How many baseball parks have you been to?
TJMAC
Posts: 864 ✭✭
How many baseball parks have you been to and which one is your favorite? I have been to the following:
PNC Park in Pittsburgh - I saw the Pirates play two games against the Marlins. I almost caught a foul ball, but it bounced off my hand. The spin on it was amazing. PNC is my favorite park. They do a great job showing the history of the team. They have banners of former players all around the outside of the stadium. There is also statues of Clemente, Stargell and a bronze cast (I believe) of Ralph Kiner's hands. It was also cool seeing Manny Sanguillen's BBQ place. Our group took the ferry to the game and had a great time. They even sell drinks on board. The 21 ft high wall in Right Field in honor of Clemente is a great touch as well.
Coors Field in Colorado - I saw the Rockies get beat by the Dodgers somthing like 22-7. It was the highest scoring game of the year for I believe 2001 or 2002. Shawn Green and Sheffield went nuts that day. It is a great looking stadium, but I rate PNC higher due to the historical feel of the park.
Camden Yards - Another beautiful park. I saw two Orioles games against the Yankees in 2003. I know Jeff Weaver pitched one of them. I like how the bullpens are setup at Camden. My brother and I were actually able to talk to Mel Stottlemyre while Weaver was warming up. I remember how hard Weaver threw before the game and wondered why his stuff was not better during game time. The highlight of the game was grabbing a Boog Powell sandwich. Powell would sit right in the middle signing autographs for both sides of the line. He seem like a real nice guy. It was also neat going into the clubhouse and seeing Orioles team photos from like 1954 on.
Yankee Stadium - I went there to see the Red Sox vs. the Yankees in 2005. My Uncle lives in the Tampa-St. Pete area and knows George Steinbrenner personally. He got us seats for a September game right on the first base line. We were about 5 or 6 rows above Derek Jeter's parents. The feel of Yankees stadium is just unbelievable when you think about all the players who played there. We are going for three games vs. the Red Sox in August. My Uncle really sets it up so we have first class treatment all the way.
Sky Dome (Rogers Center) in Toronto - It is a very sterile enviroment. Probably my least favorite park. I have seen about 10 games there since I am only about an 1 and 1/2 away. No offense to natives of Toronto, but it seems more like being at an amusement park with the constant music and gimmicks during the game than it does a ball game. I still like to go because it is MLB close by.
Jacobs Field - Cleveland is about 3 and 1/2 hours away, so I have gone a 5 or 6 times. My Dad works with a vendor who has season tickets and has been able to get us great seats on the 1st base line. I saw the White Sox and A's. Tim Hudson pitched for the A's. He is one of my favorite pitchers and it was a real treat. He pitched a great game, but they ended up losing 3-2. When I saw the Sox, Jim Thome hit a HR. He was with the Indians at that time. I also went to the previous Indians Stadium (I think it was called Municipal Stadium). I saw two games against the Brewers in 1992. It was neat seeing Molitor and Yount near the end of their careers and a young Nagy, Baerga and Joey (Albert) Belle. I remember thinking how good the Indians offense was, but their pitching sure did blow. The Indians were not a big ticket back then. We even got free tickets from a guy in the street for one game. The thing I didn't like about Jacob's field is how the Bull Pens are setup. You can't seeing the pitchers warming up unless you are looking directly down on them. I did like the statue of Bob Feller though.
PNC Park in Pittsburgh - I saw the Pirates play two games against the Marlins. I almost caught a foul ball, but it bounced off my hand. The spin on it was amazing. PNC is my favorite park. They do a great job showing the history of the team. They have banners of former players all around the outside of the stadium. There is also statues of Clemente, Stargell and a bronze cast (I believe) of Ralph Kiner's hands. It was also cool seeing Manny Sanguillen's BBQ place. Our group took the ferry to the game and had a great time. They even sell drinks on board. The 21 ft high wall in Right Field in honor of Clemente is a great touch as well.
Coors Field in Colorado - I saw the Rockies get beat by the Dodgers somthing like 22-7. It was the highest scoring game of the year for I believe 2001 or 2002. Shawn Green and Sheffield went nuts that day. It is a great looking stadium, but I rate PNC higher due to the historical feel of the park.
