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
