Sunday afternoon, I was back on a familiar route north to New Jersey for work (ABF Freight).  Driving up route 13, through the eastern shores of Virginia, then Maryland, then Delaware and headed for the Secaucus area of New Jersey, I decided to stop about halfway from my home in Virginia Beach in Wilmington, Delaware for a lunch break.  And to check out the home of the Wilmington Blue Rocks – Frawley Stadium.  The stadium was easy to find, easy to access from the highway, and had a massive empty parking lot when I pulled in.  The Blue Rocks were on the road Sunday and like many other trips to baseball stadiums, I took a chance I could gain access into the ballpark for a self-guided tour.

Shortly after parking and seeing gates closed, ticket offices not lit up, and no sign of any Blue Rocks staff, I realized my only tour would be a self-guided tour of the perimeter of the stadium.  But here is what I did find and learn about and photograph.  First off, the Wilmington Blue Rocks gets its name from the blue granite rocks, which can be found along Delaware’s Brandywine River, according to the Wikipedia page for the Wilmington Blue Rocks.  Officially, the Blue Rocks play at Judy Johnson Field at Frawley Stadium.  Both Frawley and Johnson have commemorative plaques outside the baseball park.  The stadium sits next to the Delaware Sports Museum and Hall of Fame and just blocks from the riverfront of Wilmington.  The Blue Rocks are the Single A affiliate of the Washington Nationals.  They have called Wilmington, Delaware home since 1993.

From the sidewalks surrounding Frawley Stadium, I was able to get small glimpses of the field.  But it was mostly obstructed views.  I have been down this road before.  I try to find a crease here, a crack there, an opening over there, a good vantage spot way over there to grab whatever photos I can of the field.  Sometimes, it works out. Many times, it does not.  So, I just focus on the positive and snap photos of what I can.  Honestly, it is the experience of seeing posters on the brick walls and reading plaques and memorials and viewing historic landmarks that drives me to visit these ballparks nationwide.  Getting into a game, seeing a live ball game, well that’s just icing on the cake in my baseball world.

The highlight of my trip to Wilmington was learning about baseball legend and longtime resident of Delaware – Judy Johnson.  Born William Johnson, Judy lived to be almost 100 years of age and played with Homestead Grays and the Pittsburgh Crawfords in the 1930s.  Johnson was a consistent .300 hitter, even batting .416 in 1929, according to his plaque.  He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1975 after a wonderful career in baseball as a player, coach, scout, and mentor.  Quite an impressive statue and an even more impressive historical figure in baseball history. 

After a walk around the stadium and seeing that the dark clouds in the skies above Frawley Stadium were nearly on top of me, I decided to hop back in the car to finish my trip north to the Meadowlands area of New Jersey.  It was a short but sweet trip to Judy Johnson Field at Frawley Stadium to check out the home ballpark of the Wilmington Blue Rocks.  I loved all the interesting historical landmarks and statues around the front of the stadium.  And how easy it was to get there, park, and then get back on the highway.  Overall, it was a very positive Wilmington Blue Rocks baseball experience.