Camden Yards - Another beautiful park. I saw two Orioles games against the Yankees in 2003. I know Jeff Weaver pitched one of them. I like how the bullpens are setup at Camden. My brother and I were actually able to talk to Mel Stottlemyre while Weaver was warming up. I remember how hard Weaver threw before the game and wondered why his stuff was not better during game time. The highlight of the game was grabbing a Boog Powell sandwich. Powell would sit right in the middle signing autographs for both sides of the line. He seem like a real nice guy. It was also neat going into the clubhouse and seeing Orioles team photos from like 1954 on.
Yankee Stadium - I went there to see the Red Sox vs. the Yankees in 2005. My Uncle lives in the Tampa-St. Pete area and knows George Steinbrenner personally. He got us seats for a September game right on the first base line. We were about 5 or 6 rows above Derek Jeter's parents. The feel of Yankees stadium is just unbelievable when you think about all the players who played there. We are going for three games vs. the Red Sox in August. My Uncle really sets it up so we have first class treatment all the way.
Sky Dome (Rogers Center) in Toronto - It is a very sterile enviroment. Probably my least favorite park. I have seen about 10 games there since I am only about an 1 and 1/2 away. No offense to natives of Toronto, but it seems more like being at an amusement park with the constant music and gimmicks during the game than it does a ball game. I still like to go because it is MLB close by.
Jacobs Field - Cleveland is about 3 and 1/2 hours away, so I have gone a 5 or 6 times. My Dad works with a vendor who has season tickets and has been able to get us great seats on the 1st base line. I saw the White Sox and A's. Tim Hudson pitched for the A's. He is one of my favorite pitchers and it was a real treat. He pitched a great game, but they ended up losing 3-2. When I saw the Sox, Jim Thome hit a HR. He was with the Indians at that time. I also went to the previous Indians Stadium (I think it was called Municipal Stadium). I saw two games against the Brewers in 1992. It was neat seeing Molitor and Yount near the end of their careers and a young Nagy, Baerga and Joey (Albert) Belle. I remember thinking how good the Indians offense was, but their pitching sure did blow. The Indians were not a big ticket back then. We even got free tickets from a guy in the street for one game. The thing I didn't like about Jacob's field is how the Bull Pens are setup. You can't seeing the pitchers warming up unless you are looking directly down on them. I did like the statue of Bob Feller though.
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Toronto
Cleveland
Cincinnati
Pittsburgh
Arizona
Los Angeles Angeles
Los Angeles Dodgers
Seattle
San Diego
San Francisco
Detroit
Texas
Montreal before move
Baltimore
Atlanta
Minnesota
Colorado
Chicago Cubs
Chicago White Sox
Others I have been to the stadium but not seen a game include
Boston
Yankees
Houston
St. Louis
I try to get in a new one each year. Have not figure out which stadium this year yet.
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Oakland Coliseum (2 games) and Pacbell Park (1 game).
If you're counting minor league stadiums, I've been to Raley Field a whole bunch of times (home of the Sacramento Rivercats (Oakland's AAA team)).
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PNC- I would agree this one is the best. Easy to get in and out, great stadium, party atmosphere all around the park before the game, and an incredible backdrop behind the outfield. Only been there once, but can't wait to go back.
Jacobs- nice stadium, nothing overly characteristic, but certainly a great place to see a game
New Comiskey- Cellular One I think, officially. I was warned this was a terrible place to see a game, and it turned out to be totally the opposite. Saw one there the year before last, when they won the WS, and it was easy getting great seats. Nice stadium, very easy to get to via the train, and Minnie Minoso sat a few seats away and was very chatty. Great stadium, great town.
Camden- another nice stadium. Saw Pedro beat the O's a few years ago in a rain shortened game, so it wasn't the ideal experience, but it's certainly a great park.
