Sean Williams/MDN The Northwoods League and the Minot Hot Tots are ready to make it a great summer at Corbett Field.

Baseball has a rich history at Corbett Field. Its roots go all the way back to 1937 when the ballpark first opened, with a variety of different chapters of the sport of baseball written throughout the park that still has some of its original structures standing to this day.

Although a lot has changed since baseball first started being played at Corbett Field, one thing has remained the same and that is the importance of Corbett Field and the sport of baseball to the city of Minot.

The sport of baseball, however, can provide more than just baseball games to the city. It can provide a community-wide, lasting impact and the Minot Hot Tots are ready to be at the forefront of that as they get ready to start a new chapter of baseball in the Magic City this summer.

As part of the Northwoods League, the Minot Hot Tots bring over a well-established collegiate wood bat league to Corbett Field for this summer and beyond. Not to be confused with the Expedition League that was around from 2018 until last year, the Northwoods League is a completely separate league that brings much more to the table.

This year, the Northwoods League is celebrating its 30th season and has a total of 24 teams. Not only has the Northwoods League established themselves as one of the largest organized baseball leagues, but it also fills their rosters with top talent every single year.

Since the league began play, over 300 Northwoods League alumni have advanced to play in the MLB. Some of those alumni are stars in the big leagues, including Max Scherzer, Chris Sale, Pete Alonso, Marcus Semien, and many more.

Behind the Minot Hot Tots is an ownership group, front office and team that is motivated to make an impact in the community, provide excellent baseball and give fans and community members top-tier entertainment that they won’t find anywhere else.

“Baseball and sports in general are things that everyone has a connection point to. It literally brings people together. I have always been passionate about the entertainment and experience side of things, on top of the great game that we all love. The Northwoods League is the pinnacle of that,” said John Bollinger, Founder and Majority Owner of the Minot Hot Tots.

He added, “We have 24 teams in small to mid-sized communities that quite frankly wouldn’t be able to have a minor league baseball team because they are too small. But we can bring that minor league experience, that family entertainment vibe of what baseball is all about, and we can bring it to communities like Minot. That’s what gets me fired up every day.”

Even though this will be the first time a Northwoods League team comes to Minot, Bollinger has a lot of experience and has a lot of success in the development and ownership of Northwoods League teams. He is also the Founder and Majority Owner of the Bismarck Larks, who have been around for seven years.

“Once people in Bismarck saw that we were here, we were investing in the community, investing in the ballpark, and investing in the experience, it took off. I see Minot as similar in the sense that it’s a tight-knit community, everybody knows everybody, Minot is proud of its community, proud of its sports, and proud of what it is in a great place to raise a family,” Bollinger said.

Joining Bollinger in coming up from Bismarck is Monica Blake, who is the General Manager and Managing Partner of the Minot Hot Tots. The pair have years of experience working together, and Blake also strongly believes in what they are building here.

“We are very confident in what we bring to the table and when people come out to games, I think they will really see that and know exactly what we are talking about. We are here and planning to be here long term,” Blake said.

Blake added, “It is a big decision and the reason I was able to justify it was because I trusted so much in our product, and I wanted to bring this to Minot because I know they haven’t seen something like this before. I want Minot to have that experience. Being here for the last eight months and really being a citizen of Minot, it makes me even more excited.”

A big part of what the Minot Hot Tots bring to the table is the entertainment aspect and making sure fans have a blast at the ballpark. From different theme nights to on-field games, promotions between innings, fun sound effects, and an entire team that heavily believes in the product, what the Hot Tots provide will be significantly different than the leagues that have occupied Corbett Field previously.

“We want to create something for every single person in Minot to come and enjoy during the summertime. We want to create something where they can come and make memories with their family at the ballpark,” Blake said.

Paying homage to Corbett Field’s rich history and teams of the past, part of the excitement and community impact involves a Minot Mallards throwback night, where the team will wear throwback Mallard jerseys that will be auctioned off. The money raised will go towards the YMCA and Prairie Grit.

In a strong effort to continue investing in the community and the experience, Bollinger and the ownership group have six full-time employees that currently work for the Hot Tots, so they can make sure they do things the right way. “If we can make a difference in the lives of our employees, our players, our fans, our community, and our businesses, that to me is success,” Bollinger said.

It’s a big investment, and one that is expected to be a long-term piece of Minot. They have a lease agreement at Corbett Field for 10 years, so it’s not about hoping this can work, but making sure it will work and continue to grow.

With the Hot Tots in the process of cementing themselves in the community and with Corbett Field as their home for a long time, they plan on making improvements to the ballpark without throwing away its history.

Great baseball will be played at Corbett Field this summer. That, however, isn’t the exact goal the Hot Tots have in mind when fans start filling the stands. What makes them so different than anything that has come here before is they really want to focus on helping people create memories and giving them something they want to run back to.

“Our goal at the end of the day is for fans to come to a game and have so much fun that they don’t remember the score of the game. We really want to win as well, it would be great if we had a winning season, but at the end of that day the goal is to give fans those memories with their family and give them a night to come out and enjoy the ballpark during the summer,” Blake said.

On Monday, May 29, fans and community members will get the opportunity to see everything the Hot Tots have to offer when they have their first game at Corbett Field for their inaugural season. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. and they will take on the St. Cloud Rox.

For what could be the first time in a really long time, Corbett Field is almost sold out, so tickets are limited. If you haven’t purchased tickets yet, or are feeling skeptical, Bollinger shared that fans should come out and see at least one game.

“Come out and see what all of this is about. Come see the difference. We are doing this the right way, and what we need is for the community to come see the difference,” Bollinger said.