Salt Lake Bees players of new and old, fans reflect the end of Smith's Ballpark

SALT LAKE CITY — Torii Hunter cracked a smile as he looked out toward the mountains towering over the Smith's Ballpark outfield Friday afternoon.

A few memories immediately came rushing back, but one play stood out in particular. He remembered belting a home run and locking eyes with the snow-capped peaks as he watched the ball soar over the left field wall during one of the 81 games he played for what was then the Salt Lake Buzz.

"I thought that was the most beautiful sight ever," he said, reflecting on that moment.

His memory is often what current and past Bees players talk about when they're asked about their memories of the stadium. Salt Lake manager Keith Johnson, whose playing career ended in Salt Lake two years after Hunter left, once stepped out of the batter's box to take an extra moment to admire a moonrise over the mountains.

The view of the mountains made Smith's Ballpark a favorite among fans and players alike. It simply made it one of the top-rated ballparks in the minor league system.

"It's probably the prettiest ballpark I've ever played in," said Bees infielder Elliot Soto, whose career has taken him all over the country.

That's why both fans and players are struggling to say goodbye.

Its 30-year run will come to an end on Sunday before the team relocates to a new ballpark in South Jordan's Daybreak community beginning next season. It's also a farewell to pro baseball in Salt Lake City for now.

"I feel a little sad," said 12-year-old Easton Pheap, one of the more than 10,000 fans who piled into the ballpark on Friday.

Baseball in Ballpark

More than anything, the Bees season finale isn't a farewell to a stadium as much as it is bidding adieu to a Salt Lake City block that has hosted America's favorite pastime for nearly a century — and a neighborhood that has called the game home longer than that.

It all started with Majestic Park, a stadium a few blocks northwest of Smith's Ballpark on the north edge of Salt Lake City's current Ballpark neighborhood boundary. It was the home of the original Salt Lake Bees, which garnered a buzz when they became Utah's first-ever Pacific Coast League franchise in 1915.

There are some interesting tales hidden in Utah newspaper archives detailing this era. For example, the interest was so high that one plumber union reportedly voted to fine anyone who worked on opening day over supporting the Bees. A soldout crowd filled the park in its opener, leaving downtown mostly empty, as migrated to 900 South and State Steet.

Fans kept their enthusiasm even when the Bees were on the road. In an age before television or radio, fans "watched" away games in a unique way. The Salt Lake Telegram regularly set up events outside of their downtown headquarters and broadcast the play-by-play as it was sent to them via telegram.

"The operator at this end of the wire is seated right beside the megaphone man in The Telegram office and you therefore get the 'dope' as fast as he can call it off to the man at the horn," the newspaper wrote.

A photo from one broadcast indicated that these events were well-attended, especially since the team was good enough to finish the season second in the league.

The original Bees remained a fixture for a decade, but they eventually relocated to Los Angeles in 1926. The stadium was also moved to 1300 South and West Temple by the end of the 1920s, ultimately bringing in new teams.

Since then, hundreds of players have played on that corner, including baseball legends like Willie Mays, David Ortiz and Mike Trout.

What would go on to become Derks Field housed iconic teams like the Angels, Gulls and Trappers, and brought in major league exhibitions. Smith's Ballpark — originally Franklin Covey Field — opened in 1994 on the bones of its predecessor, ushering in the current version of the Bees.

However, the Larry H. Miller Company — the team's owner — announced last year that it planned to leave at the end of its lease in 2024. The team will relocate to a new stadium, which the company is building on land it owns in Daybreak.

It marked the end of an era.

Lasting memories

This final weekend has been emotional and reflective for fans and players alike.

Beyond the mountain view, Hunter fondly remembers essentially coming of age at the ballpark. He had been in the majors by the time he first came to Salt Lake in 1998, but he had yet to latch onto the Minnesota Twins.

By the time he got his last promotion out of Salt Lake, he was ready for what would ultimately be a career that ended in 2015 with nine Gold Glove awards and five All-Star appearances in 19 seasons.