Wrigley- Old and not great under the stands in the concession area, but who cares? It's Wrigley! Saw two games there a year ago, one with my face planted into a pillar- if the tickets say obstructed view, take heed. The other was a few rows behind the Cubs dugout on a midday Friday game, where it was bright, sunny, and the Cubs rallied in the bottom of the 9th to win. Does it really get any better than this? Yes, it does- if you start 2 hours before the game barhopping in the taverns adjacent to the field. Not to be missed.
San Diego- can't remember who the corporate sponser of the day is, but this is a really nice stadium. Close to the beach, a few miles from Mexico, great food, great sight lines, all around great park.
Milwaukee- ditto San Diego above, with the exception of the beach and Mexico. The cool thing here is they angle the seats to face towards home. Fun atmosphere, great food.
Anaheim Stadium- just so-so. It is exactly like it's surrounding area (inland Orange County). Bland, faceless, and a lot like a mall. Basically a baseball mall.
Dodger Stadium- this one is home. I've probably seen 300 games there, and 3 World Series. It used to be my favorite, but ranks way down the list now. It's old and crumbling, they've crammed way too many seats and banners and neon signs, $11 beers and soggy tacos. The worst part? Except for in the most expensive seats, most of the fans seem way more interested in batting a beach ball around and doing the wave.
Tropicana (Tampa)- I guess this is why indoor stadiums suck- it feels really sterile, and the lighting is horrible. The night we were there the attendance was 8800, and when I shouted something out the players were cracking up, it was so quiet. Great argument for contraction.
Oakland Colliseum- By far the worst park I've been to. A complete rat hole, bad sight lines, ugly outfield stands that feel like they are crowding you, horrible food, bad aisles. Worse than any Triple AAA park I've been to, and definitely not worthy of MLB. The parking lot looked like the lunar landing surface.
Seattle Safeco- Great stadium- 1st class all the way, it ranks up there with SD, Milwaukee and PNC. Not to be missed.
Minor Leage-
Been to a bunch lately, and really enjoy the experience. Cheap, easy to get good seats, and a lot of fun.
Some of the best and a real dog-
Louisville- great stadium, with added capacity would rival many in mlb
Portland- ditto above. Great place to see a game
Jacksonville, Fl. Nice field and stadium
San Bernandino and Lancaster, Ca - these 2 are identical, as I suspect the others in the league are. If you're within 45 minutes it's definitely worthwhile
Salem, VA Fun place for a game, especially for kids. Actually this is true of most minor leage games
Las Vegas- biggest secret in Vegas. 3 taxi drivers had no idea there was a baseball team in Vegas. Stadium is ok, if you're hardcore go, but come on, it's Vegas, you can't find anything else to do?
Nashville- absolutely the worst field I've been to. Crumbling, dirty, dingy, old, tired, needs to be bulldozed. Wait, that's Nashville. The Sounds field is exactly the same though. Better to drive the 90 minutes or more to Louisville.
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Ebbetts
Polo Grounds
Three Rivers
mike
Comerica Park - Tigers
Jacobs Field - Indians
Metrodome - Twins
Fenway Park - Red Sox
RFK - Nationals
Camden Yards - Orioles
Busch Stadium
Turner Field
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Seattle will be the hardest for me. The 2 texas parks and Tampa will be visited this summer.
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Angels / The Big A --- read Griffins comments above. Great place for a family though.
Dodgers / Dodger Stadium --- love the grilled Dodger dogs. I like this baseball experience. Disagree with Griffins. Getting in and out sucks though.
Red Sox / Fenway --- have seen two games; sat in OF once and 3b line once. Great atmosphere. Loved the Yankee/Boston fighting, yelling, and mocking. They were playing the Twins.
Giants / Pac Bell --- Best park. Hands down. Perfect in just about every way, really.
Braves / Turner Field --- been to a few of these. Kind of boring, really.
No longer exist:
Cardinals / old Busch --- was there in both the turf and natural grass days. So-so, but they are my favorite team so I love every one of them. Would sit in the bleachers for $6. It was a killer deal.
Expos / Olympic --- saw Bonds hit 2x hr in '00. There were like 1800 people in attendance. Got in dirt cheap, though. And Youpee is awesome.
