Dick Putz Field

All photos of Dick Putz Field and Municipal Athletic Complex available on Flickr.

As I continue to cast a wider and wider net to capture all of the available ball options around me, I found myself attending a junior college game a couple of weeks ago on an unseasonably mild April Saturday.  The St. Cloud Technical & Community College (SCTCC) Cyclones play their home games at Dick Putz Field, which is a part of the Municipal Athletic Complex in St. Cloud (yes, that is the real name of the field).  I arrived just before first pitch at 1pm and entered into an unassuming concrete building, where I was shocked and appalled to be greeted by a man collecting $10 admission for this game.  I begrudgingly got out my wallet and handed him the money, while looking around at the 50+ year old cinder block dungeon with dingy tile ceiling and wondering exactly where all that money went.  I made my way past the intimidating security gate and dark windowless metal doors to the concrete ramp up to the seating bowl, and I parked myself on 3rd row metal bleacher, just behind an iPhone hogtied to the net behind home plate that was recording the game.

I'm not exactly painting a pretty picture here, but this is not out of the ordinary for baseball parks of this level, particularly during the early spring when the cool weather and dormant grass tend to make everything feel a little more drab than it really is.  You can also throw in the thick swath of dead ivy lining the outfield fence and the vast expanse of cold sandblasted concrete that contributed to the overall feel of the park on this day.  It's a very nuts and bolts park - quite literally, as you do see a lot of exposed nuts and bolts.  And as I eluded to earlier, if they're going to go to the effort of collecting admission, it would be nice to see some sort of tangible return on that investment in the form of repairs, such replacing the fluorescent lighting in the entry, or the PA sound system, or the hole in the net that allowed a foul ball to fall through right next to me.  Part of the reason things may seem in need of some TLC at Dick Putz Field is probably due to be it being a part of such a large complex, which is honestly the coolest part of going here.  The Municipal Athletic Complex or "MAC" also includes adjacent Joe Faber Field which you may remember as the home of the Northwoods League Rox, a golf course, and not one but two hockey arenas.  You actually have to go into the hockey arena building (which shares its entry with Dick Putz) and walk behind the boards and up to the top of the seating bowl to purchase concessions, and while that was a little awkward and inconvenient, it certainly makes the experience memorable.  How many times do you get to watch a hockey practice while you're buying a hot dog at a baseball game?  There were many more people in this frigid arena watching children play hockey than there were at the Cyclones baseball game, and it was a blunt reminder of how big hockey is in Minnesota.  

I grabbed a dog at what I thought was a good time in the top of the 5th inning, but I forgot about the slaughter rule in college, so I only had a couple of outs to crush it upon my return to my seat for the conclusion of the bloodbath.  SCTCC laid the wood to M State by a final score of 16-1 in 5 innings.  The game started off inconspicuously with a meager single run in the first, but then the flood gates opened as the 'Clones plated 6 in the 2nd and another 9 in the 3rd.  Hayden Frank and Kinnick Christensen both homered for St. Cloud Tech and drove in a combined 8 of their 16 runs, but it was actually CF Devan Meran who impressed me the most.  For some reason a really fast and athletic kid from Miami plays at a random junior college in Central Minnesota, I'm not sure what his story is but he seemed too good to be playing in this game.  He was 2-2 with a walk, a steal, and 2 RBI, and made some aggressive baserunning decisions as well that won't show up in the box score.  As of this post he has a .989 OPS and 20 RBI in just 30 games and I'll be interested to keep tabs on him next year or see if he pops up in the Northwoods League anywhere.  Griffin Dosan tossed a 5-inning complete game for the Cyclones, giving up only 1 run.  Not much good to report for the MCCTC Spartans.  They mustered just 3 hits and their starter was charged with 7 of the 16 runs, all earned.

I'm now in that part of the season where I'm just waiting for the weather to warm up a bit and for Town Ball and the Northwoods League to get going, but it's always nice to get to a college ballgame on any decent day we can get up here.

park rankings and statistics:

aesthetics - 2
views from park - 2
view to field - 3 (lots of netting and fencing obstructions)
surrounding area - 7 (Municipal Athletic Complex)
food variety - 4
nachos - 4
beer - n/a
vendor price - 9
ticket price - 3 ($10 for a Minnesota junior college game!)
atmosphere - 4 (there are some points in this category for being adjacent to hockey practice)
walk to park - 3
parking price/proximity - 10 (adjacent lot for free)
concourses - 4 (there are points in this category for uniqueness and sharing an entry with hockey arenas)
team shop - n/a

kids area - n/a

best food - hot dog
most unique stadium feature - shared entry/complex with hockey arenas
best jumbotron feature - n/a

best between-inning feature - walking into the hockey arena for concessions

field dimensions - 323/380/323

starters - Carson Bevill (MCCTC) v. Griffin Dosan (SCTCC)
opponent - Minnesota State Community and Technical College-Fergus Falls
time of game - 1:50-ish
attendance - I counted about 40
score - 16-1 W (F/5)

Brewers score that day - 5-4 L

STANDINGS AND UPCOMING SERIES AS OF 4/21/25:

Brewers 12-10, -1.0; 4 @ Giants, 3 @ Cardinals, 3 @ White Sox, 3 v. Cubs
Twins 7-15, -6.0; 3 v. White Sox, 3 v. Angels, 4 @ Guardians, 3 @ Red Sox
Athletics 10-12, -3.0; 3 v. Rangers, 3 v. White Sox, 4 @ Rangers, 3 @ Marlins

2025 GAMES ATTENDED:

Erik - 0
Peter - 3