One of the reasons I chose Clinton as one of my first destinations of the 2018 season is that several changes were made during the offseason at Ashford University Field, home of the LumberKings. You can read about the improvements in more detail in this previous post, but here are some photos to illustrate some of them.

In this first photo, you can see the new overhang in the picnic area near left field. (In case you’re wondering, that’s Kane County Cougars LHP Mack Lemieux on the mound, and LumberKings manager Denny Hocking in the third-base coach’s box.)

You can see the overhang from a different angle (on the right) in this photo taken from the outfield lawn:

There’s a new ribbon video-board in right field, at the top of the Lumber Lounge. It is used to display a variety of video content including player statistics and advertisements. When I took this photo, the board showed that LumberKings catcher Nick Thurman was batting.

Along the main concourse, there are three new high-definition monitors on the wall near the souvenir shop. When I was at the ballpark, I saw them used to display the game’s starting lineups and advertisements, but I believe they also will be used to show league leaders and division standings. (Those latter things probably weren’t displayed at the time because I was there for Clinton’s season-opening series.) The monitors replace old-school dry-erase boards that were used for the same purposes.

Bonus photo: For the second game of their April 8 doubleheader, the LumberKings wore cool alternate hats and jerseys you can see well in this photo of third baseman Eugene Helder. My favorite detail is the crown-wearing ball that serves as the dot for the “i” in “Clinton” on the jersey front.

Clinton LumberKings third baseman Eugene Helder

If you want to see more photos from my trip to Clinton earlier this month, check out this post and this post. You also can see more photos as exclusive content on my Patreon site if you choose to help support my Midwest League coverage with a minimal monthly pledge of $1.

All photos by Craig Wieczorkiewicz/The Midwest League Traveler