March 5, 2014

MLB Stadium Rankings - Part 2

Here's where the real fun starts. Well, for me at least.

In the first half of this series, I had to justify my choices based purely on personal preference and subjective features present at each park. This second installment is going to be turned completely upside-down. Rather than age of the park, what looks nice, and the atmosphere, I can rank all 30 stadiums based on physical elements that can help or hurt Ballhawks. Last time, I wanted to remain neutral, so I forgot everything I knew about each park. Now, I'm allowing myself to use my own experiences and everything else I've heard or read on other blogs to put them in order.

This one is going to be a lot more relevant to myself specifically, because I can use what I know to the full capacity in every way possible. In reality, I'm most likely going to go early and catch balls at any new park I visit, so this is much more realistic when deciding on which parks I would truly like to visit.


Stadium Rankings - Ballhawk Perspective

30 - Marlins Park, Miami Marlins

As I said last time, this place is the newest, but everything about it is atrocious. It has monstrous outfields and not very many seats where balls can get to, and definitely not many places where you're able to chase them down in BP. The best chance you have is getting an SRO ticket to the Clevelander in left field for $30. What's ironic is that this kind of spot would be the WORST place to be in any other park, yet pretty much the only option when you're in Miami.



29 - Citi Field, New York Mets

Citi Field may be one of the worst places on Earth. The biggest load of nonsense here is stadium security. They change rules on what seems like a daily basis and create new ones that make you scratch your head. Mets fans also have a very negative connotation towards anyone that gets a ball before their kid. (I've read that from multiple sources, not just Hample). The Mets have a place to play, but it's one of...no, THE single most useless and unenjoyable park in America.

28 - O.co Coliseum, Oakland Athletics

There's a very good spot for foul balls during the game, but batting practice is difficult with the baseball setup they have here. I'm not going to waste my time and hope to get two or three of the 10 (or possibly zero) foul balls popped back behind the plate. I'd imagine they'd be pretty laid back since it's a big place and it's kind of empty from time to time, so at least it's good that you (mostly) can do what you want.

27 - Yankee Stadium, New York Yankees

Ugh. The crowds. A Ballhawk's worst enemy. This uncontrollable force is extremely frustrating because people ALWAYS stand and sit in the worst places possible. The best outfield areas are very small, which means a thousand people pack into just a few sections. Because they're the Yankees, they can do whatever they want, which often hurts the fan/Ballhawk in the process. Restricting access, closing attractions, being seat/ticket hardasses; the huge ego is just the start of the problems.

26 - Rogers Centre, Toronto Blue Jays

This places is the worst offender for the 'split level' problem I'll be talking about in this entry a few times. All the way around, the upper and lower level outfield seats are stacked at a distance that is perfectly awful. Balls either fall short into the 100s, or over your head and barley make it to the first row of the 200s. It's impossible to know you're in the right spot. Those seats are also pretty far removed from the field, causing lots of balls to fall into the gap and bullpens below.

25 - Minute Maid Park, Houston Astros

Most of the time, homers hit to left field bounce off the giant wall behind the seats and end up back on the field. The Crawford Boxes are very small and, naturally, fill up very quickly with other eager fans. That leaves half of right field available. Being bound to one place like that, the only decent place, just sucks. Thanks to the layout, there's not many options for during the game either. Surviving on toss ups on the balconies in left center is not something a Ballhawk should look forward to.


24 - Fenway Park, Boston Red Sox

An entire half of the stadium is gone thanks to the Green Monster. It's possible to get up there and get some tosses (if you have the right ticket, that is), but it's definitely not the place to be running around. Right field is okay, but wasn't built for fan comfort over a hundred years ago, making it hard on everyone to move around easily. Additionally, this is one of the places where plenty of people show up early, every single day. Remember, crowds are public enemy number one.

23 - Target Field, Minnesota Twins

Target has a mix of a few other park's worst qualities. Bad leveling, seats are raised high above the field, and just not that many outfield seats in general. Also incredibly hard to maneuver between fields, seeing as how each area is spaced out and very small with no direct walkway in between. It DOES have a little porch in right that, on occasion, lets balls roll out through Gate 34.


22 - Chase Field, Arizona Diamondbacks

There's really nothing I have to say about the park in Phoenix. Left field consists entirely of bleachers, making things MUCH easier on more advanced Ballhawks that can hurdle them with ease. The outfield wall jets out to 413 feet in the corners, cutting down usable space exponentially and making the amount of room to work with by the foul poles pretty small. However, it's so neutral, most of the places higher on the list have some sort of an advantage Ballhawks can use.

