Our Top Ten MLB Stadiums

Yankee Stadium
beautiful!
exceptionally well-managed!
great fan experience!
definitely in our Top Ten!

Years and years ago (like more than twenty years ago!) we decided to go to a baseball game in every one of the MLB stadiums. We completed that travel checklist in 2004, having been to all 30 stadiums!

However, over the years, new stadiums have been built, so we've been slowly getting around to returning to those MLB cities for games in those newer stadiums. As of right now, we've been to 36 MLB ballparks! 

The last "new" stadium we went to was in Philadelphia in 2016, and at that time, we had four new ones still to go, but that number is now up to five, because in 2017, the Atlanta Braves started playing in a new stadium. So despite the fact that we've already seen an MLB game in these five places, we've got new stadiums to visit in Atlanta, Miami, Minnesota, St. Louis, and Cincinnati. We actually had a trip planned for this summer to Atlanta and Miami, but that is looking unlikely at this point!

Over the years, people have asked which ballpark is the "best" one, and it's a difficult question to answer because what we think of as "the best" is not necessarily the same as other people!

Since it's Travel Tuesday, C and I had a lengthy discussion about the pros and cons of the different parks, and we've come up with our Top Ten. (Side note: when two names are listed, it's the current name of the stadium and the name when we attended a game there.)

Our rankings are admittedly subjective, but these are the ten parks we've loved the most, in no particular order! In determining our list, we talked about the stadium itself and its architecture, but more importantly, our experience as fans. At times we were cheering for the home team, other times we were cheering for the visiting team, and to be honest, there were times we were indifferent to both teams, so we thought about the staff throughout the stadium and how things were managed when we were there. We also considered things like parking and/or transportation to and from the game, the general atmosphere, and the rituals and routines and celebrations and mascots and countless other little things that go into an MLB game.

It was a great little trip down memory lane to think about all of those games and reminisce about the good and the bad of each!

L & C's Top Ten MLB Stadiums

Oriole Park at Camden Yards

home of the Baltimore Orioles

Yankee Stadium

home of the New York Yankees

Rogers Centre / SkyDome

home of the Toronto Blue Jays

Petco Park

home of the San Diego Padres

Oracle Park / Pacific Bell Park

home of the San Francisco Giants

Kauffman Stadium

home of the Kansas City Royals

Coors Field

home of the Colorado Rockies

Dodger Stadium

home of the Los Angeles Dodgers

PNC Park

home of the Pittsburgh Pirates

T-Mobile Park / Safeco Field

home of the Seattle Mariners

At the other end of the spectrum, the worst MLB stadium we've ever visited was the Oakland Coliseum. NO contest! Simply atrocious!

We know that once we get to those five new stadiums, it's possible that our Top Ten list might change a bit, but until then, these are the ones we think are amazing!

Next Tuesday, I'll share our Top Ten NHL Arenas!

Happy Tails to you!