Angel Stadium of Anaheim

Stadium Name: Angel Stadium of Anaheim

Location: Anaheim, CA

Team: Los Angeles Angels

Stadium Rating: B-

First Game: July 22, 2017, Angels – 7, Red Sox – 3

Beverly Hills (the Nutella-stuffed waffles at whatever brunch place we went to were heavenly), Santa Monica Beach, and plenty of cruising around in traffic made for a fun day two of the trip to LA.

After the loooooonnnnggg drive to Anaheim from near LAX, James and I made it just in time for first pitch. We walked in past the “Big A,” a large “A” with a halo surrounding it (photo below). While this used to be a part of the park, it now sits a few hundred yards outside the stadium in the lot.

This stadium brings me back a lot of great memories, though it’s not because of any trips I’ve previously made here, since this was my first time to the stadium.

No, it was because of my favorite movie growing up. Angels in the Outfield. I estimate that I’ve probably seen it 30-40 times, and loved when Joseph Gordon-Levitt inspired the team to greatness, well before he was Robin in the third Batman.

Since I love a good cliche, I chose to get seats in the outfield.

This was my third Red Sox game of the year, all on the road. The Angels got down early, but thanks to former Brave Andrelton Simmons’ 2-run homer in the third, the Angels took the lead and never looked back. The final was 7-3, and it was a sunny, beautiful evening to spend a night at a ballpark.

While I love the cliche of sitting as an Angel in the Outfield, I would not recommend doing so on a July evening. The sun setting in the west sits right above the top facade of the stadium, perfectly blocking the eyes of those in right field. That, or just bring sunglasses, which I failed to do.

All in all, Angel Stadium is a really nice park. That said, there’s nothing that really separates the good in it from the great of some other parks, like neighboring Dodger Stadium. That said, there are a few cool quirks. Albert Pujols, the greatest home-run hitter of my lifetime (with the exception of maybe Ken Griffey, Jr., but that’s up for debate) has a cool tribute in the outfield. Shortly before I attended, he was just a few home runs from 600 for his career, and they had a large leaderboard to show his progress.

12 days later, he hit number 600.

It’s hard for me to judge places like Angel Stadium, because by giving it a “B-” that seems kinda average. But the truth is, I really love all of the stadiums for one reason or another. But relativity matters on this scale, and they’re not all Wrigley Field.

15 of 18 so far – plenty more to come!

Current Rankings:

1. Wrigley Field (Chicago Cubs – Chicago, IL)
2. Dodger Stadium (Los Angeles Dodgers, Los Angeles, CA)
3. SunTrust Park (Atlanta Braves – Atlanta, GA)
4. PNC Park (Pittsburgh Pirates – Pittsburgh, PA)
5. Target Field (Minneapolis Twins – Minneapolis, MN)
6. Petco Park (San Diego Padres – San Diego, CA)
7. Minute Maid Park (Houston Astros – Houston, TX)
8. Oriole Park at Camden Yards (Baltimore Orioles – Baltimore, MD)
9. Coors Field (Colorado Rockies – Denver, CO)
10. Citizens Bank Park (Philadelphia Phillies – Philadelphia, PA)
11. Ballpark in Arlington (Texas Rangers – Arlington, TX)
12. Miller Park (Milwaukee Brewers – Milwaukee, WI)
13. Chase Field (Arizona Diamondbacks – Phoenix, AZ)
14. Safeco Field (Seattle Mariners – Seattle, WA)
15. Angel Stadium (Los Angeles Angels – Anaheim, CA)
16. Busch Stadium (Saint Louis Cardinals – Saint Louis, Missouri)
17. Oakland Alameda County Stadium (Oakland Athletics – Oakland, CA)
18. Guaranteed Rate Stadium (Chicago White Sox, Chicago, IL)

 

Dodger Stadium

Stadium Name: Dodger Stadium

Location: Los Angeles, CA

Team: Los Angeles Dodgers

Stadium Rating: A+

First Game: July 21, 2017, Braves – 12, Dodgers – 3

People often ask me if I get tired of going on trips. If the late nights of traveling, hours away from home – a relatively new at that – are worth it.

