Published October 1, 2026 04:31AM
Features editor Frederick Dreier thoroughly exhausted his knowledge of baseball idioms and cliches while writing this news story.
Play ball!
Just don’t do it in Grand Teton National Park.
That’s the sentiment of a growing number of politicians in Wyoming amid one of the more oddball national park stories in recent memory. On September 26, the Washington Post reported that officials from Major League Baseball and the Trump Administration were in talks to stage a professional baseball game inside the Wyoming park.
Since then, a growing number of local and state officials have balked at the idea.
Some even think it’s downright foul.
“It’s just absolutely abhorrent,” Wyoming State Senator Mike Gireau, a Democrat, told The Cowboy State Daily. “It’s so incredibly disappointing.”
It turns out, it’s not just lefties like Gireau who think the ordeal is an unforced error.
In a statement provided to Outside, Wyoming Senator John Barrasso, a Republican, was more diplomatic in his opposition to the game plan. “I understand Major League Baseball’s desire to host a game in Grand Teton National Park. Showcasing America’s pastime in the shadow of Wyoming’s iconic Tetons would be a spectacle to behold,” he said.
Barrasso, who sits on the Congressional subcommittee for National Parks, said the idea’s logistics present a serious pickle. It would be impossible to plan, permit and “responsibly construct” a baseball field for the game without harming the park, he said, which is renowned for its grizzly bears, elk, and hall-of-fame views of the Grand Tetons.
“The impact to our world-class wildlife, outdoor recreation and the natural beauty of the park cannot be ignored,” Barrasso added. “I would be thrilled to bring a major league baseball showcase game to Wyoming. Grand Teton National Park simply isn’t the place to do this.”
Governor Mark Gordon, another Republican, also brushed back the idea in a statement released to The Jackson Hole News and Guide.
“I cannot imagine, however, losing the night sky, the sound of elk bugling or just the joy of sitting and taking in the beauty of an evening in that valley that God made almost perfect,” Gordon wrote. “It is not the place.”
Local Lawmakers Think the Plan Is a Stretch
The WaPo revelation came as a curveball to local elected officials in nearby Jackson, Wyoming. On September 28, the town council drafted a letter to Interior Secretary Douglas Burgun that, in short, said the agency had dropped the ball.
Signed by Jackson mayor Arne Jorgenson, and Mark Newcomb, chair of the Teton County Commissioners, the letter asked the National Park Service to strike the game out of its upcoming plans.
“We respectfully request that the National Park Service reject this proposal and instead direct any planning, if pursued at all, toward venues outside of Grand Teton National Park that can accommodate large-scale operations without undermining the park’s protected status,” the letter says.
Echoing Barrasso’s worries, the local Jackson officials pointed out that the plan to build a baseball field didn’t have a backstop for preventing environmental harm. Constructing a baseball field would likely require some parts of the park to be dugout, after all. Plus, the plan has no ballpark figure for the cost of the game.
In total, the whole project seemed off-base for what the park stands for, which is unfettered access to pristine public lands.
“Even temporary infrastructure can create lasting impacts through habitat fragmentation, noise and light disturbances, increased human presence in wildlife areas, and strain on park resources,” the Jackson council’s letter said.
In his interview with Cowboy State Daily, Gireau said whomever pitched the idea should lose their job.
“If the idea came from Major League Baseball, the person who thought of it should be fired, and the person who hired them should be fired,” he said.
Whether or not the plan for a baseball game in the national park advances is yet to be seen. But already, the White House has released a statement signaling that it may step back from the plate.
“This is not a Presidential directive, nor is it being directed by the White House. It’s also not being driven by the Department of Interior,” the statement says. “Therefore, this is not a White House or Administration priority.”
