Rounding Home: An Ongoing Review of Every MLB Ballpark
Every MLB ballpark is different from the rest--that's why you gotta visit them all
As a baseball lover, I have developed a hobby that is common among a subset of my fellow fans: I enjoy visiting different MLB ballparks. Each park has distinctive dimensions and amenities that provide a unique ballgame experience that cannot be perfectly replicated elsewhere. After I visited my second unique MLB ballpark, I became immediately fascinated with the variance of presentation and style of each stadium. I have since been on a quest to see and feel what every MLB ballpark has to offer.
Over the years, I have found myself wanting to jot down brief recollections of my MLB ballpark visits for prosperity. Initially, the process was purely for my own benefit. I wanted to make sure that I remembered specifically what I liked and what I did not like about every ballpark before memories became hazy and faded. Then I realized that other baseball fans and fellow ballpark enthusiasts may be interested in my adventures too. Thus, my memory box became this post where I have written a brief evaluation and review for each MLB ballpark that I have visited.
Before we progress, some disclaimers:
Organization: As an organizational nerd, how to stylistically present each review was important for me—throwing (eventually) 30 reviews at a reader at once does not scream approachability. I eventually settled with organizing each ballpark into one of five tiers: Excellent, Great, Good, Poor, and Hometown. A description of each tier is as follows.
Hometown: It is only fair to acknowledge that there are two ballparks that I have spent considerably more time at than others, Wrigley Field and Guaranteed Rate Field. As a Chicago/land resident for my entire life, these two ballparks have been by far the most accessible ones for me to visit, thus presenting a lopsided tally of visits. I acknowledge the danger of judging ballparks based on 1-4 visits, but I argue that the reverse means that I am also far more acquainted with the flaws of Wrigley and Guaranteed Rate than I would be with other ballparks. I think it is difficult for me to present a full unbiased view of either ballpark so, to be fair to all involved, both Chicago ballparks get a separate tier for now.
Excellent: To me, these are the best ballparks in all of MLB. They have features or amenities that offer an inherently unique experience to themselves and set them far apart from their peers. I would happily attend these ballparks again, I would go out of my way or purposefully plan a trip to visit these ballparks again, and I would strongly recommend others to visit.
Great: These ballparks provide a fantastic game day experience, but they either have a few flaws or lack features/amenities that prevent them from being comparable to their Excellent peers. I would happily attend these ballparks again, I would strongly consider going out of my way or purposefully plan a trip to visit these ballparks again, and I would recommend others to visit.
Good: These ballparks provide a serviceable baseball experience, but their flaws or lack of features/amenities prevent them from being extremely memorable or worthwhile experiences. I would attend these ballparks again, but I would only do so if I was in the area, and would not go out of my way or purposefully plan a trip to visit them again. I would recommend others to visit—or, at the very least, I would never dissuade you from attending.
Poor: These ballparks suffer from multiple attributes that significantly impact the game day experience and baseball viewing. I certainly would not go out of my way or purposefully plan a trip to visit these ballparks again; if I was in the area, I would still debate if I would want to revisit. I would recommend visiting if interested in attending all ballparks, but I would have reservations.
Within the tiers, I listed ballparks chronologically based on my visits from 2017-onward. The ballparks are not ranked at all within the tiers. A ballpark listed first in the tier isn’t the best of that tier, a ballpark listed last in a tier isn’t the worst of that tier—you get the idea.
Recency: From 2006-2009, I visited several ballparks on family vacations before said travels stopped for a variety of reasons. I resumed my ballpark explorations when my now-husband and I started our own journey of attending all MLB ballparks together in 2017. While my family loves sports, none of them have been able to match my baseball enthusiasm quite like my husband does, so the two of us have definitely explored each ballpark more thoroughly than I did as a kid. Similarly, I have found memories of those earlier 2006-2009 visits are not as fresh as I would prefer them to be when evaluating. I want to give all ballparks a fair shot so I have chosen to write about ballparks that I have been to at least once since 2017.1 If I previously attended before 2017, memories from earlier visits in my descriptions are included as I believe the newer perspective helps reinforce or flesh out my older recollections, but that means that no ballpark will unfairly be judged solely by a faint older memory. There will be one exception to this pre-2017 rule: the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome. I visited this ballpark in 2008, but the Metrodome was demolished in 2014, making it impossible to revisit, so I think that it is fair that the Metrodome makes the cut.
My Opinions Only: While I feel like this should go without stating, nevertheless it is important for me to stress that all ballpark reviews are my opinions—and my opinions only. The fun thing about ballpark experiences is that they are entirely subjective, and what works for one person may not work for another one and vice versa. If I trash your favorite ballpark or praise one that you hate, that is okay! At the end of the day, I am honestly not trying to persuade or convince anyone that my reviews are the only correct and acceptable viewpoints. I am just merely sharing my own experiences, both good and bad.
With all that being said, let’s get to the ballparks.
Table of Contents (last updated July 2024):
*denotes inactive or demolished MLB ballpark
Hometown
Wrigley Field (Chicago Cubs)
Guaranteed Rate Field (Chicago White Sox)
Excellent
Kauffman Stadium (Kansas City Royals)
Fenway Park (Boston Red Sox)
Oracle Park (San Francisco Giants)
PNC Park (Pittsburgh Pirates)
T-Mobile Park (Seattle Mariners)
Great
American Family Field (Milwaukee Brewers)
Comerica Park (Detroit Tigers)
Great American Ball Park (Cincinnati Reds)
Good
Busch Stadium III (St. Louis Cardinals)
Chase Field (Arizona Diamondbacks)
The Ballpark in Arlington* (Texas Rangers)
Progressive Field (Cleveland Guardians)
Citi Field (New York Mets)
Yankee Stadium (New York Yankees)
Poor
Tropicana Field (Tampa Bay Rays)
loanDepot park (Miami Marlins)
Oakland Coliseum (Oakland Athletics)
Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome* (Minnesota Twins)
Hometown Tier
Wrigley Field
Home of: Chicago Cubs
As the second oldest active ballpark in MLB, the crux of Wrigley Field’s charm is the ballpark’s classic nostalgic feeling. Quintessential features like the bricks and ivy, the marquee, and the man-operated scoreboard have been at the ballpark for decades and will remain there for years to come. Yet Wrigley Field has also undergone significant renovations within the last few years in the name of preservation, modernization, and capitalism. Wrigley Field has become too iconic, too entrenched in city and baseball lore, and too profitable of a landmark for the organization to seriously consider leaving the ballpark anytime soon. Alas, newer ballparks have more enticing amenities to lure in players and additional revenue streams than stadiums built in the early 1900s, which have proven too alluring for this organization to pass on. Over the past decade, Wrigley Field has become a baseball enigma, somehow being the same ballpark that your parents and grandparents visited as children but also remarkably different at the same time.
Wrigley’s worst flaws have been the same for years. The saying “not a bad seat in the house” does not apply at Wrigley Field as fans buying tickets in the 200 or 400 levels either need to commit to doing research before their purchase or accept the gamble that their view may be obstructed by a pole. You do not have to worry about an obstructed view if you buy in the 100 levels, the 300 levels, or the bleachers, but coincidentally those are the most expensive sections of the ballpark. While bleacher seats may be known in other parks as the “low cost” seating areas, the Cubs have taken advantage the fame of Wrigley’s bleachers and priced them accordingly, with face value ranging anywhere from $39-$89. The bleachers also feature general admission seating: first come/first seated, so to speak. Because of the seating policy, only those with a bleacher ticket can enter the bleacher concourse. This would not necessarily be a problem if the Cubs hadn’t designated most of their new and unique eateries to the bleachers, preventing most game day fans from visiting. While I acknowledge that Wrigley’s overall food offerings have gotten better over the years, I still would rank most of the concessions menu anywhere from average to forgettable so preventing the majority of fans from ordering the “exciting” food options is disappointing. If you do elect to sit in the bleachers, any tourists who want to spend time before first pitch checking out the ballpark should be warned that they may be left with slim pickings for seats. Finally, inside Wrigley is noticeably cooler than outside the ballpark, particularly if you are in the shade, which makes attire decisions difficult when it’s 70 and sunny outside but then feels like 50 and windy inside the park.
At the risk of sounding like a cop-out, the best part of Wrigley Field also has not changed, and that is…Wrigley Field itself. When you do not get an obstructed seat, the view is absolutely beautiful. The sightline of bustling Chicago neighborhoods against the iconic manual scoreboard never gets old. The ballpark embraces its nostalgic aesthetic, and even the renovations were clearly done with an eye fitting into the ballpark as naturally and organically as possible. I especially give prop credits to the video boards for seamlessly blending into the older infrastructure with their classic-style graphics and production. And, again, you can sit in your seat at Wrigley Field and think about how you are currently in the same ballpark that some of baseball’s greats once played in. Yes, Wrigley now is not the 100% same as Wrigley then—starting with your seat, which is now on its 3rd or 4th renovation at this point. Even with the changes, Wrigley is still a 100+ year old ballpark that has seen more baseball than almost all of its peers. You are still watching a game inside a baseball artifact, and that is pretty cool.
One complicating factor when evaluating Wrigley Field is its location within the Chicago community of Lakeview, with the ballpark’s surrounding neighborhood commonly referred to as “Wrigleyville.” I always struggle with how to quantify Wrigleyville when evaluating Wrigley Field itself—or if I should at all. I want to judge the ballpark on its own merits, but the distinction between Wrigley Field and its neighborhood is often blurred. The businesses of Wrigleyville are heavily dependent on the Cubs, and many fans consider visits to these businesses as a core component of a Wrigley Field experience. Cubs ownership has also bought a lot of Wrigleyville property over the years, which only blurred lines between ballpark and neighborhood even further. One good example of this is Gallagher Way, a park/plaza connected to adjacent Wrigley Field that acts both as an extension of the ballpark itself as well as a neighborhood feature. The park is ticketed to gameday fans when the Cubs are at home. Fans at Wrigley can go back and forth between inside the ballpark and then outside to the grassy area of Gallagher Way, which is a popular option for fans looking to warm up in the sun or a place to take younger children who are struggling to sit through an entire baseball game. Gallagher Way airs a live broadcast of that day’s game on a giant video board in the plaza so that fans outside can still watch the game even though they are not at their seats. This set-up also means anyone can watch and listen if you are in the general vicinity even if you do not have a gameday ticket. I have spent many times either dining at one of the establishments in the Gallagher Way plaza or sitting on one of the freely accessible plaza benches, taking in the broadcast and the overall gameday atmosphere. It is a unique feeling of not being in the ballpark but still be able to experience the game day atmosphere—honestly, sitting in Gallagher Way on an off-day still provides a sense of a game day experience that I do not know can be replicated anywhere (I have hung around Guaranteed Rate on non game days–it’s not the same). I feel like I cannot factor Wrigleyville in its entirety into an overall ballpark evaluation, but there are some aspects that I feel more comfortable including, like Gallagher Way, which honestly does bolster my opinion nowadays.
