MLB Is Back, But This Lost Capital Region Ballpark Still Hits Different

MLB is back, and whether you bleed Yankees, Mets, or Red Sox, there’s plenty of optimism heading into the 2026 season.

But no matter who you root for, if baseball is in your blood like it is in mine, you can’t help but appreciate the roots of the game — and sometimes, that means thinking about the places that helped shape it.

Who Remembers Heritage Park?

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Anytime I see a place left “abandoned,” I get curious… and this one hits a little deeper.

Heritage Park in Colonie was once home to the Albany-Colonie Yankees, where future legends like Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, Andy Pettitte, Jorge Posada, and Bernie Williams all came through.

A Summertime Staple

I grew up going to games there and even interned with the team back in 1992. I still remember more than 10,000 fans packed into the stands to watch Ron Guidry make a rehab start.

For a kid who loved baseball, it didn’t get much better than that.

The stadium was demolished in 2009, leaving behind a 21.5-acre empty parcel along Albany Shaker Road near the airport.

Vacated Field of Dreams

Albany County planned to sell the site for a proposed $120–$165 million project that would become the new headquarters for the 42nd Infantry Division of the National Guard.  But now, it sits as a vacant lot.
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Before it became what it is today, photographer Doug Kerr captured haunting images of the ballpark in its final days.

Take a look at the gallery below and tell me this doesn’t tug at your heart just a little bit.