The
best of the pre-'90s parks
Here we examine the Major League
parks that opened prior to 1990. Well, if you've looked at The
Wrigley Collection, then you know that I think Wrigley Field is the
best ever, and belongs in a category all by itself. However, for the sake of consistency, I'm incluing it in this list. Note that Busch Stadium in St. Louis was removed from this list in 2006 when its new cousin (with the same name) opened next door, and RFK Stadium was deleted in 2008 when Nationals Park made its debut. That means that we're down to 11 parks that were built prior to 1990, but are still in use.
1. Wrigley Field
2004 and 2005 were not great years for this grand old place, as falling chunks of concrete, plumbing problems and legal wrangling kept Wrigley in the news for all of the wrong reasons. However, following some renovations and expansions, the place is looking as good as ever. If you want to read a lot more about Wrigley, visit our special section devoted to Friendly Confines called The Wrigley Collection.
2. Kauffman
Stadium
It took me years to finally visit the pride and joy of KC, and when I
finally did in '99, it was love at first sight. The love affair has continued
year after year as I keep returning to one of my very favorite parks.
What a gem! Talk about a place that was ahead of its time! When
this baseball-only facility opened in 1973 (in an era when cities were all
rushing to construct multi-purpose doughnuts), it was easily two decades
ahead of the game. And when natural grass replaced the artificial
stuff in '95, the coronation of the Royals' park was complete. Plus,
since nowhere are the fans and ushers friendlier, I devoted a page to the subject. Finally, to me (as I asserted
on the Pat Sajak's American League Ballpark
Tour show) the fountains in the outfield represent the single best
feature of any sports venue anywhere.
3. Dodger Stadium
After seeing it on TV for decades, I finally visited
it in '97. I was only scheduled to go to one game there, but I was
so enthralled with the place that I changed my schedule to come back the
next day. The word that always comes to my mind about Dodger Stadium
is "palace." It really is a baseball palace . . . the way
the structure is "built into" the hillside of Chavez Ravine . . . the
palm trees . . . the attractive "pavilion" bleacher sections . . . the
way it's so beautifully maintained . . . the view of the hills.
No wonder the franchise is worth so much money -- the purchase price includes
this stadium, too!!
4. Yankee Stadium
You know, this place isn't the run-down, out-of-date place that George Steinbrenner wants you to think it is (he just wants a new $500-million Camden Yards-style park in Manhattan or New Jersey, or an $800-million retractable-roof facility next door to the current park). It is a showplace with a lot of history, and the area surrounding the ballpark (the lower Bronx on one side and Harlem right across the river) is safer and in
better shape than in years. And I believe that the ultimate event that a true baseball fan can achieve in
his/her life is to see a World Series game in the House That Ruth Built (see the special section devoted to this). This ballpark is very possibly the best known sports venue in America, with good reason.
5. Fenway Park
Now that Tiger Stadium is no longer the home of Detroit's
team, Fenway is by itself as the oldest Major League ballpark. Built
in 1912, the grand ol' park sits along Yawkey Way -- which, by the way,
is closed to vehicular traffic prior to games so food and souvenir vendors
can set up stands to hawk their wares. Any lover of classic ballparks
wants this treasure to remain on the baseball landscape indefinitely, and in March of 2005, the ownership of the Red Sox announced that this will indeed be the case.
This means that there are no plans of the drawing board for a new stadium.
6. Angel Stadium of Anaheim
When the Disney folks took control of the Angels
and Anaheim Stadium, a very welcomed renovation of the facility occurred.
With no football tenant left to appease, the place was turned into a Disney-esque
baseball-only park, with rocks and fountains beyond the outfield walls.
They didn't have a lot to work with, but they made the most of it. The
Disney ownership is now gone, but their legacy (the great renovations
to this facility) remain.
7. Rogers Centre
It's almost not fair to include this park in the "pre-'90s" list, since
it opened mid-way through the 1989 season . . . but this place is impressive.
If bigger is better, then this is the best, as whether you're standing
inside or outside of it, its sheer size is overwhelming. My favorite
stat about this stadium is that you could stack two Metrodomes
on top of each other, and they still would fit inside Rogers Centre. Better
yet, let's find a hole big enough for the Metrodome and bury it!
Anyway, some really nice improvements were made to Toronto's stadium prior to the 2005 season, including a brilliant new video screen and all-new artificial turf.
8. McAfee Coliseum
As multi-use stadiums go, this one isn't
so bad. It's a drawback that the seats behind 1B and 3B are pretty
far from the playing field, but the overall facility is pretty nice.
The monstrous football stands they built beyond the outfield wall absolutely
do not fit with the rest of the stadium, though. This is also a facility that has gone through several name changes, with the most recent being from Network Associates Coliseum to McAfee Coliseum for the 2005 season.
9. Dolphin Stadium
Even though baseball didn't come to the stadium until
1993 when the expansion Marlins moved in, I'm not including this in the "built since 1990" section because it wasn't. This place
opened for football in 1987, and football is the only sport that should
be played in it. If you've seen a baseball game here, I'm sure you'll
agree that configuring it for baseball was strictly an afterthought. This is the facility that was known as Pro Player Stadium when the Marlins won their two World Series in 1997 and 2003.
10. Shea Stadium
There's no doubt that this stadium has seen its better days, and the Mets and the city of New York are discussing a new ballpark. Of the multi-use stadiums opened in the '60s and '70s, though, Shea still holds its own, but the upkeep on the place has been sliding in recent years.
11. Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome
Another place that was designed with football
-- definitely not baseball -- in mind. When it is configured
for baseball, the field and the stands seem very unnatural. Not
only that, if you're sitting in the upper deck, most of what the PA announcer
says is unintelligible.
Note that the parks that went through major reconstruction in recent years (Anaheim, Oakland and St. Petersburg) also have the quality of the renovations ranked. Click here for it.
No doubt, you have your own thoughts on the rankings above. Your ability to respond to anything I've said is simply a click away.
Visit the Major League Photo Album page for shots of all of these parks.
Return to
The All Star List of Major League Parks page
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