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.

Making another trip to Dodger Stadium

My opinion of Dodger Stadium hasn't changed. It's a bad stadium with awful food, crappy beer, and nothing fun like a kids' play area or garden bar. But I do love baseball and it is my home stadium. And my Phillies were in town. Of course they are playing awful baseball this year. Still I went. I decided to try something new and got a seat in the front row of left field.

The seat was kind of cool. I was right next to the Dodger bullpen and could look in any time I wanted. I was also right above the very low left field wall. I can't find the height but I think it's under 6 feet high. Theoretically there'd be balls hit almost right at me. Unfortunately there was only one ball hit to left field all night and it was nowhere near the wall. The view is a little far from the plate. So if there are no balls hit there it's not a great spot.

One more note about Dodger Stadium. Yes, the food and beer are awful. No, they don't have a Dodger Hall of Fame Museum, Kids' play area, or fun mascot. You don't get to sing "Thank God I'm a Country Boy" in the 7th inning. But I do keep going back. As bad as everything off the field is, you are outside where it's not too hot, you do get a good view of the game, and I can get there fairly easily by Metro. If I lived in Tampa I'd probably go back to Tropicana Field. I don't and I won't. That place is a monstrosity.

Rating the stadiums: Group 5

The bottom group contained three older stadiums and one newer one that had nothing going for it. There aren't too many old stadiums left, so it should be no surprise that this group contains four newer stadiums and one older one. It's no coincidence that two of the stadiums have retractable roofs that were closed when I went.

Marlins Park
Target Field
Chase Field
O.co Coliseum
Yankee Stadium

Marlins Park did have good Cuban Food and I enjoyed their bobblehead museum. Outside of that there wasn't to recommend about the stadium. It didn't help that the place was pretty dead and empty. Chase Field, also a domed stadium, also had good food and nothing to recommend it. There was the pool in right field, but I didn't swim in it.

I liked the food at Target Field, but it felt enclosed because the outfield was covered by seats and ads. O.co has the worst reputation and is probably at the bottom for most. The park did have great Northern California beers and the Athletics Hall of Famer race was kind of cute. Yankee Stadium is the most modern of the stadiums and I'm guessing probably cost the most. There was nothing objectionable about the place, unlike some of the other bottom feeder stadiums, but there was nothing I really liked. I suppose the food and experience might've been better if I hadn't sat in the cheap seats, but Yankee Stadium is so expensive that it's tough to afford nicer seats.

That's the first nine ballparks. There'll be another five in the next group.

Rating the Stadiums: The Bottom

I’m sure I’ll get disagreement on my ratings. If you do, you could comment or you could go to all the stadiums and make your own ratings. You’re not going to do all that. Then you’ll just have to go with me on this.

This group is the worst of the stadiums. They all had bad food, mediocre to bad beer, and not much else going for them. Dodger Stadium has a nice view and Wrigley has nice atmosphere but that’s about all you have with these stadiums. There’s nothing really fun about any of them. I could go on but you can just click the links to the individual reviews.

Wrigley Field
Globe Life Park in Arlington
Dodger Stadium
Tropicana Field

Game 30: June10, 2015, Brewers at Pirates

It’s all over. Done. Mission accomplished. In August 2013 I set out to go to all 30 stadiums, giving myself a rough goal of accomplishing the task within two years. I beat that by a little over two months. I did this leisurely so that I enjoyed every stadium and as economically as I could. Since I was heading to the east coast for a family function I found out I could start my trip a day earlier and catch a game in PNC Park, the one stadium I hadn’t been to.

Deal.

It wasn't easy. I never found a great airfare, but found an okay one on Southwest. Trips from the west coast to the east are often tight and this one was also. My connection was supposed to arrive in Pittsburgh at 4:55, but it was late. Unfortunately, Pittsburgh doesn’t have an easy train/subway to take you from the airport to downtown. So took the Super Shuttle. I didn’t get on that until 5:35. They told me it’d take 30-35 minutes, but it took 70. So I had only a moment to check in to the hotel before catching the subway they do have to the stadium.

I did get there on a nice sunny evening, however, and PNC is easy to get to.

And they do make your burger on a grill right in front of you. I always like to see them do this. For all I know the burgers at Dodger Stadium are pre-made and reheated.

And this burger was very tasty.

I got in my seat and the view was really nice. I'd put it up there with Citizens Bank Park. Pedro Alvarez hit a ball out of the stadium. I didn't know you could do that here, but if you look at right field you can see it's possible. That was cool.

I'm a sucker for a good ice cream and PNC had a lot of different flavor choices, with soft serve and hard.

I'm partial to chocolate.

That Alvarez homer did win me a Grand Slam at Denny's. I left the next day, so I didn't make advantage of that.

The Pirates got hits, but the game was a nail biter, as they failed to convert those to runs.

