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| THB with the history of the stadiums poster |
Top picks:
(3) AT&T (Gigantes): Among the vast majority of fans, especially from outside the Bay Area, this park is ranked #1, and for good reason: it’s fabulous, so many positives. Only downsides: long ramps to seats or when exiting park and an out of town scoreboard that is angled such that only someone in the Giants dugout can see the scores clearly.
(1) Fenway Park (Red Sox): the tour of the ballpark is worth doing even if you’re going to the game later or have seen a game here already. They hold a lottery for tickets on top of the Green Monster:see if you can win!
(1) Camden Yards (Orioles): see the park that started it all for the fans (after too many years of combo baseball-football bowls), an exciting spot for baseball with lots of great seats
(3) Wrigley Field (Cubs): make sure you stand on Waveland Avenue for a few moments, listen to Steve Goodman’s song A Dying Cub Fan’s Last Request, try not to get seats in the lower deck that are way under the overhang of the second deck, if you sit in the bleachers expect a30s something dating scene. Anywhere in the park: lots of beer consumed.
Highly recommended (mostly because of the in-your-seat experience):
(3) Progressive Field (Indians): used to be Jacobs Field, aka The Jake
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| After it was Jacobs Field |
(1) Coors Field (Rockies): try the upscale yuppie brewskies, watch the runs pile up (mostly because of the huge outfield and fast infield, not so much for all the homers)
(1) Minute Maid Park (formerly Enron, Astros)*:sit in the Crawford Boxes, short porch in left field; they didn’t allow you to bring in food the last time THB was here (only ballpark in America with this rule?)
(1) Millers Park (Brewers)*: great tailgating scene
(3) Tokyodome (Giants): indoors; there’s nothing like a Japanese baseball game even if the stadium itself is lousy.
Recommended (definitely worth a visit):
(3) PNC Park (Pirates): picturesque on the river, 1992 last year Pirates had a winning record
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| Shot from across the river |
(1) Citizens Bank Park (Phillies): a sea of red
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| Citizens Bank |
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| Citizens Bank at night |
(1) Busch Stadium (Cardinals): even the standing room is a plus
(3) Petco Park (Padres): eclectic layout,enjoy pizza on the grass in dead center; stay at the Omni and walk right from hotel into the ballpark!
(1) Safeco Field (Mariners)*: watch out,upper deck along first base in sun until very late during summer nights,
(1) Rangers Ballpark: another eclectic layout, they need fans under 2nd deck overhang in right field
(3) Chase Field (Dbacks)*: swimming pool beyond fence in right center field
(1) National Park (Nats): a bit bigger in feel than these other parks
(1) Turner Field (Braves): Historic site of the 1996 Olympics, great sight lines
(1) Turner Field (Braves): Historic site of the 1996 Olympics, great sight lines
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| Turner Field |
Neutral: Something of value, not enough to actively encourage
(1) Great America (Reds): upgrade if you like to see homers, area around downtown park was dead
(3) Angel Stadium of Anaheim: at least they don’t play football here anymore
(3) Rogers Centre (Blue Jays)*
(1) Kauffmann Stadium (Royals)
(3) Marlins Park (Miami)*
(1) Kauffmann Stadium (Royals)
(3) Marlins Park (Miami)*
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| Marlins Park giveaway |
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| Marlins Park from the freeway |
Not Recommended, time to start over (yes, some of these just got built):
(3) O.Co Coliseum (A’s); fans? We don’t care about no stinkin’ fans. Really, we DO NOT CARE about the fans.
(1) Citi Field (Mets): unbelievable what Wilpons built with Madoff’s money, the worst! Airplanes, wind tunnels, five decks, lousy sight lines, oh my! Excellent pastrami sandwiches though you have to get their early because it takes 10 minutes to make your sandwich.
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| Best ballpark sandwich you can still get (Montreal now gone) |
(3) US Cellular (White Sox): the last of the parks built before Camden, narrow sections with people walking up and down and obstructing your view of the game, nothing of interest to the field, seats not all that close to the field
(1) Tropicana Field (Rays): Indoors all the time, which is a plus because of weather, rest is pretty awful for baseball; on other hand, watching 80 year olds dancing in sequins to Sinatra songs,priceless
(3) Dodger Stadium: go for the weather, the park itself is too big, and Dodger dogs are awful (now)
(1) Yankee Stadium: big, too far from the field, boiling concrete in summer, monuments in center, all same comments for new ball park
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| Could be old Yankee Stadium or new; either way, awful |
Still to come:
(1) Target Field (Twins): rained out in one attempt to go to a game
In the Something Else category, parks now gone:
Metrodome: indoors, too loud, horrible sight lines, built for football, garbage bag for right field, probably the worst stadium THB ever visited (and that was a night when Nolan Ryan was pitching)
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| Metrodome when roof had collapsed |
Dolphin Stadium: so lonely, oh so lonely,I’m so lonely even the concession stands are closed
*Retractable roof
Posts
Too bad you have not yet been to the "granddaddy of them all"-- Estadio Latinoamericano in La Habana, Cuba. Estadio Flor de Cana in Granada, Nicaragua, also comes with plenty of "old-time" charm...
ReplyDeleteBrian Harris
Some day, Brian, we'll make a tour!
ReplyDeletei think you're missing expos- didn't we go there?
ReplyDeleteNot all 49 stadiums visited are in this post; We saw Montreal Expos in Olympic Stadium (THB should count up visits to those stadiums, too) on one of our Jay Buckley bus trips; GREAT smoked meat sandwiches!
ReplyDelete