This morning I got involved in a discussion on Twitter with @brandi_b and @TwoBusy about MLB ballparks. As much as I’ve loved baseball one would think I’ve visited more parks than I have, but I can honestly only cross Comerica Park, Tiger Stadium, and old Yankee Stadium off the list. I hope to change that in the coming years, especially as my children get older, so I decided to make a list ranking the ballparks I’d like to visit.
My list does not include the Metrodome, since it doesn’t host baseball anymore, or the new Target Field, which isn’t open yet. I would, however, likely put Target Field near the top, but only in April, so I can yell to Twins’ fans that it’s still winter. The list also doesn’t include the one current park I’ve been to – Comerica.
Anyway, numbers 11 through 29 go something like this:
11. Coors Field
12. Minute Maid Park
13. Busch Stadium
14. Progressive Field
15. PNC Park
16. Busch Stadium
17. Nationals Park
18. Dodger Stadium
19. Yankee Stadium
20. Citi Field
21. Angel Stadium
22. Chase Field
23. US Cellular
24. Turner Field
25. Kauffman Stadium
26. Oakland Coliseum
27. Rogers Centre
28. Land Shark Stadium
29. Tropicana Field
And now, the ressssssst of the story:
10. Safeco Field - With an outdoor ballpark appearance save for the ominous retractable roof hanging over the right field stands, Safeco seems to keep baseball where it should be – outside, while keeping weather where it should be – outside. I’d imagine this and most of the remaining parks have sightlines similar to Comerica Park, which is good. The Safeco Field font on the left-field sign looks pretty nice, too.
9. Rangers Ballpark in Arlington – To sit in the right field upper deck and remember Tiger Stadium. There’s pillars, people!
8. AT&T Park – The Giants could do no wrong by moving out of Candlestick Park, in my opinion. Unless, of course, they went across the bridge and played in Oakland Coliseum, but I digress. I used to play softball sometimes at a field in northern Michigan with a bay just past the leftfield fence. The splash of a home run made it the best park in the state. I’d guess that the right field wall in AT&T Park has the same effect.
7. Petco Park – I’ve read that this park is kind of a nightmare, especially as new parks go. That doesn’t make it any less appealing to me, however. The outfield grass seats are a nice touch, but I think I’d want to check out the Western Metal Supply building down the leftfield line.
6. Great American Ball Park – I’m not sure what it is about this park that I specifically like, but there’s something. It’s a little vanilla, in my opinion, and the red seats are kinda crazy, but the riverboat stacks, the big scoreboard, the double deck in left field – these are things that really appeal to me.
That leaves us with five parks. Old, new, and a blueprint for today’s construction. Stay tuned to Draft Day Suit for my top five in the days to come.
Safeco is the only one of these five I’ve been to, and while the retractable roof was kind of cool (it started raining during the game, so I got to see it in action) it was otherwise a pretty bland ballpark experience. I love Seattle, and wish they’d been able to incorporate more of the Pacific NW dynamic into a stadium that, honestly, feels like it could be anywhere.
Please share your explanation for not putting PNC Park in the top 10. And please let the answer not be “because the Pirates suck.” A number of pundits have declared it the best park in baseball.
Don’t get me wrong, PNC is a very nice ballpark, and the view beyond the centerfield wall is awfully nice, but the ballpark itself reminds me a lot of Comerica Park. I know it gets a lot of praise, and all of it is surely deserved, but for me, it’s just not in my wheelhouse and is well-placed for my list. It has nothing to do with the team they put out there, either. Thanks for reading!
I hate the Mets, but Citi Field is one of the best parks in baseball – fan friendly, fabulous food…now new Yankee Stadium is crap…but that’s just me…
And the Trop is the crappiest field in baseball, but it’s still a sight to see…shag carpet baby!
You should move Coors Field to your top 10. It is really beautiful, nicely laid out, surrounded by some of the best microbrew beer on the planet, and did I mention beautiful? The view rocks (pun not intended, but it works so I’m going with it.)
Ya know, Coors was tough to keep out of the top 10. The luster of it may have been lost a little bit because while I’ve not seen a game there, I did tour the field in ’01 or ’02. It’s a huge ballpark, and I think it’d be cool to sit in the mile-high row. Coors was hard to keep out of the top 10.
Nationals Park is beautiful. I can only assume Camden Yard is in the top 5. Baltimore has the best stadiums.
GoonSquadSarah will vouch for the fact that I’m on a personal mission to make everyone fall in love with my adopted city. Come to Pittsburgh. Your beer, a little Primanti’s and ticket are on me.