The question for Wrigley Field nowadays is wondering how more “modern” will the park become. Ownership’s main renovation initiative, titled the 1060 Project, began following the 2014 season and included but was not limited to the installing the videoboards, renovated bleacher seating, the creation of Gallagher Way and the team office building, improved clubhouses facilities, and relocated bullpens. Acquisitions of and renovations to Wrigleyville properties were also included in the project. One of the biggest complaints aimed at the Cubs recently has been the modernization of the ballpark and neighborhood—you will often hear fans decry that Wrigley/ville is going “corporate.” While I cannot deny that I feel that way at times, I will admit that for me, personally, the changes have not yet become too artificial or too sterile for my tastes—yet. There is a perfectly possible chance that I may not feel that way in the future as I am sure that ownership will continue to pursue the latest and greatest updates in their quest for maximum revenue. For example, the behemoth of their new sports book located on the corner of Addison and Sheffield next to the ballpark is a great example for me of the Cubs trending too corporate and too sterile, and I am hesitant to see where the next upgrade takes them. Until then, at its core, Wrigley Field still feels like Wrigley Field to me. Which means on a cold day in the shade blocked by a pole, the ballpark is absolutely miserable and soul-crushing. On a good sunny day with a clear view? Arguably cannot be beat.
Guaranteed Rate Field
Home of: Chicago White Sox
Concerning the ballpark that I have been to the most in my life, my relationship with Guaranteed Rate Field (yes, I’m using its legal name) has grown complicated over the years. If you were to ask me in my late teens/early 20s, I would have vehemently defended Guaranteed Rate’s reputation—not necessarily arguing that the ballpark deserves to be mentioned amongst MLB’s prized attractions but rather that the ballpark was routinely slept on. I believe that Guaranteed Rate’s reputation has suffered due to circumstances largely outside of its control. At the risk of inviting the meatballs, I think that Wrigley Field steals most of the spotlight in Chicago for its history, culture, and surrounding neighborhood. Guaranteed Rate is also constantly decried for having the audacity to be built a year before Camden Yards. As the first retro-classic ballpark built, Camden Yards instantly earned rave reviews and ushered in a new era of ballpark aesthetics, meaning the modern style of then-named Comiskey Park fell out of favor only a year after the ballpark’s opening. The White Sox have made changes to the ballpark to appeal to now-fashionable retro-classic look, but the “obsolete” tag on their ballpark still remains strong in the eyes of many fans. All of this to say that New Comiskey/US Cellular Field/Guaranteed Rate/Sox Park/whatever you want to call it somehow manages to suffer from the unusual one-two punch of being ignored and routinely trashed.
Let me just get this out of the way: there are notable flaws with Guaranteed Rate, and there have been for a while now. Guaranteed Rate is located in a Chicago neighborhood (Armour Square, though you will hear people say Bridgeport), but I would not say their location has the same feeling at all to Wrigley. This is largely because Guaranteed Rate is surrounded by parking lots, due to its decision to open in 1991 and not 1914. I am not wholly criticizing the abundance of parking lots, mind you. The ease and convenience of finding gameday parking does appeal to a large section of fans, and parking lots provide spaces for tailgating if you crave that experience. If you are into tailgating, however, I do not know how much credit to give to the Sox for tailgating considering the only thing that the team does here is basically “permitting tailgating to happen on property without throwing a fit about it,” with everything else about the experience being fan-driven/provided. Nevertheless, the composition ensures that most neighborhood bars or apartments will be at least one parking zone away from the ballpark, which discourages an intimate setting. Guaranteed Rate’s actual exterior is also fairly boring. The Sox have added a statue honoring the 2005 World Series championship, as well as markers for the retired numbers, in front of the ballpark in recent years, but that is about it in terms of decoration. You cannot even do a full walk around the outside of the ballpark because it is either blocked off or inaccessible. The Sox have tried to address the lack of exterior activity by adding the Chicago Sports Depot, a White Sox-focused merchandise store; and ChiSox Bar & Grill, a sports bar. However, nowadays the Depot is not open before the game (and sometimes has been mysteriously closed after the game, in my past experiences), and I have also experienced inconsistent hours of operation and quality of service at ChiSox Bar & Grill. Once through the gates, most fans have to walk up long winding ramps in order to get to their chosen spot, unless they are lucky enough to be at an entrance with elevators or escalators. Navigating through the concourses, particularly the lower level, is often a pain. Anywhere where there was available space, the Sox built a concession stand, a grill, a bar, etc—you get the idea. While this means that fans do not have to wander far to find food, concession lines build quickly, which usually results in the concourse becoming more lines than open space. Additionally, the abundance of concession stands means little room for anything else, including views of the field. This makes for a dark concourse walk, but it also becomes impossible to see the plays on the field if you happen to be on the concourse during the game.
Yet, I will contend to this day that Guaranteed Rate’s continual naysayers have conveniently ignored that fans can find some incredible amenities at the ballpark. Arguably the best part of a White Sox gameday experience is the concessions and beverages. The White Sox are frequently credited for serving up some of the best tasting food in baseball, and in my travels the only ballpark that can stand head and shoulders in the concession game with Guaranteed Rate Field has been Oracle Park. I also passionately maintain that Guaranteed Rate Field offer THE best hot dog in the league, and every hot dog that I have tried at ballparks outside Chicago leaves me desperately craving a White Sox hot dog. Guaranteed Rate Field does offer a Chicago-style hot dog at several stands, but their chief accomplishment is the grills serving up grilled onions on top of the hot dogs and polishes, a Chicago southside classic. Because of said grills scattered throughout the ballpark, Guaranteed Rate Field always smells overwhelmingly of grilled onions, a top tier smell in my book. The Sox have expanded their beverage menu recently and added multiple new drinking hubs, such as the Tap Room in left field and the Kraft Kave under the right field bullpen, that also provide unique viewing areas to take in the game. The Sox’s three video boards in the outfield present a ton of information throughout the whole game, and the fireworks and spinning pinwheels after home runs are iconic spectacles in their own right. There are few bad seats in the house, and you can buy tickets feeling mostly confident that you will be gifted with a great view for baseball.
Now, the above had been my review for the Guaranteed Rate Field for most of my life, which I believe would have kept Guaranteed Rate reading above water in MLB ballpark comparisons. However, the depressing thing is that the Guaranteed Rate game day experience is continually getting worse. Getting into the ballpark is, truthfully, a disaster. Getting tickets scanned and bodies through metal detectors is a woefully slow process at Guaranteed Rate Field. Bag policies are too inconsistently enforced, and, at times security appears like they do not even know what guidelines that they are supposed to be enforcing. Under these conditions, long lines build quickly at the entrance gates, and getting into the door is a slow and painful process. God forbid you actually also drive to the ballpark because good luck getting in or out of parking lots with any ease either. Truth be told, most aspects of the game day experience at Guaranteed Rate Field feel overwhelmed and underprepared any time the White Sox draw a decent crowd, which depressingly feels like the Sox playing up to stereotypes about their attendance record. Only the Sox can make big crowds feel like a chore.
UPDATE 06/2024: In my original review, I previously included a paragraph here about how the White Sox began enforcing a ticket policy in which only fans holding tickets in the 100 Level were allowed to enter the concourse of said 100 Level. To clarify, this was not simple seat checking: the team prohibited fans from walking around the team’s main concourse without a lower level ticket. The policy resulted in (multiple) tediously long lines at entry points, as well as prevented fans in 500 Level tickets to access specific concessions and amenities present only in the 100 Level. Starting in the 2024 season, the White Sox lifted this ticket-enforcing policy, and now the main level is accessible for all fans, regardless of where their seat is located. As this policy is no longer active, I wanted to add an amendment to this review to reflect the change, but I still wanted to record my experience with this policy as it did affect my experience going to the ballpark for several games.
As the years go on, my estimation of Guaranteed Rate Field keeps decreasing. This freefall does partly have to do with visiting other ballparks and witnessing their amenities, but this is also the White Sox’s own doing. There are aspects of the park that the team is more or less stuck with, like the general infrastructure, but there are also easy fixes that the Sox could address. Game day operations or interactions with game day staff may not be the first things that come to mind when evaluating a ballpark, but both of those can really make or break an experience; unfortunately, they are breaking a lot of Sox experiences lately. I do think that most of Guaranteed Rate’s game day experience woes are fixable, and, should they improve, then I would once again argue the park as a slept-on.
Excellent Tier
Kauffman Stadium
Home of: Kansas City Royals
Visited: April 30th, 2017
Dare I say that Kauffman Stadium is underrated? Admittedly, I feel slightly silly writing that because I feel that you can easily find good press for Kauffman, and Kauffman does rank high on ballpark ranking lists. With that being said, I feel like you do not hear fans actively yearning to knock Kauffman off their to-visit wish lists like you do with other heralded MLB ballparks. I never hear anyone saying that they need to visit Kauffman, and I am here to tell you: you absolutely do.
What truly astounded me was finding out that Kauffman is the sixth oldest active ballpark in MLB. The fact that a ballpark that opened in 1973 qualifies as “sixth oldest” in MLB has to do with the post-1990 ballpark construction boom more than anything else, but nothing about Kauffman felt particularly old either. Of the six ballparks older than Kauffman, I have been to three of them: Fenway, Wrigley, and Oakland Coliseum. All of those feel their age, though that is purposefully by design (which is a positive for Fenway and Wrigley, not so much for Oakland). Almost nothing about Kauffman ages it, except for maybe the video board in centerfield. I am not complaining about the videoboard itself, but newer stadiums and their oversized videoboards make it easier to spot the older ones like Kauffman’s. Otherwise, if you told me that Kauffman was born out of the golden age of the 90s ballparks, I would have probably believed you. I think it is both a testament to the original ballpark design and the current maintenance that keeps Kauffman standing amongst its peers.
Our overall gameday experience was fun. The sightline and views are great, and the fountains out in center field provide a unique touch. We split a platter of barbecue food (because when in Kansas City, right?) that was delicious. I was tickled by the Mike Moose-stakes plush moose in the gift store that I regret not buying for the laughs later. One peculiarity was the Royals’ love affair with the “Make Some Noise!” graphic that flashed on the videoboard after almost every play. “Make Some Noise” is a stadium staple, obviously, but I am accustomed to the graphic being employed sparingly and only during critical situations. Deploying it after every play wore thin extremely quickly, and the fans seemed disinterested in listening to what they were being told to do as the game progressed on. The tactic also read as desperate, like the team did not trust their fans to be able to determine when they actually needed to cheer or not. Although it was clearly annoying enough that it has stuck with us years later, overusing “Make Some Noise” is also the only real negative that both of us have about Kauffman Stadium game day experience, which should tell you something.
