The Wandering Disciple

Nestled in downtown Bradenton is a historic baseball gem. The oldest spring training stadium, McKechnie Field has been hosting baseball since 1923. It is the oldest stadium in the league to host spring training and the third oldest stadium to host a major league team trailing behind Fenway Park and Wrigley Field. McKechnie Field, now known as LECOM Park is home to the Pittsburgh Pirates during spring training and they Florida State League Bradenton Marauders during the minor league season. (Photo: June 22, 2011)

The Florida State League has a saying;  "Where the Stars of Tomorrow Play Today" which could be no farther than the truth.  At this stage of the minor league ladder, this is where they begin to separate the contenders for major league roster spots.  Pictured here is Phil Irwin while pitching for the Bradenton Marauders.  Irwin would eventually make his major league debut for the Pirates in April 2013.  (Photo: June 1, 2011)

While much has changed over the course of the years, the game of baseball has remained pretty much the same.  The stadiums have gotten newer and fancier, but there is one spring training site that still feels like the old days.  Built in 1923, McKechnie Field is the oldest spring training field still in operation and while much of the part has been upgraded, it still maintains the old feel.  (Photo: May 24, 2010)

With major league baseball underway, minor league fields like McKechnie Field pictured here will soon come to life. Most of the full-season minor league teams begin their season tomorrow in cities across the country. (Photo: June 23, 2010)

The Bradenton Marauders All-Star outfielder Josh Bell rounds second on the way to third after hitting a solo homer in the sixth inning of a game against the Palm Beach Cardinals at McKechnie Field. (Photo: June 12, 2014)

Bradenton, Florida: After a brief rain delay caused by the Floridian liquid sunshine, Thursday’s game between the Bradenton Marauders and Tampa Yankees got underway just 45 minutes behind schedule. When play started, it would be the Marauders who would walk away with a 4-0 shut-out win before the home crowd. The Marauders broke the scoreless tie in the fourth inning. Jonathan Schwind doubled home Walker Gourley for a 1-0 lead. The Marauders sent seven men to the plate in the seventh, scoring three more runs to give them a 4-0 win over the Yankees. Chad Kuhl picked up the win and Jhondaniel Medina notched the save for Bradenton. Chaz Hebert was the losing pitcher for Tampa. Click on the photo above to view my Marauders/Yankees photo gallery.

Daytona Cubs outfielder John Andreoli makes a catch in deep left field in a Florida State League game against the Bradenton Marauders at historic McKechnie Field. (Photo: June 4, 2013)

Bradenton Marauders infielder Alen Hansen turns two over a sliding Brandon Macias as the Marauders hosted the Brevard County Manatees at historic McKechnie Field.  (Photo: April 30, 2013)

Bradenton, Florida: The Bradenton Marauders hosted the Daytona Cubs on Tuesday night in a Florida State League regular season match-up at historic McKechnie Field. The fans were treated to a great pitching/defensive duel which saw the Cubs earning a hard fought 1-0 win. The game remained scoreless until the top of the sixth inning when the Cubs pushed across the games lone run. Click on the photo to view my Marauders/Cubs photo gallery .

A look from the newly added boardwalk at historic McKechnie Field. Over the offseason, the City of Bradenton renovated the stadium by adding an outfield boardwalk, tiki bar, left field seating and expanded concessions. The renovations give the classic ballpark a modern feel. (Photo: April 30, 2013)

Brevard County Manatees infielder Greg Hopkins throws to first during Tuesday night's game between the Manatees and the Bradenton Marauders at McKechnie Field.  (Photo: April 30, 2013)

Bradenton, Florida: The Bradenton Marauders hosted the Brevard County Manatees for a Florida State League matchup on Tuesday night at historic McKechnie Field in Bradenton. The home team Marauders used their homefield advantage to work up an early lead. But the Manatees battled back to tie the game before play was suspended due to heavy rain. Click on the photo to view the rest of the photos from the Marauders/Manatees game .

A gem of Florida ballparks, McKechnie Field represents an era of baseball stadiums that has been replaces by more modern ballparks. Opened in 1923, it is the second oldest stadium to host a major league baseball team. It is the spring training home of the Pittsburgh Pirates and the home of the Bradenton Marauders of the Florida State League. (Photo: June 23, 2010)

Bradenton, Florida: The Bradenton Marauders closed out the first half of the season by sweeping the Jupiter Hammerheads. The Marauders were winning side of a 5-4 home run fest on a sunny Wednesday afternoon for Camp Day at McKechnie Field. Both clubs combined for three home runs on the afternoon, two by Jupiter and one by Bradenton. The Marauders jumped out to an early lead in the second inning. All-Star MVP Aaron Baker went deep for his ninth home run of the season, a solo shot to put the Marauders ahead 1-0. The Hammerheads wasted no time in tying the game, striking for a run of their own in the third. This time it was Danny Pertusati going yard to tie the game 1-1. The Marauders regained the lead again in the bottom of the third. Kelson Brown led off the inning with a triple to center. Robbie Grossman then drew a walk to put runners on the corners. Jarek Cunningham drove home a run when he hit into a force out, losing Grossman at second but allowing Brown to sneak home o...

