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Ballpark Rankings – Kurt Rates Half of MLB’s Ballparks. Because of my tireless efforts in improving the baseball experience for fans, I frequently get asked what my favorite ballpark is, and while I do have my favorite ones to visit, I really don’t have a definitive answer to the question. Which has kept me from actually writing a list of ballpark rankings. Until today, anyway. You would think it would be easy for me to pick a favorite, but it’s not. Just the opposite.

I could literally say that my favorite ballpark is whichever one I’m sitting in at the time, or whichever one I’m visiting next. I truly mean that. I was in Tropicana Field recently, a venue that almost no one ranks among their favorites. I don’t care what anyone says, the Trop rocks! For one, the dome makes everything louder, from the cheering to the announcers to the cowbells that fans ring whenever an opposing player has two strikes. But there was a much more important attribute. I took my family there on a 9.

July day, and that evening there was a powerful Florida thunderstorm. Yet we saw nine innings of exciting baseball, with my daughter cheering two home runs off of Chris Sale, without interruption or discomfort. My little ones had a blast. And for road trippers, it’s nice to know there will be a game while you’re in town.

Anyway, before I forget where I was going with this, my point is that every ballpark has something special about it. The reason I have trouble picking a favorite is simply because it’s not my job here to prefer one ballpark to another. I have to get on with making some decisions and probably irritating a few people. So here we go. The new Comiskey opened a year before Camden Yards, making it almost instantly obsolete as a modernized ballpark.

They’ve made some great improvements to the place over the years, but it’s still symmetrical and doesn’t really catch the eye. What I Love About It: The best thing I can say about Guaranteed Rate is that it’s the anti- Wrigley. It’s a place where people go to see baseball, not visit one of the big tourist attractions of Chicago, and it’s built to be far easier to access. White Sox fans are there to watch a game, not socialize. And they do now have a taste expert to help you decide what beer goes with your gourmet burger. That’s pretty cool. What I Don’t Love About It: Guaranteed Rate just lacks visual appeal.

I think “sterile” is the word. There isn’t much to see beyond the scoreboard, and the exterior of the place is a dull beige concrete. There’s some decent tailgating, but there isn’t anywhere near the post- game tavern and restaurant scene found at Wrigley.

The concrete could have been used for a very long sidewalk. Ballpark Rankings, #1.

Rogers Centre, Toronto Blue Jays. Sky. Dome was an impressive monument when it was built, and like Guaranteed Rate, it opened a few short months before Camden Yards turned ballpark- building upside down. Nowadays it feels dated and designed to pack the fans in rather than give them a great experience.

What I Love About It: Rogers has a great outside food scene nearby; there are hot dog carts everywhere selling dogs with a long list of toppings, and you’re not too far from some very cool food trucks. It’s also great if the Blue Jays are contending, because Toronto is a loud and proud baseball city and it can get very noisy when the roof is closed. If you don’t mind using public transit, you have a great deal of choices. Rogers is also one of the last of the “multipurpose” stadiums, formerly hosting the CFL Argonauts, and the place sacrifices too much baseball friendliness to football. Well, thanks. I’m just happy to be out of the heat! Ballpark Rankings, #1. Tropicana Field, Tampa Bay Rays.

Yes, I know I just said the place rocks, and in many ways it does. But I while I do prefer baseball to no baseball, it can be depressing to go indoors to watch a game on a beautiful April Florida day.

Well, ok, maybe it is, but the Rays don’t usually sell those. And I have been saved by the roof from vicious Florida heat and a pounding thunderstorm. The Trop is also pretty kid- friendly; tickets are very affordable and there’s interactive games for the little ones around the concourses. And I know it gets on some folks’ nerves, but I love the cowbells. They’ve turned indoor baseball into a positive there at least. What I Don’t Love About It: Indoors on artificial turf just isn’t how baseball is meant to be played; a roof is great on hot and/or rainy nights, but baseball is most enjoyable outdoors on a beautiful temperate summer evening. It’s also a long drive from the population center in Tampa, which at least partly explains the team’s attendance problem.

From the new train station that is “convenient” to the Stadium. Ballpark Rankings, #1. Yankee Stadium, New York Yankees. The new Yankee Stadium does a great job reminding everyone what happened at the old Yankee Stadium, and it’s a great monument to history, but it’s also a monument to big, big money, purposely dividing affluent fans from the proletariat. What I Love About It: Even though the history didn’t happen in this building, the Great Hall, Monument Park, and the Yankees Museum are all impressive, and even though I am an Orioles fan with antipathy for all things Yankees, a lot of great, great players spent their careers in the Bronx. It’s a compliment when fans of other teams despise you.

I also like that they kept the dimensions and returned the frieze to the upper level, giving the place the same look as the original, pre- remodeled Yankee Stadium. It’s nice to have the Metro- North option for getting to the game now. What I Don’t Love About It: Yankee Stadium is the most unfriendly- to- middle- class fans ballpark in baseball. If you don’t have triple digits to spend on a ticket, prepare to be up in the rafters or in the bleachers (unless of course, you consult this booklet for advice). The Yankees are more willing to have their best seats go unfilled than charge a more reasonable price for them, while less affluent fans sit further away.

A code of conduct in D. C. That’s a hoot. If only. Ballpark Rankings, #1. Nationals Park, Washington Nationals.

They got a lot of things right at Nationals Park; the steel exterior is sleek and the entrance from Half Street (where the Metro train drops off most arriving fans) is one of the more visually appealing in baseball. But some things could have been done better, like the distance of the upper level seats, especially towards the outfield. What I Love About It: The designers avoided creating a copy of Camden Yards just a few miles north, and instead built a nice steel modernized ballpark on the beautiful Anacostia riverfront. The pre- and post- game scene on Half Street is improving all the time, as is the selection of nearby eateries, and there is a great selection of food inside the ballpark too. And with no disrespect meant to the Milwaukee sausages, I think the President’s Race is the best mascot race in baseball. What I Don’t Love About It: Could the upper level seats be any higher here? The 4. 00 level of this ballpark is at a vertigo- inducing height (although Rogers Centre in Toronto tops it in spots).

There’s a lot of outfield seating and standing areas that are pretty distant from home plate. Parking here is way too expensive, even spots a good walk away. This pic was taken just after a miserable thunderstorm. Divx Ipod The Hero (2017). But I wasn’t worried. Ballpark Rankings, #1.

Miller Park, Milwaukee Brewers. I love that Brewers fans stepped up and helped their home ballpark win a “Best Ballpark” competition on ESPN’s website. I’d love to rank Miller higher, because I love Milwaukee and think the city’s fans are the best in baseball. But as terrific a venue as Miller is, this huge retractable dome doesn’t feel right in a small market.

What I Love About It: It’s nice to know a game will be played of course, but Milwaukee also is full of folks that really, really love baseball. By the time fans are in the ballpark, they’re ready to be loud. Lots of kid- friendly stuff here too.