By far, the best part of our visit was the Royals Hall of Fame. Located inside the ballpark in left field, the Royals Hall of Fame is a beautifully designed space that presents an overview of the history of the Royals. I was truly impressed by this museum. The space was fairly big and spanned multiple rooms, which is a positive seeing how other ballparks loosely use the word “museum” to apply to shelving or displays. The museum’s design was impeccably high quality, and the exhibits themselves provided a good mixture of insightful information and interesting artifacts. I will note that there was a one hour rain delay before the first pitch when my husband and I attended Kauffman in 2017, so while we did not have any urgency to rush through this museum, fans may need to plan their schedules accordingly. Since the museum is located inside the ballpark, you also have to either buy a game day ticket or go on a stadium tour to access it. However, since the Royals Hall of Fame is free otherwise, I think that is a great trade off. The fact that your ticket gets you a ballgame and a museum visit is a great steal. That the sixth oldest ballpark in MLB was able to find and create space for an museum inside the stadium also proves that it can be done and that there should be no excuses for the lack of originality by other teams. Our Kauffman Stadium experience was overall great, but honestly Royals Hall of Fame is what largely pushed Kauffman into the Excellent Tier.
Fenway Park
Home of: Boston Red Sox
Visited: August 17th, 2019 and August 18th, 2019
I think the tendency to compare similar things comes naturally to humans—hey, it’s what I am doing right now! However, comparison can sometimes hinder the presentation of a fully unbiased account, and I have thought about how comparison might affect the overall opinion of Fenway Park in the eyes of fans. For example, I feel that Fenway Park is a common answer for “most overrated ballpark,” and I have wondered if that reputation stems from fans who grew up fully accustomed to the benefits of modern ballparks getting a rude awakening to the realities of a jewel box ballpark that opened in 1912. Fenway’s flaws are the same as any park from that era: the real risk of getting an obstructed view, small and cramped spaces, and arguably a need for more comfortable seating. My biased background is that I grew up a Cubs fan who attended Wrigley Field countless times before I ever set foot inside of Fenway Park. I may not have experienced the same “awe” factor that other fans do when stepping inside a hundred-year-old-plus ballpark for the first time when visiting Fenway, but that meant I had familiarity with the flaws of a jewel box ballpark and its challenges of trying to survive in the 21st century. In my ballpark journey, I found that trying to compare different stadiums to Wrigley Field felt akin to comparing apples to oranges; yes, newer ballparks had better amenities or more advanced features, but holding those against Wrigley felt like I was penalizing Wrigley for having the audacity for being built in a different era. As I walked around the ballpark, Fenway Park only invited the comparison to Wrigley Field in my mind, and ultimately that worked in Fenway’s favor.
If it has not been obvious, I find charm in ballparks that have seen more than its fair share of history. I do not know how you cannot get goosebumps from being in the same ballpark as some of baseball’s greats, especially when there are so few spaces with that kind of history left; there is a 54 year gap between Fenway and the next “oldest” ballpark in the American League, Angel Stadium. I contemplated if giving Fenway credit for “having history” was a cop-out when “not being torn down yet” is not a tangible feature that can be constructed or added, but in the age where teams start openly yearning for new ballparks after 20-25 years? I appreciate that Fenway presents an atmosphere that only 1 of its 29 peers can provide, and I do think it should be experienced at least once. This is especially because I believe that Fenway does lean into its historical status in ways that I wish Wrigley itself did. The concourse is amazingly decorated with classically-styled decorum and artifacts, and the old ticket booths have been converted into tributes to their World Series championship seasons. Wrigley has similar displays located under the bleachers, which is now accessible for all fans, but Fenway’s displays are peppered throughout the entire concourse. Fenway could have easily rested on its laurels, relying solely on fans viewing its features like the Green Monster and the left field scoreboard during the game as receiving their history fill. Incorporating artifacts and artwork throughout the concourse felt like we were walking through a museum at times, which was a fantastic touch for a ballpark of Fenway’s stature. Fenway really wants you to feel its history throughout every step of your visit, and I appreciate the commitment.
Honestly, the biggest detriment for us at Fenway Park was the food. Was it inedible? No. Was it boring? Yes. Does boring become extra offensive when priced at ballpark pricing? Absolutely. My husband and I attended two games at Fenway during our trip to Boston, and we elected to forgo any concessions in Game 2 after being thoroughly unimpressed by the offerings during our Game 1 excursion. We had some amazing food while in Boston, and we preferred to spend our money (and hunger) on the better local establishments than the boring Fenway concessions. Which meant, by default, the “worst” food that we had throughout our Boston trip was at Fenway. If there is one thing that I am more than okay with bringing to the 21st century, it is the food menu.
For what it is worth, I went back and forth on putting Fenway in the “Excellent” tier. I know there are several problems with the ballpark that we shielded ourselves from (eg: obstructed seats) or did not take incredibly to heart at the end of the day (eg: seats not facing home plate). Some of that, yes, does have to do with the fact that we were not rookies when it came to visiting a jewel box ballpark, but I can also admit that I am very swayed by history. If my ballpark feature bias happens to be “history,” then so be it. There are worse biases to have, I think.
Oracle Park
Home of: San Francisco Giants
Visited: September 12th, 2022
If you look at any collection of ballpark lists or reviews, Oracle Park is consistently ranked at or near the top amongst all MLB ballparks, and it was easy to see why after visiting. Oracle Park feels like someone went through a list of popular ballparks attributes and made sure to create a stadium that checked off all those boxes. Sightlines? Check. In-park amenities? Check. Good ballpark viewing? Check. Concessions? Check, check, and check.
Before entering the ballpark, my husband and I enjoyed walking outside around Oracle Park admiring all of the decorations and artwork. The Giants Hall of Fame plaques, various statutes including ones for Willie Mays and San Francisco Seals, and the Giants History Walk plaques that celebrate significant team moments are all located outside the ballpark and accessible for all to view. I give credit to ballparks that acknowledge that the exterior of a ballpark can be just as important as the interior, and Oracle does just that. Inside the ballpark, our walk around the lower level concourse took us by the iconic Coke bottle, mitt, and cable car in the outfield. We enjoyed looking at the bobbleheads on display in the Hall of Bobbleheads even if we did not partake in the bobblehead-creation activity ourselves. We were pleasantly surprised to view the Even Year Bullshit World Series trophies on full display on the concourse. Other than the Chicago Bulls at the United Center (aka: a completely different sport), I personally do not recall seeing championships trophies publicly viewable like this at other stadiums that I have been to so this was a fun addition. Then we sat in the upper deck for the game, and the backdrop is the San Francisco Bay, providing a picturesque view.
By far, my favorite part of Oracle Park was the food. Prior to our visit, my favorite ballpark for concessions was Guaranteed Rate Field, but Oracle officially usurped my top spot. Which says nothing about Guaranteed Rate (as stated above, the quality of the concessions has remained the same throughout the years) but more about just how good Oracle Park concessions are. We started our trip off with a crab sandwich and lumpia before moving to garlic fries and Ghirardelli Hot Chocolate for our in-game meal. Everything was fantastic and bursting with flavor, and the shame is that I felt like we still missed out on so many other intriguing options! I would specifically go back to Oracle just to eat myself sick if I could.
At the risk of sounding ridiculous, I had writer’s block while penning my review for Oracle Park. Words seem to come easier when I have things to complain about, and Oracle has very few detriments. Really, the only negative that I have about the park was that the upper deck concourse felt like a wind tunnel once the sun went down, but the winds did not find us in our seats so I was only extremely cold for a couple minutes at most. As someone who has experienced a drastic temperature drop inside the ballpark versus outside of it, the upper deck concourse barely registered in comparison. Oracle’s success is that it is above average-to-excellent across all components of the ballpark, which by comparison makes it stand out amongst all its peers. Typing “I liked it” for every measure may sound repetitive and boring, but such is the price of success, I suppose.
PNC Park
Home of: Pittsburgh Pirates
Visited: June 7th, 2023
PNC Park helped its cause tremendously simply by being built right next to the Allegheny River. When traveling from downtown Pittsburgh to the ballpark, fans are able to walk across either the Roberto Clemente or Andy Warhol bridge and take in the spectacular sightline of the ballpark across the river. Getting inside the ballpark and actually seeing the sightline from our seats cemented that. My husband and I sat in the club level behind home plate, and we could see the river, the bridges, and downtown Pittsburgh all from our seat. The backdrop for a ballgame really is picturesque.
Walking through the lower level concourse and club level were absolute delights. The Pirates pack incredible amounts of decoration, adornments, and other displays all throughout the lower level. It is nearly impossible to be anywhere in the lower level and not be witness to a mural, a banner, a plaque, or a memento of any kind. What I especially loved is that the Pirates present both their own history and Negro Leagues history together. Most often when I have seen ballparks acknowledge the Negro Leagues, that history is presented in its own designated spot, separate from the team’s. PNC Park honors Negro Leagues players and their achievements alongside their Pirates counterparts, and I think that goes a long way to reinforcing fans to view Negro Leagues history as baseball history. The walls of PNC Park’s club level were also filled with pictures and artifacts. It felt wild to be walking down the hallway next to a baseball bat or a glove from the 1900s. I was also fairly impressed by the views from the actual concourses themselves. PNC Park’s lower level concourse was fairly open that allowed for good crowd movement and ability to see the field/game even without being in your seat. Additionally, PNC Park’s club level offered a good amount of windows that meant fans could see what was happening during the game, as long as they were not standing in line for concessions.
We really enjoyed the concessions at PNC Park. My husband got a pastrami sandwich from Primanti Brothers that was remarkably delicious. I ordered pierogis, and I enjoyed them while also being impressed that I got so many for the price. I will say, curiously, none of the concession stands in the club level sold pierogis, and we walked past the pierogis stand on the lower level several times before finding them. Considering we were in Pittsburgh and also there is a literal pierogi mascot race during the game, I would have thought that finding pierogis at PNC Park should not have been that difficult. We also each also got a pint of Yuengling, which meant I was feeling it for the entire game.
PNC Park also gets credit for having a really interesting exterior. There are oversized baseballs adorning the lower river walk that celebrate players important to Pittsburgh baseball history. Near the center field entrance, there is also a display honoring all of the retired numbers in Pittsburgh Pirates history. The numbers are designed to mirror the look of the yellow steel sister bridges, and there are also plaques providing more information about each retired number along the exterior wall. I learned after our visit that these features were recently installed in 2022, which sort of blew my mind. These features felt very classic - not to say that they look outdated or old, but that they blended very seamlessly overall into the presentation of PNC Park.
