I’ve always flirted with the idea of wanting to visit all 30 major
league stadiums all on the same road trip. So when a once in a lifetime
chance presents itself, wouldn’t you want to grab it? Currently, I’ve
only ever been to 7 major league stadiums, (fenway, shea stadium,
citizens bank park, PNC park, jacobs (or progressive) field, comerica
park and wrigley) and i’d love to do the whole lot. The only thing I’m
stumbling upon is the scheduling. Everytime you think you have a route
that works, one team not being home blows the whole thing up. Still,
the dream is on, and if it becomes a reality then I’ll definitely be
blogging all about it.

Speaking of ballparks, I’ve been
following construction of the Twins new park, recently named Target
field, which is coming along beautifully. Steel is just starting to go
up, and it actually physically resembles something close to a ballpark
right now. Bring on 2010! You can follow the construction right here
and get a look at what i’m talking about. And after Nationals park
opened this year, we’ve got New Yankee stadium and Citi field opening
this coming season. If you’re a big a fan of ballparks as I am, then
this years gonna be some kind of fun. In addition, i’m hoping the
Marlins can straighten out their legal issues and finally get the new
park they’ve been campaining for for what seems like forever now. I
heard that if everything goes as planned, details and designs should be
released later this month. Fingers crossed!

Now, I don;t quite
know what it is about ballparks. Maybe it’s the atmosphere. Maybe the
sounds. The crack of the bat. The sound of cowhide on leather. The
excitement when the runner takes off from first. The whole crowd
standing on a 3-2 count with 2 outs in an inning. Or maybe high fiving
the stranger next to you after your team just hit a walk off single in
the bottom of the ninth. I love all of those things. I love quirks in
ballparks. I also love the ability to aimlessly wander around a
ballpark, taking in views for virtually anywhere you see fit, whether
it be the concourses, or in the outfield. Here’s some of my favourite
features of parks around the majors (in no particular order):

•  Eutaw
  street and the warehouse at Camden Yards, Baltimore – The ballpark that
  started the current revolution in park design, Camden Yards is just so
  asthetically pleasing to my eyes. I love it all, the double decker
  bullpens, Eutaw street and the century old warehouse in the background.
  Too bad the Orioles don’t draw better.
  
• The
  Green Monster, Fenway Park, Boston – Probably one of my top 5
  ballparks, Fenway just feels so different from any other park I’ve been
  to. You’re so close to the action, and the fans around you, that you
  might feel a squashed as a pea in a pod. But that doesn’t make me
  uncomfortable, in fact, that makes it even better. And the Green
  monster is just the icing on the cake. As for the monster seats? Well,
  if I could ever afford to cough up the money, then I’d be up there for
  one game.

• Monument Park, Old Yankee Stadium, New
  York – When it’s all said and done, one of my biggest regrets might
  well be not visiting the ‘cathedral of baseball’. I can’t say that I
  ever really took a great shining to Yankee stadium, maybe it was my
  disliking for the Yankees, but watching the final game there on mlb.tv
  made me realise how much I might actually miss it. The history for one
  thing, is unmatched by any other park: From Ruth, to Mantle, to Jeter,
  it’s had it all.
• The fountains, Kouffman Stadium, Kansas
  City – I’ve heard that Kauffman is one of the most pleasant places to
  watch a ballgame. I’d love to find out. But it certainly appeals from a
  visual standpoint. I love the scoreboard in centerfield, and with the
  Royals upgrading a whole hell of a lot over the past 2 years, Kauffman’s gonna be around for a long time!
• Ashburn
  alley, Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia – CBP’s one of my favourite
  parks that I’ve visited. I can’t quite put a finger on it, but Ashburn
  Alley definitely helped. I just loved how you can stroll the outfield,
  the general layout, and the bullpens in right center just are so
  awesome. You even get a great view of downtown from behind the plate.
• Tal’s
  Hill, Minute Maid Park, Houston – Despite it’s fruity naming rights, I
  love this park. From the train tracks, to the Crawford boxes, and yes
  to Tal’s hill, Minute Maid is one place I really want to visit. Badly.
• The
  Western metal supply co building, Petco Park, San Diego – Yes this one
  has some hideous naming right too, but I love Petco also. The park at
  the park looks awesome, and the western metal supply co building is
  just awesome. Plain and simple.
• The
  ivy, Wrigley field, Chicago – The friendly confines may have been
  crumbling a little while ago, but I sure loved it just as much when I
  visited back in 04. Now that they’ve re-tooled the bleachers some 2
  years ago, I really really want to go back and sit in the outfield.
  Everything, from the brick backstop, to the Ivy on the walls, and the
  scoreboard, are just so amazing that Wrigley’s one of my favourite
  places to go watch a game that I’ve experienced so far. Oh and the hot
  dogs are damn good too!
• AT&T Park, San Francisco -
  I’m not even going to mention a feature in the header for this park,
  because everything about this ballpark just appeals to me. The old
  school bullpens down the lines, the coke bottle and giant glove in left
  field, and McCovey Cove. 