But honestly, when chasing after a dream, the dumb, irrational and sometimes crazy things you have to do are worth it.

So yes. It’s worth it. And that brings us to the current number two stadium on my list.

When two teams have stadiums within about 45 minutes from each other, it just makes sense to try and get them out of the way in the same weekend. If I could go from Denver to Oakland to Seattle in the span of 40 hours to go to two games, then seeing two in the greater Los Angeles are was completely doable.

After a day spent in Hollywood, Beverly Hills, cruising down Sunset Blvd. and visiting the filming location of The Office, James (who flew in from Austin that morning as well) and I took off for Chavez Ravine, just north of downtown L.A.

I was pleasantly surprised by Dodger Stadium. It’s not just because my Atlanta Braves actually showed up for the night and stomped on the home team. Built in the early 1960s, Dodger Stadium is now the third oldest stadium in the Major Leagues, behind Wrigley Field in Chicago and Fenway Park in Boston. I’ve quickly learned that I’m a sucker for the older, nostalgic feel of the original parks.

The baby blue facade of the Stadium is very 1960’s. (Cause I was alive to see it then…) The palm trees all around the stadium confirm that you are in fact in Southern California (see photo below), but they don’t feel out of place at all.

Everything about the park screams “baseball” and despite not having a very intimate feel like Wrigley and PNC Park (Dodger Stadium has the highest capacity of any baseball-only stadium in the world), it was a delightful place to catch a game.

As I previously mentioned, my Braves were in town, facing a pitcher who was 11-0 at the time. I was optimistic that the Braves could keep it close. But I was so far off that it’s incredible. The Braves jumped out to a 5-0 lead thanks to a crucial error by said pitcher and some timely hitting.

Then, in the bottom of the 5th, magic happened. And let me preface this by saying I don’t try to be too dramatic about baseball (I know I am and have accepted this). But there’s just something about a baseball game. Anything that’s not normal can happen at any time.

So when the Braves pitcher came up with 2 outs in the 5th and the bases loaded, it’s fair to say the crowd and I were shocked when he loaded up on an 0-2 pitch and absolutely destroyed a ball to deep right field. I jumped up in shock, and the home crowd went silent. Jaime Garcia, a lefty-hitting pitcher, hit an 0-2, 2 out Grand Slam.

That’s what I love about baseball. You never know what you’re going to see on any given day. The Dodgers were on their way to having one of the greatest seasons in MLB history (only to get upstaged by the Astros in Game 7 of the Fall Classic) and my mediocre Braves embarrassed them on Fireworks Night in July.

It was a wonderful day at a wonderful park.

My food tip for Dodger Stadium? Get a Dodger dog. By far the best hot dog I’ve had at a ballpark.

Current Rankings:

1. Wrigley Field (Chicago Cubs – Chicago, IL)
2. Dodger Stadium (Los Angeles Dodgers, Los Angeles, CA)
3. SunTrust Park (Atlanta Braves – Atlanta, GA)
4. PNC Park (Pittsburgh Pirates – Pittsburgh, PA)
5. Target Field (Minneapolis Twins – Minneapolis, MN)
6. Petco Park (San Diego Padres – San Diego, CA)
7. Minute Maid Park (Houston Astros – Houston, TX)
8. Oriole Park at Camden Yards (Baltimore Orioles – Baltimore, MD)
9. Coors Field (Colorado Rockies – Denver, CO)
10. Citizens Bank Park (Philadelphia Phillies – Philadelphia, PA)
11. Ballpark in Arlington (Texas Rangers – Arlington, TX)
12. Miller Park (Milwaukee Brewers – Milwaukee, WI)
13. Chase Field (Arizona Diamondbacks – Phoenix, AZ)
14. Safeco Field (Seattle Mariners – Seattle, WA)
15. Busch Stadium (Saint Louis Cardinals – Saint Louis, Missouri)
16. Oakland Alameda County Stadium (Oakland Athletics – Oakland, CA)
17. Guaranteed Rate Stadium (Chicago White Sox, Chicago, IL)

Petco Park

Stadium Name: Petco Park

Location: San Diego, California

Team: San Diego Padres

Stadium Rating: A

First Game: June 3, 2017, Rockies – 10, Padres – 1

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This was probably the coolest story I have to tell for traveling to a stadium yet.

