Favorite Ballpark

[bignick33]

The thread about Philly fans inspired me to start a poll about people's favorite ballparks. Please explain your answers. Campion, I'm only including current ballparks or those recently demolished, but you can still rant about how your favorite is some older ballpark which I chose not to include. I included the city where it might be confusing.

Go!

[BC '00]

I said Old Yankee Stadium, even though a lot of those other parks are much nicer. The question was "favorite", and Ruth, Gehrig, Mantle, and DiMaggio played there. Not to mention Mike Pagliarulo.

[bignick33]

Not to mention Mike Pagliarulo.

Ha. I played baseball with his son.

[BC '00]

Not to mention Mike Pagliarulo.

Ha. I played baseball with his son.

Did he also go by "Pags"?

[bignick33]

I've been to Fenway, old Yankee, Shea, Citi, Progressive, Camden, Saefco, Citizen's Bank, and PNC. I've walked or driven by Comerica, the Chicago ones, Great American, new Yankee, the Vet, and St. Pete's (the last two of which I obviously couldn't get a feel for, because they're domes).

Fenway is my favorite of the old ones, but that's not saying much because I've never been to Dodger, Tiger, or Wrigley. I did like the old Yankee Stadium, but it was obviously was much less intimate than Fenway, but legroom does count for something. My dad spent much of my childhood raving about the old Tiger Stadium, so that counts for something as well.

Of the new ballparks, I'd have to rate PNC my favorite. The view of downtown Pittsburgh, the rivers, and the mountains are unsurpassed in MLB. You'd never guess it without visiting, but the topography of that city is actually makes it quite beautiful. Also, the footprint of that ballpark isn't so massive that you lose the intimacy, and in that regard it's similar to Camden, Progressive, Citi, and Citizen's, all of which I'd rate highly.

[claver2010]

The thread about Philly fans inspired me to start a poll about people's favorite ballparks. Please explain your answers. Campion, I'm only including current ballparks or those recently demolished, but you can still rant about how your favorite is some older ballpark which I chose not to include. I included the city where it might be confusing.

Go!

Eh it all goes by what you want from your experience.

Granted I've only been to Shea, Citi, Old Yankee, New Yankee, & Fenway.

Of those 5 if you want the pregame experience Fenway was fun (compared to beautiful Queens & the Bronx ). But in order to get beer (which for some reason they don't have beer vendors) and food you'll miss at least half an inning. It has that historic old ballpark feel but the seats are tiny.

Citi is a nice ballpark but in a crappy area and not much during game environment, maybe cause the team has sucked. I actually think there is too much to do there during the game.

New Yankee is a palace, if you want the ballpark feel it isn't for you but if you want fine cuts of beef you came to the right place.

Old Yankee had the best "environment" but you also miss at least an inning to get food.

[bignick33]

Not to mention Mike Pagliarulo.

Ha. I played baseball with his son.

Did he also go by "Pags"?

Yes, but I never really knew him, because he was younger than I.

[commavegarage]

Old Yankee Stadium > Anything I've seen.

I think the whole Fenway mystique is overrated. Yes, I'm glad I've seen the place, but I just can't get too excited about it.

[pick6pedro]

I'm partial to the trend-setter of the new retro style. I was lucky enough to skip school and go to the first game there to see Rick Sutcliffe pitch a beaut (also my first ride in a limo). I've also been lucky enough to pull my hair out every season since Davey Johnson was booted because of a skeezebag lawyer owner's ego.

[bignick33]

I'm partial to the trend-setter of the new retro style. I was lucky enough to skip school and go to the first game there to see Rick Sutcliffe pitch a beaut (also my first ride in a limo). I've also been lucky enough to pull my hair out every season since Davey Johnson was booted because of a skeezebag lawyer owner's ego.

Speaking of Baltimore, I started watching The Wire per your (and others' from this board) recommendation. I just started Season 3. I spent much of Season 2 amused by the fact that the main character's name is Sobotka. There is a Bruin named Sobotka!

PS: I'm easily amused.
PPS: Sometimes I hijack my own threads.
PPPS: I really like Camden Yards too. I saw Palmeiero's 2998th hit against the Red Sox, in the last game before the All Star Break about 5 years ago. It was obscenely hot that day. It's all here in the box score: (http://scores.espn.go.com/mlb/boxscore?gameId=250710101).

