It occured to me, after titling this post, that I have a thing for the name Jake. Jake Taylor, Jake Ryan…(aka Tom Berenger and Michael Schoeffling, respectively, if you prefer what is known as reality)
At any rate, going to watch the Cleveland Indians yesterday made me realize that I need to watch Major League again soon.
Cleveland was at 3:55 first pitch and it was warm. Luckily the NYT recommends the Strickland’s Frozen Custard vanilla cone as the “can’t miss” at Progressive Field.
Rule #1- always get a pic of the entrance of each stadium
Taken at 3:55pm- aka, following rule #2, obtaining a photo of the first pitch at each yard
I love photoshop and also, this image makes me think of the fans in Major League that call the fly ball as being "too high"
Cleveland’s yard (Progressive Field) left a little to be desired. We ranked it about a 5. There wasn’t much to the outside and it wasn’t the best walking around park.
Incidentally, here are my current rankings:
Comerica Park (Detroit Tigers)- 7.5; the outside rocked, with lots of greats photo ops, the atmosphere inside was pretty good and it had some good walking around feel, but it’s lacking that truly classic element, a là Fenway or Wrigley so it can’t be closer to the top.
And since we’re on the subject, here’s a ranking of the other parks I have been to:
PacBell Park (San Francisco Giants)- 8; Not only is this my home turf, but they have Kruk and Kuip which totally boosts them. The atmosphere is always pretty good, but parking sucks. The outside has some good photo ops with the Willie Mays Plaza and the selection of food is vast. However, I’m over garlic fries. It also has the unique features with Bay being on the other side of the right field wall and seats known as ‘the pit’ which are near the on-deck circle. I have sat in those, so that boosts the score. I know other parks have this seating and you too can have your score boosted by sending me tickets for the aforementioned seats.
Oakland Coliseum (Oakland A’s)- 4; I’m not an A’s fan. I’m sorry. Points for the tailgating that can take place but it’s all concrete and boring. Points for Dollar Dog Wedneday, being able to get David Cone’s autograph and having Joe Oliver give us his batting gloves when the Yankees were in town. Demerits for no atmosphere and having to drive to Oakland to go there.
Petco Park (San Diego Padres)- 7; I like the look of the new park and the unique left field wall but there’s an awful lot of steel and industrial feel to it that seems contradictory to SD’s beachy lifestyle. And it’s has a short porch, which is great if you’re a hitter. But they do have a grassy area with a huge jumbo tron which creates a cool vibe. The food is also decent so points for that.
Yankee Stadium- 9; there is something about the historical aspect that adds points. They have Monument Park so bonus for commemorating that. It’s also old-style intimate, where you feel like you’re on top of the action. Maybe that was just my seat up by the left field foul pole on the upper deck, careful not to look down for fear of falling over the edge.
Fenway Park (Boston Red Sox)- 9; same as above but my experience was a bit tainted by having to sit under the jumbo-tron, unable to see replays.
Camden Yards (Baltimore Orioles)- 7.5; I saw Cal Ripkin play there, so that’s worth some bonus points. But as I recall, the outside was industrial and not quite the atmosphere I was going for. It was like they took this beautfiul park and put it in the middle of the old, defunct warehouse disctrict.
RFK Stadium (former home of the Washington Nationals)- 4; it was a football stadium first and foremost. And the Nationals weren’t (aren’t?) very good which translates to little atmosphere.
Turner Field (Atlanta Braves)- 7; Even though they buldozed Fulton County Stadium and Turner was built in 1997, they kept wall over which Hank Aaron hit his 715th homer in the parking lot, so points for keeping history. The ballpark is very family-friendly, which I give points for, because going to the yard should be a family affair, I say. There was plenty of photo ops outside and the inside was conducive to walking around, thus getting points in the atmosphere category.
Shea Stadium (New York Mets)- 6; This is the place where I first learned the literal meaning of ‘box seats’ and I wasn’t terribly thrilled by that. Because it’s a New York park, it obviously has atmosphere, creating by the fans and of course, they have a hot third baseman, so clearly that deserves bonus points.
Wrigley Field (Chicago Cubs)- 10; This is the standard by which all ballparks should be ranked. The outside environment is awesome, the frield has history, the colors are even blue and red for crapsakes! I remember eating a decent hotdog, seeing the ivy…I liked Wrigley. In case you couldn’t tell.
US Celluar Field (Chicago White Sox)- 6. The inside was beautiful and they get points for keeping the old Comiskey homeplate in the parking lot, but there isn’t much to the outside. The environment was average and the food was decent.
More to come from Cincinnati…
