It’s the dream of many fans to visit all 30 major league ballparks. I finally got to Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas for the Division Series, so I can again claim that I’ve seen a game in each park. Here are my ratings of every current major league park.
1-Oracle Park-The San Francisco Giants’ home has everything, a great view, nice location and, according to many fans, excellent food and nice in-game entertainment.
It reminds me a lot of Oriole Park, but with a better scoreboard and sound system. I love when they play “Strangers in the Night” for Kiss Cam at night games.
2-Petco Park-The home of the San Diego Padres is often named as the baseball’s best by many fans and writers. It’s a wonderful place to watch a game, and the Padres, San Diego’s only major league sports team, draw well.
Perfect weather doesn’t hurt.
3-Oriole Park at Camden Yards-In the past, I always rated it as baseball’s best but traveling around I’m struck by the ballpark’s weaknesses. It’s still the best place in baseball to watch a game, but its scoreboard, which is badly outmoded, and sound system, which can’t be heard adequately in many parts of the park, force it down on the list.
Other than Boog’s Barbecue and Jimmy’s Famous Seafood, the concessions are pretty weak.
With the new lease, plans of modernizing the ballpark will eliminate its shortcomings, and I’m sure it will return to the top of the list in the future.
4-Wrigley Field-The Orioles have played there in 2022 and 2023, and it’s a delight to watch a game there. The atmosphere at the park is unmatched, and while it’s a difficult place to work, it’s always popular with hardcore and casual fans.
5-Yankee Stadium-I know, I’m the only one who rates the Yankees’ home high on these lists. I love its vitality and for such a large park, its intimacy. The “Roll Call” doesn’t have the same ring without Derek Jeter, but it’s a great atmosphere with wildly enthusiastic fans.
6-PNC Park-The Pirates’ home has spectacular views of downtown Pittsburgh, and walking across bridges to get there is one of its charms. The Orioles haven’t played there since 2017, and I’m looking forward to returning early in 2024.
7-T-Mobile Park-The Seattle Mariners’ home has a unique design and still looks new even if it’s more than 20 years old. Food choices for fans seem appealing.
8-Target Field-The scoreboard and sound system are great at the Minnesota Twins’ home and while there’s nothing unique about it, it’s a great place to watch a game and looks to be a ballpark that will be vital for decades to come.
9-Coors Field-When the home of the Colorado Rockies was new, it reminded me of Oriole Park. It’s another lively stadium, and because there’s no franchise within hundreds of miles, it draws excellent crowds despite the Rockies’ poor records over the years.
10-Citizens’ Bank Park-Every ballpark rating list needs a most underrated park, and this is mine. The Phillies’ home is another park with enthusiastic fans. My favorite perk of any visit is “Frankie Two Scoops,” who dishes out ice cream in the press dining room.
11-Fenway Park-I’ve been to Fenway dozens of times, and Boston is one of my favorite places to visit. The atmosphere is a different one, but the park is old and cramped. I hope the Red Sox play there forever, but many of the new stadiums have passed it on my favorite list.
12- Comerica Park-The Tigers’ home is conveniently located near the homes of the Lions, Pistons and Red Wings, and downtown Detroit is a much nicer place since it opened.
There’s really nothing special about it, but it feels cozy and it doesn’t remind anyone of the late Tiger Stadium.
13-Kauffman Stadium-The Royals are in their final years here. It’s possible that the 50-year-old stadium will be replaced by a new one downtown, though there aren’t any confirmed plans for a replacement.
It’s a fun place to watch a game, and when it was built, it marked the end of the cookie-cutter park era.
Its weakness is that it’s stuck on a highway with nothing to do before or after a game.
14-Progressive Field-Ranked higher in its early years, you can’t visit the home of the Cleveland Guardians without remembering the great rivalries between the Orioles and the team that used to be known as the Indians of the late ’90s.
It’s still a fine place to watch a game and Cleveland’s done a great job with its downtown.
15-Dodger Stadium-Thirty years ago, Dodger Stadium was at the top of the list of baseball’s favorite venues. While there’s nothing wrong with it, it’s just that many of the new parks have nicer features.
It’s still a beautiful stadium with breathtaking vistas, but it’s too loud and traffic is just awful.
16-Angels Stadium-One of the oldest ballparks in baseball, it’s not high on most people’s lists. The fans seem to enjoy themselves, and it’s the home of my favorite hype song: “Calling All Angels.”
I think its atmosphere isn’t appreciated by many.
17-Busch Stadium-The Cardinals’ home is quite pleasant and has a nice location in downtown St. Louis. They’ve built a ballpark village nearby that the Orioles would like to copy.
18-Minute Maid Park-The Houston Astros’ park is large and loud. Because of the Astros’ success, the crowds are peppy and they sell great brisket sandwiches.
I haven’t seen many games with the roof open. Because it’s usually hot, it’s closed and makes it louder.
19-Citi Field-One of the great disappointments in baseball. Nothing about the New York Mets’ ballpark reminds you of New York. It’s miles ahead of its predecessor, Shea Stadium, but isn’t close to being a top park.
20-Truist Park-Its adjacent Battery is the envy of the Orioles, who won’t be able to copy what the Atlanta Braves have done because they don’t have the acres of unoccupied land they did.
I didn’t like that the Braves left downtown Atlanta, and my favorite feature is the exhibit of Braves history on the concourse near home plate.
21-Nationals Park-When it was built, there was nothing around it. Now, there’s a bustling neighborhood around the stadium, but the ballpark doesn’t say “Washington.”
22-Globe Life Field-I’ve seen only one game there, the Orioles’ final game in the Division Series, and I don’t like to rate parks from just one visit.
I liked the stadium more than I thought I would. It has incredibly wide concourses, and from walking around many of the newer parks in 2023, I was struck by the contrast between the narrowness of Camden Yards and the spaciousness of the new ones.
23-Great American Ballpark-One of my least favorite new parks, the Cincinnati Reds’ home lies next to the Ohio River. It lacks charm, but if you like home runs, this is your ballpark.
24-Rogers Centre-I haven’t seen it since it’s been redone. The home of the Toronto Blue Jays suffers because it was built just before Camden Yards. Its location is great.
25-Miller Park-I’ve haven’t been there since 2014, and I enjoy watching “Bernie the Brewer” on his slide after Milwaukee home runs. It’s located 15 minutes from downtown Milwaukee, and that detracts from its charm.
26-LoanDepot Park-When the Orioles played there for the first time in 2015, the Miami Marlins had the roof closed, and it was an unappealing look.
The park lacks charm and intimacy though it looked as if it was fun for last spring’s World Baseball Classic.
27-Guaranteed Rate Field-Another missed opportunity. The Chicago White Sox’s home is charmless and doesn’t remind anyone that they’re in Chicago. The White Sox could be angling for a new home or better yet, for money for massive renovations to improve the park’s look and feel.
28-Tropicana Field-The Rays will be building a new home nearby, and they hope to draw larger crowds to replace their charmless home. There’s nothing positive about the Trop other than it’s an easy place to work.
29-Chase Field-Incredibly dark and without charm, the home of the Arizona Diamondbacks was a surprise host for the 2023 World Series. The Diamondbacks have done little to maintain or improve their home since 1998, and because it’s dark, it’s hard to pick up balls hit to the outfield.
30-Oakland Coliseum-The Athletics are moving to Las Vegas and aren’t sure where they’ll play in 2025. Their new stadium isn’t supposed to be ready until 2028, but for 2024, this horror is the undisputed worst stadium in baseball.