[pick6pedro]

I'm partial to the trend-setter of the new retro style. I was lucky enough to skip school and go to the first game there to see Rick Sutcliffe pitch a beaut (also my first ride in a limo). I've also been lucky enough to pull my hair out every season since Davey Johnson was booted because of a skeezebag lawyer owner's ego.

Speaking of Baltimore, I started watching The Wire per your (and others' from this board) recommendation. I just started Season 3. I spent much of Season 2 amused by the fact that the main character's name is Sobotka. There is a Bruin named Sobotka!

PS: I'm easily amused.
PPS: Sometimes I hijack my own threads.
PPPS: I really like Camden Yards too. I saw Palmeiero's 2998th hit against the Red Sox, in the last game before the All Star Break about 5 years ago. It was obscenely hot that day. It's all here in the box score: (http://scores.espn.go.com/mlb/boxscore?gameId=250710101).

Eerily enough I was thinking of that same thing as I flipped over to the game last night during commercials of the Capitals aborting their mojo. Did the Bruins player buy a duck and then shake his junk at everyone while I was watching the other game?

I'm also amused because the Google Bot is offering me Orioles gear. Stellar.

Season2 is the worst one by far. It only gets better. I won't ruin it for you by saying that Omar and 74 hook up.

[bcsoxfan12]

I say Fenway wins, but then again I’m a local kid so besides Fenway, I’ve gone to Old Yankee Stadium, Camden, Safeco, Jacobs Field and Tampa. I say toss up between Yankee Stadium because of the history (not the people) and Baltimore.

[twballgame9]

I've been to Fenway, Shea, Old Yankee, Camden Yards, PNC (or whatever they are calling new Candlestick now) and the Murph (the predecessor to PetCo). PNC and Fenway were awesome. Old Yankee and Camden were not bad, although Camden is overrated. Shea and the Murph were terrible.

[BCEagle74]

Old Ranger stadium 102 at 10 PM.
New Ranger stadium 102 at 10 PM

Disgustiad.

[bignick33]

Old Ranger stadium 102 at 10 PM.
New Ranger stadium 102 at 10 PM

Disgustiad.

You're coming dangerously close to breaking B0mber's second rule. Any lawyers or judges here to make a ruling?

http://eagleoutsider.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=4653

[ADonovanJr]

Finally a topic in my wheelhouse! The wife and I have been going to ballparks since were were married. Great way to see America. This summer we will be going to the new Twins park. The old one was not very good.

Favorite old park: Wrigley Field. Fenway is great but Wrigley is special. I also liked the old Yankee Stadium because it was neat sitting there imagining all the greats that played there.

Favorite new park: Camden is still the best. All the new parks try hard to emulate Camden, but they just miss by a little. A close second for me is Coors Field. The park itself is nothing special, but the people are fantastic. Plus, driving around Denver is nothing like anywhere else with a baseball team.

Wildcard: Miller Park is very underrated. We went out in July and they have this thing called summerfest at the Harley plant. Great place for a family vacation. They also know how to eat and drink. Every local is huge and drinks beer by the bucket, washing it down with bratwursts. I ate more in a weekend than I do in a normal month.

Big Downer: Dodger Stadium. The famous Dodge Dogs are a slimjim in a bun. The people make the old guys at BC seem reckless. The most boring place I've ever watched a game. LA was OK. The wife is in to all the Hollywood stuff. She had a blast, which means I had a blast, even though I was bored to death most of the time.

[twballgame9]

Finally a topic in my wheelhouse! The wife and I have been going to ballparks since were were married. Great way to see America. This summer we will be going to the new Twins park. The old one was not very good.

Favorite old park: Wrigley Field. Fenway is great but Wrigley is special. I also liked the old Yankee Stadium because it was neat sitting there imagining all the greats that played there.

Favorite new park: Camden is still the best. All the new parks try hard to emulate Camden, but they just miss by a little. A close second for me is Coors Field. The park itself is nothing special, but the people are fantastic. Plus, driving around Denver is nothing like anywhere else with a baseball team.