It started as a joke of an idea, to fly several states over for a day to go to a game, and then flying back at night. But sometimes jokes can become reality, and that is what happened on this June day.

I had a 8 AM flight that got to San Diego 9:30. I immediately took an Uber from the airport to the beach, and got to take a few (very, very) cold steps into the Pacific Ocean for the first time. After walking around and a quick nap on the beach, I got a cab back across the bay over to lunch before biking to the stadium.

I wasn’t expecting too much of Petco Park, but it quickly became one of my favorites. I was walking around all day in sandals, needing a break just before the game started. Petco has a massive lawn behind center field that let’s people throw down a blanket and enjoy the game from afar with their dogs, kids and whoever else they decided to bring. So I got to watch part of the game while laying back on a green hill overlooking the stadium. Not too bad.

My seats were up high, per usual, but the view was still great, and you could see a lot of San Diego in the background. My new hometown team, the Colorado Rockies, absolutely crushed the Padres – it wasn’t even close – but the stadium was a gem and one I would gladly go back to (San Diego too – for that matter).

From the game, I went and walked around downtown San Diego, the Gaslamp Quarter, and then eventually took an Uber back to the airport. By 7 o’clock, I was back on a plane, and home by 11 PM.

In 15 hours, I took two flights, watched an entire baseball game, went to the beach, and got some great food at the Pier. It was an absolutely great day.

While normally something like that would turn me away from doing such a quick and rushed trip, it was such a great time that I’m definitely not opposed to doing it again. Halfway through 2017, I was more than 50% finished with my list. But that still leaves a lot of stadiums and a lot of traveling to go.

1. Wrigley Field (Chicago Cubs – Chicago, IL)
2. SunTrust Park (Atlanta Braves – Atlanta, GA)
3. PNC Park (Pittsburgh Pirates – Pittsburgh, PA)
4. Target Field (Minneapolis Twins – Minneapolis, MN)
5. Petco Park (San Diego Padres – San Diego, CA)
6. Minute Maid Park (Houston Astros – Houston, TX)
7. Oriole Park at Camden Yards (Baltimore Orioles – Baltimore, MD)
8. Coors Field (Colorado Rockies – Denver, CO)
9. Citizens Bank Park (Philadelphia Phillies – Philadelphia, PA)
10. Ballpark in Arlington (Texas Rangers – Arlington, TX)
11. Miller Park (Milwaukee Brewers – Milwaukee, WI)
12. Chase Field (Arizona Diamondbacks – Phoenix, AZ)
13. Safeco Field (Seattle Mariners – Seattle, WA)
14. Busch Stadium (Saint Louis Cardinals – Saint Louis, Missouri)
15. Oakland Alameda County Stadium (Oakland Athletics – Oakland, CA)
16. Guaranteed Rate Stadium (Chicago White Sox, Chicago, IL)

Safeco Field

Stadium Name: Safeco Field

Location: Seattle, Washington

Team: Seattle Mariners

Stadium Rating: B-

First Game: May 21, 2017, White Sox – 8, Mariners – 1

—

At the beginning of this year, I had 9 stadiums done on my list, and no real agenda of when I’d get any more completed. But yet here I was, halfway home by mid-May. Safeco Field was the sunny backdrop for stadium #15.

A lot of the locals bragged on Safeco Field, about how new it was, about the amenities and views. But a quick Wikipedia search shows that Safeco is actually now in the older half of stadiums by year, which is crazy given that it opened up in 1999.

To me, it was a nice stadium, especially due to the sunny afternoon with hardly a cloud in the sky. But the cheapest seat I could find was still out in the bleachers near center field, where it got a bit harder to see. The Mariners got crushed too, so there was a noticeable quiet around the stadium.

That being said – a couple things I’ll give to the Mariners. Their crowd is very loyal – most people didn’t leave early despite it being a pretty hot day, and their team was getting smoked by a lesser opponent. They also had a really cool Hall of Fame that you could walk through. I’m a sucker for that sort of thing – but in this case it was especially cool since it housed my favorite non-Brave of all time, Ken Griffey Jr.

