Which MLB ballparks are the most essential to visit?

I have read nothing that even hints at any sort of preservation of any type. The plans I’ve seen are to tear down the stadium, raise the current field level, and put a ball field in its place. So no, it won’t be a parking lot, but what’s the difference? Hey, the White House is almost 200 years old, let’s rip it down. Ooh, the Parthenon is even older, but who cares? We can build something better now, so what difference does it make?

We can lay this right at the feet of the Big Felon. Oh, I’d better watch what I say, he might sick Howard Spira on me, or maybe he’ll punch the wall and break his hand and then try to blame it on me like he did in 1981 when he said he plugged a Dodgers fan. Either way, he may have quit running the show, but he’s still the guy who is responsible for destroying an icon.

Excellent call. Kauffman aka Royals Stadium is a very nice park.

Skydome in Toronto, or Rogers Center or whatever they call it now, is also a very interesting place to see a game.

Aren’t they planning to keep the field itself somehow? Perserving that crazy ‘hallowed ground’ for the new park. I thought I read that somewhere…

Shea is a dump, but it’s a cool dump. You might want to score a ticket to one of those Billy Joel concerts they have planned this summer rather than catch a game.

So you’ve got the top three (I happen to think Yankee Stadium is kind of a dump too, but if you’re into history…) now make sure you see Camden Yards and the Jake. Kaufman in KC is a great park, as is the PNC whatever field in Pittsburgh. Sure, it’ll be empty and the game will stink, but the stadium is great. The Houston Astros play in a strange, yet kind of neat, park. Oh…see a Brewers game at Miller Park and catch a sausage race. That is a must.

To the west coast. Aside from Dodger stadium, Petco in San Diego looks interesting and the San Fransico park is really cool.

I kind of thought Coors field was nice, and I’ve never been, but I always thought Safeco in Seattle looked really nice.

If you want history, catch a minor league game at “The birthplace of baseball” Doubleday field in Cooperstown, NY. There’s a pretty nice museum to check out right next door.

Safeco looks nice, and they have a really efficient tram/bus system for those coming in from out of towm, but I wasn’t all that impressed with the rest of the park. Your basic barn. It could have been the game that caused my lack of enthusiasm (Mariners vs Royals), I suppose. :smiley:

Petco is a great stadium. Just not historic in any way. But the way they incorporated the existing buildings into the structure was very nice. Great sightlines, good food, easy access…Petco rocks!

The Ballpark in Arlington and Minutemaid in Houston both fall on the “slightly above average” in my opinion. However, they’re close enough to do back to back if the schedule allows it.

The Rangers have a nice ballpark, but it suffers from being right smack in the middle of suburbia. There is nothing around it at all except for Six Flags. Houston’s is downtown, but the roof is closed most of the time.

And to second what others have suggested, don’t limit yourself to Major League parks. There are any number of great little gems all though the minor leagues. Here in northern Ohio, I highly recommend both Canal Park in Akron and Fifth Third Field in Toledo.

Another plug for Safeco. It’s not as nice as AT&T Park in San Francisco, but it’s worth seeing. Good sightlines, fun to spend an inning walking all the way around the park on the inside (coming from NY, that’s always been one of my favorite things to do, as it is impossible here).
The big three old ones, Dodger Stadium, Safeco, Kaufmann, Coors, AT&T, PNC in Pittsburgh, Camden Yards and the Jake would be the top 11, from what I know (haven’t been to them all, but from talking with friends that’s where I’d put them). Miller Park is also supposed to be nice. I wasn’t all that impressed with Petco, to be honest.
Rogers Centre / Skydome is mediocre… and Shea is only worth doing if you’re in NY to see Yankee Stadium and the timing works. Oakland and Anaheim fall into the same category.

I agree with everything you said, but I had the weirdest problem there – the sound. I went for the first time this past September and ended up with a seat that was back against a wall. It seemed like a really good deal (no one to kick my seat or spill beer on me from behind) until I realized I couldn’t understand a word being said over the PA system. I asked the people sitting around me, who were season ticket holders, and they just shrugged and said that’s the way it is. It made certain aspects of the game very annoying.