Rangers / Arlington Stadium --- was here as a kid in '86. Pete Incavilia and Steve Boo-chele. Gotta love it.
-Tom
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Metrodome
County Stadium
Kaufmann Stadium
Dodgers Stadium
Almeda County Stadium
Camden Yards
Jacob's Field
Pac Bell (no game)
Riverfront
I need to get to some of the new stadiums obviously.
<< <i>Oakland Colliseum- By far the worst park I've been to. A complete rat hole, bad sight lines, ugly outfield stands that feel like they are crowding you, horrible food, bad aisles. Worse than any Triple AAA park I've been to, and definitely not worthy of MLB. The parking lot looked like the lunar landing surface. >>
Hey! I grew up with that rat hole!
I would have liked to visit more of the old parks but here's my list...
MAJORS
Oakland Coliseum (yea!)
Candlestick Park
PacBell/SBC/ATT Park
Anaheim Stadium
Astrodome
KC Municipal Stadium (current)
Safeco Field
Fenway Park (went to game but couldn't get in)
Three Rivers Stadium
Comiskey/White Sox Park (new one - sat behind Evander Holyfield!)
Riverfront Stadium (or was it Three Rivers don't remember they were exactly the same)
Mile High Stadium (1st Year Rockies)
Metrodome
Camden Yards (took the tour, no game while I was there)
Bank One Ballpark
Wrigley Field (drove by, Cubs were away)
MINORS
San Jose Municipal (Class A Giants)
Nat Bailey Stadium (Vancouver BC)
Arlington (TX) Stadium (AA before the Rangers moved there)
Rohnert Park Stadium (rookie league NorCal)
SPRING TRAINING
All the Cactus League stadiums in Arizona plus Palm Springs.
In addition I actually PLAYED games in these minor league parks (Class A California Leage) with summer high school travelling teams, but don't remember the names:
Modesto, CA
Salinas, CA
My favorite is still the Oakland Coliseum because I have so many childhood memories from there. Yes, it's a dingy, grey relic from the multipurpose stadium era but to me it was home away from home. Of the other parks, I think Safeco might be the favorite park I have visited.
Shea Stadium - once
Old Comiskey Stadium - once
Camdem Yards - 2 or 3 times
RFK (Nationals) - 2 times
Richmond Braves (AAA) - many times
Sussex Cardinals (A) - once
Yankee Stadium hands down is the finest place ever built to see a ballgame.
Forgot the name of the stadium but the old Padres Stadium in San Diego before they went to PETCO park
Camden Yards
Skydome in Toronto
Forgot the name but went to the Braves old Stadium in Atlanta before it was torn down and replaced
that's it for me....but I plan to go to more parks once I retire.
Also it's not a stadium but if you ever get a chance to go to Louisville Kentucky and visit the Louisville Slugger factory it is really a cool place to visit...
al.
Dodger Stadium - this one is home for me too, but I hate the Frank McCourt changes. Dodger Stadium was always pure and unspoiled on the field. Even when they first painted the outfield fence, it was with pictures of Dodger legends. Now, every inch of available wall space is an advertisement, the outline of the field has been spoiled by the premium seats in what used to be foul territory (which cut directly into the Dodgers pitching strength - many foul outs are now out of play), the public restaurant on the Club level is gone (this used to play a big part in my trick to sitting on the Field level even if I had Reserved level tickets), and they're using those stupid CGI character races on Diamond Vision between innings.
Anaheim Stadium, both before and after the mid-1990s major renovation (I will not use the Arte Moreno name for the stadium)
Yankee Stadium
Olympic Stadium
Bank One Ballpark
Jack Murphy Stadium
Petco Park
Nat Bailey Stadium (Vancouver) - it has the most beautiful backdrop I've seen for any stadium.
