My wife and I are huge baseball fans, and consequently have traveled to a number of parks to watch baseball. Here is my list of parks I have visited in order of how cool I think they are.

1. Wrigley Field (Chicago Cubs). Wrigley is located on the north side of Chicago, in a neighborhood, and is best traveled to by train. In other words it is scenic, it is easy to find a place to eat or drink before/after the game, and it is easy to fantasize about renting an apartment across the street from the park. Wrigley is the second oldest park in all of Major League Baseball, built in 1914. It is quite simply unequaled, and I doubt a park will ever be built that outdoes Wrigley.
2. Yankee Stadium (New York Yankees). The Stadium as it is called to many fans of baseball is the house the Ruth built. The aging structure is an experience. From monument park in left field to the boisterous fans, nothing is like Yankee Stadium. Except the new one they are building across the street.
3. Coors Field (Colorado Rockies). The open feel of this mile-high ballpark make it a real winner. There are pine trees growing in the bullpen, and there is no shortage of cold Coors beer. If you are in Denver during baseball season, make Coors Field a stop!
4. Rangers Ballpark in Arlington (Texas Rangers). Sitting in Rangers Ballpark on an August afternoon defines Texas heat, but the layout of this park is great. I particularly enjoyed the spacious picnic table seating and very friendly park staff.
5. Minute Maid Park (Houston Astros). Sitting in air-conditioned Minute Maid Park, there is more a feeling of being at an indoor football game or a basketball game. However the real grass and interesting park features like the sloped outfield make the game fun. The people in Houston are not as nice as the people in Dallas, but they still sing “Deep in the Heart of Texas” between innings, even though Houston is about 50 miles from the coast.
6. Busche Field (St. Louis Cardinals). I was expecting something better. Busche is comparable in architecture to Arlington or Denver. However, it lacks the open feel of Denver and the amenities of Arlington. Cardinals fans are definitely not as friendly as many of the other locations, with the exception of Yankee Stadium. A nice park, but I probably won’t visit again.

We are hoping to visit several new parks this year.  Fenway is on our short list, and we may try a road trip involving parks on the east coast.  PNC is another one high on our list.

We have also been to three minor league parks. Our favorite of the three (El Paso, Memphis, Round Rock) is Dell Diamond in Round Rock, TX. The Houston Astros AAA “Express” play at this beautiful little park. There is really not a bad seat anywhere, as the park only seats about 12k packed. However the crowds are always good, especially on Fridays and Saturdays. It is usual to see 10k people in attendance on the weekend, and I would get 3k during the week.

Well, that is it!

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