However, Petco is a beautiful stadium and very well situated in downtown San Diego. I’d recommend taking the stadium tour if you have the chance.

PNC in Pittsburgh is a really nice stadium. I’d suggest you try to get a tour when there isn’t a game. Because that way you wouldn’t have to watch the Pirates. My dear, sucky Pirates.

I haven’t been to that many baseball parks, but just to reinforce what other folks have said, Fenway is awesome. I’ve been twice and it was just a great experience. Pregame, go to the Boston Brew Works down the street. There’s also a Howard Johnson’s right by the stadium that isn’t (wasn’t) too expensive.

I would like to add to that, baseball’s biggest secret: The Arizona Fall League.

Played in the same parks as the Cactus League spring training, only in October and November, it’s sort of a graduate school for the minor leagues. Each of the six teams are affiliated with five MLB teams who send their top AA and AAA prospects for a bit of seasoning and a final polish before hitting the Bigs.

Tickets are $6 for anywhere in the park, and even on a good day, about five-hundred show up. Needless to say, the cactus league parks are a lot more intimate than the any major league park. I was sitting right behind home plate and the guy next to me had a disparaging remark about the umpire to his buddy, not loudly. Between pitches, the ump turned and objected with a smile, “We may be blind, but we can hear, you know!” We laughed.

Small town baseball in the big city.

I really shouldn’t recommend this, but I will.

Oakland Coliseum. It’s one of the oldest parks out there now, and one of only two dual-use stadiums. It used to have one of the prettiest views (oakland hills), but has since been uglified by mount davis.

It has crappy sight-lines, it’s mostly concrete, and horrible in every way to the general public.

And every August the Raiders ruin the field. It’s horrible, but it is unique.

Not A Tame Lion help me out here…

The A’s will soon leave, for wherever, so the days are numbered. What is great about it is that it is one of the last few pitcher’s parks. It has a HUGE expanse of foul territory, which I feel is sorely missing in these days of bandbox stadiums which try to get fans 3 feet from the action. This stadium makes hitters work for their safe base.

It also probably has the best weather of all stadiums. It doesn’t have the bullshit windy weather of candlestick or to a lesser degree sbc. The weather is truly excellent. Plus it has BART, and the hilarious vendors who try to sell you their merchandise on the bart bridge.

It used to have Bill King, which must be worth something.

But again the greatest thing it has the the foul territory, which is something unique these days. It truly is a unique feature which I will sorely miss wherever they end up.

I agree with folks saying don’t bother with Shea - cold and yucky. I also agree with folks saying to check out minor league parks - they can be smaller-towny fun, especially if you have kids.

So, what to do in NY? Go to **Keystone Park ** on Coney Island and see the Brooklyn Cyclones, who are way down in the Mets system, but in a great location! You have Coney in the background and it is a really fun time all around. Games sell out regularly so you have to plan ahead, but entirely worth it…

And ya gotta get a Cyclones t-shirt or hat - too cool…

I count Oakland, Florida, Minnesota, and Toronto as the dual use stadiums in MLB.

Of all the parks I’ve been to, the only one not really mentioned so far that I think is pretty cool is PETCO Park in San Diego. Great downtown location, good sightlines, and a halfway decent team to boot.

Dodger Stadium is probably one of my favorite stadiums (and as a Yankee fan you have no idea how it pains me to say that!). Good ticket prices, no really bad seats, and the Gordon Biersch garlic fries are worth their weight in gold!

Anaheim is nice, but nothing special.

Definitely Wrigley, though. A classic through and through. My only time there, I had standing room, stood next to a visitor from Canada. Bought each other Old Styles all game till we were Harry Caray shitfaced. Speaking of Harry, I got to see him ride up to the booth in a golfcart. That game was also the last one in which Pete Rose wore a uniform in an official capacity (as Reds manager)–he was suspended the next day. Special moments like that can only happen in a place like Wrigley.

ETA: Sorry, silenus , just now caught your PETCO post. I totally agree!