21 - Comerica Park, Detroit Tigers

Regarded as one of the most cavernous parks in the league, there's very little happening in left field. The original wall is pretty far out there, and now has a bullpen in front of it thanks to some renovations from a few years ago. That leaves some Glove Trick chances, but Detroit is so ghetto that stadium security thinks it's a weapon and takes your stuff away from you. Right field is okay, has small steps (so does left, by the way), and a decent corner spot for balls hit to deep center. When I went, it was a nice change from the usual places I go for games, but nothing I really miss since I've left.

20 - Angel Stadium of Anaheim, Los Angeles Angels....of Anaheim

Lots of the seats are elevated like in Minneapolis and parks similar to it. Not good. Has some short walls in the corners, and since I feel that's the only good thing, people most likely go there first during BP. However, it does seem like the kind of place that's easy to move farther down towards the infield seats, giving more foul ball chances at the dugout than a lot of other parks above it.

19 - Miller Park, Milwaukee Brewers

Home to one of the best (maybe THE best) foul ball cross aisle in all of baseball. It really is a great place to be if you can get the right seat or convince security to let you stand on the back wall. Unfortunately, the struggle during BP makes up for all that good fortune. For one, lots of space is cut down thanks to the scoreboard and the stacked bleachers in right field. Another place that has bleachers elevated directly above the field, which requires serious distance on the ball in order for it to reach you. Frustrating to no end.


18 - Tropicana Field, Tampa Bay Rays

This one trick pony is awful for baseball, but decent for ball chasers. Consistent low attendance is very rare to find in the majors. Fewer people solves many problems, including easier movement and not being forced to share BP homers with other fans trying to catch them. Maybe not the best physical elements to work with, but just about as close to Ballhawking in a completely empty stadium as you're going to get.

17 - Great American Ballpark, Cincinnati Reds

The good news is that GABP is one of the smallest parks around, making it prone to plenty of home runs during BP as well as games. The bad news is that they're hard to get to before they land. The most open area in right field is incredibly steep, and has hand rails that make it very hard to get around quickly. In left field, the upper and lower levels have another one of those bad splits. Not awful, but the empty top bleachers aren't an easy target for the guy at the plate. Opportunities are sometimes there, but almost always just out of reach.



16 - Busch Stadium, St.Louis Cardinals

I've been here, and found it fairly difficult. It's very hard to get used to and caused me to construct a new plan of action on the spot. There are barriers, walls, and concession stands that cause big detours when moving through the seats and between sections. It's very common to lose sight of the field when you're switching spots. All in all, precious time is taken out of your 90 minutes, drastically increasing the chances for missed opportunities. A challenge, no doubt, but not terrible.

15 - Wrigley Field, Chicago Cubs

The Bleachers are flat and wide open with no seat backs. It's also easy to get anywhere out there without missing a second of the action. There's batting practice here before day games more often than any other park. Sounds fantastic right? Too bad they have the ticket rule (where you can't get into the Bleachers without a Bleacher ticket...ever) and strict rules about getting into the close seats near the infield. It has it's perks, but the downsides are big ones to get past if you try to survive here every day like myself.

14 - Kauffman Stadium, Kansas City Royals

Thank goodness for that new outfield concourse. Before 2009, it wasn't even possible to get more than 30 feet into fair territory...because there weren't any seats there! Now a walkway goes all the way around, making a Ballhawk's job A LOT easier. More than a few great cross aisles behind the first rows seats out there. I was originally upset that the fountains take up so much room. That is, until I found out all it takes is switching out my glove for a vegetable steamer on my Glove Trick string to make that an advantage.

13 - Safeco Field, Seattle Mariners

On the better side of okay, actually. Some bullpens in left field for the Glove Trick, regular right field seats, and a laid back attitude that lets you sneak around anywhere, including close to the dugout most of the time.

Safeco is the first member of the "Two and a Half Hour Club" that I'll be referring to a few more times from here on out. No matter what physical aspects a park has, there is an immense intangible benefit received when parks open at 4:30 before a 7 PM game. A Ballhawk's greatest ally is time. More time means more opportunities and chances that other parks don't have, simply because they don't allow early access to the seats.

12 - Progressive Field, Cleveland Indians

In a single word: Potential. Record setting days and milestones are very likely to pop up for Ballhawks in Cleveland. The Jake is another member of the Two and a Half Hour Club, but only for right field, which is kind of a bummer. They open up the whole stadium just an hour before first pitch. That doesn't matter, because left field isn't that great for BP anyway. During the game, though, left offers a very good place to try to catch a gamer in the home run porch.


11 - Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles Dodgers

It doesn't seem amazing, DodgerFilms just makes it look easy. Also relatively flat with no surprises; something I like, if you couldn't tell already. The short walls in the corners are low enough to where you could bend down and scoop up balls rolling in the dirt, a nice bonus to an already decent outfield.


