Can Michigan’s Smallest Baseball Stadium Revive Pickup Baseball?
You don't need a dozen kids to play Strikeout Baseball near the State Capitol in Lansing
Lansing — The state’s smallest baseball stadium is located in downtown Lansing, just three blocks north of the State Capitol. It might also be the state’s coolest baseball stadium. Best of all, it could totally change the way that kids play baseball.
It’s called the John Smoltz Strikeout Baseball Stadium, and it opened in 2025 in Lansing’s Ferris Park. It’s a miniature baseball stadium with a net on top—totally enclosed. You can drop by anytime and play a scaled-down version of baseball that’s simple to understand, and it’s all free. They even supply the rubber baseballs that you use to play.
If you love baseball, it’s the coolest damn thing you’ve ever seen. And it’s the only stadium in the country like this.
It was conceived by a guy named Jeff Lazaros, who has spent a couple decades working on this concept. He teamed up with John Smoltz, the Hall of Fame pitcher for the Atlanta Braves who grew up in Lansing, not far from the stadium that now bears his name. They got a bunch of local sponsors to put up the funding, and it opened last year.
Smoltz said the whole idea is to make it easy for Lansing kids to play ball. And even if it’s just you and a friend, you can have a game.
“It's impossible to play pickup baseball,” Smoltz told MLB Network. “There's a big reason why we don't have many kids playing baseball because if you have to get 18 kids to play, you can't do it. At this stadium, you can play one on one to five on five. This unbelievable stadium is going to be here forever. And we're going to reintroduce the game of baseball to kids.”
At this place, you play a unique new version of the game called Strikeout Baseball, in which you only need a pitcher and a batter, although you can have fielders, too, if you have enough people.
The pitcher throws it to the batter, and there’s a strike zone on the brick wall, so you don’t need an umpire. If the batter hits the ball, there are markings on the outfield wall that’ll let you know if it’s a hit or an out. You’ll also find out whether it’s a single, double, triple or homer. Any ground ball fielded cleanly is an out.
There are no base runners, so the concept of “ghost runners” comes into play. If you want to play an official game, it’s only five innings. They supply the baseballs, so you only need to bring a glove and a wooden bat (no aluminum bats allowed). All the rules are outlined on the fence, but truth be told, you can play the game any way you want.
There are some other cool features at the stadium, too, including a lending library that offers baseball books.
The stadium is in absolutely beautiful shape, with a carpeted and padded infield. They even let old dudes play. I stopped by on a quiet Thursday afternoon and there was nobody there, so I just pitched the ball against the backstop for a half-hour. My arm still hurts, but man, it was a blast.
When I was growing up, and when John Smoltz was growing up, baseball was king in Michigan, but kids eventually gravitated to soccer, basketball, football, and whatever else.
For the kids who are really into baseball, there are still plenty of great (and expensive) travel leagues in Michigan. But when’s the last time you drove by a park and saw neighborhood kids just out there playing a random game of pickup baseball? Never.
The John Smoltz Strikeout Baseball stadium aims to change that. Just like two kids can stop by a neighborhood park and play one-on-one basketball, now they can come here and play one-on-one baseball. It’s an absolutely ingenious concept, and good on Jeff Lazaros, John Smoltz, and everyone else who made this a reality.
Every city in the county needs one of these stadiums, but Lansing is the only one that has one now.
If you’re looking for a great day trip this summer, this is your answer. Bring your kids and come to Lansing and play baseball. You can even take a tour of the Capitol when you’re done.
Or bring the old dudes that you grew up playing baseball with. That’s what I’ll be doing. We usually play golf, but we’re going to take one of those days coming up and play baseball instead. I’m guessing my curveball will still be unhittable.
