This week, the New York Post’s Kevin Davidoff ranked the 30 MLB ballparks, and Oriole Park at Camden Yards came out on top. This is a bit of a pleasant surprise, as in recent years many such lists have elevated newer parks such as PNC in Pittsburgh or AT&T in San Francisco above the one that inspired them all. And hey, whatever – to each their own, right? We O’s fans know what a gem we have, and how lucky we are to be able to watch at least 81 games a year (this year’s “home games” in Tampa notwithstanding) down on Camden and Eutaw Streets.
Unlike Davidoff, I haven’t been to 30 MLB stadiums; I’ve been to five. As such, I only feel qualified to rank those five, so that’s just what I’m going to do. It’s very possible that once I make it to other parks, they’ll leapfrog some of those on this list, but for now, if I haven’t been there and watched a game, it’s not on my list. Pittsburgh, for example – I’ve stood outside the gates at PNC and peered in, I’ve walked over the bridge and seen it, it looks pretty incredible, but I’ve never been inside or attended a ballgame there, so it’s not on this list.
And so, without further ado, here it is: my woefully incomplete ranking of MLB ballparks.
(Just remembered that I went to the old Yankee Stadium. Must have made quite the impression, huh? It wouldn’t make the top five. Awful.)
5. Citizens Bank Park
The City of Brotherly Love…is WAAAAYYYYYYY over there. I was excited to get a Philly cheesesteak, until I realized that we’d never actually be going into Philadelphia, so that was a bummer. On the bright side though, all of their stadiums being on the outskirts allows for great parking in huge lots that are right there, something that many stadiums don’t offer.
Those huge lots also allow for the best part of going to Philly for a baseball game – that tailgating is allowed.
Yup, tailgating for a baseball game – something we’re not familiar with here in Baltimore. You’re cool with me, Philly.
Side note: this was the game where Brian Roberts, down to his last strike with two outs in the 9th inning, hit a game-winning home run to lift the Birds over the Phillies. Good times.
4. Fenway Park
Another well-timed trip – I made my one and only visit to the Green Monstah on the weekend where Chris Davis pitched and the O’s swept the Red Sox. We only attended games one and two, on Friday and Saturday, then started driving home before the game Sunday morning, only to arrive back in Baltimore in time to watch Davis strike out Adrian Gonzalez and get the win.
Anyway, Fenway. History, awesome. Atmosphere, very cool. Sawx fans, well it depends – older ones, great. Younger ones, annoying.
It was great to knock Fenway off the ol’ Bucket list, but I really have no desire to visit again, which isn’t the case for the parks above it in these rankings.
3. Wrigley Field
The only park on this list where I didn’t get to watch the O’s (fortunately, my trip wasn’t during their sweep at the hands of the Cubs last season). I don’t even remember who Chicago beat that day, because I was too busy taking it all in – Wrigley really is great. I’d love to go back and sit in the outfield bleachers (our seats were down the right field line) AND on some of the rooftop decks across the street from the stadium.
The bars around Wrigley are great, the ivy really does look greener in person, and the spirit of Harry Caray is omnipresent. Great place.
Bonus: I was there the day Jay Cutler sang his awful, awful rendition of Take Me out to the Ballgame.
[youtube]https://youtu.be/IFSzzRYn4qg[/youtube]
After that, I saw him at a bar. When I snapped this picture, one of his boys looked to be making a move to come give me a hard time, but Jay stopped him. Thanks, smokin’ Jay. People shouldn’t be so mean to you.
2. AT&T Park
I can’t stress this enough – make the trip to San Francisco for a baseball game at some point. I only wish the Birds played out there more often, because it would give me an excuse to shell out for the rather expensive trip more often. Only a few cons keep this place from being “1B” on my list instead of “2.”
First, look at that picture. You’d think it was taken during a World Series game (sigh) in October or something, but nope – August. An evening game at AT&T in August feels like a football game in November in Baltimore. Give me 95 and humid for a baseball game any day.
A couple other odd quirks working against AT&T: the design that has it built out on a peninsula is obviously great for a number of reasons. However, what it’s not great for is exiting the stadium. Everybody gets funneled to the same couple exits near home plate, which makes leaving a slow process, very different from OPACY, where you can leave the park pretty much anywhere.
See what I mean? I think you can leave in left field too, but we got stuck in quite a bottleneck in those Willie Mays/O’Doul entrances.
The other weird thing was that, from our seats in right field, the closest men’s bathroom was all the way down near first base. In the other direction, it was completely around the park near third base. (It’s very possible that a Giants fan will see this and tell me that no, I’m stupid, and there are more bathrooms. Whatever, we couldn’t find them. Mark them better if they’re there.)
Ok, back to the good:
You can do THIS at a friggin’ baseball game!
“But wait, you said it was cold…that guy is IN the water!”
That’s at night. During the day, it actually feels like summer. The night before, the guys on the water (all three of them) were bundled up like they were kayaking in the arctic. Next day, perfect water weather. San Francisco’s weather is crazy, man.
I can’t recommend this any more highly – get to San Francisco for a game, and if kayaking is your thing, go all out and rent one and paddle around McCovey Cove. I’ll never forget it.
1. Oriole Park at Camden Yards
As if there were any doubt.