But – I couldn’t really look past too much of that, as Safeco unfortunately gets a ranking lower down on my list. This was the first time I was able to go to Seattle, the city itself was awesome, and I loved the views. But unfortunately, the stadium just doesn’t cut it with the current batch of modern parks that are seemingly coming out each year.

1. Wrigley Field (Chicago Cubs – Chicago, IL)
2. SunTrust Park (Atlanta Braves – Atlanta, GA)
3. PNC Park (Pittsburgh Pirates – Pittsburgh, PA)
4. Target Field (Minneapolis Twins – Minneapolis, MN)
5. Minute Maid Park (Houston Astros – Houston, TX)
6. Oriole Park at Camden Yards (Baltimore Orioles – Baltimore, MD)
7. Coors Field (Colorado Rockies – Denver, CO)
8. Citizens Bank Park (Philadelphia Phillies – Philadelphia, PA)
9. Ballpark in Arlington (Texas Rangers – Arlington, TX)
10. Miller Park (Milwaukee Brewers – Milwaukee, WI)
11. Chase Field (Arizona Diamondbacks – Phoenix, AZ)
12. Safeco Field (Seattle Mariners – Seattle, WA)
13. Busch Stadium (Saint Louis Cardinals – Saint Louis, Missouri)
14. Oakland Alameda County Stadium (Oakland Athletics – Oakland, CA)
15. Guaranteed Rate Stadium (Chicago White Sox, Chicago, IL)

Oakland Alameda County Stadium

Stadium Name: Oakland Alameda County Stadium

Location: Oakland, CA

Team: Oakland Athletics

Stadium Rating: C

First Game: May 20, 2017, Athletics – 8, Red Sox – 3

—

I have to admit, Oakland was probably one of the last stadiums I was looking forward to going to. I love baseball. I think that’s pretty clear. But nothing about Oakland – or the stadium – really jumped out to me.

Not to mention, the Golden State Warriors (housed right next door at Oracle Arena) happened to be taking on my San Antonio Spurs in the playoffs that same weekend.

As I walked into the old stadium, built in 1962, I wasn’t really surprised by anything. Not the best stadium I’ve been to by a longshot, though I still rank it ahead of one at this point. Oakland is the backdrop to one of my favorite movies – Moneyball – where the early 2000s upstart A’s win an improbable 20 games in a row and changed a lot of the way baseball is run from the front office.

So in a way, Oakland Alameda will always be a cool stadium to me – the history behind the common ground that the A’s share with the Raiders.

And I was very excited to go to California for the first time – where the sunny 75 was no joke. It was pretty darn great.

The stadium was as predicted for a 55 year old deteriorating structure. There’s no massive press box behind home plate – it’s in center field, which makes a lot more sense when you know the Raiders all play there for now. I sat in the bleachers and narrowly missed out on a few batting practice balls.

The game felt eerily similar to a minor league game, which I guess made it kind of its own. People are allowed to bring drums and noisemakers in, which I didn’t think was allowed at any stadium anymore. But the people in Oakland love their A’s, they love making noise, and they love having a good time.

Problem is, it wasn’t the most enjoyable place to watch a baseball game, which unfortunately is my top criteria for watching a game. The A’s won, I had a great time, but it’s not a park I’ll be itching to get back to anytime soon. For right now, stadium #14 is #13 on my list.

The good thing is – Oakland is pushing for a new stadium, and when that opens up, I’ll be more than happy for a return trip.

1. Wrigley Field (Chicago Cubs – Chicago, IL)
2. SunTrust Park (Atlanta Braves – Atlanta, GA)
3. PNC Park (Pittsburgh Pirates – Pittsburgh, PA)
4. Target Field (Minneapolis Twins – Minneapolis, MN)
5. Minute Maid Park (Houston Astros – Houston, TX)
6. Oriole Park at Camden Yards (Baltimore Orioles – Baltimore, MD)
7. Coors Field (Colorado Rockies – Denver, CO)
8. Citizens Bank Park (Philadelphia Phillies – Philadelphia, PA)
9. Ballpark in Arlington (Texas Rangers – Arlington, TX)
10. Miller Park (Milwaukee Brewers – Milwaukee, WI)
11. Chase Field (Arizona Diamondbacks – Phoenix, AZ)
12. Busch Stadium (Saint Louis Cardinals – Saint Louis, Missouri)
13. Oakland Alameda County Stadium (Oakland Athletics – Oakland, CA)
14. Guaranteed Rate Stadium (Chicago White Sox, Chicago, IL)

