In my view, here's how I see the ballparks of Major League Baseball stacking up. I know I haven't been to all of them so for full disclosure, I'll affix an asterisk next to the ones I've visited. Obviously it's tough to assess parks you've never been to but let's be honest, it's all subjective anyway.
Here's the list with a brief justification for the ranking.
1. Wrigley Field (Chicago Cubs)* - Hands down the best ballpark around.
2. Fenway Park (Boston Red Sox)- Solid ranking here because of age of ballpark and quirky design
3. PNC Park (Pittsburgh Pirates)* - You probably wouldn't understand this unless you've been there. Baseball's best kept secret
4. Progressive Field (Cleveland Indians)* - Underrated ballpark. I love "the Jake"
5. AT&T Park (San Francisco Giants)- They did something right with the location and design here
6. Busch Stadium III (St. Louis Cardinals)- This is the stadium I'm most excited to visit next.
7. Dodger Stadium (LA Dodgers)- Only in America can a ballpark that broke ground fifty years ago be considered historic. But a fine stadium nonetheless.
8. Citizens Bank Park (Philadelphia Phillies)* - I loved this park, but the location hurts here. I don't like the idea of a ballpark village so far from downtown.
9. Petco Park (San Diego Padres)- Looks great. The Western Metal Supply Building out in left, the Park at the Park, and the huge dimensions make this a winner. I can't wait to visit it. Too bad it's not on my way anywhere. I still hate the name though.
10. Miller Park (Milwaukee Brewers)* - I was really surprised at this park. With the retractable roof and the questionable location, I thought for sure I wouldn't like it. But I loved this park!
11. Safeco Field (Seattle Mariners)- This is another that I'm excited to visit. So many things make this a great park.
12. Oriole Park at Camden Yards (Baltimore Orioles)* - most people will be shocked at how low I'm ranking this park. I was completely unimpressed by this park. And I visited here the day after I visited the worst park I've ever been to (more about that later) so it should have seemed like the finest park on earth. What's really distinctive about it is that it was an original retro stadium that influenced ballpark design for the next fifteen years after it was built.
13. Citi Field (New York Mets)- From all appearances, this looks like a great ballpark
15. Kauffman Stadium (Kansas City Royals)* - I was shocked that I liked this park. I attended a game during the summer of 2008, in the midst of renovations. The upper concourses had yet to be widened and the outfield now has more seats and less fountains. I loved the experience here even if it appears that George Jetson designed the park.
16. Nationals Park (Washington Nationals)* - best designed ballpark I've ever been to. Poor location, bad view, blasé building materials
17. Comerica Park (Detroit Tigers)- This is likely an unfair ranking for a nice park, but like I mentioned yesterday, there are a lot of great ballparks out there. A nice ballpark can't save a crappy city that has a grand total of 5 Starbucks operating within city limits. That's compared to five in five blocks in most cities.
18. Angel Stadium (LA Angels of Anaheim)- perhaps my view of this ballpark is tainted by the 2002 ALCS. They did a good job renovating. Blah, blah, blah, insert lipstick on a pig reference here.
19. Chase Field (Arizona Diamondbacks)- Looks nice, but I'm never a fan of the retractable roof. It's just unnatural.
20. Ballpark at Arlington (Texas Rangers)* - completely satisfactory but unremarkable. Awful location.
21. Yankee Stadium (NY Yankees)- certainly better than the old thing which was mistakenly labelled as a historic park. The renovations in the early 70s turned "the house that Ruth built" into a product of the worst period in baseball stadium history. The new one suffers from a poor location, a view of nothing, and absurd dimensions. I'm confident Jason Tyner could slug 20 home runs in the new park.
22. Minute Maid Ballpark (Houston Astros)- My opinion might change by visiting, but this design was very over-ambitious.
23. Turner Field (Atlanta Braves)- I've never been there, but while it may be a great place to take in a game, I'm overcome by the ugly blue outfield fence and the boring, almost perfectly symmetrical dimensions.
24. Great American Ballpark (Cincinnati Reds)- When everyone learns about the Holy Roman Empire in history class, they eventually learn that it wasn't Holy, Roman, or an Empire. Well, here's what everyone needs to know about the Great American Ballpark. It's not great, it's American only because it sits in Southern Ohio, and it's only a ballpark by the crudest definition.
25. Rogers Centre (Toronto Blue Jays)- Do you remember how cool the Skydome was when we were kids? And then we realized how dumb it was for outdoor baseball to be played on artificial turf.
26. Oakland Coliseum (Oakland A's)- Great fans, awful venue. Recently they've been tarping off sections, but that never helps.
27. US Cellular Field (Chicago White Sox)- I'm being generous by ranking this above the dome. This was built around the same time as Camden Yards but is quite the stinker of a park. While Camden Yards is retro, US Cellular is just dumpy. The son of the former owner got it right when he said: "It had everything but a soul."
28. Metrodome (Minnesota Twins)* - The two World Championships won in this building aren't enough to make up for its many deficiencies.
29. Tropicana Field (Tampa Rays)- Yuck. Yeeeeechhh. Bwerl;jkasnzbxcvhuoiwejlrkfsd. What I'm trying to say is that there's nothing positive I can say about this park.