Wildcard: Miller Park is very underrated. We went out in July and they have this thing called summerfest at the Harley plant. Great place for a family vacation. They also know how to eat and drink. Every local is huge and drinks beer by the bucket, washing it down with bratwursts. I ate more in a weekend than I do in a normal month.

Big Downer: Dodger Stadium. The famous Dodge Dogs are a slimjim in a bun. The people make the old guys at BC seem reckless. The most boring place I've ever watched a game. LA was OK. The wife is in to all the Hollywood stuff. She had a blast, which means I had a blast, even though I was bored to death most of the time.

PNC kicks Camden's ass.

[ADonovanJr]

Finally a topic in my wheelhouse! The wife and I have been going to ballparks since were were married. Great way to see America. This summer we will be going to the new Twins park. The old one was not very good.

Favorite old park: Wrigley Field. Fenway is great but Wrigley is special. I also liked the old Yankee Stadium because it was neat sitting there imagining all the greats that played there.

Favorite new park: Camden is still the best. All the new parks try hard to emulate Camden, but they just miss by a little. A close second for me is Coors Field. The park itself is nothing special, but the people are fantastic. Plus, driving around Denver is nothing like anywhere else with a baseball team.

Wildcard: Miller Park is very underrated. We went out in July and they have this thing called summerfest at the Harley plant. Great place for a family vacation. They also know how to eat and drink. Every local is huge and drinks beer by the bucket, washing it down with bratwursts. I ate more in a weekend than I do in a normal month.

Big Downer: Dodger Stadium. The famous Dodge Dogs are a slimjim in a bun. The people make the old guys at BC seem reckless. The most boring place I've ever watched a game. LA was OK. The wife is in to all the Hollywood stuff. She had a blast, which means I had a blast, even though I was bored to death most of the time.

PNC kicks Camden's ass.

A renaissance in Pittsburgh would make that city Baltimore.

[twballgame9]

Finally a topic in my wheelhouse! The wife and I have been going to ballparks since were were married. Great way to see America. This summer we will be going to the new Twins park. The old one was not very good.

Favorite old park: Wrigley Field. Fenway is great but Wrigley is special. I also liked the old Yankee Stadium because it was neat sitting there imagining all the greats that played there.

Favorite new park: Camden is still the best. All the new parks try hard to emulate Camden, but they just miss by a little. A close second for me is Coors Field. The park itself is nothing special, but the people are fantastic. Plus, driving around Denver is nothing like anywhere else with a baseball team.

Wildcard: Miller Park is very underrated. We went out in July and they have this thing called summerfest at the Harley plant. Great place for a family vacation. They also know how to eat and drink. Every local is huge and drinks beer by the bucket, washing it down with bratwursts. I ate more in a weekend than I do in a normal month.

Big Downer: Dodger Stadium. The famous Dodge Dogs are a slimjim in a bun. The people make the old guys at BC seem reckless. The most boring place I've ever watched a game. LA was OK. The wife is in to all the Hollywood stuff. She had a blast, which means I had a blast, even though I was bored to death most of the time.

PNC kicks Camden's ass.

A renaissance in Pittsburgh would make that city Baltimore.

Shit, my bad. I was thinking of the one in SF - the one that used to be PacBell.

[bignick33]

Finally a topic in my wheelhouse! The wife and I have been going to ballparks since were were married. Great way to see America. This summer we will be going to the new Twins park. The old one was not very good.

Favorite old park: Wrigley Field. Fenway is great but Wrigley is special. I also liked the old Yankee Stadium because it was neat sitting there imagining all the greats that played there.

Favorite new park: Camden is still the best. All the new parks try hard to emulate Camden, but they just miss by a little. A close second for me is Coors Field. The park itself is nothing special, but the people are fantastic. Plus, driving around Denver is nothing like anywhere else with a baseball team.

Wildcard: Miller Park is very underrated. We went out in July and they have this thing called summerfest at the Harley plant. Great place for a family vacation. They also know how to eat and drink. Every local is huge and drinks beer by the bucket, washing it down with bratwursts. I ate more in a weekend than I do in a normal month.

