BALLPARK RANKINGS
Kauffman Stadium, Kansas City: I'm torn on this one. I've always liked Kauffman Stadium, for years baseball's most underrated ballpark. Seeing the stadium lights from the highway after a night game was an even grander sight than watching the outfield fountains from home plate or watching George Brett's stroke. And it always amazed me that a place so beautiful was built in the early '70s when the rest of baseball gave us Veterans Stadium and Riverfront and Three Rivers. It was as out of place for the era as seeing someone in classic polo shirt and khakis amid guys in leisure suits. How you rate Kauffman now depends on how you feel about the recent remodel (which, I wrote at the time, was a nice effort but as unnecessary as plastic surgery for Megan Fox). On the one hand, there was something very relaxing and pastoral about seeing the wide green berm surrounding the fountains in the original ballpark. It made you want to go have a picnic there. That's gone now, replaced by outfield seating and lots of concessions and amusements. It's all very busy, but, I must admit, it's also very fun if you're a fan. So, how do I feel about it? I don't know. It's still a great stadium, but I miss the old layout.
Score: 86.
Current rankings
1. AT&T Park, San Francisco 94
2. Camden Yards, Baltimore 92
3. Target Field, Minnesota 91
4. Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles 88
5. Safeco Field, Seattle 87
6. Kauffman Stadium, Kansas City
7. Jacobs Field, Cleveland 82
8. Busch Stadium, St. Louis 78
9. The Ballpark in Arlington, Texas 77
10. Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum 74
11. Tropicana Field, Tampa Bay 68
Love it. Can't wait to see the 30. Make sure you post it when it's done!
ReplyDeleteI have been to three of his top 4.
ReplyDeleteBobby and I say Ichiro play in Camden Yard and it is amazing, so is AT&T, they both have more stuff for people to do other than watch the game, which doesn't impress me as much as it does my 12year old daughter.
PNC Park in Pittsburgh is VERY nice, it even has some old-fashioned weird quirks in the outfield wall.
The rankings will greatly change as this goes on. Tropicana Field sucks worse than the Marlins stadium and the piece of crap where we saw Roger pitch 13 K's in Toronto.
Did I miss Chase Field? I'm curious why this park wouldn't be on the list...
ReplyDeleteHe hasn't done all the stadiums yet. I'll update as he posts them.
ReplyDeleteI need to visit more ball parks. Only been to Chase, Qualcomm, and Wrigley. Please post the rest for sure.
ReplyDeleteBALLPARK RANKINGS
ReplyDeleteWrigley Field, Chicago: The Friendly Confines got a most unfriendly review last week when Peter Gammons referred to it as a dump. If so, there must be some mighty nice garbage dumps out in Boston because Wrigley is one of my favorite ballparks. Do the concourse and concession areas need some serious upgrades? Yes, absolutely. There was a time when I preferred Wrigley to Fenway, but not since the Red Sox spent a lot of money upgrading the oldest ballpark in baseball so that it seemed both historic and fresh. Wrigley could use a similar amount of love. But a dump? Please. Looking out at the scoreboard and the ivy-covered walls is like a trip through a time machine to a delightful past. I've often said that if foreign visitors wanted to capture the true American experience, they should see Yosemite and the Pacific Ocean, and sit in the bleachers with the wind blowing out at Wrigley and a beer in their hands on a warm summer day. Of course, it would be nice if Cubs had a better team to watch on the field and sold some better food in the concession stands, but as they say in Chicago, there's always next year.
Score: 90. Current Rankings:
1. AT&T Park, San Francisco 94.
2. Camden Yards, Baltimore 92
3. Target Field, Minnesota 91
4. Wrigley Field, Chicago 90
5. Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles 88
6. Safeco Field, Seattle 87
7. Comerica Park, Detroit 87
8. Kauffman Stadium, Kansas City 86
9. Progressive Field, Cleveland 82
10. Busch Stadium, St. Louis 78
11. Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, Texas 77
12. Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum 74
13. Tropicana Field, Tampa Bay 68