Ballparks

Since we're on the topic of ballparks, I'm going to try a Diquattro-style post and throw something out there and ask for comments.



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

14. Coors Field (Colorado Rockies)* - See my earlier post. Very nice overall, but largely unremarkable.


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.

Scattered thoughts upon visiting Coors Field

Last Saturday, I attended a Rockies game at Coors Field for the first time. It has one of the best locations of any ballpark I've been to. LoDo of Denver is a great neighborhood.

When building the stadium, they were faced with a decision of orienting the ballpark to view the mountains or the skyline. It's perfectly situated for a dramatic view of the skyline while the mountains are somewhat distant. They chose the mountains and they chose well. What other MLB city has a chance to see mountains from a sports venue? When you have that opportunity, you go for it.

What's so remarkable about the ballpark is that it's wholly unremarkable. It's everything a newish ballpark should be. It has open concourses for a view of the game at any point on the lower-level. It has a small section in center field with plants and rocks native to Colorado. It has a waterfall that turns into a fountain at the beginning of a game, during the 7th inning stretch, and after a home run.

It's a massive park with a full upper deck that starts down the left field line and goes three quarters of the way around the stadium. In straight-away center is the "rock-pile", a section that features four dollar seats.

It has all these features and if it was in competition with Cinergy Field, Fulton County Stadium, The Kingdome, and Shea Stadium, it would be considered among the best ballparks in the country. But with Progressive Field, PNC Park, Safeco Field, and AT&T Park, even wonderful ballparks are entirely average compared to the rest. With the closing of the Metrodome this year, we are left with only a handful of sub par parks: Tropicana Field, whatever they're calling the football stadium in Miami (and there is a new park in the works there), the Coliseum, and the Rogers Centre.

When the average ballpark is a 4 out of 10, the 8s shine. When most parks are 8-10s, the 8s are average, and that is great for baseball. Not every ballpark can pull off a perfect 10, and that's ok. But we now have a lot of ballparks that provide a very enjoyable experience and that's a great thing for fans.

I do have one complaint though. Baseball has this racket where they can charge different rates for different games. We just happened to go to a game when the Cubs were in town. This, apparently, gives the Rockies license to charge an extra 10 bucks per seat. That's crap.