Also, I just want to note that we might have had the nicest game day staff experience ever. Mostly every staff member that we encountered was friendly and helpful, but I also want to specifically shout out the gameday attendant in our club level. Granted, I am aware that most of the time club level seats come with a little more of a personal interaction, but I was still really impressed by the generosity and attentiveness of our game day attendant. This staff member led us to our seats, gave us a hearty welcome, and also seemed fairly concerned that we were going to be sitting out in the sun on a hot day. He continually checked in on us to see how we were doing, and he even offered us sunscreen multiple times throughout the day to make sure that we did not burn, which I can easily say was the first time that I have ever been offered free sunscreen at a ballpark before.
T-Mobile Park
Home of: Seattle Mariners
Visited: July 11th, 2023 (exhibition: 2023 MLB All-Star Game) and July 14th, 2023
My first game at T-Mobile Park was, unbelievably, the 2023 MLB All-Star Game. Being able to witness the Midsummer Classic, one of the league’s long-standing traditions, was truly a pleasure, but it also was fascinating to become acquainted with a ballpark for the first time through the lens of the All-Star Game. My husband and I also attended a Mariners home game later that week to experience a more typical evening out at T-Mobile Park. After both visits, it was abundantly clear to me that Seattle has a real gem on their hands.
T-Mobile Park arguably may be the most fascinating retractable roof ballpark in the league. For one, the roof itself is sparingly used, which may surprise most fans considering the rainy reputation of Seattle. That means most visitors to T-Mobile Park will attend a game with the roof open and receive a fantastic view of downtown Seattle as their backdrop to baseball. Secondly, T-Mobile Park is not fully enclosed when the roof is employed. The stadium’s roof acts like an umbrella with its sole purpose to shield the field from rain. This means fans attending a closed roof game will still be subjected to the temperature outside but will still be privy to natural lighting and portions of the Seattle skyline in the background. As later reviews will emphasize, the better roofed ballparks in my opinion are ones that allow for as much natural lighting as possible. While we did not experience a closed roof at either of our games, I have to assume the viewing experience at T-Mobile Park certainly benefits from the ballpark never being fully closed.
Every interior level of T-Mobile Park offered delightful features. The main concourse offers the Mariners Hall of Fame and the Baseball Museum of the Pacific Northwest. Presented alongside each other, fans can learn more about the history of baseball in the Pacific Northwest as well as the celebrated careers of various Mariners greats. The exhibits are well-designed, informative, and feature an impressive collection of artifacts. Critically, these exhibits are open to the public for all Mariners home games, requiring no extra admission to visit. The upper level concourse features various artwork and decorations, including Mariners and Seattle-themed postcards on the walls and a giant Felix Hernandez Funko. There are also several viewing areas to take in the sights of Seattle. My husband and I particularly enjoyed the binoculars where we were able to closely observe the Seattle skyline and mountains. We also frequented The Pen, a patio area located below the main concourse next to the bullpen in center field. The Pen is a standing room-only section where fans can take in unique views of the playing field and enjoy exclusive concession options. Notably, The Pen opens two hours before first pitch, thirty minutes earlier than the rest of the stadium gates. If the ability to enter the ballpark early was not enough to entice fans, the Mariners also offer happy hour deals on draft beer for the first hour after opening. The ability to nosh on specialty food and cheap beer while watching warmups and batting practice next to the bullpen is a fun experience, one that my husband and I took advantage of for both games.
The concessions at T-Mobile Park are absolute standouts, both in terms of variety and quality. I am grateful that we had two games at the park as it gave us the opportunity to taste more delicacies. Still, there were so many concessions that I wish I could have tried but unfortunately could not because regretfully I have only one stomach. What we did have: grasshoppers (when in Seattle, of course, but these were merely fine); Spam musubi (so good that even my Spam-hating husband ate it); pork buns (delicious); milk tea (perfectly sweetened with soft and chewy tapioca pearls); footlong Dungeness crab roll (an All-Star Game exclusive, which is why we tried it but overall not worth the price); popcorn chicken (an amazingly huge portion and perfectly complemented by chili oil); pineapple/pepperoni/jalapeno pizza (even my pineapple-on-pizza adverse husband enjoyed it); and onion rings (another All-Star Game exclusive, the batter was phenomenal and paired well with tartar sauce). We also enjoyed the cheap beer options found throughout the ballpark. In addition to the Happy Hour draft beers in The Pen, the Mariners have a Value Beer menu at several stands throughout the park where fans can buy 12 oz cans of beer for $5-$6, depending on the brand. You certainly can find “fancier” higher priced options throughout the park if desired, but I appreciate that the Mariners made a concentrated effort to offer beer at various price points to appease their fans.
I also wanted to give a shout out to the fireworks show following the Mariners home game, which arguably was the best fireworks show that I have ever seen in my life. The show was a celebration of the 2023 All-Star Game festivities. The video board aired highlight packages of each event over a curated playlist, with fireworks shooting off from all angles. The highlight of the evening for me was a montage of Julio Rodriguez’s Home Run Derby performance set to “Shots” by LMFAO featuring Lil’ Jon as fireworks shot off from the upper deck roof right above our heads. The entire production was sensory overload—in the best way, for me personally.
Great Tier
American Family Field
Home of: Milwaukee Brewers
Visited: April 8th, 2007; March 29th, 2013 (exhibition); June 18th, 2017; July 3rd, 2018; September 28th, 2023
I am going to start off this review with the qualifier that I am constantly forgetting that the ballpark’s official name is American Family Field and has been for a few seasons now. I typed Miller Park through this whole review, and then hit “find and replace all'' for the updated name. Wisconsites, please tell me that you also struggle with this too.
Unsurprisingly American Family Field is the ballpark that I have visited the most outside of Illinois. Not only is it easy to visit being ninety miles north of Chicago, but having a retractable roof during the unpredictable Midwest springs and falls provides a lot of confidence that a baseball game will happen 1) at all and 2) in pleasant conditions. Having suffered through terribly long rain delays and unnecessarily frozen myself at both local ballparks, our Wisconsin friends elected for a better future when they included a retractable roof for American Family Field. There are some people who hold very strong opinions about how retractable ballparks look when the roof is open versus when it is closed, and I cannot deny that American Family Field’s viewpoint feels slightly industrial when the roof is closed. I think what helps American Family Field is that its outfield has a ton of windows, which helps bring in natural lighting in all circumstances. Obviously, when the roof is open, it is a great looking ballpark. Still, especially in comparison to its roofed-peers, I think American Family Field probably has done one of the better jobs (at this point in my ballpark journey) making a closed-roof ballpark pleasant to look at.
American Family Field presents a solid game day experience. In my four games, I have sat both in the lower level and upper deck, and the views have been good everywhere. The concourse has fun family fun activities sprinkled throughout, as well as a mockup for Bernie Brewer’s bedroom that also features a cameo from Hank the Dog. Having a statue of Bob Uecker in the last row of the upper level is a very amusing way to honor the Milwaukee legend. As you would trust from a Wisconsin establishment, the sausages and beer are very good (and, yes, we are the stereotypical Chicagoans who order Spotted Cow). I have a memory of ordering a chorizo sausage back in 2013 that I could no longer find at the ballpark years later which was a bummer. American Family Field also has the Bernie Brewer slide after every home run and of course the iconic Sausage Race in the bottom of the sixth inning for amusing in-game entertainment. Much like I give credit to Comerica below, American Family Field presents a solid Brewers/Milwaukee-themed game day that I very much appreciate.
Upon our last trek to American Family Field, we sat through the “The Selig Experience,” an exhibit that is dedicated to, you guessed it, Bud Selig. The exhibit mostly focuses on Selig’s years as the former owner of the Brewers and his efforts to ensure the long-term stability of professional baseball in Milwaukee. Selig’s time as MLB Commissioner is mostly ignored, which makes sense considering the scope of the project but also means that that era feels, at times, like the unspoken elephant in the room. The exhibit contains a brief documentary, artifacts, and replicas over several rooms so it does feel similar to a museum visit. Much like the Royals, I will give the Brewers credit for not charging anything extra for this experience, and being located in the ballpark also means The Selig Experience is easily accessible on game days. Maybe this exhibit would mean more to me if I was from Milwaukee and vividly remembered the threat of the team moving. Alas, I am just a simple baseball fan so the one singular positive narrative of Bud Selig was just slightly hard to swallow.
UPDATE 06/2024: In September 2023, my husband and I sat in the club level at American Family Field, a first for the both of us at this ballpark. Sadly, we were wholly unimpressed by the experience. The lone highlight was graphics honoring important moments in Brewers history on the interior walls. There was little else of note in this section, and strangely there were no speciality food items. The entrances to the club level seating were also scattered throughout the concourse and, confusingly, mixed in with suites entrances. I never like the feeling like I am undergoing an adventure to find my seat. Nothing about our experience was enough to warrant a demotion in tier for American Family Field, but just note you can save your money and get an arguably better experience elsewhere in the park.
Comerica Park
Home of: Detroit Tigers
Visited: August 9th, 2009; September 16th, 2019
My family and I previously visited Comerica back in 2009 for a Twins/Tigers game. Since the Tigers were good back then, lower level seats were hard to come by, and thus my family bought upper level tickets for the cheap prices. However, my mom and youngest brother, who are both terrified of heights, were absolutely horrified to discover that the upper deck seats were extremely steep. Both of them were sent into a panic, and they both ended up spending the entire game on the lower level concourse. My brother was at least entertained by the baseball video games and carnival rides while my mom managed to still catch the game via televisions and peeks from the concourse. The rest of my family did sit in our steep upper deck seats for the game, feeling far away from the action but enjoying our time nonetheless. Honestly, even with those bumps, I would say that my family would still have positively rated the overall Comerica experience.
Ten years later, my husband and I revisited Comerica Park where we encountered a completely different atmosphere than I had experienced prior. Going into this game, the Tigers had a sparkling record of 44-104, and the Orioles barely surpassed them with their 49-100 record. With hopes and aspirations for both teams long dead, making the Orioles and Tigers play a September series felt like punishment, but the true kicker was that the first pitch that day was scheduled for 4:10PM EST—on a Monday, no less! While that scheduling quirk worked nicely for an on-a-whim one-day trip in and out of Detroit for us Chicagoans, suffice to say only the truly dedicated and questionable entered the turnstiles of Comerica Park that day, resulting in a (paid) attendance of 14,142. As is our tradition, my husband and I walked around the concourse before the game, and seeing the amount of closed amenities and empty sections that day was depressing but understandable. At least I could look at the concourse and fill in the memory of what a bustling Comerica looks like under better circumstances.
Even on a dreary day, Comerica was still full of charm. The ballpark peppers its old school atmosphere with whimsy. The Ferris wheel and carousel are unique features that make the park feel like a neighborhood carnival. Historical monuments and displays are situated throughout the concourse, which is a creative use of space. I also am a fan of all of the ballpark’s tiger adornments. Some people may think that having tiger imagery everywhere is cheesy, and I do too to an extent—but that is why it works for me. I appreciate that the ballpark is clearly the home of the Detroit Tigers, and making your ballpark uniquely yours in a way that it could not easily be repurposed by any other ballpark goes a long way.