Bradenton, Florida: A packed crowd at McKechnie Field watched the home team win as the Bradenton Marauders defeated the Brevard County Manatees 6-5 on Wednesday night. The Marauders posted all six of their runs in the first inning as they sent all nine hitters to the plate in the inning. Robbie Grossman doubled to left followed by a single by Jarek Cunningham. Ramon Cabrera then drew a walk to load the bases. Another walk to Aaron Baker pushed across the first run of the game. Elevys Gonzalez then drove home two runs with a double to center. Baker then scored on a wild pitch. David Rubinstein was next to collect an RBI with a single to center. After a pitching change, Adalberto Santos tripled to right to give the Marauders a 6-0 lead. The Manatees finally reached the scoreboard in the fifth inning. Juan Sanchez doubled to center to lead off the inning. Kentrail Davis later cleared the bases with a home run to left that put them on the board. The Manatees added two more runs i...

Bradenton, Florida: It took eleven innings to determine the winner, but when the dust settled, the Bradenton Marauders fell to the St. Lucie Mets by the score of 3-2 on Wednesday afternoon at McKechnie Field. The Marauders took the lead in the first inning. Eric Fryer struck a two run homer to left field to put the home team ahead 2-0. The Mets then cut the lead in half in the third inning. Hector Pellot singled to left with two outs to put a runner aboard. Jordany Valdespin then drove home the run with a triple to right to bring the Mets within a run of the lead. The Mets tied the game in the top of the sixth inning. Stefan Welch singled to center to lead off the inning. Welch stole second then scored on a double by Joey August to tie the game 2-2. It wasn't until the top of the eleventh inning until the tie was broken. Juan Torres plated the winning run with an RBI single to center, scoring Welch and giving the Mets a 3-2 extra innings victory. Jimmy Johnson picked up t...

Bradenton, Florida: The Bradenton Marauders rode the momentum of a five run third inning to help defeat the Tampa Yankees 8-1 on Friday night at McKechnie Field in Bradenton. Adenson Chourio made his first start as a Marauder by going 2 for 4 with a run scored. Tony Sanchez and Quincy Latimore also recorded multiple hits with Sanchez getting three hits and Latimore 2 hits with 3 RBI’s/ The Marauders broke the scoreless tie in the third inning with their huge five run performance. Austin McClune and Chourio led off the inning with back to back singles. Then Brock Holt singled to left field to score McClune for the first run of the game. Both runners advanced into scoring position thanks to a sac bunt by Robbie Grossman. Latimore then drove home two runs with a double to left field. Latimore would later score on a ground ball by Jeremy Farrell. Eric Fryer plated the final run with a single to left that scored Sanchez and gave the Marauders a 5-0 lead. The Yankees scored their o...

singles in the first inning of Monday's game."id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5475518786150855778" /> Bradenton, Florida: The Bradenton Marauders were not able to keep the Fort Myers Miracle offense down as they fell 12-3 on Monday night at McKechnie Field. The Marauders took an early lead in the first inning. Brock Holt drew a lead off walk then later scored on a sac fly by Tony Sanchez to take a 1-0 lead. Fort Myers battled back to tie the game in the second inning. Daniel Rohfling singled to left then moved to third on a single by Jair Fernandez. With runners on the corners, Nick Romero singled to short, scoring Rohfling and tying the game 1-1. The Miracle took their first lead of the game in the third inning. Brian Dozier drew a walk to get things started. Deibinson Romero moved the runner to third on a single to right. Evan Bigley knocked home the run with a sac fly to give the Miracle a 2-1 lead. But it wouldn't take long for the Marauders to tie the ga...

Bradenton, Florida: Known as Florida’s Fenway Park, McKechnie Field in Bradenton has been a major venue of spring baseball since 1923. Baseball greats like Babe Ruth, Ted Williams and Roberto Clemente along with the stars of today and the future stars have played in the confines of this historic stadium. The stadium was built in 1923 as the spring training home of the St. Louis Cardinals. Throughout the years, it has been the spring training home to the Cardinals, Philadelphia Phillies, Boston Red Sox, Milwaukee Braves, Oakland Athletics and since 1969 the Pittsburgh Pirates. The stadium located in the heart of downtown is built with the Florida Spanish Mission architecture that is popular in the region. There is seating for 6,602 fans with the bulk of the reserved seating area covered by roof, a great feature for the hot Florida sunshine. In 1993 the stadium received a major facelift. The metal chair were replaced by modern stadium seating and the old wooden bleacher were also ...