ESPN's battle of the ballparks [Miller Park wins despite Jim Caple]

[adamb100]

Your finale for baseball's best ballpark pits a privately funded retro-park that offers gorgeous views of San Francisco Bay, McCovey Cove and Matt Cain, plus the aroma of garlic fries and the taste of microbrews, against a stadium with the feel of an airline terminal that also features races between people in giant-sausage costumes.

 

Guess which will win.

 

That's right. Based on the way Milwaukee has gotten out the vote -- I think it's even getting votes from people so old they still consider the Fonz cool -- you're going to crown Miller Park as baseball's best stadium tonight. That will be great news in Wisconsin, which really has very passionate and underrated fans, but everyone else might feel like they were just smacked upside the head by Randall Simon.

 

The decision is yours. Do you want the Milwaukee voting bloc to control the final champion? Or do you want the rest of the country outside Brewers Nation to have a say in what ballpark really is baseball's best? Do you want Milwaukee to call the shots, or do you want to take back this election? If it's the latter, you'd better vote and encourage all your Facebook friends and Twitter followers to vote as well, because that Milwaukee social media bloc has turned the Battle of the Ballparks into the baseball equivalent of the Arab Spring. Or the Kardashians.

 

Caple's latest trolling attempt.

[RockCoCougars]

http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRFDLBX8bBqWZyuLfVd4XOElAtGB19sZJmS36ORnOvQGghkyYIJXA

[pretendastronaut]

Wow, smug, angry and elitist. Who'd have guessed?

 

It's weird where this has gone. From starting as a social media push by the Brewers, to a simmering feud led by all-out douchebaggery.

[pretendastronaut]

Axford linked a good article about Miller Park and Milwaukee;

 

Why ESPN’s Jim Caple is Wrong and What Milwaukee Brewers Fans See in Miller Park

[reillymcshane]

Yeah, it Caple certainly is doing his best to cheerlead others into beating Miller Park. I find it pretty funny it's backfiring.

[theavrock]

http://espn.go.com/espn/page2/story/_/id/7450256/senior-writer-jim-caple-reflects-half-century-baseball-memories

 

Looks like there is something personal for Caple and his Milwaukee hating. What a tool.

[paul253]

here's hoping the other cities get behind their ballparks so that the eventual champion is, shall we say, a little more reflective of the national view.

 

What a arrogant little prick. Apparently he thinks the national view is the same as his view. I've only been to a few stadiums. Wrigley Field is an absolute dump. And it's been awhile since I've been there but I don't recall Great American Ballpark being anything special. Miller Park seems to add new features and attractions each year. I'm sorry the Miller Light and MGD isn't as popular as Bud but I much prefer Miller Products as do I'm sure most Wisconsinites. There are all sorts of food options and entertainment as well. And two of the most underrated features: Parking and the roof. You will never have to worry about leaving early to find parking or wonder if the game you are thinking about going to will be rained out. Is it the best park in all of baseball? I have no idea. But it's not nearly as bad as this makes it seem.

[folly412]

Agree, when you look at the ten criteria that are supposed to be measured it's a joke that he had Miller Park at 24. If he got off his butt to see the food and beer selection, it's very impressive and better than most parks. For the price category, MP is always ranked among the best values in baseball. And I don't see how it wouldn't rank at the very top of the transportation category given the accessible location, ample lots for parking and tailgating, the in-city buses that run to the park, and that Milwaukee is ranked the first or second best major city for traffic flow. The only two categories it seems to lack are architecture and history.

[crossface21]

Right now Miller Park is winning 60% to 40%. Caple=D-Bag.

[RockCoCougars]

http://espn.go.com/espn/page2/story/_/id/7450256/senior-writer-jim-caple-reflects-half-century-baseball-memories

 

Looks like there is something personal for Caple and his Milwaukee hating. What a tool.