Big Downer: Dodger Stadium. The famous Dodge Dogs are a slimjim in a bun. The people make the old guys at BC seem reckless. The most boring place I've ever watched a game. LA was OK. The wife is in to all the Hollywood stuff. She had a blast, which means I had a blast, even though I was bored to death most of the time.

PNC kicks Camden's ass.

A renaissance in Pittsburgh would make that city Baltimore.

Pittsburgh has actually come back a bit the last 5 or 10 years, on the strength of their universities. South Side has a college feel, not dissimilar from parts of Boston. Downtown is still ugly, but not seedy per se. Post Black Monday, they've done a lot better than Buffalo and especially Cleveland with their local economy, mostly on the strength of the higher education industry, all within the last decade or so.

What do you think of that ballpark? I agree that it's not Camdem from an architectural perspective, but the views there are incredible.

[ADonovanJr]

Finally a topic in my wheelhouse! The wife and I have been going to ballparks since were were married. Great way to see America. This summer we will be going to the new Twins park. The old one was not very good.

Favorite old park: Wrigley Field. Fenway is great but Wrigley is special. I also liked the old Yankee Stadium because it was neat sitting there imagining all the greats that played there.

Favorite new park: Camden is still the best. All the new parks try hard to emulate Camden, but they just miss by a little. A close second for me is Coors Field. The park itself is nothing special, but the people are fantastic. Plus, driving around Denver is nothing like anywhere else with a baseball team.

Wildcard: Miller Park is very underrated. We went out in July and they have this thing called summerfest at the Harley plant. Great place for a family vacation. They also know how to eat and drink. Every local is huge and drinks beer by the bucket, washing it down with bratwursts. I ate more in a weekend than I do in a normal month.

Big Downer: Dodger Stadium. The famous Dodge Dogs are a slimjim in a bun. The people make the old guys at BC seem reckless. The most boring place I've ever watched a game. LA was OK. The wife is in to all the Hollywood stuff. She had a blast, which means I had a blast, even though I was bored to death most of the time.

PNC kicks Camden's ass.

A renaissance in Pittsburgh would make that city Baltimore.

Shit, my bad. I was thinking of the one in SF - the one that used to be PacBell.

Whew. I was sitting here thinking you were one of those bloated jerks that show up here in the fall for a Ravens game. I forgot about whatever cell phone company owns that one. You are right. That is a great park. It is also a great city. When we were there we had tickets for three games, but in different spots. The first game was box seats. We had a blast. The second game the seats were in the outfield. Where we were was some sort of dog park thing they had going on. Dog crap and weird people everywhere.

I never did find out what that was about.

[ADonovanJr]

Finally a topic in my wheelhouse! The wife and I have been going to ballparks since were were married. Great way to see America. This summer we will be going to the new Twins park. The old one was not very good.

Favorite old park: Wrigley Field. Fenway is great but Wrigley is special. I also liked the old Yankee Stadium because it was neat sitting there imagining all the greats that played there.

Favorite new park: Camden is still the best. All the new parks try hard to emulate Camden, but they just miss by a little. A close second for me is Coors Field. The park itself is nothing special, but the people are fantastic. Plus, driving around Denver is nothing like anywhere else with a baseball team.

Wildcard: Miller Park is very underrated. We went out in July and they have this thing called summerfest at the Harley plant. Great place for a family vacation. They also know how to eat and drink. Every local is huge and drinks beer by the bucket, washing it down with bratwursts. I ate more in a weekend than I do in a normal month.

Big Downer: Dodger Stadium. The famous Dodge Dogs are a slimjim in a bun. The people make the old guys at BC seem reckless. The most boring place I've ever watched a game. LA was OK. The wife is in to all the Hollywood stuff. She had a blast, which means I had a blast, even though I was bored to death most of the time.

PNC kicks Camden's ass.

A renaissance in Pittsburgh would make that city Baltimore.

Pittsburgh has actually come back a bit the last 5 or 10 years, on the strength of their universities. South Side has a college feel, not dissimilar from parts of Boston. Downtown is still ugly, but not seedy per se. Post Black Monday, they've done a lot better than Buffalo and especially Cleveland with their local economy, mostly on the strength of the higher education industry, all within the last decade or so.

What do you think of that ballpark? I agree that it's not Camdem from an architectural perspective, but the views there are incredible.