Well I’m not even close to having
covered all that I love about the majors best. I could go on, take a
look at spring training, but I’d be here all night long. But you get
the message: every little difference, amenity, distinct character that
makes each ballpark unique is so amazing to me. Hopefully one day I’ll
be able to visit them all. Bring on April already!

Ah. There’s nothing like taking in some major league ball at a sun soaked park on a beautiful summer’s day eh? I love it (for all of the 3 day games i’ve been to in my life!) and there’s nothing better than being able to kick back and relax at a big league ballpark…or for that matter, at a minor league park too i imagine. These days, there are some absolute beautiful AAA parks (see Fifth Third Field in Toledo OH, Durham Bulls Athletic Park, Durham NC, AT&T Bricktown ballpark, OK)

There are ballparks that I have great affections for, and there are those that don’t really do the game justice. Then you just get the parks that I think are so **** good, that there’s really no way to build a better park. Now, this list of my best and worst will not factor in whether I have been to the parks or not, and as I’ve only been to 7 big league parks, i’m gonna have to wait until i’ve seen all 30 before I can give my ultimate standings. But don’t worry, I’m planning on reaching that target within the next year and a half (I hope so!).

The best of the Bunch:


AT&T Park, San Francisco: Opened in 2000, formerly known as Pac Bell Park, I just love everything about AT&T park. From McCovey Cove, to the bleachers out in right, to the massive coke bottle and glove in left. And what about those peepholes in the right field wall that allow guys walking along the pier to peer in on the game? Brilliant. ****, there’s throwbacks everywhere you look in this park, starting with the fact that they don’t cut the grass into a pattern, and the bullpens are in foul territory down the 1st and 3rd base lines. It’s location right by the bay doesn’t exactly hurt! This is one park I can’t wait to get to.

Fenway Park, Boston: Just incredible. Small? Maybe. But with small comes intimate. and the atmosphere at any given night at Fenway is just awesome. Yes I’ve been to Fenway, and it’s so worth going, even if you do end up paying $70 to stand behind the 1st base side with a restricted view. Who the **** cares? Just walking around the place gives you chills thinking about Ted Williams and Babe Ruth. And who can forget about the sight of the green monster? You’ve got to go just to take it all in.

Wrigley Field, Chicago: ****, it might have been falling apart when I went, but when you sit in an upper deck seat and you feel like you’re right on top of the action it really doesn’t get any better. The ivy, the old school scoreboard in center, the brick walled backstop, and on and on and on. After the Cubs remodelled and rebuilt the entire bleachers two seasons ago, including the exteriors, Wrigley looks even better. I’ve gotta go back just so I can take it in again.

Safeco Field, Seattle: This one gets my underrated vote. Stuck out on the west coast, not many are gonna witness it’s beauty. Well how about it. A retractable roof that when closed doesn’t actually enclose the ballpark, so you still feel like you’re playing outdoors, just without the threat of rain? Spacious, yet beautiful, this is the next park that I really want to go take in.

PNC Park, Pittsburgh: It’s just a thing a beauty. Literally. No other way to describe it. Just walk across Roberto Clemente bridge before the game (which is conveniently closed to vehicular traffic on game days btw), and you get an awesome sight. Sit in the upper deck or the infield, and you’ll get a beautiful view of the Pittsburgh skyline and the Clemente bridge. The Pirates did just about everything right in building this gem, if only they could get a winning team out there too, cause this park would look even better being packed on a summer’s day.

