What Did I Do Next?

From 2013 to 2015, I went to all 30 baseball stadiums. I had a lot of fun, as I'm sure you read in each of the posts. So what did I do after finishing this quest? No, I didn't move on to football or basketball stadiums. Unless you're seated close to the field or court and in the field of play you aren't going to get a good view of the action. And those tickets are really really expensive. Everyone is your friend at the ballpark. So I could enjoy the games by myself. In football it's about rooting for your team. If you don't support either you're better off watching at home. And really I enjoy those sports but I have no desire to check out where they're played.

So what did I do? I went back to several of my favorite stadiums to see my beloved Phillies. I saw them play at Coors, Petco, AT&T, and Camden Yards. I love Petco and AT&T and love going to games there. My point to going to all 30 stadiums wasn't just about completing a task but having a good time. This year I plan to go back to Great American Ball Park and Chase Field to see the Phillies. I didn't enjoy Chase Field but that might've had something to do with the roof being closed. Maybe it'll be open this time.

Sun Trust Park will be the new home of the Braves this year and I'll be there. The Ballpark Chasers group is planning a trip there. I'd prefer to go when the Phillies are there but maybe I'll save that for another time. The stadium isn't in Atlanta but in the suburbs. So it'll definitely be something new.

Complete Stadium Rankings

I have an apology to make. Since I've hit all 30 stadiums I hadn't thought to update this blog and I'm really not sure how much new I can offer. I completely forgot to give the top 10 stadiums. If anyone is still reading this, I'm sorry about that. Here they are:

10. Kauffman Stadium
From reading this blog you know that I don't enjoy the older stadiums much. So I was pleasantly surprised how much I liked Kauffman. It's located in the middle of nowhere. That's definitely a drawback. You can't walk to it or take a subway/light rail. But there's plenty of parking. Kauffman wasn't light on the amenities despite its age. There was a kids' baseball diamond and a Royals Hall of Fame exhibit. They have the fountains in center field. The view was good. The food and drink left something to be desired but it's definitely a stadium to enjoy.

9. Oriole Park at Camden Yards
Camden Yards was the first new stadium and that it's rated higher than many newer stadiums is a huge compliment. It's located in a fun area of town and the warehouse is really a nice part of the park. There were things for the family and you feel close to the field. And anywhere you can get a Flying Dog Gonzo Porter is aces in my book.

8. Busch Stadium
I admit that a June Sunday wasn't the best time to check out Busch. They also had a kids' diamond and a Hall of Fame exhibition. Entrance wasn't included in the price of the ticket, however. So I didn't go in. The food was good and you have the Gateway Arch outside centerfield.

7. Great American Ball Park
I admit that I might've rated it so high because I had great seats and went to the best restaurant in the place.

6. Citi Field
There's so much to love about Citi that I pretty much checked all the boxes except one. The enclosed outfield gives you no view. I understand that they did it to prevent the cold winds from Long Island Sound from coming in. Still, everything else about Citi was great. All of the top six stadiums are fairly close in my book. So Citi could easily be higher.

5. PNC Park
Everyone told me this stadium was the best and it was excellent. It's easy to get to and you can see the Allegheny River from the stadium. Pedro Alvarez even hit one out that might have gone in the river. Everything here was very good but nothing was truly great.

4. Citizens Bank Park
I might be partial to CBP being a Phillies' fan and enjoying steak sandwiches. But that's the top Philly cuisine and CBP had great ones. I always enjoy when a ballpark gives you something unique and Citizens Bank has two such things. It has the best view of downtown of any stadium, probably because it isn't close to downtown (Center City). They also have giant bell that moves and rings when a Phillie hits a home run. It really gets the crowd going.

3. Turner Field
I realize that my favorite thing about Turner Field, doing the Tomohawk Chop, is unique to the fans and not the stadium. It's just fun to do even if it doesn't get the crowd as excited as the bell does in Philly. The food was great and I loved the place. I'm sure the new stadium will be just as good.

2. AT&T Park
It was really a toss-up for the top stadium and I could've gone either way. I've reviewed AT&T a couple of times, but it has everything I'd want in a stadium.

1. Petco Park
I'm fortunate that my two favorite stadiums aren't far from me and that I can easily go to them every year. Petco gets the nod because it has everything.

1 Petco Park
2 AT&T Park
3 Turner Field
4 Citizens Bank Park
5 PNC Park
6 Citi Field
7 Great American Ball Park
8 Busch Stadium
9 Oriole Park at Camden Yards
10 Kauffman Stadium
11 Coors Field
12 Nationals Park
13 Progressive Field
14 Miller Park
15 Safeco Field
16 Angel Stadium of Anaheim
17 Comerica Park
18 Minute Maid Park
19 Fenway Park
20 Rogers Centre
21 U.S. Cellular Field
22 Marlins Park
23 Yankee Stadium
24 Target Field
25 Chase Field
26 O.co Coliseum
27 Wrigley Field
28 Globe Life Park in Arlington
29 Dodger Stadium
30 Tropicana Field

Rating the stadiums: Group 3

Now we're getting into the better stadiums, the ones I'd recommend.

Coors Field
Nationals Park
Progressive Field
Miller Park
Safeco Field
Angel Stadium of Anaheim

Coors Field is a classic, one of the first new stadiums. The food and beer were great, but most of the rest about it was adequate. Nationals Park was pretty good in all areas but the only thing memorable was the Presidents race. Progressive Field also had top food and beer but I can't think of anything else.

