Babb Field at Stromberg Stadium Dedication Photo Gallery

BALTIMORE, MD - During a career at Johns Hopkins that dates back to 1980, Blue Jay baseball coach Bob Babb has posted some amazing accomplishments that can be documented by number: more than 1,000 career victories, 12 Centennial Conference titles, 18 trips to the NCAA Tournament and three appearances in the College World Series.

As of today, there is one more impressive number that can be associated with Babb; one. As in one facility on the Johns Hopkins campus with his name attached.

At just before 6 pm this evening, Johns Hopkins President Ron Daniels officially declared Babb Field at Stromberg Stadium, the baseball team's new on-campus stadium, officially open before an overflow crowd on-hand for the official dedication ceremonies.

Stromberg Stadium, named for lead donor and former Johns Hopkins baseball and football standout and current University Trustee Bill Stromberg, sits in the same location as the Blue Jays' previous field at the corner of University Parkway and Charles St. on the Homewood campus.

Features, numbers and notes on the facility include the following:

• Exterior of stadium features sign for Babb Field at Stromberg Stadium and a recognition wall for donors.

• Outfield dimensions: 307' left field line, 340' left center, 396' center, 320' right center, 295' right field line.

• Outfield windscreen/banners displaying conference championships, and NCAA Tournament and NCAA World Series appearances.

• New 20-foot net extends above right-field fence to "catch" balls before they hit University Parkway. This makes the right field line play more like 315-320 feet.

• Infield and outfield are one uniform baseball-specific synthetic surface called Double Play Classic. Combination of turf's fiber height and a unique sand/rubber infill creates a surface with natural feel. Same turf used by the Texas, Louisville, and Oregon collegiate baseball programs.

• All-weather turf has sublayer of crushed stone, drainage pipes, and sand filters to rapidly soak up rainwater.

• Pitcher's mound: only "real" soil used on playing surface.

• To lay the turf, construction crews added soil cement to existing dirt for best possible surface.

• ADA-accessible grandstand seats 260. Stadium also has several standing-room-only locations with plans to allow seating outside the right-field wall.

• New dugouts have copper roofs and interior graphics. Home dugout has "Blue Jays" and visiting team dugout has cropped version of the Blue Jay head. Each dugout includes professional-style double-tiered benches and custom bat-rack unit and helmet cubby system.

• Press box equipped technology for live-streaming games and controls for state-of-the-art PA system, with speakers mounted throughout the grandstand and in both dugouts.

• New identical batting cages down each base line.

• Home bullpen features three pitching mounds; visitor's pen has two.

• Outside plaza area will have tables and chairs, and a restroom facility.

• A new scoreboard featuring video and animation capabilities is expected to be in place by the start of the 2015 season.

Stu Johnson, a 2013 Johns Hopkins graduate and voice of the Blue Jay baseball team throughout his four years at Homewood, served as the master of ceremonies for the dedication, which also included President Daniels' remarks, a stirring performance of the national anthem by Tariq Al-Sabir, a senior at the Peabody Conservatory and a ceremonial first-pitch by Stromberg.

The evening concluded with a reception in the O'Connor Recreation Center for the more than 600 former players, friends, staff and current players who attended the dedication ceremony.

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