Comerica Park, Detroit: Now, you might think I’m bias here, being a Tigers fan and all, but I’ve visited CoPa 3 times now, and everytime i’ve come away impressed. The last trip I made was summer 07, on a beautiful sunday afternoon vs the Royals. I walked all around the park, literally, and was again thoroughly impressed. From the accessibility, to the water fountain in center field, to the new bullpens in left, to the monster scoreboard. ****, Comerica is arguably the most beautiful park in the country on a summer’s day. It’s worth taking a trip, even if you can’t say that about the city it lies in.

Coors Field, Colorado: I think this ones underrated too. mountain time, relatively poor team for the last decade (until now) and therefore not much, if any, national tv exposure. But Coors is a gem. From the old school exterior modeled after the great Ebbets field, to the rocky bullpens out in right. ****, wouldn’t you just love to take in the game from those seats high up in center that are like 550 ft from home plate? And don’t forget about the cool as **** blue line of seats in the upper deck that marks the point that is one mile above sea level. I’ll definitely be taking in Coors at some point, even if I do get altitude sickness doing so….

Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia: I love this park too. Although, i just wish it wasn;’t in the middle of a giant parking lot. Still, the double decker bullpens in center are just amazing, as is Ashburn Alley, and just the whole general park design. I love it. I’ve still got memories of chasing down BP fly balls in left field last summer……

Minute Maid Park, Houston: This one was one I’ve loved since it was opened in 2000, back when it
was Enron Field. I just love it all. The intimate look, to Tal’s hill in center, and the Crawford boxes in left. I love how the arched wall comes across from left field all the way to center. I love the bullpen in right. ****. I love it all!

Those that just need to be torn down:

Shea Stadium, New York: Yea it was a gorgeous summer day, but that didn’t help much! Shea’s a horrible cookie cutter, pretty much. Thankfully, Citi Field’s only a year away!

Dolphin Stadium, Florida: This is a football stadium, not a baseball park. I’m praying the Marlins get that new ballpark they’ve needed since they came into the majors.

Metrodome, Minnesota: Yea. Another awful one. If the astro turf wasn’t bad enough, how about losing a fly ball in the roof because the colours are too similar? At least the field dimensions aren’t symmetrical.

Those I’m looking forward to:

Nationals Park, Washington: Yea there’s two ugly parking structures beyond the outfield fences, but with the opening of every new park I get excited. This ones no exception. Bring on March 30th!

Cisco Field, Oakland: The A’s need a new park badly, and Cisco looks just so **** good. Hurry up and build it already!

New Twins Ballpark, Minnesota: For some reason, I absolutely love the layout of the new Twins home. Again, I can’t wait for 2010!!!!

Well, after a long long time, make that something like 4 years, the Florida Marlins will have a baseball only home come 2011. At least that’s the most likely scenario now that Miami Dade county commissioners and officials have finally agreed to funding for a new $515 million retractable roof stadium. Awesome! More stadium construction to keep an eye on and another brand spanking new baseball facility to go visit! However, it’s more than this. For Marlins fans, it’ll keep the team in south Florida for another 35 years, and the 37,000 seat ballpark will give benefits directly to the Marlins organization, rather than them having to split or give away almost all the proceeds they generate from their current lease with the NFL’s Miami Dolphins at Dolphin Stadium. It is believed that the new ballpark will help the Marlins, to be renamed the Miami Marlins when they move to the new park, to keep the players they’ve had to trade away due to lack of funding for increasing player salaries. If all the remaining minor issues work themselves out, we could be seeing construction beginning as early as November in order for construction to be finished in time for opening day 2011!!

I’ve been obsessing about ballparks all day long. Seriously, it’s getting ridiculous. All I can think about is visiting them, following the construction of the current batch (nationals, mets, yankees, twins), and wishing opening night was here already so I can supplant the batch of images i’ve seen today into reality via ESPN! A few days ago I was thinking about taking a potential trip to spring training in the last two weeks of march and following the Tigers around Florida. Now I can’t stop thinking about the endless possible cities I could visit this summer, i.e. San Francisco, San Diego, Los Angeles, Chicago, and wondering whether or not I should make a stop off in Washington for 2 games on my way back home to England so I can visit the Nationals new park in person. I’ve even been pondering the thought of going on a trek with my cousin next summer to visit all 30 ballparks. One can dream right?? My desire though really to visit all 30 ballparks right now (yes that includes the Metrodome in Minnesota and Shea stadium again if i must…) is so high that I’d quite happily do it all this summer. Unfortunately i’m out of cash and have to work first!! nothing like planning for the future eh..

