. Connor Hartley (SJU)
opponent - Carleton College Knights
time of game - 2:01 (game 1 of doubleheader)
attendance - 456 (not sure how they came up with an attendance with no gate but this felt accurate)
score - 13-8 W

Brewers score that day - 11-5 W

STANDINGS AND UPCOMING SERIES AS OF 4/19/24:

Brewers 11-6, +0.5; 3 @ Cardinals, 4 @ Pirates

Twins 6-11, -6.0; 3 v. Tigers, 4 v. White Sox

Orioles 12-6, -0.5; 3 @ Royals, 3 @ Angels

2024 GAMES ATTENDED:

Erik - 1

Peter - 3