Photos: Giants' new minor league facility lives up to hype
The Giants have the best ballpark in the Majors and Scottsdale Stadium is a destination for fans, but for years their minor league facility was an embarrassment. That changed when they got a chance to build from scratch at the Papago Park site vacated by the A's.Officially known as the SF Giants Papago Park Complex, the facility is as good as it gets for minor leaguers, allowing the Giants to put a tremendous environment around their top prospects and generations of future Giants. It cost more than $50 million and has six fields, four of which are humming every morning this spring as players take part in minor league camp. Here's a look at the organization's newest facility.
The center of the complex includes offices, enough clubhouses to hold all 173 players in camp, rehab facilities, places to eat and a massive weight room. There's a pitch lab on site somewhere, but good luck getting anywhere near it.
Located right in front of the weight room, players come here for sprints, pushing sleds, agility work and rehab. It's also where you'll often find Willie, their emotional support dog.
Field 1 is being used by non-roster invitees and potential Triple-A options right now, which means it has drawn a crowd, including former manager Bruce Bochy, standing between Low-A hitting coach Travis Ishikawa and big league hitting coach Justin Viele.
The Giants decided to have some fun with their six full fields, and the one where Double-A players have been working out this month is built with the exact dimensions of the old field at Candlestick Park. The Giants even put the old logo on the outfield wall.
Eagle-eyed hikers could have gotten a sneak peak at the new center field dimensions in San Francisco a couple of years ago, as this field went up before fans could get back into Oracle Park. There's no wind, though, and the ball flies during the hot days, so left-handed hitters aren't getting the full Oracle experience, even with the raised fence. And yes, that's Ron Wotus, right back to work in year 35 with the organization.
The bullpens at the real Oracle Park are now in center field, but in Arizona they're still down the lines. As with everywhere else at Papago, the minor leaguers get some good scenery.
Most of the pitching work happens here, along with the daily framing drills for catchers. As nice as the mounds are, the real star here is the outlets. The Giants made sure there are outlets behind all of the mounds, something vitally important now that every pitch is tracked by high-tech cameras, laptops and iPhones. The building behind the bullpen holds the batting cages.
Fans aren't allowed into the facility yet, but you can still catch a glimpse of the action if you're willing to hike a bit. The Papago Buttes offer a view of the whole facility. Oh, and if you're driving along McDowell there, make sure you don't do it when Marco Luciano is taking BP.
Yeah, they built this place in a really great spot.
