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

[pretendastronaut]

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

I very highly doubt ESPN pays based on pageviews. Heck, even fellow ESPN Jerry Crasnick told Caple to give it a rest on Twitter.

[dlk9s]

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

I very highly doubt ESPN pays based on pageviews. Heck, even fellow ESPN Jerry Crasnick told Caple to give it a rest on Twitter.

 

I'm not 100% certain, but I think I've read that for some people they do pay based on views or the like. I would think Caple is paid in a different way, but I really wouldn't know.

[SoCal Brew Crew Fan]

If I had one beef about MP, it's that the concourse isn't wide enough in certain parts. Example: Walking from the 3rd base line towards home plate to the store before the game is a traffic jam. Putting vendors along that row only adds to the issue. That and fans that start talking about the Packers when the Brewers get down a few runs. Other than that it's heaven on earth.

 

As for Caple...who cares. Just ignore the guy. Funny how he thinks Selig stole the bankrupt Pilots who lacked community support at the time, while ignoring the Braves moving despite being successful and well supported by the community. Or how baseball passed over a better organized expansion effort by Selig for "greener pastures" with weaker owners in Seattle and Montreal. If he wants to look at what a true baseball injustice is, he needs a history lesson. I would agree contracting the Twins would have been sad, but that was driven by an owner that wanted out and a community with a history of not subsidizing the team unlike other cities (not that they were necessarily wrong), not Bud. There were better candidates to contract at the time IMO and baseball would have been better off.

[Glennron]

I went to the Brewers game last night at U.S. Cellular. I'm not sure if anyone else has been there, but I had never been to a game where fans were moving around the seats so much during the action. We were on the first level along the left field line and I was in seat 1, so everyone who walked up and down the stairs would 100% block my view. I'd say I missed at least 1/3rd of the pitches the first 3-4 innings of the game. After that it got slightly better, but was still pretty obnoxious. And it wasn't just fans leaving/entering their seats, there were people standing up and holding conversations with others behind them constantly, during the action. Just so much general disinterest in the game I guess.

 

I don't know if this is a common occurrence, but it really makes me not want to go back there again. I know I've heard that a number of stadiums (I think Petco, Target Field, maybe others) don't allow you to go to your seats in the middle of an at-bat. It just seems like a no-brainer that every stadium should adopt that.

[RightFieldCoder]

There are plenty of weekend games at Miller Park like that. It is one of the few things I liked about the Triple H Dome, you could only go back to your seat between innings.

[AZBrewCrew]

Chase Field takes the "seat patrol" duties way too serious imo. Buddy of mine came down to visit me in a nearly empty section during the Brewers series and within 2 minutes the "seat police" were on the scene kicking him out of the area, yet people stand and have conversations during plays or get up in the middle of an at bat, yet none of the ushers bat an eye about that. Dont cheer too loudly for your team there either, they frown upon that (was escorted out last year over that, wasnt even being profane)

[nate82]

Chase Field takes the "seat patrol" duties way too serious imo. Buddy of mine came down to visit me in a nearly empty section during the Brewers series and within 2 minutes the "seat police" were on the scene kicking him out of the area, yet people stand and have conversations during plays or get up in the middle of an at bat, yet none of the ushers bat an eye about that. Dont cheer too loudly for your team there either, they frown upon that (was escorted out last year over that, wasnt even being profane)

 

I am not a big fan of Chase Field. The views from it are to far away. Even the ones that I have had felt like I was the game from the upper deck instead of from the field area. The stadium itself feels way to big and it feels like you are inside of a warehouse more so than you are in a baseball stadium. Yes the "seat patrol" is pretty bad there. I was sitting in an empty row a few times and just decided to move to another seat that was open and was asked to move to my assigned seat and this was the bottom of the 9th and there was no way this person was going to be sitting there. I have also experienced the don't cheer to loudly and I actually think there are some signs around the ball park which states exactly this.

[hawing]

There are plenty of weekend games at Miller Park like that.

With apologies to persons with the actual disorder, I have more than once (privately) referred to the phenomenon of ADHD Sundays at Miller Park. While sitting in the family section may result in our observing more up/down behavior, it's so definitely not just kids and families who are oblivious to whether they're blocking an at-bat, or even the national anthem.

[Glennron]

There are plenty of weekend games at Miller Park like that.

With apologies to persons with the actual disorder, I have more than once (privately) referred to the phenomenon of ADHD Sundays at Miller Park. While sitting in the family section may result in our observing more up/down behavior, it's so definitely not just kids and families who are oblivious to whether they're blocking an at-bat, or even the national anthem.

 

I've never seen anything at Miller Park close to as bad as Saturday at U.S. Cellular. Not even a little.

