Ballparks | MLB Ballpark Guides

Citi Field – New York Mets

The owners of the New York Mets got some grief for constructing Citi Field to look like the home of the Brooklyn Dodgers, but it turned out pretty well. As fans arrive on those ubiquitous 7 train cars, the first feature of Citi Field to come into view is the Ebbets-inspired front gate…which opens into [...]

Citizens Bank Park – Philadelphia Phillies

Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia is a superstar in the ballpark boom. Like any of the ballparks that replaced the concrete donuts of the 1970s, its greatest strength may just be what an improvement it was. The Phillies went from playing in an enclosed, concrete, artificial turf donut to an open air, brick façade, natural [...]

Comerica Park – Detroit Tigers

Comerica Park replaced Tiger Stadium in Detroit, which wasn’t easy for many older Tigers fans to swallow. But they did a pretty nice job with the replacement. In some ways, Comerica has more of a retro feel than Tiger Stadium did…unlike its predecessor, Comerica is an open-air ballpark with a fine view of the skyline, [...]

Fenway Park – Boston Red Sox

Fenway Park in Boston is the oldest ballpark in baseball, but it almost didn’t survive. When the Tigers moved out of Tiger Stadium, it seemed almost certain that Fenway Park would see the wrecking ball. There were even designs drawn for a much more modernized replica. The Boston Red Sox and Janet Marie Smith had [...]

Great American Ball Park – Cincinnati Reds

When baseball fans talk about their favorite ballparks or the ones they most want to visit, Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati doesn’t usually top their list. But that’s okay. Great American has a way of pleasantly surprising people like that. It’s hard to think of anything that the architects of Great American got wrong. [...]

Guaranteed Rate Field – Chicago White Sox

For all the love and accolades its North Side neighbor gets, Guaranteed Rate Field on the South Side isn’t so bad itself. When Guaranteed Rate…formerly New Comiskey Park and then U.S. Cellular Field…first opened, there was some outcry over its sterile feel, especially compared to the old Comiskey Park. Much was made of how the [...]

Miller Park – Milwaukee Brewers

Not knocking fans of other teams, but at Miller Park in Milwaukee, you will find some seriously dedicated devotees of the Brewers. Case in point…when tickets first go on sale every season, the Brewers hold an “Arctic Tailgate” at Miller Park every February, when temperatures can drop to single digits, and fans line up by [...]

Nationals Park – Washington Nationals

Like with its National League East rival in Philly, Nationals Park’s best attribute is its superiority over its predecessor. RFK Stadium was adequate to welcome the Nationals after their departure from Montreal as the Expos, but that was with the stipulation that a new and much nicer ballpark would replace it. Nationals Park delivered. Nationals [...]

Oriole Park at Camden Yards – Baltimore Orioles

Oriole Park at Camden Yards is as historic as any ballpark, even as much as Fenway or Wrigley. Because more than any ballpark in history, Camden Yards moved ballpark design forward by looking backward, and it sparked a revolution of venue building that continues today. In recent decades before the Baltimore Orioles hired HOK to [...]

PNC Park – Pittsburgh Pirates

Saying PNC Park in Pittsburgh is the best ballpark in baseball is like saying Ted Williams is the best hitter ever. People might argue with you, but you wouldn’t be laughed at. Just sitting in the seating bowl of PNC Park is enough to make the claim sometimes…just on the strength of the spectacular view, [...]

Progressive Field – Cleveland Indians

Progressive Field in Cleveland doesn’t always get the props it deserves for its role in the ballpark boom. Its place is almost right there with Camden Yards. Camden Yards may have revitalized downtown Baltimore, but Cleveland was a city even more desperate for an improved reputation…a reputation partly due to its unloved ballpark and largely [...]

Rogers Centre – Toronto Blue Jays

Rogers Centre in Toronto is an example of city lifting a ballpark, rather than the other way around. As state of the art as it was when Rogers Centre…then SkyDome…opened, it’s become a dated feeling venue today. It’s a round, concrete dome that still features that great baseball sin of artificial turf, and it’s known [...]

Tropicana Field – Tampa Bay Rays

For a baseball venue that ranks near the bottom of most fans’ lists of go-to venues, Tropicana Field in Tampa Bay does have some things going for it. Like Florida weather, for one. Most Florida residents can vouch for the occasional need for indoor baseball. Summers are often unbearably hot and humid, and most days [...]

Wrigley Field – Chicago Cubs

If you want a real challenge as a writer, try describing what’s great about Wrigley Field in 300 words. Wrigley Field, the Friendly Confines, that fixture on the north side of Chicago, isn’t just a ballpark. It’s not just bricks and ivy. It’s a neighborhood. A Cubs game isn’t just a ballgame. It’s a whole [...]

Yankee Stadium – New York Yankees

The new Yankee Stadium in New York is very good at one thing especially – reminding people what happened at the old Yankee Stadium. From the Babe Ruth Plaza on 161st Street to Monument Park in center field to the Yankees Museum to the Great Hall, Yankee Stadium showcases the history of baseball’s most successful [...]