Doug Fritz Field
Mission Viejo, CA
Review by Mike
Doug Fritz Field is the home of the Saddleback College Bobcats of the CCCAA Orange Empire Conference. It was also home to the Mission Viejo Vigilantes of the independent Western League for two seasons in 1997 and 1998. The ballpark, first built in 1969, has been significantly updated since then, but remains a modest junior college facility.
The all-aluminum grandstand wraps around the home plate area, with six rows of bleacher seating. Two rows of “premium” seating are down at field level, featuring benches with backs. Red accents in the Bobcats primary color make for an appealing look. A small, shipping container press box sits top and center to oversee proceedings.
The ticket booth and entrance are rather grand, more impressive than the ballpark even, with archways framing the stadium and palm trees that rise up behind the main grandstand. A large banner celebrating a recent championship team provides a nice colorful welcome once the entrance has been breached.
The outfield view is pleasant, with dry, rolling hills sloping off into the distance and a few more palm trees spotted here and there. The scoreboard is an odd thing. It is small, containing the absolute minimum of information and it is tucked away on the foul side of the right field foul pole, at ground level. There is simply no way that anyone on the 1st base side will be able to see it. I hope they sell scorecards!
Doug Fritz Field is very basic, but very clean, the field looks nice and the outfield wall is decorated with team names, logos and the names of famous alumni like Tim Wallach and Mark Grace. I saw no evidence of concessions, but food trucks might handle that. This is a serviceable junior college facility. Kudos to Saddleback College for providing a nice place for their young hopefuls to learn their craft.
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2026
310
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