My fast-track tour to visit each remaining ballpark kicked in with a vacation to Montreal with Cindy in May 2001. With rumors of the Expos relocating, we were able to catch the visiting Astros at Olympic Stadium before the Expos began playing home games in Puerto Rico ('03) and later moving to D.C. My ballpark chasing continued with busy summers in 2002 and 2003 with trips to: Cleveland/Detroit (a combo double-ballpark weekend), Milwaukee, Seattle, and additional combo trips to Kansas City/Minneapolis, Cincinnati/Pittsburgh, Phoenix/Denver, and a vacation beach trip to Tampa-St. Pete with Cindy and new born Taylor. In 2004, a business trip to Sacramento finally landed me at beautiful PacBell Park in San Francisco (3 years after 9/11 preempted our planned Northern California vacation), and I completed my ballpark tour in July '04 on a vacation trip to Southern California paired with a visit to Petco Park in San Diego. But with new ballparks under construction at the time (and with many others being planned), I looked forward to continuing my ballpark travels in the years to come but at a more leisurely pace.
Having visited the new ballparks during their inaugural seasons in St. Louis ('06), Washington DC ('08), New York City -- both new Yankee Stadium and Citi Field ('09), Minneapolis ('10), and Miami ('12), I have now attended games in 41 different MLB ballparks -- all 30 active plus 11 non-active or extinct ballparks. The 11 extinct ballparks (in order of attendance, and notice the "Stadium" attached to their name as opposed to "Ballpark"): The Astrodome, Shea Stadium, Jack Murphy Stadium, Veterans Stadium, Atlanta Fulton County Stadium, old Busch Stadium, old Yankee Stadium, Olympic Stadium, The Metrodome, Dolphin Stadium, RFK Stadium. I look forward to adding on to this list as plans for new ballparks are being discussed in Oakland and Tampa, while also revisiting my favorite ballparks each summer.
I'm not alone in this pursuit of ballparks. In 2008, I ran across a social media website dedicated to this quest, Ballpark Chasers. I created my ballpark chaser page and the site is now up to 2,300+ chasers.
A question I get asked all of the time is what is your favorite ballpark? Ranking ballparks is an ongoing debate that is discussed often among baseball fans. I came up with my own list with one caveat: I'm giving Wrigley Field, Fenway Park, and Dodger Stadium a "classics" exemption as it's not fair and impossible to compare them against the newer parks. It's difficult to sort through the many factors in developing a solid ranking system that most can agree on, so I'll just say one of the key determining factors in my ballpark rankings is the unique features that a ballpark has which give it character; also, the outfield view/skyline is big in my perspective of a particular ballpark. Here's my ranking:
1. PNC Park, Pittsburgh - most impressive view of downtown skyline bordered by one the three rivers.
2. AT&T Park, San Francisco - fabulous views of SF bay; love the huge glove and Coke bottle behind LF bleachers.
3. Comerica Park, Detroit - underrated view of downtown skyline with many unique features throughout the ballpark including the large tiger statues upon entering and the kids ferris wheel.
4. Minute Maid Park, Houston - of course I'm partial to the Astros, but I really like the train above the drawn-in LF wall with the Crawford boxes and Tal's Hill in CF.
5. Petco Park, San Diego - perfect setting in beautiful downtown SD and the "Park at the Park" beyond RF fence with the sand pit provides the perfect touch to this ballpark.
6. Target Field, Minneapolis - great views from all seating levels and seats seemed closer to the field than in most ballparks; love the Minnie and Paul Twins logo in CF.
7. Oriole Park at Camden Yards, Baltimore - I visited in its inaugural season ('92) and this park ushered in many of the other retro style parks; built around the existing warehouse beyond LF.
8. Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia - *we're at a point in my rankings where any of the next 10 or so ballparks could easily be slotted anywhere in the middle; I really liked the outfield pavilion with Ashburn's Alley and the two-tiered bullpen in CF.
9. Nationals Park, Washington DC - not in the best location; the ballpark offers a nice view of the Capitol beyond LF wall but can only be seen from the upper level.
10. Citi Field, New York - was more impressed with the Mets new park over the Yankees, which both opened in '09. Cool features beyond the outfield including a mini ball field for kids and a dunk tank.
11. Great American Ballpark, Cincinnati - would have preferred to have an outfield view of downtown Cincy (which is behind home plate) than the hardly awe-inspiring view of Northern KY.
12. Coors Field, Denver - wished there were better views of the mountains from all viewpoints in the ballpark; could really only see from upper deck on the first base side.
13. Rangers Ballpark, Arlington - like Texas, this a large ballpark with a unique porch-like seating deck hanging over RF.
14. Marlins Park, Miami - so many cool and unique features and color schemes: the large tropical HR sculpture, The Clevelander bar in LF, aquariums behind home plate and the bobble-head museum.
15. Safeco Field, Seattle - one of the better retractable roof stadiums and on my list for a return visit.
16. Kauffman Stadium, Kansas City - old stadium from the 70's has held up well because it was built only for baseball; love the scoreboard and fountains; need to revisit to see recent outfield renovations.
17. Progressive Field, Cleveland - nice view of downtown but park lacks some unique characteristics.
18. Busch Stadium, St. Louis - one of the better atmospheres in all of MLB, but good tickets are hard to come by; great view of the Arch, but wished the concession level offered an open view of the field.
19. Turner Field, Atlanta - soon to be replaced in 2017 by a ballpark being built in the suburbs.
20. Yankee Stadium, New York - near replica of old Yankee Stadium gave it a legendary feel, but felt like the huge upper deck dwarfed the much smaller lower deck.
21. Miller Park, Milwaukee - the fan-like retractable roof is oddly shaped; I need to make a return visit for a game with the roof open to get a different feel for this ballpark.
22. Chase Field, Phoenix - massive stadium with retractable roof that stays closed most of the time which is a drawback but who doesn't love the pool in the outfield?
23. Angel Stadium - old ballpark that was renovated in the 90's, but lacks a certain charm that could come with a new ballpark in LA (i.e. palm trees, beach and/or Disney theme?)
24. U.S. Cellular Field, Chicago - nothing special here, and no view of downtown Chicago.
25. Rogers Centre (Skydome), Toronto - was cool 25 years ago when it opened with the first retractable roof and attached hotel in the outfield; now it just feels like a dome stadium.
26. Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg - only remaining permanent dome stadium; a new ballpark with ocean views is sorely needed here.
27. O. Co Coliseum, Oakland - haven't been here since '79; the former outfield views of the mountains were replaced by upper deck seating for the Raiders years ago. The A's fans deserve a new ballpark.
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