New field, new scoreboard, new season: Pro baseball opens in Lexington for 2022
A mustached-man with his arms spread wide welcomed people into his home for the first time this year, and they arrived with anticipation across their faces.
Underneath the cartoon caricature of “Big L,” the visually striking team mascot, the Lexington Legends began another baseball season on Thursday night.
The defending champions of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, the Legends started their second season in the league with a 5-4 win at Wild Health Field over the visiting Southern Maryland Blue Crabs in front of an announced crowd of 5,393 fans.
The 2022 season for the Legends began in the same stadium where they secured the 2021 championship in October, although plenty of things have changed since then at 207 Legends Lane.
This offseason, the stadium name became Wild Health Field as part of a naming-rights deal with Wild Health, a genomics-based medical clinic located in Lexington.
The stadium is set to host more than 120 Atlantic League games this season between the Legends and Kentucky Wild Health Genomes, a newly formed Atlantic League franchise also based in Lexington that features the clinic’s name.
In order to handle the increase in games and use — the stadium will also host the 2022 Ohio Valley Conference college baseball tournament from May 25-28 — several changes and improvements came to the ballpark during the offseason, and were on display for the first time to the public Thursday night.
One of the most notable changes was the installation of a new synthetic turf field, complete with an artificial pitching mound.
A common sight during Thursday night’s game was sand from underneath the new turf surface bouncing into the air from ground balls and slides from players.
Additionally, upgraded concession stands were on offer, with lengthy lines of fans during the early innings slowly subsiding as the night went on.
Also making their debut Thursday night were new LED field lights at Wild Health Field, which are able to perform celebratory light shows following Legends home runs, and a new video board in right center field that is more than two-and-a-half times larger than the previous video board.
The LED field lights will take on an increased role during some Saturdays, when there will be either a postgame fireworks show or light show.
The expected, new, LED ribbon-board signage is not yet in place at the ballpark.
“From a fan’s perspective, it will be absolutely noticeable from the second you walk in through the end of the game,” said Andy Shea, the president and CEO of the Lexington Legends and Wild Health Genomes, earlier this week.
Among the fans taking in the first Atlantic League game of the 2022 season in Lexington was Kentucky men’s basketball star forward Oscar Tshiebwe, who tossed out T-shirts to fans during a break in game action from a suite.
Another change at the stadium is more connected to the on-field action.
A new left-field fence was finished this week, with bullpens for both the Legends and the visiting team located behind the short fence.
The Legends and Blue Crabs are playing a four-game series that runs through Sunday, before the Legends also host two more three-game series next week.
The Legends’ opening night roster was also announced Thursday.
The roster didn’t include Brandon Phillips, the former MLB All-Star who was a player-owner with the team last season.
But, Phillips was at Wild Health Field on Thursday night.
Kentucky Wild Health Genomes lose franchise debut
The Kentucky Wild Health Genomes, Lexington’s second team in the Atlantic League, made its franchise debut Thursday night, as all 10 Atlantic League teams were in action.
The Genomes lost, 10-5, in the first game of a four-game series at the High Point (N.C.) Rockers. The Genomes led, 5-0, before allowing six runs in the sixth inning and four runs in the seventh.
Catcher Chase Vallot provided the first runs in Genomes history with a two-run home run to left center field.
The opening night roster for the Genomes was announced Thursday and features a local influence with several alumni of area colleges and universities like Kentucky, Eastern Kentucky, Western Kentucky and Lindsey Wilson.
Additionally, alumni of Lexington Christian Academy, Lafayette High School and Tates Creek High School are on the 2022 roster.
Two other players of note on the opening night roster for the Genomes are Félix Pié — a longtime MLB outfielder with the Chicago Cubs, Baltimore Orioles and Pittsburgh Pirates — and Alexis “Scrappy” Hopkins, who is believed to be the first female position player ever drafted by an American pro baseball team for an on-field role after the Genomes selected her in the Atlantic League’s annual player draft.
Hopkins will begin the season as the team’s bullpen catcher.
The Genomes’ first home game will be at 6:35 p.m. on May 3 at Wild Health Field.
This story was originally published April 22, 2022 at 7:55 AM.