Miller Park is in the middle of nowhere and a lot of people like ballparks in neighborhoods. It's retractable dome, but they do get points for Bernie Brewer going into the beer after a home run and the sausage race. I returned to Safeco Field the weekend before last and it still gets top points for the beer and not a lot for anything else. Angel Stadium of Anaheim is an old ballpark that gets points for the rock garden in center but not much else. So here are the ratings so far:

11 Coors Field
12 Nationals Park
13 Progressive Field
14 Miller Park
15 Safeco Field
16 Angel Stadium of Anaheim
17 Comerica Park
18 Minute Maid Park
19 Fenway Park
20 Rogers Centre
21 U.S. Cellular Field
22 Marlins Park
23 Yankee Stadium
24 Target Field
25 Chase Field
26 O.co Coliseum
27 Wrigley Field
28 Globe Life Park in Arlington
29 Dodger Stadium
30 Tropicana Field

Next time we start to get into the ones that are really great to catch.

Ballpark Chasers in Seattle

The comic book/scifi nerds have Comic-Con. What do ballpark chasers have? Yes, we're called ballpark chasers. There's a website and everything. And there's a meetup. Maybe it's not Comic-Con but it'll be a bunch of people who are enthusiasts of seeing the Major League ballparks talking about something they love, going on a stadium tour, and watching a game. We'll share tips and I sure have a lot of them. There aren't many things I'm an expert at but ballparks is now one of them. "Oh, you're going to Great American. Well, you should..." And I can show them my At The Ballpark ap and bask in the glory of having already hit them all.

August 8 and 9, 2105 Phillies at Padres

I wanted to make a return trip to Petco in San Diego and my Phillies coming to town was the perfect opportunity. What's great is that they are actually playing well right now, unlike last month. I wanted to sit in some place out of the ordinary and found out how to get a ticket to sit in the Western Metal Supply building.

Isn't that really different? Here I am sitting there.

It's kind of cool that the building has a bar that looks like this.

That's not your typical crowded stadium concession stand, is it?

The problem with this seat is that the view really stinks. It's a place that's kind of fun to sit but not so much to watch the game. The Padres also have a cool picnic area beyond right field, but the view stinks there too.

Most stadiums have microbrews but Petco has booths and booths of microbrews. I didn't count but I think they had 4-6 from about a half dozen local breweries. It's like a beer festival at a stadium.

And look at this. It looks like what you'd find at a gourmet deli, not a ballpark. I had a salmon melt sandwich and it was delicious. If you wonder why I rate Dodger Stadium so low, just go to Petco. They have great food and beer selections and all sorts of other fun things that the Dodgers don't bother with.

Rating the stadiums: Group 4

These are stadiums that were below average but had some redeeming qualities

Comerica Park
Minute Maid Park
Fenway Park
Rogers Centre
U.S. Cellular Field

Comerica Park had a nice view but was mostly forgettable. Minute Maid Park tried hard but it had all the charm of a warehouse. The Rogers Centre had high quality food and drink but everything else about it reminded me that it was built before the modern ballparks. Even the hotel in the outfield didn't add to the charm. Fenway strikes me as a place where no one is trying but it has a lot of charm. And they really get extra points for singing "Sweet Caroline" every night. U.S. Cellular was a bit like the Rogers Centre if it were outside. Good food and drink but not much else going on. So here are the ratings so far:

17 Comerica Park
18 Minute Maid Park
19 Fenway Park
20 Rogers Centre
21 U.S. Cellular Field
22 Marlins Park
23 Yankee Stadium
24 Target Field
25 Chase Field
26 O.co Coliseum
27 Wrigley Field
28 Globe Life Park in Arlington
29 Dodger Stadium
30 Tropicana Field

July 11 and 12, 2105 Phillies at Giants

Last year I went to AT&T Park but arrived late and gave the stadium a nice, if tepid review. I wanted to go back and sit in the upper deck. Now I don't like to sit in the upper deck. I don't get that good a view of the action up there. So why did I want to sit there? You can't see McCovey Cove and San Francisco Bay. With so few teams giving the fans a great view I was disappointed I didn't see this one. I decided to go for two games when my beloved Phillies were in town. You know I must be a fan because the Phillies are horrible.

Getting to see two games while only staying over one night fit with my thrifty philosophy. The cost for LAX parking, airfare, the BART, the hotel, and game tickets both days was $394. I'm pretty proud of that.

I entered through the Willie Mays gate.

As I entered they shot out confetti because we were the 50 millionth fans at AT&T during the regular season. It took the team 15 seasons+ to get that. Apparently that's the fastest of any stadium ever.

Here's another view.

They had these little food stands in the upper deck with interesting cuisine. If you want to make a stadium fun you should have fun food stands and fun food and drink. If you want to contrast this with Dodger Stadium, they have neither of these things. Dodger Stadium pretty much has none of the things AT&T does.

I decided to try a veggie sandwich, 'cause I figure I'll try the local specialty everywhere. I was reminded why I like veggies in small amounts on the side. If you like massive amounts of veggies, it's a good sandwich. I think I like NorCal beer better.

On he lower level they had this kids' batting cage that rivals any in baseball.

And they had this bigger fun food area with even more selection.

In centerfield they had this little garden bar/longue that you'd find in an upscale hotel. At the back of it they have little knotholes so you could watch the game from there if you liked.

What about watching the game? As I mentioned last year they have a lot of seats that are in the infield. The view from below, which you can find in that post, takes you close to the action, but the view up here allows you to see McCovey Cove and San Francisco Bay. This view rivals any in baseball. I got to see Phillie Cody Asche deposit one in McCovey Cove.

Here's a night time view of the Bay. Just as breathtaking.

Photo Credit: Outward Bound California

AT&T has everything from good fun food and beer to kids' areas, bars, a view, and they even have a mascot. I'm just going to tease here but expect to see AT&T near the top of my list.