In the meantime, the Nationals ballpark construction is roaring along nicely, speeding towards opening day like a bullet from a gun. How lucky am I then to have two great resources at my disposal? The first, Jdland.com has an incredible archive of construction photos right from even before Nationals park was even constructed! It even includes the buildings that have been torn down, and progression photographs at almost all points of the ballpark exterior over this time. There are also some great interior shots as well. A great place to start! Secondly, we have http://nats320.blogspot.com/ who has just posted a punt load of new pictures from the interior and exterior of the stadium, really giving a great report on it’s current status. As you can tell, I am extremely excited about this new park, as i have been about all the new ballparks to open recently.
The limestone exterior and glass fits in great with the city of Washington, and the interior of the ballpark is just as good. A modern restaurant in center field, with seating all the way down to the outfield wall. A high definition scoreboard dominates right center field, providing fans with incredible replays and up to the minute stats. There is 360 degree access to the entire concourse level, enabling fans to walk around where they want, when they want. This is the major hook up i have with some ballparks. (see Dodger stadium) You can’t really get a feel for a ballpark until you’ve been able to see it from all angles. I love wondering around the concourses taking in a game from different viewpoints. I was able to do that at Comerica Park this past summer, and it’s a great thing to do. We started off in the upper deck in right field, walked down to right center past the Pepsi porch, underneath the water fountain in center, out the other side to the monster scoreboard in left, then took an inning or two of the game in from seats in the lower deck on the 3rd base side, finally ending up in the standing room only section on the 1st base side for the 9th inning. i have tons of pictures, which i will be posting at a later date when i profile Comerica Park, but walking around a park is certainly the best way to get an appreciation for the facility. The only potential thing that i have noticed that could be a draw back at Nationals Park is the fact that the upper deck doesn’t really hang over the lower bowl of the stadium, meaning the upper deck is farther away from home plate than desired. However, not having chance to view this in person, i cannot judge. Mostly these issues are minor, although when one compares it to the vantage point you can get from the upper deck at Wrigley field, you can see why people would have a potential problem. Still, the new $611 million stadium will definitely give the Nats a home at last, with cookie cutter RFK stadium long gone in the memories of fans. For everyone who is lucky enough to go to a Nationals game this season (hopefully i’ll be one of the several million fans who will have the chance) stop for a moment and take in the surroundings. Explore the concourses. Go and stand out in right field next to the scoreboard in one inning. Keep walking and go right out to the bullpen section in left center field. Take a tour of the upper deck in the next inning. Go up and have a look at the view and spot the Captiol Building a mile in the distance. And most of all, breathe in and enjoy the sights and sounds of america’s greatest pastime. If you don’t get to see it all. Do it again. Keep going. It’s only going to increase your love for the game and the ballpark. I believe this one will be one of the best in the NL east, and as more and more people discover this gem, I hope they begin to appreciate the beauty of baseball and the beauty of the ballpark.

Fenway and Wrigley. In those two words, millions upon millions of fans are drawn instantly to memories of their favourite team, their experiences at both of these marvelous auditoriums of baseball paradise, and the dreams they’ve held since they were a kid playing catch in the back yard with their dads. Fenway and Wrigley are inseparable in the minds of a baseball fan. Each captivate the beauty of the game, while withstanding time and several changes in baseball construction. They were born in the golden era, Fenway currently being the oldest of the two, which opened in 1912, while Wrigley was open for business in 1914. The two survived the likes of Forbes Field in Pittsburgh, Crosley Field in Cincinnati, Connie Mack Stadium in Philadelphia, and Ebbets Field and the Polo Grounds in New York.

While the Giants and Dodgers moved out west in the 60′s, Connie Mack, Forbes and Crosley Field all gave way to HORRENDOUS cookie cutter ballparks (see veterans stadium, three rivers stadium and cinergy field for more), which thankfully have since been replaced. But Fenway and Wrigley have stood strong through all of this. There was talk of the Red Sox building a new Fenway, but that has all been a closed book with the success of upgrades to Fenway, including the Monster seats, which provide arguably the best view of a game in the majors. Wrigley had some structural problems, and when I was there in 2004, there were giant nets hanging down from the upper deck to catch any falling concrete! However, the bleachers at Wrigley have since had a complete upgrade, and the structural problems of the past have been rectified.