I was concerned they didn't have good beer but I eventually found "Beers of the Burgh." While the beer was good, not great Pittsburgh isn't known for having beer as good as Colorado and Northern California. So my expectations of local beer was met.

Mark Melancon came on the in the 9th to nail the game down.

Pittsburgh closes several streets in the area for the games. After the game the bridge is only open to foot traffic. That was very convenient.

Ballpark 30 tomorrow

Tomorrow night I'll be in Pittsburgh at PNC Park. It'll be my 30th ballpark and I'll have been to all of them. I'm so stoked.

When the chasing is over

I've been asked what I'll do after I hit the 30th stadium next month. Some people have suggested I go to football or soccer stadiums. Those suggesting that are missing the point of why I'm doing this. I'm not doing it to do something. I'm doing it because I love baseball and I love going to ballparks. I enjoy other sports but not with the passion I love baseball. Stadiums and arenas lack any uniqueness and aren't as fun as baseball parks. I have no interest in that.

So what's next? I'm going to go back to a few of my favorite stadiums. I'll go to Camden Yards on the trip I go to PNC Park next month. The last time I sat in the lower level on a cold rainy night. This time I'll sit in club seats. I'm going to AT&T Park in San Francisco in July. It was a great stadium but I got there in the first inning the last time and didn't really explore the stadium. I sat in the lower bowl, my favorite place to sit, but you can't see McCovey Cove from the lower level. I'm assuming I'll get a good view from the upper level.

There's a website called Ballparkchasers.com where people who want to go to all the stadiums share their trips. They're having a meet-up in Seattle in August. Safeco was nice but the chance of meeting other chasers sounds like fun. There are some other stadiums I'd like to go back to and I'll probably plan a few more trips.

Game 29: April 24, 2015, Braves at Phillies

I admit that because the Phillies are my team and Philadelphia is my hometown I might not be entirely objective here. You’ll have to judge that.

Citizens Bank Park isn’t downtown the way some other stadiums are but it is easily accessible by subway. Frankly, I’m not sure why being downtown is an advantage unless you insist on never taking a car of mass transit at all. It’s not like Citi Field, Fenway Park, or Wrigley Field are downtown. So you take a subway if you want to go to Center City Philadelphia.

Wrigley and Fenway are known for their neighborhood nightlife. The problem is that those bars are always packed. You can’t move! To compensate for lack of a neighborhood, they’ve built Xfinity Live! It has a half dozen food and drink options. This one is the Spectrum Grill and it’s got an awesome big screen.

I was hankering for nachos and got that along with a Victory Storm King at the Victory Bar. Both were excellent. Unfortunately, there wasn’t a beer as good as Storm King inside.

The obligatory selfie in front of the stadium.

When I was in Toronto I couldn't find a doll of their mascot. That wasn't an issue in Philly, where the Phanatic is an institution. He's still the best mascot. His presence definitely up Citizen's Bank Park a bit.

They had wide concourses and a lot of food choices, although the beer selection was wanting. I eventually found a decent beer but it wasn't as good as the Storm King Stout.

There was one place I wanted to go for food, Tony Luke's. They're famous for their cheesesteaks. I tried to often sample cuisine from the area (e.g. Cuban food in Miami, pizza in Chicago), so going to Tony Luke's would be a natural even if I didn't love a steak sandwich.

Of course I do, and this one was great!

Most stadiums have generic soft serve ice cream. I was pleasantly surprised when I found Citizen's Bank Park had not only that but eight Turkey Hill flavors along with eight different toppings. I didn't have any ice cream, but this is how you do it.

Citizen's Bank Park had a Phillies Wall of Fame, including the history of the Philadelphia A's. It's better than Cleveland's, equal to the Mets, and a step below the Royals.

There's no plaque for beloved hero Pete Rose, for obvious reasons. Jim Bunning wore 14 before Rose and the Phillies retired his number when he was elected to the Hall of Fame. Phillies fans secretly know that a part of that retirement ceremony was retiring Rose's number.

They have Bull's Barbecue, a copy of Boog's at Camden Yards. The kids play area is smaller than Kauffman or Citi, but they still have something. Most stadiums don't.

And look they even have cup holders. Are you reading this Rogers Centre?

In the corridor they have big plaques for memorable moments. This is a fun nod to the fans.

A decent sized scoreboard.

If you remember I went to AT&T and sat so low that I couldn't see into McCovey Cove. Well, Citizen's Bank Park has one of the best views in baseball too. They positioned home plate to give fans a skyline of the city. Unfortunately, I sat too low for that.

The game was a gem. Both pitchers pitched extremely well. Neither team scored until he bottom of the ninth when the Phillies won with a walk off... Error. Yes, really.

This guy made a few appearances and he's always fun.