baseballinjapan Posted August 4, 2007 Share Posted August 4, 2007 Well, I finally made it to every park in the majors. I comprised a list in order by division of what I think are the best. I made this list based on the STADIUM itself, not the history, what team plays there, who's on first, what's on second. I took into account the seating areas, views of the field and cities/scenery, neighborhoods around the stadium and food. AL East 1. Fenway Park 2. Camden Yards 3. Yankee Stadium 4. Rogers Centre 5. Tropicana Field AL Central 1. Jacobs Field 2. Kauffman Stadium 3. Comerica Park 4. US Cellular Field 5. Metrodome AL West 1. Safeco Field 2. Ameriquest Field 3. Angel Stadium of Anaheim 4. McAfee Coliseum NL East 1. Citizens Bank Park 2. Turner Field 3. Shea Stadium 4. RFK Stadium 5. Dolphins Stadium NL Central 1. PNC Park 2. Minute Maid Park 3. Wrigley Field 4. Busch Stadium 5. Miller Park 6. Great American Ballpark NL West 1. Petco Park 2. AT&T Park 3. Coors Field 4. Dodger Stadium 5. Chase Field NOW, with all that being said, the NL Central is the best division when it comes to stadiums. I think I would rate all 6 as number 1 in the division, but there's my order. Also being a lifelong Dodger fan, it pains me to see the other teams in MLB with modern parks. Dodger Stadium is a great place to see a game, as with any park in the league, but it is 40+ years old and even the renovations aren't up to speed with the newer stadiums. Also, for the fans in Arizona, Toronto, Tampa, Minnesota, I feel terrible that you have to watch baseball indoors. Now, yes I know Arizona and Toronto have retractable roofs, and it was open at both places when I went. However, it still felt a little too indoorsy if you know what I mean. If I had to pick a top 5 based on all the qualities, I'd have to go with this order: 1. Safeco 2. PNC Park 3. Petco Park 4. Fenway Park 5. Jacobs Field So there it is, a lifelong baseball fan finally visits every city in the league. And trust me, if you all get a chance, I suggest you do it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meteamo Posted August 4, 2007 Share Posted August 4, 2007 Congrads on going to each park. I've only been at Shea and Yankee Stadiums. I don't know which is better than the others but I like the one in Arizona because of the pool and the one in Milwaukee because of the slide they have. It gets so hot in Arizona that I don't think the players or fans could survive a game in the dry heat. Who would want to watch or play in 113 degrees? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pistonj92 Posted August 4, 2007 Share Posted August 4, 2007 I may be wrong but i think this is in the wrong forum. I hear PNC is just a great park though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redsox Posted August 4, 2007 Share Posted August 4, 2007 Nice job on visiting all the stadiums. I am sure it was a great experience for you. The only stadium I have visited was Turner Field and it was great experience. I would very much like to visit Yankee Stadium sometime next season - want to see it before the Yankees move into their new stadium. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucas Posted August 4, 2007 Share Posted August 4, 2007 Your list is 100% accurate to what I'd say just from seeing all these parks on TV. I've only ever been to Fenway and Rogers Centre, and I can tell you.. Fenway PWNS Rogers Centre by a mile and a half. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NYM Posted August 4, 2007 Share Posted August 4, 2007 Congrads on going to each park. I've only been at Shea and Yankee Stadiums. I don't know which is better than the others but I like the one in Arizona because of the pool and the one in Milwaukee because of the slide they have. It gets so hot in Arizona that I don't think the players or fans could survive a game in the dry heat. Who would want to watch or play in 113 degrees? They have a roof in Arizona. They close the roof and air condition the stadium. At least thats what I think I remeber hearing. I've been to Shea, Yankee, Citizens Bank Park, Wrigley Field, and Fenway park. The nicest has to be Fenway Park. The fans are great, the atompshere is incredible, the seats I sat in were great, and the green monster is incredible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
