Thirty stadiums. 50
years. Seems like a lifetime.
Actually, it’s more like 44 ballparks over 42 years, but
that doesn’t have the same ring now, does it.
Yes, I have become one of those guys who can say he has been
to every single Major League baseball ballpark.
Some twice. One, technically,
three times. Or would that be
thrice. Not sure if I’m a thricer. Though it’s possible I’m a two time thricer
(read the closing note to follow along.)
The question I have been asked the most is which one is the
best.
Or at least which place do I consider the best.
That’s the informed question. The response does not vary, though the
rejoinder from the person posing the question often does, most likely based on
that person’s physical or psychic proximity to that place original built as Weeghman
Park.
So here’s how I view the parks. And for me, the consideration is the
architecture, the ambiance, the visuals, the way the place integrates with the
city, whether you can take public transit to the game, whether you can walk or
bike to the game, the knowledge of the fans, any iconic qualities that the park
provides, and then whether it simply provides a fun experience. There’s no metric. It’s baseball after all, so no standard
definition with rigid parameters.
Remember, these are all the parks open and operating as of
this season, 2013. I’ve been to
all. Some several times. Most over the past five years. Only one, Dodger Stadium, was before 2000. And while I was in many places that are no
longer standing (Memorial Stadium in Baltimore, Shea Stadium in New York, Parc
Jarry in Montreal), and some that no longer host baseball (Candlestick Park, RFK)
it is the current crop of ballparks and stadiums that are referenced here.
Here are my top 5, and then the remainder of my list, all in
numerical order.
#1 PNC Park in Pittsburgh
You just have to see this. It’s relatively small, cozy, comfortable, with
an energy, a series of wonderful sight lines of both the brightly painted
Roberto Clemente bridge as well as downtown Pittsburgh, and an accessibility to
belies the difficulty of reaching downtown Pittsburgh. Food is great here, fans know the game, and
give a damn about their team, and people make an evening or even a day of going
to the game. The Clemente bridge closes
for pedestrian traffic on game days, which adds to the festive atmosphere. And then there’s the river. Cities are built on rivers. All but a handful of these parks are on or
abut rivers. PNC works the Allegheny
right into the park, with a nice parapet along right field. Along with the statues outside the stadium,
honoring Bucs of renown, this place pretty much captures what you want in a
ballpark, without doing it in a corporate way that would trivialize some of
these qualities.
#2 AT&T Ballpark in San Francisco
This could be my favorite park, as it has done so much for
the neighborhood in San Francisco where it was built, adding light rail to the
downtown, and pulling in a host of commercial entities where before there were
few. The park makes exceptional use of
San Francisco Bay, provides both remarkable views and great sight lines, is
comfortable from just about any seat, at any level, and honors both the history
of the Giants baseball team, as well as the people of San Francisco, with a
number of museum like placards, statues, and information kiosks peppered
throughout the structure. Given that it
is in San Francisco, it has become iconic.
And for the right reason.
#3 Comerica Stadium in Detroit
Detroit’s suffering over the past 45 years has inadvertently
produced the most majestic sight lines for any major league stadium. The economic woes that continue to batter
Detroit create an astounding pre-War look for anyone seated inside the Comerica
Stadium bowl. A host of early and
mid-century office towers, many empty, most underutilized, stand as testament
to a once great and industrious city.
From the stands, they provide a perspective that reinforces the
traquility of this urban setting for a stadium that is otherwise amidst the
vacant and blank space that takes up a significant portion of Detroit’s urban
core. The Tigers honor their own
history, and their own players, with information and data and busts and
memorials throughout the park. This
information is both more readable and more accessible than in most other parks,
a testament to the understanding this team has in equality and sharing, a rare
quality in professional sports management.
#4 Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore
Yes, the proverbial granddaddy (at 21) of the modern stadium
set. This place redefined stadium design
for the new millennium. HOK did a
fantastic job integrating existing exterior buildings into the stadium campus,
something done similarly well in San Diego and a small handful of other venues. And the stadium still works. It is still modern, fun, and alive. Boog’s Barbeque still has them queued well
through the game. The Natty Bo is always
cold. And watching a game from the right
field porch, or from over the visiting team bullpen, is more than just
enjoyable. It’s part of the experience
for anyone taking in a game at the Yard.
