Best Baseball Stadium of All-Time?

[Count David]

I've been to the following:
Kingdome
Dodger Stadium
Angel Stadium
Safeco Field
Rogers Centre
Coors Field
Miller Park
Wrigley Field
Guaranteed Rate Field
Chase Field

I've also been to
Doubleday Field (Baseball Hall of Fame, where I caught my first ball)
Everett Memorial Stadium (Everett Giants/Aquasox, where I saw my first game at any level)
Security Service Field (Colorado Springs Sky Sox)
Salt River Fields (Rockies/Diamondbacks Spring Training)
Peoria Sports Complex (Mariners/Padres Spring Training)
Riverside City College Field (RCC Tigers)
and a ton of HS fields in the Denver area (a few good ones, many bad ones)

So I'm basing my opinions off of these^. I'm going to be adding Petco Park and Estadio Gasmart next month.

Dodger Stadium is IMO the best all-around experience (yes, it beats Wrigley), and I hope they stave off from changing it much in the coming years. I'll be there next month, can't wait.

I'm going to give an honorable mention to Chase Field, as I found that ballpark to be very impressive, and very underrated. All it needs is more history/loyal fans.

Salt River Fields should give most spring fields a run for their money, it is very nice. Peoria is old/bland/boring.

I loved the Kingdome, as it is where I saw my first MLB game. Good memories of those mid to late 1990's teams.

I'm not big on Angel Stadium (way too family-oriented, plain, boring, checked-out fans) or Rogers Centre (like an old cavern).

Safeco is somewhat of a marvel to the eye, though the fans are very introverted/rude, and it is usually empty, and the product on the field is usually pretty bad.

Coors is always packed (even when they suck), but fairly odd crowd most often as well.

Miller is marvelous, but its location is a little off (but probably good for tailgating).

Wrigley is an experience that everybody should experience at least once, getting off the Red Line and walking into that is a cultural experience I will never forget.

Guaranteed Rate has great fans, very talkative/conversational, and the park itself makes you forget that anything exists outside of baseball. It is in a desolate, eerie neighborhood.

Security Service Field has a great atmosphere, is very cheap, there is not a bad seat in the house, and it gives off a very communal feel. However, it is in a horrible location, and the AAA tenants will be moving to San Antonio in the next two years. The assumption is that they'd be replaced by a Rookie level team, which would be awful for the city/fans IMO.

[Tiffer E38]

Good ones mentioned, but I'd like to put in a vote for Camden Yards, home of the Baltimore Orioles, (AKA Fenway South where so many Red Sox fans tend to see their team more often than when they play at home) really the template for the more modern "classic ball park" stadiums. Very pretty ball park. Going there tonight, in fact.

[Saltynwa]

I vote for Regions Field in Birmingham, AL.

[Ghengis]

Smith Field, Bloomington, MN

[Labonte18]

Lots of beautiful minor league parks around the country. I'll throw Fluor Field here locally into that mix.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fluor_...t_the_West_End

Some not so pleasant ones as well.. Potomac Nationals, for example..

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G._Ric...itzner_Stadium

[2nd trick op]

I can't show much enthusiasm for ballparks that weren't particularly well suited to baseball (the Polo Grounds are a classic example here, or the Los Angeles Coliseum) or those designed with a specific home-team advantage in mind, such as the original Yankee Stadium. "Well" type parks (Riverfront, Three Rivers. Philadelphia Veterans) are another turn-off.

Among the pre-1970 ballparks, my favorite would likely be Shibe Park / Connie Mack Stadium.

[Count David]

Last night, I went to a game at Estadio Gasmart, home of the LMB Tijuana Toros.

OHMYGAWD, this place!

The stadium is on the far E/SE side of town under a hill that says "Jesus Is El Senor" and "We Are Toros", in a comparatively dead/dodgy neighborhood. It's a $10-$15 cab ride from Zona Rio.

Upon arrival, another fan handed me two tickets for the section near the foul poles, but there were 3 of us, and we had already decided to buy tickets for the "Preferential" section (the best they had) for the equivalent of $4/each. I gave those two free tickets to a couple of Americans we met, in return they bought me and themselves 2 Heinekens each, a total of 6 bottles for $15.

When you go inside, only the men are patted down. Interesting.

Anyhow, our seats were in the third row behind the Toros dugout. The stadium itself was larger and arguably nicer than say, Security Service Field in Colorado Springs. It was probably about 70% full.

While in your seat, you are hounded by a barrage of salespeople, selling everything from popcorn, seeds, full dinner plates, hot wings, chips, American food, ice cream, beer, raffle tickets, jerseys, hats, etc., and you see about 5 of these salespeople per minute (not kidding). There were (very beautiful) cheerleaders for your visual pleasures. The Toros also have 3 mascots: a bull, a rooster, and a gorilla. The gorilla was pretty naughty, he would play tricks on fellow fans, and would make every woman who wanted a picture with him touch his butt.

Furthermore, Toros games are LOUD. It's a simultaneous bombardment of police sirens are going off, fans cheering, wooden noisemakers blazing (yes we bought one, for $70MXN), music thumping between most every pitch, and after every strikeout (PONCHE!). The Jumbotron was constantly filled with shots of women dancing (complete with zoom-ins on their most desired parts), and people who didn't want to see their own faces up there. They'd even find people in the crowd who looked like "celebrities", for example, Mario & Luigi, Mr. Miyagi, et al. It was hilarious.

When a Toros player would hit a home run, fireworks would go off, and fans would all hug each other like it was a family reunion of sorts. It was beautiful.

The product on the field was arguably cleaner than what you can find at the AAA level. However, a lot more fly balls were played off the hop; to me it seemed the outfielders would rather show off their arms instead of making an out. Alfredo Amezaga was the Toros SS.

The game (4 hours and 20 minutes in duration) ended on a Jorge Cantu (Toros 1B) walk-off HR in the bottom of the 9th. The end of the game signaled for the party to start outside of the stands. A band was already set up, and started playing as the fans (many of whom appeared to be staying for what seemed like a planned impromptu kegger) walked out.

We picked up a fitted New Era cap, 3 jerseys, a T-Shirt, and a baby onesie for about $160US. Seemed cheap to me.

IMO, any fan who regularly attended these games would be bored to death by American baseball games. I'm not kidding. This needs to be seen to be believed by any baseball fan at least once.

[nmnita]

Are we really voting based on best or our favorite or even the most famous. There is no denying Wrigley Field and Fenway Park come to mind when I think famous, as well as Ebbitt's field. As for my all time favorite, but I have to admit I am very biased is: Dodger Stadium. Even if I wasn't biased, it is a great stadium, easy to get in and out of and no matter where you sit you have a great view.

I have really only been to a few parks, but I think our son has been to at least 20. I have been to Aneheim Stadium, Coors Field, Dodger stadium. Candles Stick park (in the olden days) Busch Stadium, Fenway Park, The ballpark in Arlington which now has a sponsor but I can't remember the company, and a few others who have changed their names.

[Pub-911]

Originally Posted by David Aguilar

IMO, any fan who regularly attended these games would be bored to death by American baseball games. I'm not kidding. This needs to be seen to be believed by any baseball fan at least once.

The point eventually ceases to be baseball at all.