Estimated read time: 5-6 minutes
SALT LAKE CITY — Keith Johnson chuckled when he reflected on one particular moment from his playing days.
Then a member of the Salt Lake Stingers playing in what was then called Franklin Quest Field, he remembers stepping into the batter's box one night when he looked up and saw the moon climbing over the majestic Wasatch Mountains in the distance.
"It was orange and it was huge," he said, recalling the moment.
He had become so distracted in the mid-game spectacle that he needed to call timeout, pointing it out to the umpire and opposing catcher who were equally wowed by the view. He then stepped back in the box and the game resumed.
It's a small memory he has of Smith's Ballpark, but the venue has always had a special place in his heart. After being introduced to Utah through the ballpark, he met his wife in Salt Lake City and they raised their family in the area.
He credits the moments he had in its home dugout during his waning playing days for sparking his journey into becoming a coach, putting him on a path to becoming the Salt Lake Bees' all-time winning manager last season.
"This ballpark holds a lot of fond memories for me as a player and as a coach," the Bees skipper said, staring out toward the snow-covered Wasatch Mountains from the field again Wednesday afternoon.
That's why he believes this season might be somewhat bittersweet. The team's 30th season could be the last played at Smith's Ballpark before they move to new digs elsewhere in Salt Lake County.
The Larry H. Miller Company, which owns the team, announced last year that they plan to build a new stadium for the Bees — the Triple-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels — on land that the company owns in South Jordan's Daybreak neighborhood. Construction began in October for the stadium, which is expected to be ready in time for the 2025 season.
Salt Lake City, on the other hand, is still in the process of figuring out the stadium site's future.
Whether this is the Bees' last season at the ballpark is oddly up to an Angels' divisional rival, the Oakland Athletics. A's executives toured the Daybreak construction site earlier this year and it's one of the options for the A's temporary home before they move to Las Vegas in 2028. If the team chooses to play in Utah, they would play in the Bees' new stadium and the Bees would remain at Smith's Ballpark through the end of the 2027 season.
While reports have suggested that the A's might be leaning toward staying in California before the Vegas move, the team has been mum about its plans.
But this uncertainty hasn't changed much about how the team is planning for this season, which begins at Sacramento on Friday. There are several throwback nights planned throughout the season, in a major celebration of all the teams that have played either at Smith's Ballpark, Derks Field or elsewhere near the city's Ballpark neighborhood, in case this is the team's end in Salt Lake City.
The team will play games as Angels, Gulls, Occidentals, Stingers and Trappers — all teams that once existed in the area. They will also play in 1920s-era Bees jerseys on May 24 and 1950s-era jerseys on June 7.
"We're just blowing it out and on the teams that played not just here in this ballpark, but just downtown Salt Lake," said Kraig Williams, the team's communications manager. "It's a whole look at Salt Lake baseball, basically."
Current players are also well aware of this year's meaning.
It's been nothing short of a great experience for me and I think I speak for most of these guys.
–Bees pitcher Kenny Rosenberg, on Smith's Ballpark
Outfielder Jordyn Adams, who grew up in South Carolina and North Carolina, never experienced a ballpark backdrop quite like Smith's Ballpark until he was promoted to the Bees last year. Both he and pitcher Kenny Rosenberg say the enthusiasm of the fans adds to what makes the ballpark so special.
While Rosenberg is excited about the new stadium, he also knows what will be lost when Smith's Ballpark closes for good. The final Bees game at Smith's Ballpark will be on Sept. 22 unless the A's pick Daybreak as their temporary home.
"You can tell that the Salt Lake City baseball fans are passionate," he said. "It's been nothing short of a great experience for me, and I think I speak for most of these guys."
Front office shakeup
Meanwhile, the Salt Lake Bees announced a major front office shakeup ahead of this season.
Marc Amicone, who had served as the team's president and general manager since 2005, has left to become the senior advisor of baseball relations for the Larry H. Miller Company. Up until now, he was the team's only general manager since the Miller Company bought the team nearly two decades ago.
He'll assist the Miller Company and Big League Utah in the efforts to bring Major League Baseball to Utah.
The team named Ty Wardle, the Bees' chief revenue officer and the executive vice president for Larry H. Miller Sports and Entertainment, as the new general manager. BYU baseball alum and former minor league prospect Cameron Coughlan was also named the team's assistant general manager and new senior vice president of baseball moving forward.
Wardle told KSL.com Wednesday that he's excited for his new role, especially as the team goes through major changes, like getting a new ballpark. While he didn't reveal major plans for this season onward, he said he plans to focus on guest services, including improvements to food and beverage options, so that the ballpark experience is the best across the Triple-A level.
"It's an experiential thing as much as everything," he said. "It's baseball, yes, but it's also just having the experience of being in the ballpark in the spring and throughout the summer."