Baltimore Memorial Stadium
Rosenblatt Stadium (College World Series home)
several other minor league parks
Been to, but no game:
Fenway Park
Wrigley Field
old Comiskey Park
L.A. Coliseum (ok, so they stopped playing baseball there decades earlier)
Riverfront Stadium
Busch Stadium
Milwaukee County Stadium
Royals Stadium
Candlestick Park
Oakland Coliseum
Tiger Stadium
Exhibition Stadium
Arlington Stadium
Astrodome
Atlanta-Fulton County Coliseum
Mile High Stadium (when it was still a minor league park)
dozens of other minor league and independent league parks
Add in a bunch of football and basketball/hockey stadiums.
Nick
Reap the whirlwind.
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Anaheim Stadium
Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium
The Astrodome
Arlington Stadium
The Ballpark at Arlington
Coors Field
Minute Maid Park
Favorite is Coors Field
Steve
Last year I was able to hit PNC which was an absolutely GREAT experience. Really nice surrounding area with a superb atmosphere and the park itself was the nicest place you could ever wanna go.
Also on the list last year was Camden yards which was just as I had always imagined...tons of fun, the Great American ballpark in Cincy which had some really great features, Washington which was dissapointing mostly due to the traffic and general mess in the area, and finally a game in Philly which showed me that the fans in that town get a bad rap, they were great IMO.
-- Yogi Berra
Other than my "home" stadiums (Wrigley and Fenway), I think I liked old Tiger the best. The bleachers in Yankee Stadium was a tough place to be for a Sox fan for game 7's in back-to-back years, so I don't know if I got the ambiance. At least the second one ended happily
Bosox1976
Seattle - both the Kingdome and Safeco. Safeco is everything the Kingdome wasn't.
Oakland - The Coliseum. Terrible stadium, terrible attendance . . .
Anaheim - Just there once and we had nose bleed seats, but it was a fun game. No tailgating allowed though. ):
Montreal - I was there for Randy Johnson's first game in Montreal.
Boston - By far my favorite.
Yankee Stadium - May 30, 1998. Yankees against the Red Sox. Bret Saberhagen versus Hideki Irabu. It was actually a pitcher's duel until Mo Vaughn once again screwed me over by hitting a homerun to give Boston a 3-2 victory. I'd been to only two MLB games thus far in my life and Mo Vaughn sent me home depressed each time. I truly hated that man.
Yankee Stadium - October 7, 1999. Divisional Series Game 2, Andy Pettite versus Rick Helling. FINALLY, a game that Mo Vaughn couldn't ruin for me.
Yankee Stadium - July 31, 2005. Yankees against the Angels. This was one of the best baseball games I'd ever seen in my life. An 8-7 11-inning thriller won by NY after a number of miraculous comebacks. Randy Johnson pitched for NY and had 7 strikeouts, but pitched really poorly. My seats were amazing. Four rows behind the tarp on the first base side of the field. My buddy works at a company whose owner has season tickets and sells off the extras each year, so every year I get to go see a ball game via the Stadium Club there at the Stadium. The whole experience is great, but this particular game was incredible. Giambi went deep twice, and Rivera was even human as he let Anaheim pull ahead 7-6 in the 10th. NY, however, came right back and then won it all in the bottom of the 11th when Matsui led off with a triple and scored on Tony Womack's single. Great game.
Yankee Stadium - July 15, 2006. Yankees against the White Sox. Again, this was a game I got to go to thanks to my friend picking up the tickets from the owner of his company. Once more, they were four rows behind the tarp on the first base side with all the ammenities you could hope for. The experience was well worth the C-Note I had to drop for the tickets. As for the game, without Mo Vaughn there my streak of seeing Yankees victories continued as the Yankees took down the White Sox 14-3. Mike Mussina looked GREAT and Mark Beurhle for the Chi-Sox was rocked. This one wasn't even close as NY quickly took an 8-0 lead and never looked back. Jeter and Giambi each had good games, but surprisingly the power for NY came on late-game HRs by Bubba Crosby and Andy Phillips. Also, Scott Proctor throws REALLY hard. The catcher's mitt was popping loudly even from where I was sitting.
Those are all the major league parks, and games, that I've ever been to in my life. Can't wait to head back this year.
