MLB Ballparks Ranked
On September 2, 2021 I saw a baseball game at Coors Field in Denver, Colorado. This was significant because it marked the end of my goal of seeing a game at all 30 current MLB ballparks! When one visits all of the parks, one gets asked, “which is your favorite?” “what’s your top 5?” “how do you rank all 30?”
Well, here’s how I rank all 30. I’ve also included the number of games I have seen at each ballpark.
- Wrigley Field (Chicago Cubs) 40+
- Fenway Park (Boston Red Sox) 1
- Oracle Park (San Francisco Giants) 1
- PNC Park (Pittsburgh Pirates) 3
- Dodger Stadium (Los Angeles Dodgers) 1
- Petco Park (San Diego Padres) 1
- T-Mobile Park (Seattle Mariners) 2
- Target Field (Minnesota Twins) 6
- Kauffman Stadium (Kansas City Royals) 2
- Busch Stadium (St. Louis Cardinals) 2
- Coors Field (Colorado Rockies) 1
- Oriole Park at Camden Yards (Baltimore Orioles) 1
- Great American Ballpark (Cincinnati Reds) 2
- Yankee Stadium (New York Yankees) 1
- Guaranteed Rate Field (Chicago White Sox) 10+
- Progressive Field (Cleveland Indians) 2
- Minute Maid Park (Houston Astros) 1
- Citizens Bank Park (Philadelphia Phillies) 1
- Nationals Park (Washington Nationals) 1
- Citi Field (New York Mets) 1
- Rogers Centre (Toronto Blue Jays) 2
- Comerica Park (Detroit Tigers) 3
- Truist Park (Atlanta Braves) 1
- Angel Stadium (Los Angeles Angels) 1
- American Family Field (Milwaukee Brewers) 3
- Globe Life Field (Texas Rangers) 2
- Chase Field (Arizona Diamondbacks) 1
- LoanDepot Park (Miami Marlins) 1
- Tropicana Field (Tampa Bay Rays) 1
- Oakland Coliseum (Oakland Athletics) 1
Okay, those of you who know me will say, “of course you put Wrigley Field at the top.” Yes, of course I did. I have an emotional connection to Wrigley Field unlike any feeling a have with any place on earth. With that being said, most people are going to put Wrigley in the top 5. You can watch replays of Cubs games from 50 years ago and it looks very similar. It’s nestled in a neighborhood like the ballparks of old. And from the manually operated scoreboard in center, the red Marquee on the facade outside home plate, and the ivy covered walls, it’s full of unique characteristics. In recent years, $1 Billion dollars of renovations have made it look, nicer, cleaner, and ready to stand for another 100 years. It’s historic, iconic, beautiful.
As is Fenway Park. I’ve only been to Fenway Park once and the weather was terrible, and it was still amazing. When I walked in to Fenway I actually said “this is the best stadium”…. I’ve since put Wrigley back at the top, but Fenway is right there neck and neck. I hope to go back soon and see another game or two when the weather is nice. I think I could be convinced it is number 1.
San Francisco is a wonderful city, and they did a great job positioning Oracle Park/At&T Park/SBC Park/Pacific Bell/Whatever they are calling it these days right up next to the Bay. McCovey Cove has been the recipient of around 100 “splash hits”, 35 of which were off the bat of Barry Bonds. Aside from seeing baseballs occasionally fly out of the stadium and into the water, where fans in kayaks await, Oracle Park is just very well designed. It embraces the open air, has a classic brick look, and it just feels like a baseball ballpark.
PNC Park opened 1 year after Oracle Park, and just like Oracle it gets an A+ for positioning within it’s respective city. If you sit anywhere near home plate, or really anywhere in the upper deck, you get a fantastic view of the city of Pittsburgh, it’s buildings, it’s bridges, etc. It’s a great place to watch a baseball game. Plus, more baseballs flying into water!
Dodger Stadium rounds out my top 5, and solidifies the fact that older baseball stadiums are better than new ones. Although it is 50 years younger than Fenway Park, and 48 younger than Wrigley, it’s still old. In fact, the 3rd oldest. And similar to his elders, when you walk in you feel something historic. Perhaps you’ve heard of Kirk Gibson. It’s not hard to picture that moment because Dodger Stadium looks mostly the same as it did in 1988. Sitting atop a hill you get some great views of the LA scenery. History and scenery is a great combination.
13-27 there can be a lot of movement and changes. It’s hard to rank these parks. Might add some thoughts to this post eventually…
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