For traditionalists like myself, Boston’s Fenway Park and Chicago’s Wrigley Field represent the Mecca and Holy Grail of major league baseball stadiums.
Fans making the pilgrimage to either location, however, would be well-advised to consult weather forecasts and seating charts.
Tradition can be trumped by external factors in the evaluation of major league ballparks. That’s why, heretical as it seems, neither Fenway nor Wrigley ranks among my personal top five among the 14 MLB venues I’ve visited.
For the past six years, I’ve joined former Daily World writer Glen Potter (who now resides in Eugene, Ore.) for an annual baseball road trip. This year’s excursion took us to Fenway for a pair of games in late April.
We first sampled the unique construction of the Boston park by securing seats literally in the front row along the right-field foul line for a late Saturday afternoon game between the host Red Sox and the Tampa Bay Rays. With the grandstand jutting out against the foul line in that location, we were seated literally one foot from fair territory.
The good news was that we had a great view of any ball hit to right field. Boston right fielder Jackie Bradley Jr. nearly landed in our laps on an unsuccessful attempt for a sliding catch on a ball sliced down the line.
The bad news was that, looking into the setting sun, we had difficulty picking up any ball hit to left. With a pair of left-handers on the mound (David Price, taking a break from playing clubhouse video games, started for the Red Sox), the majority of drives went in that direction during a 12-6 Tampa Bay victory.
A couple of nights later, with Kansas City in town, we had a better viewing angle in uncovered grandstand seats located near Fenway’s legendary “Green Monster” wall in left field.
That game, however, was played in bitterly cold conditions. We were prepared for the frigid temperatures, but not for the relatively light but persistent rain that began falling during the playing of the national anthem.
A nearby spectator optimistically projected the rain to be a passing shower. If so, it took several hours to pass.
Soaked and freezing, we joined the exodus to the nearby subway with the Red Sox comfortably in front after six innings. It was one of the very rare occasions I’ve left a game prior to its conclusion.
Despite the setbacks, I’m glad I visited Fenway. The same sentiment applies to Wrigley Field, one of our destinations in 2014.
Touring the neighborhood around Wrigley, a mixture of upscale brownstones and tacky souvenir stands, was fascinating in itself. Scoring relatively reasonably priced tickets in the lower deck behind home plate appeared to be an unexpected bonus.
It took less than an inning, however, to discover why those seats were reasonably priced, The overhang from the upper deck cuff off our view of any fly ball.
It’s hard to screw up a major league ballpark. Of the 14 I’ve visited, I regard only the Oakland Coliseum and Seattle’s mercifully defunct Kingdome as sub-standard.
But while tradition assuredly counts for something, I’ve found the newer parks to be more fan-friendly. My personal top five:
1. AT&T Park, San Francisco. Particularly on a sunny afternoon, this is one stadium in which you might want upper-deck seats. The sight lines to the field are excellent from that location and you also get a great view of nearby San Francisco Bay, There’s also a varied assortment of relatively tasty concession food.
2. Camden Yards, Baltimore. The first and still perhaps the best of the modern “retro” parks that afford spectators an intimate viewing experience. The immediate surrounding area, with the Babe Ruth Museum (the Bambino was a Baltimore native) and some festival type games and exhibits in the neighborhood, is fun to tour as well, although spectators who wander too far away from the park are doing so at their own risk.
3. Safeco Field, Seattle. Maybe this is a homer pick. But bad seats at the Safe are virtually non-existent and the retractable roof precludes the possibility of a rainout. Were it not for the inflated concession prices and post-game traffic snarls, it might rank No. 1 on my list.
4. Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles, It’s been more than 30 years since I’ve been there. But its spectator amenities and general maintenance were unparalleled at the time.
5. Miller Park, Milwaukee. I wouldn’t recommend Milwaukee as a tourist destination. The Brewers’ home park, however, offers excellent sight lines and concessions. The signature bratwurst was as good as advertised.
Milwaukee also provided the most memorable pre-game experience from any of the trips.
After taking Amtrak from Chicago, we asked a clerk at the Milwaukee railway station about the location of the nearest transit connection to the ballpark. Judging by his dumbfounded reaction, we might as well have inquired about the nearest launching pad for the space shuttle to Jupiter.
Another clerk directed us to a bus stop several blocks away, but offered no guarantees that the buses there were headed for the stadium.
For the next 15 minutes, we searched vainly for any type of bus while attempting to steer clear of an unshaven, possibly homeless, man who was ranting on several topics, Among other things, he expressed the belief that professional athletes should be paid only after wins– a policy that is unlikely to be endorsed by members of the Cleveland Browns, for example.
Finally, in desperation, we asked him if we were at the right bus stop. To our astonishment, he not only assured us that we were, but gave us the number of the bus that connected directly to the stadium and even suggested the best route for the return trip to the train depot.
Although he didn’t ask for any money, I’ve always regretted not slipping him a couple of bucks. He deserved more than he would have given the Brewers following their loss to Colorado that afternoon.