Somebody brought up the fact of an uncomfortable seat at the ball park. I'm not a fat slob by any means, but i am a stocky guy(34W/ 48"Chest. Out of the 20+ parks i have been to, The new Pitt stadium and Arizona i found my elbows not purtruding into the seats next to me-----anyone with this problem?? After moving north to Vancouver,WA, i visited Seattle's baseball park. It was like a woman trying to get into a size 2 dress when in reality she's an 8 type of seat. My knees were into the back of the seat in front of me. Ever try sitting at an angle for 3 hours??
Metropolitian Stadium (the old outdoor twins park)
Royals Stadium,
Old Commiskey Park,
New Commiskey Park,
Rollerdome (better known as the Humphrey Dome) sunny 85 degree day and go inside to watch a game,
Old Busch Stadium
County Stadium (old brewers)
You can tell I am a midwest boy.
Want to get to Yankee Stadium before the tear it down.
I also saw the Twins play a couple of times and I was at the Varitek/aRod brawl game.
Kaufman Stadium (KC) ( I met, sat with and chatted with Buck O'Neil ! it was amazing.... of course I was in town to watch the Indians (4 game series back when Jim Thome was a young kid!) Albert Belle was with the team, what a jack@azz, I actually met Jim Thome in the parking lot and had a conversation with him (they were sitting him against lefties at the time)
Camden Yards: beautiful stadium
Coors Field (braves were in town, I caught an Andruw Jones HR!)
Safeco: Again, the Indians, but it wasnt planned, they won both games too.. go tribe!
Jacobs field (the red sox were the visiting team lol) and the Tribe won! In Ohio on vacation (Cedar Point, for your rollercoaster nuts) saw two games, the tribe won them both.
Anaheim
Jack Murphy
Dodger Stadium
Candlestick
Pac Bell
Oakland
The Bob
The Vet
Camden Yards
Yankee Stadium
Wrigley
Toronto
Miller Park
Fenway
River Front
Tropicana Fields
Where the Marlins play
Old Comiskey
US Cellular/The Joan/ The New Comiskey
The BOB/ Bank One Ballpark/Chase Field
Tropicana Field
County Stadium
Miller Field
Metrodome
Dodger Stadium
I've been to a few FB stadiums too...
Soldiers Field New and Old
RCA Dome
Metrodome
Raymond James Stadium
Silverdome
Superdome
Dolphin Stadium (Joe Robbie/Pro Player)
My Auctions
Memorial Stadium
Camden Yards
RFK
Vet
Whatever the new Phillies stadium is called
Yankee Stadium
Turner Field
Gosh, I suck...I am too much of an east coast mid-atlantic guy
But HEY!!!! I've gone to Aruba 4 times 'O' beat that!!! LOL
Ripken, Brooks & Frank Robinson, Old Orioles, Sweet Spot Autos, older Redskins - Riggins, Sonny, Baugh etc and anything that catches my eye.
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Somehow I have to get tix to a Yankees game at Yankee Stadium. My 70 year old MIL wants to go to a game there with me. I think the old girl and I would have a blast there!
PacBell is beautiful with the bay in the back, Fenway is rich in tradition, Dolphins Stadium is full of good memories from two world championships, but the best for me is Dodger Stadium. It was my first experience at a ballpark growing up and I loved it! The walls so blue, the grass so green....ahh....good stuff. And, those Dodger dogs! The traffic in and out sucks as was mentioned, but still worth it.
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Tiger Stadium
Fenway Park
RFK
Veteren's Stadium
Memorial Field? (Orioles)
Exibition Stadium
Olympic Stadium
Anaheim Stadium
Camden Yards
Pac Bell
Citizen's Bank Park
PNC Park
2. Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, Minneapolis, MN
3. Fenway Park, Boston, MA
4. Fulton County Stadium, Atlanta, GA
5. Turner Field, Atlanta, GA
6. Candlestick Park, San Francisco, CA
7. AT&T Park, San Francisco, CA
8. Oakland Coliseum, Oakland, CA
9. Minute Maid Park, Houston, TX
10. Chase Field, Phoenix, AZ
11. Yankee Stadium, Bronx, NY
Toured Camden Yards on an off-day & visited SkyDome in Toronto.
Erik