Withers Field

Coming up to what would have been the right field entrance to Withers Field, Aug-2020.

The remaining grandstand, along the first-base line.

This would have been the view from behind the plate back in the day.

• Location: Monroe Street at 4th Street (US 21), Wytheville, Va. (map it using Google Maps)
• Opened: 1948 (approx.)
• Home team: Wytheville Pioneers (1948), Statesmen (1949), Blue Ridge League; Wytheville Statesmen (1953-55), Cardinals (1957-59), Senators/Twins (1960-63), A’s (1964), Senators (1965, 1969), Reds (1967), Braves (1971-73), Cubs (1985-89), Appalachian League
• Capacity: 4,000 (est.)

Withers Field met that need for the better part of four decades. While the town had several droughts without pro baseball, including one of over a decade, the park saw considerable use, mostly in the Appalachian League, a short-season league that operated from 1957 to 2019 where clubs sent their newest player acquisitions to get a taste of professional action.

The last pro ball here was in 1989. In the 1990s, seeing that they were not likely to gain another tenant due to the condition of the facility, the town fathers decided to tear out the third-base grandstand and transform the playing surface into a passive park. Today, a jogging track circles what would have been the playing field, and there is a monument to veterans surrounding the flagpole, which may or may not be where it was when this was a ball field. A skate park lies adjacent to the scuplted greenery. But the first-base stands remain, a tribute to the 24 seasons young pros played here.