Stadium Review: Four Winds Field (South Bend Cubs)

Throughout the year, I have been travelling and will continue to travel throughout the country (mostly Midwest) to watch and cover sporting events. I decided that one way to continue some writing at events that I do not have to cover is to write reviews about the games and places that I visit.

The first post will be about the first Minor League stadium that I visited in 2016, Four Winds Field in South Bend, Indiana. This park is home of the South Bend Cubs, the Class A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs, a team who plays in the Midwest League.

On May 5, I visited the ball park with Keegan to catch my first ever game there. The South Bend Cubs were set to take on the Beloit Snappers. In the game South Bend won 3-2 (box score here) on a walk-off sacrifice fly by Eddy Julio Martinez, which was more the result of an unapplied tag by Beloit catcher Santiago Chavez, but nonetheless the finish was very exciting.

I was not a big fan of them playing the Cubs win song following the win, solely based on the fact that I do not like the actual Cubs nor the song. It was a cool touch in terms of a way to connect the club with the big league club though, I will give them that.

One of the coolest features of the park had to be the team shop in left field that is a converted synagogue. Pictured below to the left with the Toyota advertisement on the roof, the team shop still looks like a synagogue inside and out, except filled with hats and bats of course.

Just twenty one days later, the third member of our Minor League travelling party Chris joined us on our return trip and his debut in South Bend. An 11:00 AM first pitch against the Great Lakes Loons, this game was one of the infamous Education Days, when the crowd is filled with screaming elementary and middle school students. Great Lakes powered past the Cubs 9-4 (box) by the way of three home runs, including two monster shots by Ariel Sandoval.

A new staple at the park that I will continue to eat every time I return to the ballpark, the Porknado was the greatest specialty food item I have ever eaten at any ballpark. For just $8.00, you get a waffle cone that is filled to the brim with alternating layers of pulled pork and mac n' cheese. In between each layer, you have the option (for no additional charge) to add BBQ sauce, shredded or nacho cheese, cole slaw and jalapenos. I opted to get the BBQ Sauce, shredded cheese and jalapenos and I made a great call. This was absolutely delicious and I needed no additional food, it was quite filling.

In the ever-entertaining world of mascot/costume races, South Bend may have the best I have ever seen in person. The Martin's Produce Race is a race between three pieces of produce that all have ties to the Three Stooges. Pictured below from left to right are Brocco Larry, Mo Shroom and Curly Flower.

In both races I witnessed, Curly Flower took home the victory, and as of May 26, Mo Shroom had zero wins on the season, so it looks like it will be a long year for him.

On another mascot note, they have decided to keep Swoop, who was the mascot when they were the South Bend Silverhawks, and if you didn't know the former name of the club, it does not make sense why they have a hawk as a mascot. I appreciate the homage to the past, however it may be time for Swoop to go. Stu is a great mascot, they do not need another one.

Ticket Prices are comparable to other places around the league ($10 field box and $12 dugout box), however they do have a $1 surcharge for buying them on gameday. The parking costs $5, which is two dollars cheaper than West Michigan, and if you get a spot in the third base line lot, it is very close to the park so there is minimal walking distance.

Despite the Education Day that filled the entire game with SpongeBob SquarePants and Frozen songs being played over the PA system, the ballpark still has not strayed from the top spot in the MWL for me personally. As my seventh park in the league it ranks first ahead of (in order) Bowling Green, Great Lakes, West Michigan, Lansing, Wisconsin and Beloit.

Stay tuned for potential updates if I revisit the park this year again, along with posts from my new sports road trips. Enjoy these other pictures I took from the ball games.

No matter how hard I try to avoid it, I'm still "Living Life in the Bullpen"