So the question I then ask is, which ballpark is better? I have visited both, Wrigley as i just mentioned, in 2004, when the Padres Defeated the Cubbies shortly after the North siders acquired Nomar Garciaparra from the Red Sox. This past summer I was in Boston, and witnessed Tim Wakefield no hit the Devil Rays for 6+ innings in a beauty. Each ballpark has their own intimate qualities that make each other so unique. Fenway has the Monster, the 37 foot high wall, that has robbed so many of extra base hits that just casually bounce right back off the wall holding the bater to a single. Wrigley has it’s ivy, and the classic hand operated scoreboard in center. From my personal experiences, I will say I enjoyed Fenway a slight bit more than Wrigley. However, we got stuck with standing room only tickets at Fenway, and even though I moved around the whole of the infield, the deep overhang and several posts got kinda annoying, but then again, this just added to the atmosphere. I will say that I got a little irritated for getting kicked out from the upper deck in right field just for trying to take a look and not even being allowed up to get a quick snapshot from the monster seats. Despite this, the atmosphere at Fenway was top notch, and it’d declare it my favourite ballpark that I have ever visited. I don’t think there’s a place I’d rather watch a game. To be honest, if we were in the outfield seats, or without an obstructed view in the infield, then Fenway would have been even better. Just the feel of the place as you stroll around the concourses, the sounds of summers past, and the intimacy of such a tiny ballpark give it a tremendous feel. From an atmosphere standpoint and an aura that a ballpark creates, Fenway beats Wrigley any day. Wrigley on the other hand, has it’s own unique intimacies too. We sat in the first few rows in the upper deck, and I felt so close to home plate it was unreal. With Wrigley being a little more open, it felt a little less intimate, but still wonderful at the same time. And the hot dogs at Wrigely are first class. You don;t even have to trek around to the concourses to get one, vendors will massive silver tins will get you all you need right from your seat. I’ll give Fenway the edge, but both ballparks are fabulous, tremendous places to watch a game, and I’d recommend making the trip to both if you haven’t done so already, cause you really are missing out.

And here’s the link to those pictures of the New Yankee Stadium i promised…..just click on the photo link at the top of the page and a splendid new gallery will open up! this article also confirms that the new park will also keep it’s old name, and a couple of other interesting things are worth reading here, including the transfer of monument park to the new stadium…now if they could take the ghost of babe ruth with them…..

Here’s a couple of snaps of Citi field construction as of a few days ago courtesy of baseball-fever.com, where you can view great pictures and construction updates from the past year.
The new home of the mets, currently being constructed in the parking lot of Shea stadium, is scheduled to open in 2009, at a cost of $632 million. While it might seem pricey, it’ll definitely be worth it for the Mets! While i enjoyed my trip to Shea in August 07 (more on that later), it’s pretty darn ugly shall we say, and in need of a replacement! Also worthy of note is the construction of New Yankee stadium, pictures of which i will be posting shortly, although i was somewhat disappointed to discover when the Bronx Bombers released their ballpark designs a few years back that the new Yankee stadium is essentially modelled on the old one. Personally, I do not find Yankee stadium to be a great looking ballpark. However, i have yet to go, and shall definitely be making the trip sometime after the new park opens in 2009. (unless someone wants to ship me off to new york to visit the old one before it closes….) Currently also on the build is the Twins new park in downtown Minneapolis. It’s a much welcome and needed change for the Twins, as although I have never been to the Metrodome, i’d have to say that i feel it’s one of the worst ballparks in the majors. the number of stories you hear over the years from major leaguers who’ve lost a ball just looking up on a routine pop up at that horrendous white roof….I
‘m especially excited about the Twins park just because of the design itself, which captivates the Minnesota area well and has a quirky design to it. For more information, you can check it out here, or you can view the webcam the Twins have posted on their homepage here. When construction really begins to get off the ground on this one, then I’ll have regular photographic updates. For now, as workers are driving piles into the frozen ground, we’ll have to make do with the webcam!
Stay tuned and make sure you check back tomorrow, as I have a full day off at uni, and therefore will be blogging a whole lot more, including the start (if not all) of my Tigers season preview….