Despite my dislike of the city, the park was very nice. When we were there it was maybe 30% full. Great park, but the locals don't seem to appreciate it much.

Cleveland is awful. When we went there, I decided to go cheap and book a Days Inn. We slept with a chair against the door.

We did a trip to Buffalo with the kids. Other than the stadium, we did not see much. The goal of the trip was to see the falls and Toronto. We squeezed the game in, but not much else. Too much time in the car. I was ready to drop the whole lot off somewhere and head home.

[bignick33]

When we were there it was maybe 30% full. Great park, but the locals don't seem to appreciate it much.

I absolutely agree. It's sad how fast dreadful management of a team can drive fans away. Pittsburgh has very good sports fans, but it's never been a baseball city. Even a beautiful park right across the river from downtown doesn't bring out fans, especially when the team is terrible for an extended period of time.

What is even more sad is when traditional baseball cities lose their fans due to their franchise's long-term incompetence, despite having a great ballpark. It's happened in Cincinnati over the last few years, a once proud baseball city. It's even starting to happen in Baltimore now, whose attendance the other night was a record-low 9k.

[ADonovanJr]

When we were there it was maybe 30% full. Great park, but the locals don't seem to appreciate it much.

I absolutely agree. It's sad how fast dreadful management of a team can drive fans away. Pittsburgh has very good sports fans, but it's never been a baseball city. Even a beautiful park right across the river from downtown doesn't bring out fans, especially when the team is terrible for an extended period of time.

What is even more sad is when traditional baseball cities lose their fans due to their franchise's long-term incompetence, despite having a great ballpark. It's happened in Cincinnati over the last few years, a once proud baseball city. It's even starting to happen in Baltimore now, whose attendance the other night was a record-low 9k.

The funny thing about Pittsburgh is they never got a bump from the new park. Usually, the team gets a boost for a couple of three years when they open a park. That never happened in Pittsburgh. Even DC had a good year for ticket sales when they opened up.

With the Orioles, the losing has not only killed off ticket sales, it has killed off fans. We had season tickets for years. We never had trouble finding takers for tickets. Then it was tough to give tickets away during the week. Then even weekend games were going unused. About six or seven years ago I scaled back to a weekend package and then gave up completely. No one talks about the team, other than to comment on how bad they are or when they will be eliminated.

They are heading in the right direction finally. McPhail is building up the minors and not wasting money or old guys past their prime. Once some of the kids start making it to the majors, they will have to spend some money, but they will be competitive again. Whether the fans come back is a good question.

[pick6pedro]

They are heading in the right direction finally. McPhail is building up the minors and not wasting money or old guys past their prime. Once some of the kids start making it to the majors, they will have to spend some money, but they will be competitive again. Whether the fans come back is a good question.

This. McPhail is doing things the right way rather than just saying he is. And while he has given out some contracts to older guys, they tend to be one year deals instead of giving Will Clark 4 or extending Daniel Cabrera. All one needs to do is look at what he got in the Bedard and Tejada trades to see that he's the man. With Matusz, Bergensen, Hernandez, Wieters, Markakis, Jones, Berken, Reimold and with the likes of Tillman, Bell, Snyder, Patton, and Erbe on their way - they look to be in great shape for competitiveness sooner rather than later, although the middle infield's future isn't really set.

[Cadillac90]

They are heading in the right direction finally. McPhail is building up the minors and not wasting money or old guys past their prime. Once some of the kids start making it to the majors, they will have to spend some money, but they will be competitive again. Whether the fans come back is a good question.

This. McPhail is doing things the right way rather than just saying he is. And while he has given out some contracts to older guys, they tend to be one year deals instead of giving Will Clark 4 or extending Daniel Cabrera. All one needs to do is look at what he got in the Bedard and Tejada trades to see that he's the man. With Matusz, Bergensen, Hernandez, Wieters, Markakis, Jones, Berken, Reimold and with the likes of Tillman, Bell, Snyder, Patton, and Erbe on their way - they look to be in great shape for competitiveness sooner rather than later, although the middle infield's future isn't really set.