10 - AT&T Park, San Francisco Giants

Not a whole ton going on. In all honesty, if I'm there for more than two games, I would rent a kayak and sit out in the cove. One needs to take unusual approaches to make sure a repetitive tasks remains interesting. From what I remember, it's Glove Trick friendly too; just don't be obnoxious with it.

9 - Coors Field, Colorado Rockies

The air has nothing to do with it. Left field is a gold mine that makes the below average right field a non-factor. Shorter walls, not that bad distance wise, and a FABULOUS place to run behind the first row of handicap seating from the foul pole all the way to center field. Just from a hunch, foul territory seems more decent than other parks in terms of sneaking around.

8 - PETCO Park, San Diego Padres

Sure, it has some deep alleys, but there's a lot to make up for it. There's great cross aisles in the second deck in left and behind the first few rows in right. It's impossible to control where the balls go, but being able to move laterally on both sides is not something many places offer. Also grouped in the Two and a Half Hour Club, allowing it to crack the top ten.

7 - Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia Phillies

Lots of open area with no gimmicks. I personally am not thoroughly impressed to rank it this high just by myself. I've never experienced it and can't pick out obvious things that make it good like other parks. It cracks the top ten because of the respect and trust I have for it's reputation among other Ballhawks. It WAS in the Two and a Half Hour Club last season and every year before, but news is that they're cutting it down to a measly 90 minutes. If that turns out to be true, it's out of the top ten indefinitely.

6 - PNC Park, Pittsburgh Pirates

Because the sections are so small and spread out across all fields, you can always be close to the action. That's the biggest advantage. Instead of feeling like you're a mile away from the field (Milwaukee, Minnesota, Toronto, ect.), you're almost standing on it. Tiny sections make for tiny targets. They won't give a plethora of opportunities, but the limited area makes a lot of balls out of reach. The fact there's nothing you can do about it eases the mind a bit when you're not doing as well as you hoped.

5 - US Cellular Field, Chicago White Sox

I haven't fully appreciated this place until now. How many other places can I do what I've done here with glove tricks and sneaking into the third row with extreme ease? None. Low attendance and a simple layout all around the park with nice and small steps really makes it a paradise for catching balls. Literally the only thing bad about it is the 90 minute gate time. It really does cut down on potential success when you only have about an hour to do as much as you can. If the Sox decided to add an extra 60 minutes to that, I may never go anywhere else to catch balls again.

4 - Nationals Park, Washington Nationals

The really good thing about DC is that there are lots and lots of places to go in all areas of the park. This gives you plenty of options, as well as more space to let people spread out. Before 2012 when the Nats went to the playoffs the first time, the seats were borderline deserted. As another park in the Two and a Half Hour Club, it's one of the best places a Ballhawk can spend their time.

3 - Oriole Park at Camden Yards, Baltimore Orioles

In right, OPACY has the original flag court, one of the best places to catch a game homer. It's much bigger than Minnesota's or the similar area in Cleveland. Lots of balls end up around here, or even roll farther onto the street in front of the warehouse. Baltimore also has an extremly simple and boring seating arrangement in left field, which is great news.


2 - "Globe Life Park" (Ugh.), Texas Rangers

One reason, and one reason only, is why this is up so high. Forget seats and tickets and ushers for a second. This place almost ENCOURAGES the use of ANY ball retrieval devices. I've seen pictures of guys using fishing nets. As long as you don't hit anyone with whatever you're using, what's the harm? It's almost worth going there just to take advantage of it. The hill in center field is a nightmare during BP, as it's riddled with 10 year old who start crying if another kid beats them out for a ball. I'll just avoid that altogether, thank you very much. An aisle seat right next to it during the game is not a bad idea though. The rest of the park looks rather promising, so it's WAY up there in my book because of the endless possibilities.

1 - Turner Field, Atlanta Braves

Finally, a Ballhawking paradise. The field level seats are massive nearly all around the outfield, the entire park is one connected square, and there's even a gap for glove trick attempts that are actually allowed. The cherry on top is being the final member of the Two and a Half Hour Club, giving lots of extra time to work with all the things that already make life easier.



****

The point I'm trying to make between these last two entries is that every park is beautiful. Each one has something special to offer. What you see and don't see depends on what type of fan you want to be when you step inside a new park for the very fist time.

Even though my plan was to reorganize my own thoughts and decide what I wanted to see the most, I know the rankings are going to change. As I keep crossing parks off the list, I'll learn more about what I think is a good or bad quality based on the way I approach situations. For now, I want to focus mainly on mastering the parks I go to most in Chicago and Milwaukee. Hopefully, one day, I can see all of these places for myself, and write my own scouting report instead of just taking bits and pieces from other's experiences.


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