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Visiting Ballparks is a favorite pasttime for many fans. Here's a personal look at some of the best (and the
worst) courtesy of Deuce Bender's Creative Director, Lance Morgan.
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These are my personal opinions and do not reflect
the opinions of Deuce or any of the musicians. I refer to the parks by their name at the time of my visit. Also,
if you can't tell, I hate roofs.
- Wrigley Field - Chicago Cubs - The best ballpark in all
of baseball. The greenest and purest, although the new signage on the outfield doors narrows the gap with #2.
- PNC Park - Pittsburgh Pirates - Pittsburgh gets a bad rap
but I rate it a #1 town for two simple reasons...1)Mister Fred Rogers called it home....2)PNC Park is a gem.
- Petco Park - San Diego Padres - Wow, I was amazed by this park! It really has a
lot to offer and it's beautiful too. You can tell they took the community, the fans and the team into mind when they
created it.
- Safeco Field - Seattle Mariners - My favorite ballpark since
my favorite team plays there. It's a beautiful park, but that roof!!
- Fenway Park - Boston Red Sox - The sense of history here
easily overcomes the narrow concourses and the Boston drivers. It's always an electric atmosphere.
- Camden Yards - Baltimore Orioles - Still one of the
best, with one of the best community surroundings in baseball.
- Coors Field - Colorado Rockies - A very pretty park
where I saw Sammy Sosa belt one about a mile high.
- Tiger Stadium - Detroit Tigers(retired) - I managed to see
a bunch of games here as well as my favorite Junior Griffey catch, way up and way over the fence to steal a home run.
It was a very old park, but I thought it was very cool.
- PacBell Park - San Francisco Giants - The best walking
approach of all the parks, if you walk up along the Embarcadero, that is. Inside though, the concourses are too cramped
to rate it higher.
- Great American Ballpark - Cincinnati Reds - I really like the setting and the complete
"redness" of the place. The Reds Hall of Fame display is outstanding which pushes it up on the list.
- Jacobs Field - Cleveland Indians - The fans were kind of
snooty (back in the mid-90's) but it really is a great looking park.
- Angels Stadium - Anaheim Angels - I saw the 2nd round of the WBC here and had a great time.
Overall, it's not a spectacular park but it has a cozy feeling and nice atmosphere.
- Ballpark at Arlington - Texas Rangers - What I don't like
about this park is that it feels like they couldn't decide what they really wanted so they took bits and pieces from several
different parks and crammed them together. It's not bad though.
- Turner Field - Atlanta Braves - Man, this place is BIG! Lots to see and do. Plus, they've
got a $1-a-seat day-of-game section so they deserve some props.
- Yankee Stadium - New York Yankess - I was there in 2001 at the
only game the M's won during the ALCS. Watching the stands empty as the M's pounded the Yanks is easily one of
my favorite baseball experiences. So, I give this ballpark thumbs up.
- Dodger Stadium - Los Angeles Dodgers - I didn't want to
like this park but I had a pretty good time here.
- Kauffman Stadium - Kansas City Royals - I like this
park despite the in-the-middle-of-nowhere feel it has.
- Minutemaid Park - Houston Astros - The roof isn't too horrible
and it's quirky, but it just feels too cramped to rate higher.
- Comerica Park - Detroit Tigers - It felt too much like a
circus to me although I loved all the statues.
- Chase Field - Arizona Diamondbacks - The roof was closed,
as it usually is, so I can't really rate this park very high. It felt like an indoors game and made me really appreciate
Safeco Field's open air approach to roofs.
- Miller Park - Milwaukee Brewers - That roof just looms too
large, even when it's open. Other than that, it's pretty nice.
- Busch Stadium - St. Louis Cardinals(retired) - Hmmm..not
much to say about this park. I liked the location. St. Louis deserves better (and got it in 2006.)
- New Comisky Park - Chicago White Sox - I wish I could have
see the old Comisky Park because I didn't really like the new one. The seats seemed to be really far away. I don't
know, maybe it's just me.
- Candlestick Park - SF Giants(retired) - The fact that Willie Mays called this home is the sole reason
I push it up on the list.
- Oakland Coliseum - Oakland A's - Nothing stands out about
this place for me. Just blah.
- Cinergy Field - Cincy Reds(retired) - I was stunned
to see that this park had artificial turf. I remember watching The Big Red Machine in the 70's and I could swear they
played on grass. I did get to sit in a row of one seat though.
- Qualcomm Stadium - San Diego Padres(retired) - Just plain
ugly
- Milwaukee County Stadium - Milwaukee Brewers(retired) - Qualcomm's ugly twin.
- Kingdome - Seattle Mariners(retired) - I rate this place
a smidge higher than Skydome only because of some great memories.
- Skydome - Toronto Blue Jays - My least favorite of all the
MLB parks - it feels like a mall that just happens to have a baseball diamond in the center.
I've also managed to visit a minor league park or two.
In no particular order....
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Raley Field - Sacramento, CA
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Banner Island Ballpark, Stockton, CA
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Franklin
Covey Field - Salt Lake City, UT
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Isotopes
Park - Albuquerque, NM
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Recreation
Park - Visalia, CA
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John Thurman Field - Modesto, CA
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Mavericks Stadium, Adelanto, CA
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Epicenter - Rancho Cucamonga, CA
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Grizzlies Stadium - Fresno, CA
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Avista Stadium – Spokane, WA
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Hoover Metropolitan Stadium – Birmingham, AL
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BellSouth Park - Chattanooga, TN
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Bowen Field - Bluefield, WV
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Victory Field - Indianapolis, IN
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Alexian
Field - Shaumburg, IL
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Hi Corbett Field – Tucson, AZ
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Louisville
Slugger Field - Louisville, KY
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Autozone
Park - Memphis, TN
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Cheney
Stadium – Tacoma, WA
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Cooper Stadium – Columbus OH
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Coveleski Stadium - South Bend, IN
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Damaschke Field - Oneonta, NY
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Dunn Tire Park – Buffalo, NY
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Everett Memorial Stadium – Everett, WA
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Fox Cities Stadium - Appleton, WI
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Kindrick Legion Field – Helena, MT
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Lancaster Municipal – Lancaster, CA
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Lindborg-Cregg Field – Missoula, MT
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Memorial Stadium – Boise, ID
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Municipal Stadium – San Jose, CA
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Sec Taylor Stadium - Des Moines, IA
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Sioux Falls Stadium - Sioux Falls, SD
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Wolff Stadium – San Antonio, TX
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New LaGrave Field – Fort Worth, TX
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Midway Stadium, St. Paul, MN
Can't forget the other various parks and Meccas....
National Baseball Hall of Fame - Cooperstown, NY
DoubleDay Field - Cooperstown, NY
Ty Cobb Museum - Royston, GA
Historic Rickwood Field - Birmingham, AL
Bob Feller Museum – Van Meter, IA
Roger Maris Museum – Fargo, ND (It's a display case...in a mall)
Field of Dreams Movie site– Dyersville, IA
Peoria Stadium – Peoria, AZ
Tetelo Vargas Stadium - San Pedro de Marcois, DR
Baseball
Music Project - Phoenix Symphony, AZ
The
Dunsmuir, CA Ball Park - October 22, 1924, Babe Ruth played here
Major League Parks still on the To-Do List....
Shea
Stadium - NY Mets
Citizens
Bank Ballpark - Philadelphia Phillies
Metrodome
- Minnesota Twins (Just can't get excited for this one)
RFK
- Washington Nationals - I'll probably wait for the new ballpark.
New
Busch Stadium - St. Louis Cardinals
The two parks in Florida are on the list - but just barely.
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