puckhogg Posted August 4, 2007 Share Posted August 4, 2007 I've been to Dodger Stadium, the old Candlestick, Angel Stadium, McAfee although it was Network when I went, and Rangers Ballpark in Arlington. I've been to the California stadiums so many times it was nice to see the Rangers. It just looked completely different. I would love to visit every park because I think the feeling would be the same as my only visit to Arlington. Talking about watching a game in Arizona with the heat, I live in Bakersfield and our games are always very hot too. Last year when I was in Vegas I took in a 51s game againt Tucson. It was the middle of July and they had misters turned on for the fans behind home plate. That was the hottest game that I've been to. Congrats on seeing them all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pirate Posted August 4, 2007 Share Posted August 4, 2007 Been to a lot of them but not all. I have reviewed them too and have to say you must be smoking crack to say that Minute Maid is better than anything on this list. Hands down one of the worst parks in baseball. I saw that and quit reading the rest. But congrats on getting to them all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RaptorQuiz Posted August 4, 2007 Share Posted August 4, 2007 Been to a lot of them but not all. I have reviewed them too and have to say you must be smoking crack to say that Minute Maid is better than anything on this list. Hands down one of the worst parks in baseball. I saw that and quit reading the rest. But congrats on getting to them all. I was thinking the same thing about Minute Maid park. Yeesh, that gimicky porch kills me. And then a train full of oranges. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brutushayesosu Posted August 4, 2007 Share Posted August 4, 2007 Im with the others, Minute Maid is a joke. The whole idea of hitting the ball over a line for a homerun reminds me of wiffleball in middle school gym class. My list for NLC would be: NL Central 1. Wrigley Field 2. PNC Park 3. Busch Stadium 4. Miller Park 5. Minute Maid Park 6. Great American Ballpark I pretty much agree with the rest of them. Ive always liked Kaufman and Camden Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Posted August 4, 2007 Share Posted August 4, 2007 PNC is amazing, I've been there on many occasions. Although the Pirates aren't the greatest team, the atmosphere is amazing. It's much like a minor league ballpark experience; there's always something going on between innings. Although I've never been to Fenway, it looks like an amazing park. The fans seem to really get into it and the experience is great. EDIT: Where's the line in Minute Maid Park? -dan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brutushayesosu Posted August 4, 2007 Share Posted August 4, 2007 PNC is amazing, I've been there on many occasions. Although the Pirates aren't the greatest team, the atmosphere is amazing. It's much like a minor league ballpark experience; there's always something going on between innings. Although I've never been to Fenway, it looks like an amazing park. The fans seem to really get into it and the experience is great. EDIT: Where's the line in Minute Maid Park? -dan Left Center is where the line is unless they got rid of it. I went to PNC last year and to see them play the Cards. I had tickets in the upper deck but ended up standing on the spiral ramp in left the whole game. It blows away G.A.B. in so many ways. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baseballinjapan Posted August 5, 2007 Author Share Posted August 5, 2007 As I said, the NL Central is the toughest division to rank. As for Minute Maid, I was intrigued by the hill in center and the wall in left center. I mean, there's nothing there except a wall with the home run line. Being in my 30's I'm enthralled by old time ballparks, and I don't mean the cookie cutters. Yankee Stadium in the 60's, Briggs Stadium (Tiger Stadium in later years), and the Polo Grounds all mesmerized me because they had huge centerfields. And the porch in left at Minute Maid is longer than lrightfield in Yankee Stadium, left AND right field at Fenway, right field in San Fran and so on. Personally I love the quirky shapes of the playing fields. Symmetrical parks are boring. I love how some bleachers stick out in right in San Diego, the porch at Minute Maid, and the Ivy at Wrigley. Hopefully the newer parks will take hints and make bizarre dimensions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meteamo Posted August 5, 2007 Share Posted August 5, 2007 How about the baseball in japan? How are the ballparks there compared to the U.S.? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baseballinjapan Posted August 5, 2007 Author Share Posted August 5, 2007 actually only been to one, the Fukuoka Dome, home of the Daiei Hawks. Also been to see the Hyundai Unicorns in Suwon, South Korea the year after they won the Korean Baseball league championship. I'm in the Army so they paid for me to go to Korea for a year, and my buddies and I took a trip to Japan for the weekend. Nothing compares to US parks, as the one in Suwon was something like 270 down the lines and a whopping 360 to center. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
classic17 Posted August 5, 2007 Share Posted August 5, 2007 I internedlast summer at Safeco in Seattle, and I'm really happy to see that you think so highly of it. I know the staff there takes tons of pride in their ballpark. Glad to see it shows. I've been to my fair share of stadiums and I think the only one that compares is PNC, which is just beautiful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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