Target Field

Stadium Name: Target Field

Location: Minneapolis, MN

Team: Minneapolis Twins

Stadium Rating: A

First Game: May 5, 2017, Red Sox – 11, Twins – 1

—

#13.

Before May, I had been to Minneapolis twice in my life.

The first time, we missed our flight out to Montana and had to spend the night at a hotel, where it was 19 degrees. I had flip flops, a t-shirt, and shorts on.

The second time, I was merely in the airport, making a connection.

As they say, third time is the charm.

I had the privilege of getting to see my good friend and cousin Kurt for the weekend in Minneapolis, which had beautiful weather and nice people all around. The baseball stadium, Target Field, which opened in 2012, was no different.

We sat up top, but the view was incredible (as seen above). While the Twins may have done absolutely horrible that day, the scene could not have been better. The Minneapolis skyline in the background, a cold beer and a baseball game made the Saturday one that I won’t forget.

As far as the stadium itself, Target Field is pretty new, so it had just about every amenity you could ask for. Our view was perfect, despite being pretty high up, the people were gracious and helpful, and the architecture/design of the stadium was great. There didn’t seem to be a bad seat in the house.

Aside from the Twins losing the game, I really can’t find one single bad thing about Target Field. It may be an outdoor park in Minneapolis, so April/September games might not be the most ideal, but it is a beautiful stadium I would gladly go back to. At this point it takes over the #3 spot. Minneapolis really was a great surprise, and the weekend was one I was I could replay.

1. Wrigley Field (Chicago Cubs – Chicago, IL)
2. SunTrust Park (Atlanta Braves – Atlanta, GA)
3. PNC Park (Pittsburgh Pirates – Pittsburgh, PA)
4. Target Field (Minneapolis Twins – Minneapolis, MN)
5. Minute Maid Park (Houston Astros – Houston, TX)
6. Oriole Park at Camden Yards (Baltimore Orioles – Baltimore, MD)
7. Coors Field (Colorado Rockies – Denver, CO)
8. Citizens Bank Park (Philadelphia Phillies – Philadelphia, PA)
9. Ballpark in Arlington (Texas Rangers – Arlington, TX)
10. Miller Park (Milwaukee Brewers – Milwaukee, WI)
11. Chase Field (Arizona Diamondbacks – Phoenix, AZ)
12. Busch Stadium (Saint Louis Cardinals – Saint Louis, Missouri)
13. Guaranteed Rate Stadium (Chicago White Sox, Chicago, IL)

SunTrust Park

Stadium Name: SunTrust Park

Location: Cumberland, Georgia

Team: Atlanta Braves

Stadium Rating: A

First Game: April 15, 2017, Braves – 4, Padres – 2

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Stadium Number 12.

I can’t remember a day that I was not an Atlanta Braves fan. Growing up, I watched Chipper Jones, Andruw Jones, Greg Maddux, and countless others win division title after division title on TBS.

My dad has been a Braves fan for his whole life (though now primarily follows the Brewers), and my brothers have been too. It was just normal.

But despite following the Braves for close to 20 years, I had never been to a home game. I’d never down the “Tomahawk Chop” with 40,000 other Braves fans. But in April of this year, I finally got to go.

The Braves won the two games my friend and I went to, but the experience of finally flying to Atlanta and seeing the Braves – in a new park nonetheless – was more important than the games. As far as a ballpark experience, SunTrust Park was fantastic. I am obviously going to be biased as I write this review, but it was truly a spectacular weekend. The hospitality of the Braves fans/employees was unbelievable. The stadium itself was pristine and I would fly back in a heartbeat.