You mean, McFail. He sucks balls and ruined my Cubs. Fuck Andy

[bignick33]

There's no question that Baltimore has some talent in the pipeline. I don't doubt that losing has hurt their support, but the factor that isn't really talked about outside the beltway is that the Orioles lost a fans with the advent of the Nationals. It's an understatement to say that Angelos was never a popular guy, and a result, all the fans in NoVA and even DC suburbs in MD (Bethesda and Prince George's, for example) were more than happy to give up their casual rooting interest in O's to instead casually root for the Nats. This is what Angelos was worried about, but in a way, it was a self-fulfilling prophecy. I'm pulling for a return of the O's, but it will be so difficult for them do get anything going in the AL East.

Anyways, this is just my 2 cents, from an outsider's perspective. I'm not from B-More, so I'm not expert. It's just that I have plenty of friends from the DC area, so I've heard a lot of shit talked about Angelos over the last decade or so.

AD, since we're on the topic of Angelos, does your distaste for Pittsburgh have anything to do with the fact that it was his birthplace?

[claver2010]

Big Downer: Dodger Stadium. The famous Dodge Dogs are a slimjim in a bun. The people make the old guys at BC seem reckless. The most boring place I've ever watched a game. LA was OK. The wife is in to all the Hollywood stuff. She had a blast, which means I had a blast, even though I was bored to death most of the time.

That and the fans show up in the 3rd and are out by the 7th.

[apbc12]

I've been to Fenway, Wrigley, Camden, Shea, Old Busch Stadium, whatever Candlestick is called now, Jacobs Field, Turner Field, and Tropicana.

From that group, Wrigley is my favorite. I much prefer the parks that are dropped into the middle of the city. Wrigley beats Fenway thanks to better views, beer vendors, and the joy of skipping work on random weekdays to get bombed and watch baseball. I really enjoyed San Fran's park too, but I haven't been there in a long time.

Camden is pretty cool (pedro, I was also there for the opening game) but not as fun a place to see a game b/c the team has been shitty for so long. I have a soft spot for Old Busch Stadium, but it's nothing related to the park itself. Shea and the Jake did nothing for me. Turner and Tropicana share a sole redeeming feature: they're always deserted, so you can buy the cheapest possible ticket and sit behind home plate anyway.

[ADonovanJr]

There's no question that Baltimore has some talent in the pipeline. I don't doubt that losing has hurt their support, but the factor that isn't really talked about outside the beltway is that the Orioles lost a fans with the advent of the Nationals. It's an understatement to say that Angelos was never a popular guy, and a result, all the fans in NoVA and even DC suburbs in MD (Bethesda and Prince George's, for example) were more than happy to give up their casual rooting interest in O's to instead casually root for the Nats. This is what Angelos was worried about, but in a way, it was a self-fulfilling prophecy. I'm pulling for a return of the O's, but it will be so difficult for them do get anything going in the AL East.

Anyways, this is just my 2 cents, from an outsider's perspective. I'm not from B-More, so I'm not expert. It's just that I have plenty of friends from the DC area, so I've heard a lot of shit talked about Angelos over the last decade or so.

AD, since we're on the topic of Angelos, does your distaste for Pittsburgh have anything to do with the fact that it was his birthplace?

I don't know how much the Nats have hurt the O's as far as attendance. Before the Nats moved to DC, attendance was falling fast. There was a joke running around that the best way to keep someone from breaking into your car was to leave orioles tickets on the dash. I would assume you are correct about NoVa and DC. Getting from there to Baltimore is no fun, because of the traffic. On the other hand, people from Maryland think crossing the Potomac is like leaving the country.

As far as Pittsburgh, I'm mostly kidding. I have some buddies from there and I go to Penn State regularly. The strange thing about Pittsburghers is they never really leave Pittsburgh. If they move to another state, family vacations and holidays are all back in Pittsburgh. I have a friend who has never spent Christmas in Maryland, despite living here for 30 years. It is always back to the old home.

As far as Angelos, I don't think he is as bad as most. He has spent money and been willing to what it takes to win. He has never had good baseball people around him for some reason. McPhail was the first real baseball man given total control since Angelos has owned the team. The suspicion is the team will go on the block in the near future. Angelos is semi-retired now and spends most of his time on his farm. He is getting to that age.