On my second visit, my husband and I sat in the Tigers Den, a section of the lower level where moveable lounge chairs are intended to invoke the feel of an old-time sporting box. Our seats were cushioned and comfy, our section was fully covered (great for avoiding sun or rain), and we even got a little table for our concessions. The Tigers Den also has in-seat service, which we used to order a hummus plate to tide us over until dinner. In the true spirit of the Tigers and the city of Detroit, the Tigers Den menu does offer a full Little Caesars Pizza, but the cost was $21 at the time of our visit. While I know that ballpark food prices will be higher than average, charging $21 for a Little Caesars Pizza is the antithesis to the spirit of Little Caesars and should be treated appropriately as a crime against nature. Compared to the steep upper deck seats during my last visit, the Tigers Den felt like a tremendously fancy upgrade, and I am glad that I am now able to speak to the literal highs and lows of Comerica Park.
Great American Ball Park
Home of: Cincinnati Reds
Visited: August 9th, 2006; June 6th, 2023
Great American Ball Park has a special place in my baseball heart because it is the first ballpark that I’ve ever visited outside of Chicago, all the way back in 2006. While I remember liking the ballpark, I do not have a lot of concrete memories about my experience, which I credit to the passage of time and also not being as thorough in my ballpark exploration as an awe-struck teenager as I am now as an adult. When my husband and I revisited Great American Ball Park in June 2023, I was really excited to become acquainted with the ballpark that first ignited my dream for ballpark attendance glory.
This is probably going to sound like a bizarre observation, but I really enjoyed the way that the lower level concourse at Great American Ball Park was built. The concourse feels very wide and open, and the majority of the concessions and amenities are situated along the walls on the opposite side of the field. This not only allows for easy maneuvering through the crowds, but fans also receive a fantastic view of the park and game day action as they walk through the concourse. Almost everywhere that you go, the field is your backdrop, and I found that feature really unique and enjoyable. I also found that Great American Ball Park cleverly played with their outdoor space. Usually when we visit ballparks, my husband and I enjoy walking around the exterior of the ballpark to observe outside adornments or features. You cannot necessarily complete a full lap around Great American because parts of the exterior anyway have been fenced in to be included as part of the concourse. This method does allow for more spacing and seating, and there are some kid-friendly activities in these areas as well. Your enjoyment of these areas then depend on your visit and intentions. For those inside the ballpark, these exterior areas support the bustling flow of patrons. Those outside the ballpark looking for something to do? Not as much.
Our game day experience was enjoyable. We sat in the upper deck, and I liked our view, particularly being able to see the Ohio River and northern Kentucky behind the ballpark. I know that is giving credit more to where the ballpark was physically built and how it was constructed, but not a lot of other ballparks that can offer a different state as a background either. The power stacks in center field are fun features, shooting off fire for strikeouts or fireworks for home runs. During our visit, we also just so happened to attend Great American Ball Park on their “3-2-1 Tuesdays” night where fans could purchase $3 cans of Buds and Bud Lights, $2 hot dogs, and $1 ice cream cups. Now, unsurprisingly, our “3-2-1 Tuesdays'' concessions were not the highest quality food and beverage, which is how the Reds could get away with such low prices. We stuck to the “3-2-1 Tuesday” menu only during the game so I cannot speak to what the non-Tuesday eats or other specialty concession fare actually taste like. Still, our cheap hot dogs and ice cream cups were fine, and Budweiser will always taste like Budwesier, for better or for worse. The deals also made attending the ballpark pretty reasonable. Each of us got two hot dogs, two beers and one ice cream cup - and all of that together cost $22. That is a remarkable deal for concessions at a MLB ballpark in 2023!
Finally, I want to note that the issue of what to include in a ballpark evaluation arises here in Cincinnati as well with the Reds Hall of Fame & Museum. The Reds Hall of Fame & Museum is a multi-story facility with a temporary exhibit gallery located on the first floor and a comprehensive overview of Reds history on the third floor. The Hall of Fame & Museum is located next to the ballpark and directly attached to the team gift store. Admission to the Hall of Fame & Museum does not come included with your gameday admission nor is there a discount offered to those who have tickets to that day’s game. For visitors with game day tickets who do choose to visit the Hall of Fame & Museum, like we did, you do enjoy a natural and organic procession of events. When you leave the Hall of Fame Museum, you are taken directly into the gift shop, and you can exit the gift shop directly to the ballpark gates. This flow of traffic worked perfectly for my husband and myself, and I can see it working similarly for other first-time visitors…provided that you are okay with paying that separate fee, of course.
My review of the Reds Hall of Fame & Museum is dependent entirely on perspective. If I think of it as a “ballpark amenity,” if I can even call it that? The Hall of Fame’s location next to the ballpark with separate/additional admission will not allow all fans to easily access or enjoy the facility, and thus these features must be considered as detriments. If there were features that tied the Hall of Fame & Museum to the ballpark more closely (such as a game day discount, which would encourage fans attending the game to visit), then I would more favorably look upon the Hall of Fame & Museum in a review for Great American Ball Park. As a museum? The Reds Hall of Fame & Museum is an impressively large space with beautifully designed and curated exhibits. The scope and amount of information in the exhibits was impressive. We spent about an hour going through the space, and I would have loved to stay in there longer had we not wanted to go into the ballpark soon after gates opened to the public. While I still stand by my critiques about the price, I will say that when comparing against museums in general that the $12 for adult admission felt like a steal.
Good Tier
Busch Stadium III
Home of: St. Louis Cardinals
Visited: June 26th, 2017
I am wincing internally as I write this because my prediction is that this will be my most controversial ballpark evaluation. When I went through this list with my husband, even he was amazed that I placed Busch Stadium in this tier. To avoid accusations of being a biased Cubs fan, I absolutely promise you that I went to St. Louis on a June afternoon with an open mind. And by placing Busch Stadium in the Good Tier, I’m still saying that it is good, mind you.
The current Busch Stadium is the third iteration of the ballpark in St. Louis. The overall atmosphere appears to try to present a classic look through a modern lens, and I think they overall succeeded. The ballpark exterior emulates older structures, and details like a replica of an old time scoreboard on the concourse are great touches. With all that being said, it felt especially weird that my husband’s scorecard—that he bought in the team store!—did not have any room for pitchers. This is one of those things that is not a big deal in the grand scheme of things, but you have to admit that a National League team around that long (and prior to the universal DH) overlooking pitchers when printing scorecards is an odd exclusion.
Busch Stadium is known for their sightline, which does feel straight out of a postcard. The fact that you can see downtown St. Louis and the Arch from your seat is a neat feature, and our upper deck seats situated behind home plate provided a perfect view. I know that a great sightline often propels ballparks up the ranks in popularity for understandable reasons. A nice sightline is pleasant to look at, wonderful for photos, and certainly gains points over an ugly view. However, a good sightline operates more like a bonus for me. I can live with a meh sightline if the ballpark has fantastic features and amenities, but a good sightline alone cannot save a ballpark, which is ultimately my biggest gripe with Busch Stadium. I do not feel like Busch Stadium offered enough on the amenities/activities for me to be impressed. Again, there is artwork throughout the concourse, and I give Busch Stadium credit for having their statutes honoring Cardinals greats outside the ballpark, making their viewing accessible for all fans. Still, I know for a fact my husband and I walked around the concourse, explored the ballpark, and ate concessions, but it was completely unmemorable. I asked my husband if he had anything notable about the concourse to share from our visit, and he drew a blank as well. If you really appreciate a good sightline, you will absolutely love Busch Stadium, and that is completely valid! For me, I just wish I had more to write home about than just the sightline.
I want to acknowledge an important factor here: Ballpark Village, a dining and entertainment district located right next to the ballpark. Ballpark Village is not directly attached to Busch Stadium, but the district is intended to complement it. In fact, Busch Stadium game day staff will stamp your hand after entering the ballpark to allow you to leave for Ballpark Village and then re-enter the stadium. However, much like the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame & Museum, the Cardinals Hall of Fame Museum suffers from the separation between ballpark and museum. Even with the stamp, fans still must take the extra effort to visit. They must either get to the area hours before first pitch, stay hours after the final out, or meticulously organize their time to hit both in a short window. The Cardinals’ Hall of Fame also charges admission for entry without offering a discount for visitors holding game day tickets. As I wrote for Reds Hall of Fame & Museum, this setup will prevent some fans from accessing the Cardinals Hall of Fame Museum, which is what happened to my husband and I during our visit. Our game at Busch Stadium was a Monday afternoon game in June, not by our choosing; we attempted to go on a Saturday morning in April, but the game was rained out and hence rescheduled accordingly. We drove from Chicago to St. Louis for the afternoon game, which is about a five hour drive. We had to leave around 7AM to get to the ballpark when gates opened, and we had to leave soon after the game ended to avoid getting back home well after midnight. Our logistics are not on the Cardinals, obviously, but this meant we very quickly breezed through Ballpark Village and were unable to go to any restaurants or the Cardinals Hall of Fame Museum.
Our St. Louis experience is the quintessential example why I dock points for these separate-from-the-ballpark-but-intended-to-complement-it districts like Ballpark Village. I acknowledge the benefits of a separate building for extracurriculars: Housing the fun amenities in a separate building helps with crowd flow, gets extra people in, and provides easier access on non-game days. However, amenities will arguably be more accessible for fans if the features are located inside the ballpark with no cost attached to them. For what it is worth, I would have critiqued the separation of the Cardinals Hall of Fame Museum from Busch Stadium had I been able to visit. I do not hold not visiting the Museum against the Cardinals, but I do think of other ballparks that managed to incorporate their exhibits and artifacts inside the stadium and know it can be done.
Chase Field
Home of: Arizona Diamondbacks
Visited: March 30th, 2018 and March 31st, 2018
To dare to play in Phoenix demands a ballpark with some type of roof so Chase Field presents another interpretation of a retractable ballpark. My husband and I attended two games at Chase, and we got a mostly-closed roof experience for Game 1 and a mostly-open roof experience for Game 2. When the roof is closed, the ballpark does feel a bit like a mall. I think the mall feeling does largely stem from the outfield design where the infrastructure presents a sightline filled with poles and advertisements. While there are some windows, the outfield overwhelms fans with advertisements, to the delight of sponsors but not so much my eyes. An open roof helps break up the sightline, but that wall is pretty big out there, horizontally and vertically. Plus, there are not going to be a lot of open roof opportunities in Phoenix over the course of a season anyhow so the closed roof view is going to be the typical view that most fans will receive. We sat in the upper levels for both games, and our views for actual game play were fine. There is nothing that acts as an impediment for your baseball watching, which by default puts Arizona above our Poor Tier ballparks, but there is nothing spectacular about Chase Field either.