The cool part of the new stadium – and something that will probably be imitated with new parks – is that they basically built a little town around the park, called The BatteryATL. The restaurants and shops around were a cool little perk and it felt like “Braves Country.”

The Braves aren’t too good, but that weekend is one I’ll never forget.

#CHOPON

1. Wrigley Field (Chicago Cubs – Chicago, IL)
2. SunTrust Park (Atlanta Braves – Atlanta, GA)
3. PNC Park (Pittsburgh Pirates – Pittsburgh, PA)
4. Minute Maid Park (Houston Astros – Houston, TX)
5. Oriole Park at Camden Yards (Baltimore Orioles – Baltimore, MD)
6. Coors Field (Colorado Rockies – Denver, CO)
7. Citizens Bank Park (Philadelphia Phillies – Philadelphia, PA)
8. Ballpark in Arlington (Texas Rangers – Arlington, TX)
9. Miller Park (Milwaukee Brewers – Milwaukee, WI)
10. Chase Field (Arizona Diamondbacks – Phoenix, AZ)
11. Busch Stadium (Saint Louis Cardinals – Saint Louis, Missouri)
12. Guaranteed Rate Stadium (Chicago White Sox, Chicago, IL)

 

Citizens Bank Park

Photo on left: View from behind the plate on a sunny, Sunday afternoon

Photo on right: My seat, which was in prime foul ball territory.

 

Stadium Name: Citizens Bank Park

Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Team: Philadelphia Phillies

Stadium Rating: B

First Game: April 9, 2017, Phillies – 4, Nationals – 3

 

After checking out the park in Baltimore, I took the Amtrak the following morning to Philadelphia (this was an excessively busy trip for a weekend), where I toured a little bit of downtown before heading to the ballpark.

As a lifelong Atlanta Braves fan, I’ll be honest, I had no good expectation of the Phillies ballpark. Built in the early 2000s, I really didn’t think there was anything special about it, other than that it was built right next to the basketball and football stadiums (which makes for a convenient trip if hitting two games in a day).

On this shiny, Sunday afternoon, I was pleasantly surprised.

After grabbing a cheesesteak (had to, it was Philly after all), I took in a wonderful stadium. Hardly a cloud in the sky, the Phillies took on the Washington Nationals to wrap up the series. While I was thinking about how much time I needed to catch my flight home that night, I watched from down the 1st base line and was just constantly amazed at how baseball really does change at each park.

There was nothing inherently “special,” and I use that term loosely, about Citizens Bank Park. It was just a great place to see a game. Pretty much the same way I described Oriole Park at Camden Yards – in that it just had the “it” factor of being a great place to see a game.

They also had a cool hall of fame walkthrough in center field, a node to their past parks and big moments. For example Hank Aaron, the all-time leader in home runs, hit his only inside the park home run in his entire career at Connie Mack Stadium, which the Phillies occupied from 1909-1976.

Out of the 11 parks I’ve been to so far, Citizens Bank Park falls right into the middle, but that’s not a slight at all. I’m quickly realizing how nice each individual park is, and what a cool dream I’m going for.

1. Wrigley Field (Chicago Cubs – Chicago, IL)
2. PNC Park (Pittsburgh Pirates – Pittsburgh, PA)
3. Minute Maid Park (Houston Astros – Houston, TX)
4. Oriole Park at Camden Yards (Baltimore Orioles – Baltimore, MD)
5. Coors Field (Colorado Rockies – Denver, CO)
6. Citizens Bank Park (Philadelphia Phillies – Philadelphia, PA)
7. Ballpark in Arlington (Texas Rangers – Arlington, TX)
8. Miller Park (Milwaukee Brewers – Milwaukee, WI)
9. Chase Field (Arizona Diamondbacks – Phoenix, AZ)
10. Busch Stadium (Saint Louis Cardinals – Saint Louis, Missouri)
11. Guaranteed Rate Stadium (Chicago White Sox, Chicago, IL)

Oriole Park at Camden Yards

Photo on left: My new Baltimore hat (one of my favorites) and a great view down the first base line

Photo on right: Center field scoreboard with the Baltimore Sun logo and old clock.