30. Landshark Stadium (Florida Marlins) - When you're last on this list, and you recently changed your name from Dolphin Stadium to a beer marketed by Jimmy Buffett and named after a character portrayed by Chevy Chase on SNL...well, need I go on?
And while I'm at it, let's have a look at the defunct ballparks I've visited:
Comiskey Park - This had the feeling of a baseball shrine that was just a bit past its prime. I saw Sammy Sosa hit a home run for the White Sox.
RFK Stadium - By far the worst. Awful neighborhood. Rusting, terrible stadium. I can't believe a baseball team had to play there this decade.
Christopher,
ReplyDeleteGreat post.
I too was a bit underwhelmed with Camden Yards as a park. To me it doesn't hold a candle to PNC in terms of sightlines, ambiance, etc. It's significance is the retro craze it sparked.
Perceptive comment about Yankee - the 70s renovations radically changed the look, feel and uniqueness of the park (but I don't think it made it as bad as the multi-purpose monstrosities built in the 60s and seventies) - Busch, Riverfront, etc.
Christopher, if you get a chance could you insert which park belongs to which team. I've lost track of all the corporate sponsors.
I differ wildly from you two in your opinions on Camden. In fact, it is my second favorite park out of the 14 new parks that I've visited (Pittsburgh, Philly, Baltimore, DC, NY Yankees, Atlanta, Cleveland, Detroit, Cincy, Chicago Cubs, Minneapolis, St Louis, San Diego, Anaheim). The most important park of a park to me are the distintive features that become indelible to the mind. How creative and how distinctive they are pushes a park further up or down my personal list. The reasons that Camden is high for me:
ReplyDelete1. It was first. As a kid, I remember the hoopla that surrounded the park opening. It was aweseome to see it on TV. I remember watching the 1993 ASG and Home Run Derby when Griffey hit the warehouse. I was especially attuned to this game because I knew I'd be going to the game in 1994 in Pittsburgh (obviously I had no assurances of going other than my dad saying he'd make it happen...which he did). So that Derby and ASG are etched into my mind.
2. It was the inspiration for PNC Park as far as the downtown skyline view is concerned. It's not the Orioles fault that Baltimore's skyline pales in comparison to the majesty that is the city of Pittsburgh.
3. The Warehouse and Eutaw Street - these are the trademarks that I remember. Walking along Eutaw, the souvenir shop in the Warehouse, Boog's Barbecue...all great features.
4. The open concourses - starting another trend.
5. The center and right field seats - the best outfield seats of any stadium I've been to, and that includes PNC's right field (which is awesome in its own right). The design, the scoreboard in right that you sit on top of...great seats.
I just love Camden. 2nd favorite after PNC.
Looking at its Wikipedia page just made me love it more. It's 16 feet below the street! That is so cool.
ReplyDeleteAnd the scoreboard has "The Sun" across the top, sponsored by the Baltimore Sun. The "H" in sun flashes with a hit, and the "E" flashes with an error. Never knew that.
Well, that's one component with all subjective assessments - the emotional attachments. It's impossible to eliminate that. You obviously had great memories of Camden. I was actually a pretty big Orioles fan back in the 90s, back in the Jeffrey Maier days so I have some early memories of Camden. But clearly not the emotional attachment you have.
ReplyDeleteThe Giants stadium is a beautiful stadium. Great location too. The Old Candle Stick was very cold, but I am glad I got to go before it was torn down.
ReplyDeleteOakland's Coliseum is an awful location. I guess there isn't anywhere in Oakland that would make it great. I got to sit right behind home plate and was able to watch the Giambi brothers play. I went to the Coliseum a couple weeks after going to PACBell (now AT&T I guess), so I was comparing it to a brand new beautiful stadium. It belongs at the bottom of the list.
Wrigley field is great. Nothing bad to say. Location is great. The atmosphere is great. I loved it.
Camden is in Baltimore. Enough said. :)
I really liked the Ballpark at Arlington. I was nine months pregnant so I didn't like the long walk from the car. However, once inside I really liked it. No views like PNC, but still I liked it.
PNC Park is one of my favorite too. Gorgeous stadium, some of the best stadium food I have had, and good beer too. :) My only complaint is that I have been to a number of games at PNC and I have yet to see the Pirates win, though I always have a great time.
All the memories growing up of going to the Metrodome to watch the Twins, I always thought it was so cool and huge. I didn't have anything else to compare it to at the time. I am glad I haven't went to a game recently. Unlike the newer stadiums, you are so far away from the action. I have sat in the upper deck at some other stadiums, and you still feel close--not at HHH. I remember we used to bring binoculars to watch the games. I really wish Minnesota had a better stadium. So many people I meet that have visited the Twin Cities, really loved it and they talk about the beautiful city, the clean streets, how easy it is to use the new trains, and how freindly everyone is there. NOBODY goes and sees a game. It doesn't matter how big the dome is if nobody wants to sit and watch a game! I would love to see a modern PNC style urban park put up, right along the Mississippi.
I look forward to going to an Astros game once the boys are alittle older and hopefully we really like that stadium too. We have the Dell Diamond close by where one of their farm teams plays, so I think it would be natural for the boys to become Astro fans.