"I learned a lot when I came to Salt Lake," he said. "How to travel and how to talk to people who were way older than me — they had been in the big leagues and I asked a lot of questions because they had been there and done that."

Johnson remembers being on the other end of the spectrum.

He'd sit at the far end of the dugout and unofficially coach players like Chone Figgins, Alfredo Amezaga and Rob Quinlan during his last season as a player in 2002. Some of those players would go on to help the Los Angeles Angels win the World Series that year.

Those experiences led Johnson to go into coaching, where he'd become the Bees' all-time winningest manager. It kept him at Smith's Ballpark long enough to where his baseball and family memories blended together. He thinks back to winning moments, but he also can't look at the field without thinking about the times he helped his now college-age children improve their craft on it.

Current players are still making memories to this day. Soto thinks back to a go-ahead grand slam he hit to help the Bees win on Mother's Day on May 12. The moment was special for him because it wasn't long after his mother died, and he suddenly thought about her as he rounded the bases.

It's a moment he'll always cherish.

"Once I saw it was gone, I was happy for the team and then I thought about her right after that — like in between first and second," he said. "It was just looking up at the mountains. I just thought that's where she was watching."

Those off the field have also gained plenty of memories. Derks Field was one of the first places that the voice of the Bees, Tony Parks, went to after his mother moved from Chicago to Utah when he was young. They'd bond over Trappers games, which partially led to a career in sports.

He became the Bees' emcee in 2007 before becoming the radio voice of the team this year. His first role gave him a perspective that very few people see, as he'd watch nervous children loosen up and then beam after participating in on-field activities between innings.

He could see core memories being made at the ballpark. Pheap will never forget the time he caught a home run on the Smith's Ballpark outfield lawn, which is his core memory.

One last ride — and a hopeful return

The team is now down to its final weekend, culminating with Sunday's afternoon finale.

The Bees will mark their final game at the stadium with a few unique opportunities. Fans will be allowed onto the field afterward, where they can run the bases and also collect dirt from the field to take home as a keepsake of the outgoing ballpark.

Both Johnson and Soto said they might do the same to remember the outgoing stadium. They say feel honored to have played a part of the block's long baseball legacy.

"It's always super cool when you play in a place with history," said Soto, a Chicago native who grew up going to games at Wrigley Field.

Sunday will nearly close one chapter in Salt Lake City baseball history. There are still a pair of Liga ARCO Mexicana del Pacífico exhibition games to be played next month, while the University of Utah baseball team may call the stadium home in 2025 before baseball on the corner of 1300 South and West Temple likely ends.

Some fans say they may not trip to Daybreak next year, while others are fine with making that trip.

"I think where the Bees go, Utah will continue to support them," said Bees fan Tina Taylor.

There is a push to open a completely new chapter for another section of Salt Lake City, though.

A coalition called Big League Utah launched last year, seeking to bring Major League Baseball to Utah for the first time. Should that happen, the team's stadium would be built within the city's Fairpark neighborhood.

MLB commissioner Rob Manfred has expressed his desire to add two more cities to the fold and initiated the process to review it. It's unclear when a decision could be made or if Salt Lake City will land a team through that process.

Receiving an MLB team won't fix what's leaving Ballpark; however, it may soften the blow for the city as a whole.

"I'm sure that I would be much more sad and despondent if I thought that was the end of baseball in Salt Lake City, but it's not," said Gov. Spencer Cox, as he reflected on the end of Smith's Ballpark this week.

Hunter thinks Salt Lake City is ready to make that leap, too. He toured around the city Friday to soak in a place that has drastically changed since he last played here, noticing all the new high-rises and restaurants that have popped up over the past two decades.

That's on top of a city that has always seemed to show up for baseball.

"I think this city can definitely hold a major league ballclub," he said. "They love baseball here."

Contributing: Lauren Steinbrecher

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