When it comes to amenities and fan activities, Chase Field has little to write home about. Chase Field does have its famous pool in the outfield, but the pool is actually classified as a suite, Crèmily Pool Suite. Unless then you are part of a group that rents out the suite, the average fan is not going to have access to the pool. For me, the pool adds little to my overall opinion of Chase Field—sure, it may be amusing to watch a ball land in the water and watch a bunch of fans cannonball after it, but I personally do not get any direct benefit from it so why care that much about it? The concessions are fine but nothing particularly memorable. The one stand that we really liked, Dutch Bros Coffee, is no longer operating inside the ballpark. Also, maybe because we were there for the opening series, but the concourse was fairly difficult to walk around in. Crowded games will be a hindrance to movement, obviously, but trying to navigate through the concourse was difficult and tedious.
When we visited in 2018, the Arizona Diamondbacks and Chase Field were celebrating their 20 year anniversary, and the retro theme was mostly executed successfully throughout our two games there. At the beginning of Game 2, the video board showed the opening broadcast back in 1998, which was a neat touch. The team also gave away a replica ‘98 jersey to fans, which ended up being the feature that impressed us the most. At the gates, game day staff handed the same jersey size, XL, to all fans, but then they instructed fans to go to a different part of the ballpark if they wanted to exchange the XL jersey for a different size. Curious, my husband and I ventured over to the designated spot where we saw table exchanges set up for sizes Youth L, Adult M, Adult L, and Adult XXL. While the area was crowded, exchanging jerseys was still a fairly easy process. I am very accustomed to having only two options for apparel giveaways (usually M or XL) so having a wider range of options was a pleasant surprise. Also, this set-up was just a very efficient way of getting fans into the ballpark. I have been burned one too many times on a jersey or t-shirt giveaway at ballparks where entrance lines are slowed down by fans arguing or bartering for different shirt sizes. By only having one size at the entrance gates, you eliminate the bartering that inevitably slows the line, and fans get in the door quicker. Fans can also choose to go get a new jersey (if they need one!) on their own time so not everyone is rushing at once. I do not know if other stadiums have this model, but I strongly recommend it. Game 1 also had a postgame fireworks show set to a ‘90s playlist, although the team did not make the theme abundantly clear at any point during the presentation. This led to a bout of confusion between my husband and myself, wondering what the song selection process was until one of us finally pulled out our phones and looked at the promotional schedule.
I feel like the only reasons why people visit Chase Field is that A) they are either Diamondbacks fans, B) they are fans of whatever the visiting team is playing at Chase Field that series and want to cheer them on in-person, or C) because they want to visit all 30 ballparks and have to visit Chase Field eventually. While that might sound harsh, our visit mostly fell under Option C, and there was nothing about our two games at Chase that dissuades my presumption. Chase Field is a serviceable ballpark, which is the bare minimum of what you can ask for in a ballpark, but ultimately “serviceable” won’t make you stand out amongst your more decorated peers.
The Ballpark in Arlington
Home of: Texas Rangers
Visited: March 26th, 2019 (exhibition)
NOTE: This ballpark has undergone several name changes in its lifespan. When we attended in 2019, the ballpark was titled Globe Life Park in Arlington. Currently, the name is Choctaw Stadium, although the name has no association to the Rangers as the change happened two years after the team left. For simplicity’s sake and to not be confused with the ballpark that the Rangers now play in (Globe Life Field), I will be referring to this stadium by the name it was referred to for most of its Rangers tenure: the Ballpark in Arlington.
There is a logistical difficulty that presents itself during one’s quest to visit every MLB ballpark: eventually, some ballparks cease being used by a MLB team. That became our predicament regarding The Ballpark in Arlington: the 2019 season was scheduled to be The Ballpark’s last season hosting the Texas Rangers, and yet by the time Spring Training 2019 came around neither my husband or I had visited the stadium. Unsure about our availability during the regular season, my husband and I noticed the Rangers were hosting an exhibition game in late March 2019 against Cleveland. We decided to fly into Dallas the morning-of, attend the game to cross the ballpark off our lists, and then fly back to Chicago that night. You can see how seriously we take our ballpark journey! Attending a preseason/exhibition game meant that not everything was fully open, but it did appear like a good portion of the ballpark was operational so we still felt like we received a good taste of what a typical day at The Ballpark in Arlington was like.
The Ballpark in Arlington hosted the Texas Rangers for 25 seasons before the team moved next door to its new home Globe Life Field. Even for our current age of yearning for the next best and brightest in ballpark construction, electing for a new ballpark after only 25 years is an absurdly short amount of time. The most-cited justification for a new stadium was The Ballpark's lack of a roof. The Ballpark in Arlington was constructed in the early 1990s, which in retrospect was terrible timing. While indoor-only ballparks had become unpopular by that time, retractable roofs were barely in existence in the early 1990s. In fact, only two teams, the Toronto Blue Jays and the Montreal Expos, played in retractable stadiums, and the retractable roof in Montreal did not even work. As such, The Ballpark’s lack of roof can be understood within the context of construction trends at the time, but it was a decision that did not age well. Texas famously gets hot, with summer temperatures easily hitting triple digits. Comfortability is an important factor to entice both players and fans to the ballpark, and nothing about the constant possibility of heat exhaustion will persuade either party to stay. When we attended in late March, the temperature was about 70 degrees. While the shaded seats felt cool, moving into seats in the sun was hardly a better move. Despite the temperature being 70 degrees, it felt like 90 degrees. By the next day, one side of my body was completely tanned and the other side was completely burned. If we struggled with the temperature on a pleasant spring day, I cannot imagine what The Ballpark felt like during the summer, especially for day games. In that sense, I can empathize greatly with the dream for a roof and AC.
Still, it truly felt like such a shame walking around The Ballpark because there was nothing else that justified moving so soon. I actually really loved The Ballpark’s design that hit all of the right notes to invoke the feeling of a classic ballpark. The white steel facades that adjourned the roof and the four-story office building in center field were so aesthetically pleasing, and the high roofed porch in right field felt straight out of a jewel box ballpark. I loved the hill behind the center field that allowed fans to run out to try to catch home runs. Of all of the retro-classic ballparks that I have attended, I would argue that The Ballpark was one of the most successful at nailing that balance of a classic aesthetic with a modern feel. After the Rangers left, The Ballpark was refitted to host XFL, soccer, and rugby. While I am glad that the stadium still is being put to use, it pains me that one of the most perfect backdrops for a baseball game now sees no baseball whatsoever.
We also briefly explored Texas Live!, a multi-story venue across from The Ballpark. When we attended, Texas Live! offered sports bars, restaurants, and stores, and it has since added or will soon include other amenities like a hotel, convention areas, and offices. We mostly wandered Texas Live! prior to gates opening during our visit, and a Tuesday morning prior to an exhibition game was not exactly setting our Texas Live! experience up for success. Unsurprisingly, the venue was not bursting with patrons, and most stores were closed. We did eat partake in tacos from Guy Fieri’s Taco Joint which, yes, did take us to Flavortown. Building amenities adjacent or directly next to the ballpark seems to be the trend now, with teams searching for new revenue streams even when fans are not physically inside the ballpark. Again, I struggle with how to evaluate these buildings as they are a part of the ballpark experience but not the ballpark itself. I think Texas Live! felt the most disconnected of all the separate-but-not-really game day experiences that I’ve previously attended, though again I will concede that maybe I would feel differently going on a different day under different circumstances. As we do have to go back to Arlington to visit Globe Life Field, I will mark our Texas Live! experience as incomplete.
Progressive Field
Home of: Cleveland Guardians
Visited: August 11th, 2009; June 8th, 2023
My family visited Progressive Field back in 2009, to the delight of my youngest brother, who was then Grady Sizemore’s biggest fan. My chief memories of that game were my brother desperately running down to the dugout every half inning to try to get a glimpse of his hero, and my mom’s pure joy that we managed to attend the game on Dollar Hot Dog Night.
My husband and I attended Progressive Field in June 2023. We got to the park about an hour before gates opened and decided to start our visit with a lap around the exterior of the ballpark. Initially, we got excited because we were greeted by plaques, statues, and markers that talk a little bit more about Cleveland baseball history out by the centerfield entrance. However, as we continued to walk around outside the ballpark, we both began to notice that there really was not much to look at otherwise. We went into the team shop to buy some updated Guardians souvenirs, but the team gift store did have to close at 5:30 PM in order to prepare for gameday. I am familiar with this practice at other sports stadiums, not just baseball, so this closing was not a big surprise, but it also meant that we had about 30 minutes to kill with very little to entertain ourselves outside.
Once inside the ballpark, we explored the lower deck concourse. There are pictures and markers for some notable moments in Cleveland Guardians history, but the main gem was the Heritage Park in the centerfield concourse. Heritage Park offers plaques and markers for greats in Cleveland baseball history and also has a separate level to honor those who were admitted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. The Guardians also have a bronze statue of a drum to honor their famous superfan John Adams, which was a nice touch. However, it was about this point in our exploration that we began feeling pressed for time. My husband and I like to be in our seats by the time the pre-game features begin airing on the video boards in order to really take in the full game day experience. With gates opening only an hour before first pitch, we had only about 30-40 minutes to walk through the park before pre-game festivities started, and we scrambled to our seats. I feel that the common standard for ballpark gates opening is 90 minutes-2 hours before first pitch, and that time range is pretty good, especially for first time visitors that want to explore as much as the ballpark has to offer. If you are familiar with Progressive Field, I do not think that gates opening an hour prior to first pitch is a detriment. Out-of-town visitors may feel rushed if you are like us, baseball fans who do not come to Cleveland very often and want the maximum amount of time to explore.
For our game together, my husband and I sat in the Discount Drug Mart Club Lounge Seats which offered an all-you-can-eat and-(non-alcoholic)-drink experience. The buffet offered standard ballpark classics, like hot dogs, hamburgers, pizza, and pretzels; but it also offered some unusual options, like orange chicken and fried rice, gyros, and pasta. All of the concessions fell somewhere in the range of average-to-slightly above average: nothing outstanding or necessarily mind-blowing, but solid offerings nonetheless. Of everything that we tried, my husband and I were most impressed by the orange chicken, which admittedly was the classic Americanized Chinese version but was surprisingly flavorful. Now, obviously, my Progressive Field concession ordeal was not indicative of what most fans will experience during their visits to the ballpark. However, I want to give Progressive Field credit for offering an all-you-can-eat-and-drink experience, especially at the price. While we did find tickets for the section below face value on the secondary market, the face value for these tickets range anywhere from $78-$120, which I do not think is disgustingly terrible. Honestly with concession prices nowadays, if you were to pay for all of the food options separately at normal concession prices in addition to the ticket price, you could easily hit that mark! Also, I feel that other all-you-can-eat-and-drink buffets at ballparks are usually found in suites, whose admission fees are way more expensive than what the Guardians charged us. I think of my mom, who rated her gameday experience at Progressive Field positively simply because of that dollar hot dog deal. Yes, these deals do not present the average concession experience, but they certainly do a lot to improve one’s game day experience if you can access them - and for that, I have to give the Guardians credit there.