Only complaint, that the alignment of the seats along the 3rd
base line all the way down to the foul pole be adjusted to face the infield,
not straight ahead to right-center field.
#5 Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles
It might surprise many to know that after the iconic Wrigley
in Chicago and Fenway in Boston, that the 3rd oldest ballpark is the
Dodgers home off in the hills a short jog east of downtown LA. Yet this stadium provides not only a template
for what works in the host of stadiums build since Camden Yards (sight lines of
the field from the lower level walkway, ample parking, phenomenal food
options), but on it’s own stands as a marker of a time that has past, but is
yet a time in which many of us still lived.
It has hosted some memorable games, featured famous players, famous
fans, and now even a magically famous owner.
Definitely part of the southern California experience. You feel it at this ballpark. That’s a quality that’s hard to find, but
here you most definitely do.
#6 Wrigley Field
in Chicago
Sure, it turns 100 in April.
It’s iconic. It packs them
in. It was the last to have
lighting. But it’s not much more than
the world’s largest bar. Or at least
America’s largest bar. Drink up, Cubs
fans. You need it.
#7 Fenway Park
in Boston
Fantastic place. From
another era. But just because it’s old
doesn’t mean it’s great. Hell, the old
Tiger Stadium was a much better old ballpark, and it’s gone. How this place stands is beyond me. How it passes annual fire code and safety
tests (it does, doesn’t it, city of Boston?) is truly beyond me. Fans there are loyal (see #6), and in many
cases, criminally insane.
#8 Petco Park in
San Diego
This place provided a surprise treat. Fantastic integration of an existing building
into the left field line. Great downtown
San Diego location. Wonderful park. Very nicely done.
#9 Citi Field in
New York
Evocative of what Ebbets Field was supposed to have
been. Nice flourishes throughout,
particularly in the outfield area, and beyond center field, where the team has
created a party space that makes the open areas in Baltimore and San Francisco
and Cleveland seem very very tame.
#10 Marlins Park
in Miami
This is a tough one.
It’s an enclosed stadium, which I generally do not like. (See #’s 28-30) But it uses glass remarkably
well, has charming and very non-traditional finishes and exterior
flourishes. This building looks the
least like a ballpark of all the currently operating places, yet it works, and
functions, far better than the Marlins or their team management. Owner Jeffrey Loria appears to know and
understand art and design well enough to build this stadium. Hopefully a future owner will turn the team
around and bring fans and the city of Miami together in support of this
creation.
#11 Progressive
Field in Cleveland
#12 Minute Maid
Park in Houston
#13 Busch Stadium
in St. Louis
#14 Coors Field in
Denver
#15 Citizens Bank
Park in Philadelphia
#16 Target Field
in Minneapolis
#17 Nationals Park
in Washington
#18 The Great
American Ballpark in Cincinnati
#19 Yankee Stadium
#20 Angels Stadium
in Anaheim, CA
#21 Comiskey Park
in Chicago
#22 Rangers
Stadium in Arlington, TX
#23 Miller Park in
Milwaukee
#24 Safeco Field
in Seattle
#25 Kauffman
Stadium in Kansas City
#26 Turner Field
in Atlanta
#27 Oakland
Coliseum
#28 Rogers Arena
in Toronto
#29 Chase Field in
Phoenix
#30 Tropicana
Field in St. Petersburg, FL
I have also been to these 14 parks, which are either no
longer in existence, or are no longer functioning as baseball stadiums.
- The original Yankee Stadium, where I saw my first game, in 1971
- The renovated Yankee Stadium, which I attended regularly, including Opening Day for the new place, in 1976
- Shea Stadium in New York, the dump where the Mets used to play
- Jarry Parc in Montreal (I remember hot metal seats on a scorching summer day)
- RFK Stadium in Washington (in seeing the Nationals play here, it makes three ballparks in which the former Montreal Expo team has played and I have visited)
- Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia
- Memorial Stadium in Baltimore
- Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh
- Municipal Stadium in Cleveland
- Tiger Stadium in Detroit
- The original Comiskey Park in Chicago
- County Stadium in Milwaukee
- The Metrodome in Minneapolis
- Mile High Stadium in Denver
- Candlestick Park in San Francisco