 

Oh wow, the double whammy. He's from Seattle and Selig 'stole' his team. Being somewhat up on the history of the Pilots, the fact of the matter is that they would have moved to somewhere else if it hadn't been Milwaukee (probably Dallas). The ownership group was drowning in debt, and had no money whatsoever. No one local wanted the team either. Back in those days, with tightwad owners squeezing every cent out of their teams, there was no way MLB would have taken over ownership of that mess to wait for a new stadium/new local group in Seattle.

 

So we have that and the fact that little Jimmy finally got his dream beat writer job covering the Twins for the Pioneer Press. Evil Bud swept in again, and tried to extinguish that dream with his dastardly contraction plan.... never consider that Carl Pohlad, a billionaire, was a skinflint and actually went to Selig (his good friend) suggesting the contraction of the Twins (most likely in an effort to blackmail the taxpayers into building a new stadium for him, but I digress).

 

In the end, Caple covering anything Brewer related is akin to me writing a piece on the relative merits of Billy Beane and Theo Epstein. Never mind that Selig hasn't owned the team for a decade or so. I don't blame Caple for being bitter over losing his childhood team, but he needs to remember that he's a writer, not a fan. That said, ESPN isn't exactly known for their objectivity. If this little stunt creates a blip of controversy in the LeBron/Sandusky/Casey Martin/Tiger Woods/Lance Armstrong ocean, all the better. It draws traffic to the website.

[hawing]

If he got off his butt to see the food and beer selection, it's very impressive and better than most parks.

The SO and I visited Kauffman Field last week and we both came away thinking the food selection at MP is broader and more imaginative. Yes, Kauffman has barbecue products, but if you're not into BBQ, the food variety drops like a rock. As a teetotaler, I can't comment knowledgeably on beers.

 

It's unfortunate that the 'contest' has taken kind of a mean turn. Miller Park probably doesn't quite warrant overall #1 status, but neither does it warrant the scorn that the four-letter network is throwing its way.

[patrickgpe]

i think if miller park would have gotten a proper seed and the moderator of the poll was opening dissing miller park, the poll would be going a different way.

[trwi7]

Yeah, it Caple certainly is doing his best to cheerlead others into beating Miller Park. I find it pretty funny it's backfiring.

 

The funny thing is if he would've just kept his mouth shut and let people have their own opinions, Miller Park probably doesn't make it this far. Instead he tries to persuade people to vote how he thinks they should vote. I really didn't care about this until he started to try to sway people to vote his way.

 

Also, it is ridiculous that Miller Park was ranked 24th to begin with, if we're going by what's supposed to be the criteria of the rankings.

 

1. Location: The best ballparks not only are in the heart of a city, but they also feel as if they are deep in the city's soul, with identifiable views, distinctive features and a relationship with the surroundings.

 

Okay Miller Park gets docked for this since it's basically in the middle of a giant parking lot. But that's for tailgating. So dock points if you want but if it's in downtown, there's no tailgating.

 

2. Architecture: All ballparks have diamonds and inviting green pastures, but the best ones have signature architectural elements

 

I would say first fan shaped roof in North America is a signature architectural element.

 

3. History: Even the best facilities filled with every imaginable amenity and design touch are lacking until the memories of past games are thick. As James Earl Jones says in "Field of Dreams,'' fans "will have to brush them from their faces.''

 

Okay Miller Park doesn't have a great history but it's only 11 years old. Of course you could say the same about 15 other parks. Where's the history at PNC Park or GABP or Yankee Stadium or even Wrigley Field. They haven't even won a World Series there? Seems like a pretty dumb category since over half of all stadiums are less than 15 years old.

 

4. Seating: Seats should be comfortable, well-angled to the field, not stuck behind a post, close enough to the field to see a batter scratching himself and with sufficient leg room.

 

Except for the Uecker seats, Miller Park has great seats with great views.

 

5. Price: Seating should also be affordable, or at least reasonable. Cheaper seats are good; luxury suites are bad.

 

Some of the cheapest prices in baseball.

 

6. Concessions: Bad stadiums serve plain hot dogs that have been rotating on the grill since Omar Vizquel's rookie season. Good ones serve foods that are local specialties. They also offer more than one type of beer at prices that don't require applying for one of those team credit cards first. The best parks allow you to bring in your food.