 

Stadium Name: Oriole Park at Camden Yards

Location: Baltimore, Maryland

Team: Baltimore Orioles

Stadium Rating: B+

First Game: April 8, 2017, Orioles – 5, New York Yankees – 4

When I decided early this year that I would start seriously pursuing my dream to go to all 30 parks, I decided that I should start by going to a stadium on opening weekend. While the Rockies were in town, I wanted to go out of town, and that place ended up being Baltimore, Maryland.

Thanks to Jason who drove up to D.C. to get me from the airport, I was able to knock two stadiums off my list in the first baseball weekend of 2017.

Oriole Park at Camden Yards is a beautiful stadium, and currently I’ll rate it just ahead of Coors Field. It has plenty of unique features, including many classic touches that remind of older ballparks. I loved the old-style clock and local newspaper advertisement that grace the top of the center field scoreboard. The warehouse behind right field lining Eutaw Street is a thing of beauty.

Boog’s BBQ in dead center field was a recommendation from my professor Dr. Mike Shaub at A&M (and seconded later on) and was quite good bar-b-que for a ballpark.

Add in a beautiful sunny day, optimism springing from a new season and it was a great day to be at the game. My number one criteria for a stadium is something I can’t quite explain, other than that it feels like baseball should be played there. OPACY had that and more, and I’ll be happy to go back at any time.

Current Stadium Ratings:

1. Wrigley Field (Chicago Cubs – Chicago, IL)
2. PNC Park (Pittsburgh Pirates – Pittsburgh, PA)
3. Minute Maid Park (Houston Astros – Houston, TX)
4. Oriole Park at Camden Yards (Baltimore Orioles – Baltimore, MD)
5. Coors Field (Colorado Rockies – Denver, CO)
6. Ballpark in Arlington (Texas Rangers – Arlington, TX)
7. Miller Park (Milwaukee Brewers – Milwaukee, WI)
8. Chase Field (Arizona Diamondbacks – Phoenix, AZ)
9. Busch Stadium (Saint Louis Cardinals – Saint Louis, Missouri)
10. Guaranteed Rate Stadium (Chicago White Sox, Chicago, IL)

Coors Field

Photo: Had to have a Coors at Coors! June 25th, 2016

Stadium Name: Coors Field

Location: Denver, Colorado

Team: Colorado Rockies

Stadium Rating: B+

First Game: June 25th, 2016, Rockies – 11,  Diamondbacks – 6

I moved to Colorado this past year on June 18th. My first Rockies game was on June 25th. I literally could not make it a week before going to the ballpark.

That being said, I made it to Coors a full five times this past season, with the Rockies coming on top every single game.

I like Coors quite a bit. It’s not my favorite park by any means, but the weather in the summer in Denver is top notch, and I love a good outdoor park. I’ve sat in a few different spots throughout the park, and you can’t really find a bad spot. In fact, if you sit up high enough either in center or left field, you can see the Rocky Mountains in the background.

Of course, as seen in the picture above, I loved having a Coors at Coors (If you think this is silly, you’ll also like to know that I had a caesar salad while I was at Caesar’s Palace in Vegas). Coors Field is one of the best places I’ve been to relax, sit in the sun and enjoy a game. The Rockies score lots of runs, but they also give up lots of runs. But this always seems to make for a high-scoring entertaining game.

My only regret from this past year at Coors was not catching a home run ball that landed about 12 feet away from me – I basically shoved my friend away to try to reach it.

Thankfully, living 30 minutes away, I’ll be back this summer many times to try and catch another.

Current Stadium Rankings:

1. Wrigley Field (Chicago Cubs – Chicago, IL)
2. PNC Park (Pittsburgh Pirates – Pittsburgh, PA)
3. Minute Maid Park (Houston Astros – Houston, TX)
4. Coors Field (Colorado Rockies – Denver, CO)
5. Ballpark in Arlington (Texas Rangers – Arlington, TX)
6. Miller Park (Milwaukee Brewers – Milwaukee, WI)
7. Chase Field (Arizona Diamondbacks – Phoenix, AZ)
8. Busch Stadium (Saint Louis Cardinals – Saint Louis, Missouri)
9. Guaranteed Rate Stadium (Chicago White Sox, Chicago, IL)