[Polish Falcons]

I will add my personal rankings as well.

 

EXISTING:

1. Fenway - Like SoCal says Fenway is worth the hype

2. PNC Park - As far as new stadiums go it can't get any better than this. If you go sit in the upper deck behind home plate.

3. Dodger Stadium - I tend to rate Dodger Stadium higher than others because I love the setting watching a game tucked in the mountains/hills on a beautiful Southern California night.

4. Wrigley Field - Unlike a lot of others here I really appreciate this classic stadium. I hate the Cubs as much as anyone but I love the scoreboard, the Ivy, the excitement at the stadium, the neighborhood, etc. I do think they could make some improvements a-la Fenway.

5. Camden Yards - classic design, groundbreaking stadium. I had no issues with sight lines the 2x I was here.

6. Miller Park - great atmosphere, the location might appear terrible to an outsider who doesn't love a good tailgate. Excellent value on seats. Great fans. Bratwursts. I do think the dome is kind of ugly though I appreciate it.

7. Citi Field - A lot of people seem to agree that the Mets outdid their rivals in the Bronx with Citi Field and I agree. Citi Field has a nice design and I applaud them for bringing in the fences.

8. Comerica Park - solid ballpark

9. Petco Field - I was actually a little disappointed with Petco. Didn't seem that special to me.

10. Progressive Field - It seemed cool when it opened as one of the first "retro" stadiums up but these days it doesn't seem to stack up to many of the other new ballparks built since. Unlike Camden Yards which does.

11. Citizens Bank Ballpark - I thought this ballpark left a lot to be desired. It seemed kind of like a "cookie cutter" design as far as new stadium goes, with nothing unique to Philly, and it is in a horrible location - the sports complex - a bunch of stadiums/arenas surrounded by concrete.

12. Yankee Stadium - This overpriced bandbox feels too corporate/like a shopping mall, and I find it laughable that the Yankees spent $1.5 billion on this blegh place while the Pirates spent 1/6 the price to create a gem. I wish they would have kept the old place instead of building "the house they built across the street from the house that Ruth built".

13. U.S. Cellular - I was there a really long time ago before renovations. Compared to Camden which was built a year later I believe, the White Sox really missed the boat.

14. Nationals Stadium - I said Citizens Bank was lacking in character but that is nothing compared to Nats stadium.

15. Tropicana Dome - really a depressing place to see a game. I left the game early (which I very rarely do) because I had a hard time sitting in that gloomy place when I realized I could be on a beach instead.

 

RETIRED:

1. Tiger Stadium - I was here a long time ago when I was pretty young but my recollection of it is that it was a bit of a dump yet fantastic. I supremely enjoyed sitting in the overhanging upper deck.

2. Yankee Stadium - I rank the old yankee stadium really far behind Fenway and Wrigley, but I still wish they kept that place in tact rather than building that corporate mess they have now.

3. County Stadium - I have so many great memories here I actually think it was an underrated stadium. They just needed a better PA stadium to play the funky colmedina

4. Busch Stadium - The next four stadiums are basically the same.

5. Shae Stadium

6. Riverfront Stadium

7. Three Rivers Stadium

8. Metrodome - baseball isn't meant to be played indoors on astroturf like this.

 

I look forward to adding Skydome to my list this year hopefully.

[SoCal Brew Crew Fan]

I love seeing all these rankings by everyone. Nice rundown Polish.

 

I fully admit my bias against Dodger Stadium is primarily due to the traffic and how difficult it is to get in/out of there. It's taken me 20 years out here, but I've even started to empathize a little with the tail lights in the parking lot during the Gibson homer. Over an hour to go 12 miles...c'mon! That and the crowd in the cheap seats can get a little rough. The palm trees in the distance and Vin Scully piped into the restrooms are pretty classic though.

[bani1717]

My short list of stadiums I've attended games in:

1. Miller Park. Maybe bias.

2. Busch Stadium (new one) - a nice place to watch a game in downtown St. Louis with the arch in the background. The location is nice with bars nearby.

3. Kauffman Stadium - nice-looking stadium with the fountains out in center field. A very laid-back place to watch a game. My brother and I even sat down in the first row just because the seats were empty.

4. Wrigley Field - a total dump IMO. If it weren't such an old park with the history it has, I'd say it should be torn down. The neighborhood surrounding it is kind of neat, but the stadium itself is small, has cramped/narrow concourses, is somewhat difficult to get to, has too many obstructed view seats, and is totally out of date if you ask me. The stadium looks far nicer on TV than in person if you ask me. Like I said though, the neighborhood is alright, between the rooftop seats and the HR balls going onto Waveland/Sheffield.