Citi Field
Home of: New York Mets
Visited: July 14th, 2024
Walking down the steps off the 7 train, the sight of Citi Field initially is a welcoming one. The exterior facade invokes the nostalgic feel of older ballparks. Shea Stadium’s home run apple and Tom Seaver’s statue, and important moments in Mets history enshrined in the sidewalks surrounding the ballpark help celebrate Mets history in the present day. Perhaps that is why I felt immediately disjointed after entering Citi Field’s front entrance’s rotunda and seeing a fair amount of space and decoration for Jackie Robinson. I admire the desire to enshrine Robinson in a MLB ballpark in New York, especially since there has not been a MLB team in Brooklyn since the Dodgers’ departure for Los Angeles. I also understand that, apparently, the overemphasis on non-Mets baseball history was actually worse when the ballpark originally opened, and the Mets have since made efforts to center their own team in the ballpark as a response to the criticism. Personally speaking, I do not know if the changes made in the rotunda, like adding Hall of Fame plaques for Mets personnel, do enough to address that disconnection. I want to always feel like I am in a ballpark for the New York Mets that celebrates the New York Mets, and I do not feel like my experience felt consistent or authethnic throughout my time at the park.
Citi Field’s concourse is fairly standard and offers little intrigue, save for the Mets Museum. Tucked away in the outfield concourse, the Museum offers an overview of Mets history–well, at least up until the 1980s. There is a picture of David Wright on the wall that delivers some recency, but the contents of the museum itself seem solely focused on the early years of the Mets and their two World Series championships. I cannot fault the wish to focus on the franchise’s best years, but the almost complete absence of anything relevant from the last 30 years felt puzzling. After our visit, I discovered that the Mets Museum was created as part of the response to address the Dodgers-heavy criticism of Citi Field, and honestly that does explain a lot about this museum. Citi Field gets points for offering a free museum with unique artifacts on display, but I truly think more could be done with the space. Other MLB ballparks with museums certainly have done better.
Mets owner Steve Cohen’s quest for obtaining baseball’s largest video board can feel daunting at times, depending on your place inside the ballpark, but I was thoroughly impressed that so much of the video board screen is dedicated to baseball information only and not ads. I have seen much smaller video boards allocate so much screen space to sponsorships, making their own in-game features like stats or replays suffer in comparison, so the Mets’ interest in presenting game day information was refreshing. Playing music after every pitch felt excessive, and I do have to say that fans put in the most half-hearted version of Take Me Out to The Ballgame that I have ever witnessed.
Controversially, the worst part of our game day experience was the food. Going into our visit, I was well aware of how highly praised Citi Field’s concessions are, and the menu boards at the park boasted about how the concessions consistently topped polls and best-of lists. My husband and I decided to start off by splitting one of the ballpark’s fan favorites, the pastrami sandwich, and to our astonishment our serving was borderline inedible. I found my half of the sandwich overly chewy and rubbery, making it nearly impossible to chew. My husband lucked out by finding some edible bites in his half, which he did think were flavorful, but overall the sandwich was perhaps one of the worst things that I have ever eaten at a ballpark. I have to assume that we attended on an off-day for the pastrami vendors, or maybe we even received the one bad pastrami slab that they had that day. Furthermore, I certainly would have liked to purchase additional concessions for a chance at redemption, but the temperature was 92 degrees that day so sadly the combination of stifling heat and a poor sandwich effectively killed our appetites. I cannot imagine that concessions this beloved taste this bad regularly, and I feel bad for walking away with a poor opinion of the Citi Field concessions given the circumstances. Still, I can only judge what I had, and regrettably that one pastrami sandwich was enough to torpedo our experience.
My husband and I did purchase ice cream in a souvenir Home Run Apple replica. Topped with orange and blue sprinkles, the entire presentation of the ice cream was painstakingly cute. You also receive a hefty portion of ice cream in the replica Apple. The taste of the ice cream itself was fine. It was your standard soft serve at a ballpark; if you have had one, you have had them all. Still, the presentation and the overall value of the ice cream was well worth it for us, and it did make us slightly less crabby after the pastrami debacle. I definitely recommend the ice cream for an easy souvenir and/or if you just like fun.
Citi Field was the 20th MLB ballpark that I have attended. When I think about it in terms of seeing now ⅔ of the league play at a home park, it does feel a little surreal for me. Coincidentally, more ballparks attended means more available examples for comparison, which is why I think Citi Field ultimately suffers for me. The park itself is fine and more than serviceable for a ballgame, but there are multiple ballparks that offer more creative and impressive amenities. Perhaps if I ever come back for a game and receive that amazing food experience that people talk about, we will see what happens then. Until then, Citi Field will be slotted as a Good ballpark.
Yankee Stadium
Home of: New York Yankees
Visited: July 19th, 2024
Our visit to Yankee Stadium immediately started off on the wrong foot when we walked up the subway station to find ourselves swarmed by thousands of fans. That night, the Yankees were giving away a Gerrit Cole Cy Young Award bobblehead and had promised to open the gates at 5:00PM rather than their usual 5:30PM time. My husband and I arrived at the ballpark a few minutes after 5:00PM and, to our confusion, were greeted by shuttered gates. At one point, my husband talked to a game day staffer who said that the ballpark’s security cameras were down, which is why they were not able to allow fans to enter. Considering this was the day of the global IT outage, this explanation felt plausible. However, the Yankees made no public announcements of any kind during this disruption–no message explaining what was causing the delay of gates opening, no estimated time for gates to open, nothing. An absence of information is frustrating, regardless of the circumstances, and fans were clearly getting angry and antsy about not being let inside. A lack of direction also meant that there was little semblance of order as it was extremely difficult to determine where lines began and ended and what gate you would eventually be herded into. I want to give the Yankees some leeway as they were seemingly presented with a challenge outside of their control with the sudden crash of their cameras, but any direction or information rather than complete silence would have been preferred. Additionally, crowd management inside the ballpark (especially in the team gift store after the game) was hardly better so crowd control does not seem like one of Yankee Stadium’s most outstanding features in any event.
Once inside the ballpark after gates finally opened following that 30-35 minute delay, my husband rushed me over to Monument Park. Located in center field, Monument Park honors prominent and important members in the history of the New York Yankees organization. The most notable features are the retired numbers for the Yankees and replicas of the Baseball Hall of Fame plaques for those who were awarded with enshrinement. Important to note, Monument Park closes 45 minutes before the start of a Yankees game. Luckily for me, my husband had attended Yankee Stadium years prior and therefore was aware of the cut-off time rule, and it is why he rushed me over as soon as we got through the gates. I am not confident that I would have discovered the entry cut-off on my own had I attended the park by myself and most likely would have missed attending Monument Park otherwise. Additionally, that cut-off time does make visiting Monument Park feel very hurried and anxiety-inducing, and I do not like feeling stressed at all. I do not know why the Yankees have that cut-off time implemented and can only guess why that is (my current one: visitors out in center field would be disruptive to batters), but it is a shame that entry limits can cloud an otherwise unique ballpark feature.
The Yankees do have a free museum located in the 200 level. It is not the easiest to find, but it is a fairly nice space to explore once you do. The museum is well decorated and offers a great display of Yankee artifacts and memorabilia. Unlike Monument Park, the museum is open until the end of the 8th inning so rushing is not involved. Staff members also appeared knowledgeable and friendly. The display of signed baseballs, also known as the Yankees’ project to get every member who ever worked for the organization to sign a baseball, is a very fun activity for anyone who enjoys the Name Some Dudes game.
In the Yankees Museum, one of the displays addresses how the original Yankee Stadium was demolished in favor of the new one. The predicted explanation was given: the old stadium was falling apart, and there was a demand for more modern amenities. This display stuck with me as I ventured through new Yankee Stadium because, truthfully, I mostly felt confused. For a “newer” ballpark, I was truly surprised at how old that this iteration of Yankee Stadium felt. The concourse, hallways, and ramps are very dark and dingy and reminded me a lot of Guaranteed Rate Field, which opened in 1990 and 19 years prior to the new Yankee Stadium. Some of the plaques in Monument Park have become scratched and worn. The three video boards in the outfield appeared old and were bizarrely cyan-tinted. My husband said that today’s Yankee Stadium does look strikingly similar to the original Yankee Stadium–which is, I assume, what the Yankees were going for in this new ballpark. However, for the average baseball fan in myself who is not able to visit the original Yankee Stadium, all I can see nowadays visiting the new Yankee Stadium is a ballpark that somehow feels rundown and outdated despite its newer age.
For me, it felt like Yankee Stadium was trying to achieve the best of both worlds: trying to still claim being a “historic” place while also being a modern ballpark. By trying to achieve both, I do not think they excel in either. The “modern” amenities in new Yankee Stadium seem to be reserved for athletes and fans who can purchase luxury seating, leaving the average fan with little to write home about. While notable baseball events have occurred at the new park, it feels like current Yankee Stadium is resting on the laurels of the previous place, making the ballpark’s asserted gravitas feel silly and unearned. There are certainly ways to honor a historic franchise, and that is not to say that Yankee Stadium is woefully absent of them; both Monument Park and the Yankees Museum are overall great ways to celebrate the impressive achievements of the organization. Yet, overall, Yankee Stadium wants to be viewed as far more grandiose than it actually is, and ultimately the ballpark feels like an identity crisis.
Poor Tier
Tropicana Field
Home of: Tampa Bay Rays
Visited: September 19th, 2017
The worst crime of Tropicana Field is that the overall view is, frankly, ugly. The best feeling that I can label my experience was that I felt like I was walking through someone’s basement and accidentally stumbled upon a baseball game happening. With a fixed roof, the ballpark suffers from an absence of natural lighting, and the choice of lightbulbs at the time made everything appear an unwanted shade of yellow. Juxtapose the yellow lighting with the artificial shades of green from the turf, and the result was an unnatural clash of colors that was oftentimes hard to take in. I remember having to insist that I had not turned the saturation up by 100% when I posted a photo of the park to social media. The Rays have installed new lighting since we last visited to combat this problem, but I cannot imagine that new lighting really combats much of that “watching baseball in a basement” feeling.