 

I don't use concessions but I've never heard anyone complain about the quality or variety offered at Miller Park.

 

7. Scoreboards: Scoreboard watching is one of the joys of baseball, especially when you have a great scoreboard like Fenway, Wrigley or Target Field.

 

Check.

 

8. Transportation: The park's location should be well-served by public transportation and road infrastructure, with sufficient parking.

 

No public transportation but plenty of parking.

 

9. Roofs: Bonus points for parks with roofs that retract for bad weather. Negative points for roofs that stay in place during good weather.

 

Check.

 

10. Grass: As Bill Veeck once said, baseball should always smell of freshly mowed grass. Not the backyard of "The Brady Bunch."

 

Check.

 

Sounds like the 24 ranking was crap.

[berniebrewer4life]

Apparently Capel still doesn't get it.

Dear Jim,

Don't like the majority opinion? Next time just post who YOU think is the best and don't let america vote.

[stalton]

/rant I've always accepted that the four letter network is going to cater to the bigger audience which means focusing primarily on the teams on either coast as the Brewers game gets 20 seconds of SportsCenter and some Yankee gets 10 minutes of why he's great because he signed a few balls for some little leaguers. I can deal with that, there are plenty of other media sources out there, but they can never tout that they are impartial or unbiased.

It's unfortunate that the 'contest' has taken kind of a mean turn. Miller Park probably doesn't quite warrant overall #1 status, but neither does it warrant the scorn that the four-letter network is throwing its way.

 

I totally agree, Hawing. I wish another source would do this, kind of like how BF is doing it except nation wide without all baloney.

 

/endrant

 

I unfortunately haven't had the opportunity to see any stadium outside of Wisconsin, but I've heard from many non native Wisconsinites that they prefer Miller Park for reason X or Y.

[djoctagone]

what if all of this is a ploy to keep people from spending the time to vote for ryan braun for the all-star game?

[Funketown]

what if all of this is a ploy to keep people from spending the time to vote for ryan braun for the all-star game?

 

Until you said this, I was going to say Brewers fans have successfully trolled the troll. But perhaps Caple has ulterior motives here. Perhaps he has trolled the trolls for trying to troll the troll. No, that's giving Caple way too much credit.

[trwi7]

The electoral college finally makes sense to me.

 

Our Battle of the Ballparks Bracket is complete, and the upset winner over Camden Yards, Fenway, Wrigley, PNC, AT&T and all the others is Milwaukee's Miller Park. Well, it's an upset winner based on its No. 24 seed. It's not such an upset winner if you've been following the votes over the past week.

 

That's because the passionate fans of baseball's smallest market overcame the odds by getting out the vote for their favorite stadium. While other fans might have taken their matchups for granted, the Wisconsin electorate was so energized you would have thought we tried to end collective bargaining for beer vendors. Perhaps that's a lesson for the rest of us.

 

Miller Park's victory is an upset, but it is hardly the equivalent of Adam Sandler winning an Oscar. That would have been the case had Tropicana Field won, but not Miller Park. While it was obviously seeded low, as I've pointed out over the years, almost all the newer stadiums are great places to watch a game. The difference between, say, the 10th-best stadium and the 24th isn't a lot, and often just a matter of personal preference (or tax burden).

 

No one writes sonnets to Miller Park or refers to it as a lyrical little bandbox, but Milwaukee fans showed that they love their stadium just as much as Red Sox fans love Fenway or Giants fans love AT&T Park. The rest of the nation too often ignores them (though definitely not the commissioner) but Brewers fans love meeting with friends for the greatest tailgate parties in baseball, then going inside to watch their team while savoring bratwursts with stadium sauce or stadium mustard (my favorite), reassured they won't need umbrellas if it's raining (or snowing) but should pack sunscreen in case it's sunny.

 

So congrats, Milwaukee. Have Bernie do a victory slide or Robin circle the field on his Harley. I would be happy to hand you the winning certificate and throw out the first pitch at a game. I'll be the one wearing the Darth Vader Sausage Trooper costume.