While Tropicana Field can never rank too high in my baseball rankings due to the poor viewing experience, that is not to say that we did not enjoy our time there. The best thing that Tampa had going for it easily was the Touch Tank out in the center field concourse where fans can pet live rays. This also somehow remains the best run Touch Tank that I have ever participated in, zoos and aquariums included, as staff were hyper-vigilant on enforcing all rules to assure that the rays were being cared for and not overstimulated. My husband and I ended up spending an inordinate time watching the game from Touch Tank. While the view was nothing to write home about, neither was the view from our actual seats, and our actual seats did not come with ray friends. Additionally, my husband and I were pleasantly delighted by our discovery of the Ted Williams Museum and Hitters Hall of Fame tucked away in Tropicana Field at the time of our visit. Neither one of us had heard that this was located in the ballpark, and, judging by attendance in the room, very few other people did as well. The Hall contained artifacts and memorabilia of some of baseball’s greats, and we would have loved to spend more time there had we known about this feature and planned our time accordingly. Alas, it appears that the Hall is no longer open at the time of this publication, meaning that one of Tropicana’s few redeeming qualities for us can no longer be visited.
I must note that I attended a Cubs/Rays game in 2017 so the ballpark was crowded and lively, albeit overwhelmingly in favor of the visiting team. Considering some of the well-known attendance woes that the Tampa Bay Rays have experienced over the years, not all visitors will have a similar game day experience as we did. The Rays game day staffers were also fighting for their lives out there. I did have to roll my eyes at select comments, mainly the one staffer who eyed my Cubs Kris Bryant jersey and then said to my husband, “You let her wear that?” (I immediately yelled back, “HE’S the one who bought it for me!”) Still, for a crew who has had far too much experience with this type of outnumbering, a part of me does remain impressed that they still could rile up plenty of passion to defend their team on their home turf. God knows my passion would have been long dead by then.
loanDepot park
Home of: Miami Marlins
Visited: September 20th, 2017
Remember how I previously mentioned that I wrote my review for “Miller Park” and then used the “find and replace all” feature to update the name throughout to say American Family Field? I wrote this entire post, gave it to my husband to review and edit, heard him say, “You wrote Marlins Park,” and it still took me a minute to realize that the Marlins’ ballpark was now called loanDepot park. I feel like I should dock points for these ballpark name changes because they lead me to a state of confusion. Also, the stylization of loanDepot park is killing me. Why is “park” lowercase? Who allowed this?! Can I dock additional points for abhorrent stylization of the ballpark name?!
For full disclosure, my husband and I attended loanDepot park on a Wednesday afternoon in September 2017 mere days after Hurricane Irma hit Miami. Undoubtedly, all of those factors must have helped to contribute to that day’s empty and depressing atmosphere, especially since the Marlins struggled to draw fans under perfect conditions that season anyway. With that under full consideration, I still must sadly attest that loanDepot park was incredibly lackluster. The most interesting aspects of the ballpark present during our visit, chiefly the beloved home run exploding statue (which was just as fun to view in person as I had hoped it would be) and the fish tanks behind home plate, cannot physically be found inside the ballpark anymore. The fish tanks were removed entirely, and the statue was relocated outside the ballpark after making an enemy out of Derek Jeter.
One notable feature that still is present is their Bobblehead Museum, a display case filled with an eclectic collection of bobbleheads. The display was constructed to move slightly to have all the bobbleheads always moving, which is a clever touch, and my husband and I did enjoy looking at the variety of figures. Still, the Bobblehead Museum was not a perfect experience. First of all, I would not have named this a “museum.” Using the term “museum” conjures up the expectations of a separate dedicated space—a building or a room at the very least. Being greeted instead by a glass case felt like a letdown. Also, I personally do not feel like the display felt connected enough to the Marlins specifically. The bobbleheads feature players and personnel from all 30 teams, not just the Marlins. The inclusion of bobbleheads from all other organizations made this feel more like a MLB exhibit than a Marlins-specific exhibit. I think that lack of connection becomes a problem if the ballpark itself is lacking in other departments, which loanDepot park is. With little else to offer or entertain in the park, the Bobblehead Museum must carry the weight as the ballpark’s chief (only?) concourse amenity. So, yes, it then feels weird when that said amenity isn’t even entirely dedicated to the team itself!
Interactions with gameday staff also left us bemused. For reasons never revealed to us, the gates did not open at their prescribed time. Employees were present by the gates but did not move at all. Fans waiting in line shouted over asking if there was a reason why gates were not opening, and the staff ignored questions. Fifteen minutes after gates were scheduled to open, the game day staff shrugged and finally began admitting people into the ballpark, beginning our journey on an awkward note that we did not seem to recover well from. To bookend this, employees really tried to rush us out of the ballpark after the game. I am sympathetic that employees would like to go home so I do understand adamantly nudging if fans are lingering in the ballpark past a reasonable time. However, my interaction occurred about ten minutes after the game had ended. After the final pitch, my husband and I took a few selfies to mark our trip as well as watch the roof beginning to open to see if the ballpark sightline was anymore interesting and notable (quite frankly: no, it was not). Then my husband wanted to stop in the bathroom before leaving. I decided to wait on the concourse for him, to which I was immediately chastised by an employee for not vacating. When I said I was waiting for someone in the bathroom, she demanded to know who I was waiting for and which bathroom they were in. To her credit, the message was received! We rushed as soon as my husband came out of the bathroom to avoid any additional scoldings!
Putting loanDepot park in the “poor” tier may be controversial because, unlike the other ballparks in this tier, loanDepot park does not have any noticeable flaws that significantly affect or impact the baseball viewing. If I were ranking all Poor tired parks based solely on ballpark viewing, loanDepot park would win out simply for meeting the bare minimum. Yet, if given the choice, I would return to all other active Poor Tier parks before I returned to Miami. There are aspects to Tampa and Oakland that I know I would enjoy partaking in again. With loanDepot park, I have low confidence in an improved experience, especially since most of the aspects we enjoyed are no longer there.
Oakland Coliseum
Home of: Oakland Athletics
Visited: September 10th, 2022
I cannot lie to you and say that the Oakland Coliseum is a good ballpark. Like most stadiums intended to be multipurpose, the baseball experience suffers at the hands of the football gods. The increased seating makes the ballpark look a lot emptier than it really is. The lofty foul grounds make fans feel far away from the action, even if you are sitting right behind the dugout like my husband and I were when we visited. The ballpark is clearly in need of updates and repairs, and ownership is more interested in trying to scam their way into Las Vegas than address their current home, thus leading to an overall atmospheric feeling of decay and possum housing. We also happened to attend on Super Hero Day, and the dedication to the theme was rather mixed. We did get a cool Black Panther Funko (A licensed Funko! No knock-offs!), and the balls and strikes on the videboard were marked using Captain America shields. If you had not given us the Funkos, though, I do not think I would have noticed there was supposed to be a theme day. I can imagine there is only so much that gameday production can do considering the hand that they are dealt, but a lackluster effort unfortunately felt right in line with everything else.
Much like Tropicana Field, the Coliseum is not without its charms. To our delight, my husband and I found The Treehouse above the left field bleachers almost immediately after entering the ballpark. The Treehouse is a fun bar/patio area with features like pool tables and other games, bars, various lounge areas, and TVs and music blasting. We had a great time playing a few rounds of pool and sampling beer. We also later visited Championship Plaza, the converted outdoor plaza between the Coliseum and Oracle Arena, the former home of the Golden State Warriors. Family-friendly activities like cornhole and Connect 4 were provided, but our favorite part were the food trucks, giving us the chance of enjoying foods not typically offered at a ballpark while also supporting local vendors. During our visit, one food truck sold baos, which I immediately requested, and they were delicious. Prior to our relationship, my husband had visited the Coliseum before either spot was added to the ballpark, and he raved about the added value that these areas brought to his experience.
Still, there was an undeniable state of sadness at the Coliseum. It was hard to ignore that entirely when thinking about the ballpark experience, but I understand why that sadness exists at the same time. Few fans want to watch a bad team and support reprehensible ownership. Those who do show up to the ballpark still clearly love their team, but that adoration is plagued by longing—because in the back of their minds is the fear that this may be the last time that they will see their team in Oakland. As much as we enjoyed Championship Plaza, I had an unmistakable hollow feeling as I sat in-between an empty basketball arena and a stadium that already lost the football team with their baseball tenant desperately trying to leave now as well. With how the 2023 season has unfolded so far, I have to imagine that the situation feels drastically worse now and will only continue to plunge further. I understand the desire to find a new ballpark for the Oakland A’s because, overall, that structure is not suited at all to host a baseball team, but I wished that the quest for a home did not come at the expense of the baseball experience and the happiness of their fans.
Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome
Home of: Minnesota Twins
Visited: July 31st, 2008
Here, we find our lone exception here to the “2017-onward” rule of this list. Remember how I said that the ballparks would not be definitively ranked? Well, I want the record to show that the Metrodome is easily the worst of all of these parks. The Metrodome was the home of the Minnesota Twins from 1982-2009. After the Twins opened Target Field, the Metrodome hung around for another four years to house the Minnesota Vikings before the stadium was ceremoniously demolished in 2014. Much like my Tropicana Field experience, the feeling of “stumbling through a basement until accidentally discovering a baseball game” rang true here as well. As the Metrodome also had a fixed roof, no natural lighting made its way into the ballpark, and these experiences have convinced me that natural lighting is an absolute necessity for all ballparks. The Metrodome’s lighting itself was annoyingly dim, and the color of the roof made fly balls hard to track, which was something that baseball players infamously struggled with at the park. The concrete infrastructure felt rather cold and dour. Much like the woes of Oakland, the Metrodome also suffered from trying to fit a baseball experience into a football stadium. Our outfield seats were not situated toward home plate and were also incredibly high above the field, making it incredibly difficult to see the action. I truly have nothing good to say about watching a baseball game here at the Metrodome.
I do have a story about the fan atmosphere. My family and I went to a White Sox/Twins game in 2008. At one point during the game, then-Twins manager Ron Gardenhire was ejected. Angered by the decision, Twins fans began throwing objects, including hats and baseballs, onto the field. White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen pulled his team off of the field to protect his players, and soon the PA announcer had to warn fans that the Twins would be forced to forfeit the game if they did not start behaving. Twins fans quickly calmed down - or, at least, stopped throwing things. On the way out of the ballpark, Twins fans taunted and jeered at those wearing White Sox gear. My parents said it was the only time that they felt uneasy about getting their children out of a ballpark. “Minnesota nice” did not come out that evening.
Though I have and will only attend one game at the Metrodome, I feel safe in concluding that this will most likely be the worst ballpark experience that I will have, unless something drastically goes wrong elsewhere. My confidence resides in the fact that the nicest thing that I have ever heard anyone say about the Metrodome was from my husband’s cousin, who is a Twins fan: “It was a dump, but it was our dump.” Nothing more needs to be said.
At the time of publication, there is only one ballpark that I had previously visited that does not qualify for this collection: Coors Field, which I visited back in 2007. Once I revisit it, Coors will be included in this list.