 

(Oh, and by the way, to once again set the record straight -- I am not from the East Coast. My mother is from Wisconsin, my parents met in Milwaukee, I grew up in the Pacific Northwest, I covered baseball for a decade in the Midwest, I drove to annual tailgate parties with friends at County Stadium, I once ran in the Sausage Race at Miller Park and I now live in the Seattle area. I do not have an East Coast bias nor do I dislike the Brewers. I just happen to think Pittsburgh's PNC Park is best.)

[dlk9s]

Miller Park wins 58 to 42!

 

Jim Caple to resume his life under the bridge and diet of billy goats.

[adamb100]

In reality I think Jim Caple kept trolling because it got more page views to the article (and thus more $). He knew it would get people fired up and more people voting.

[berniebrewer4life]

I love his "there isn't much difference between the 10 spot and the 24th". Really? Would you have ragged on Safeco, Petco or Kauffman as much as you did for Miller park the ENTIRE TIME? Heck, i didn't even vote until the final four and only did so because I was informed about how he kept putting Miller Park down.

 

In the end, this poll was meaningless, however it did force him to eat some crow(which if you followed him on twitter, you realize how much he wanted ANYBODY in the final four to win but Milwaukee), and for that it was worth the 30 seconds of my time to vote.

[thablingster]

Regarding transportation, the Milwaukee County Transit System does run a city bus, route 90, to all Brewers games. It comes up Wisconsin avenue, which is a major bus hub area.

 

For those with clean bills of health, Route 10 also stops on Wisconsin avenue within walking distance of the stadium. With all of the bar shuttles and cabs, I'd say public transportation is adequately addressed.

[SoCal Brew Crew Fan]

A little late, but here's my ranking. I biased a little more to the parks themselves. Miller Park has a great tailgate atmosphere outside the park, but a few of the actual stadiums I like better. I also like the stadiums without the roof, but I totally get and am glad Milwaukee has the roof...it needs it. It's certainly a cozier stadium than a Safeco or Chase, but let's face it...if the weather was great you'd rather not have it there. I also tend to like the downtown parks. Again, it's just not part of Milwaukee's culture so I get the tailgate/parking lot aspect of MP. It's certainly a unique feature that makes it the best parking lot park atmosphere.

 

Existing Parks

 

Fenway (lives up to the hype, unlike Wrigley)

Ballpark at Arlington (my fave of the parking lot parks, although the atmosphere at MP blows it away)

AT&T Park - SF

Miller Park (yes, it's my favorite place to go but some of the actual stadiums are better...I also have a downtown park bias)

Coors Field

Jacobs Field

Angels Stadium

Dodger Stadium

Nationals Park

Chase Field

Wrigley (most overrated and that's not just Cubs hate...it should be a Superfund site)

Safeco

US Cellular

Oakland

 

Defunct Parks (thank goodness they don't play in football stadiums anymore)

 

County Stadium 70s/80s

old Yankee Stadium

County Stadium 90s (they really let the place fall apart those last years)

Shea Stadium

Mile High Stadium (almost forgot about that one, before Coors was finished)

Jack Murphy Stadium

Candlestick Park

Metrodome (truly in a league of it's own)

 

From reading the list...looks like PNC needs to be the next stop. Although I'd like to do Petco...so if MLB sees this...please put the Brewers there on a weekend for once!

[endaround]

Jim Caple baits Brewers fans into giving his articles a bunch of clicks and makes himself more money.

[Dragonbait]

I went to Cadmen Yard last year.

 

Neat place to walk around, but had seats tucked up under the 2nd level, couldn't see any fly ball. So to me the sight lines were HORRIBLE!

The concessions seemed overpriced, more so than MP (and aren't they all overpriced?) and there really wasnt much variety. Even the stand alones had the same as the main ones.

Parking, accesiblity was pretty easy, though getting out of the parking lot was an adventure, you think a few attendents coulda shown people where to go?

 

It was a nice park, But I definatly wouldn't put in my top 10.

 

And Wrigly and the Humpydome are tied for dead last. (I was 9 the last time I went to Wrigly)