Thread by @jonsyates

I love baseball. But more than that, I love baseball stadiums. If you love stadiums too, the impending tweet storm is for you. If not, best to mute or unfollow me now. I have a lot to say.

Two weeks ago, my son and I went to Petco Park in San Diego – my last stadium of the 30 current stadiums, and my 52nd MLB stadium overall. I’m going to rank them all, in descending order, 52 to 1, for no other reason than I can.

52. RingCentral Coliseum, Oakland. There was significant competition for the worst stadium, but in the end, it’s hard to out-suck the Coliseum. Cavernous, soulless, screaming for implosion. ballparkdigest.com/2022/06/02/we-…

51. Hard Rock Stadium, Miami. The Marlins have since moved on, but back in the day, it was big and ugly and…orange. Terrible sight lines, terrible experience. Super f’ing hot. Essentially the seventh circle of Hell.

50. Tropicana Field, Tampa Bay. The worst of the domes, which is really saying something. A friend calls it a “dung heap.” I do remember someone playing steel drums in the concourse. Which didn’t help.

49. RFK Stadium, Washington, D.C. The temporary home of the Nationals before their new stadium was finished, RFK definitely was NOT designed for baseball. (It also was 1 kazillion degrees with 1,000,000% humidity the day I went)

48. Sahlen Field, Buffalo. Another temporary home, this one of the Blue Jays, who couldn’t play in Toronto because of COVID restrictions. Sahlen isn’t without its charms. The beer was decent. Easy in and out. But it’s still AAA in every which way.

47. Jack Murphy Stadium, San Diego. It wasn’t just the brown seats. Plopped in a sea of parking lots, it looked like a giant turd. Blech. abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/…

46. Veterans Stadium, Philadelphia. Another cookie-cutter multi-purpose stadium. We sat in the outfield. My buddy dropped his disposable camera under the seats and it fell something like 20 feet to its death. The highlight of our visit.

45. Riverfront Stadium, Cincinnati. See the previous tweet. Same stadium, without the broken camera.

44. Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh. I ranked it above the other 70s-era football-stadiums-turned-baseball-stadiums for no real good reason. But one of them had to be the best of the worst. Three Rivers at least was near three rivers.

43. King Dome, Seattle. My buddy and I went on Jay Buhner Buzz Cut Night. We shaved our heads in the parking lot for a free ticket, a t-shirt and a Jay Buhner autograph. He signed my bald head. The stadium itself? Pretty forgettable. mlb.com/cut4/great-pro…

42. Metrodome, Minneapolis. The pillowy roof was oddly cool. From afar it looked like a massive marshmallow. And it was close to downtown. It checked a lot of boxes. I saw a triple play there.

41. LoanDepot Park, Miami. Everything about it seems cheap. It’s intimate but there’s almost zero sense of its surroundings. They removed Homer, the technicolor assault-on-your-senses statue-thingy in center field, which was the only unique feature. riylmag.com/an-ode-to-the-…

40. Olympic Stadium, Montreal. Another roofed stadium, but at least stuff was written in French, which made it a bit exotic. Both inside and out it looked like a spaceship. ameriquefrancaise.org/en/article-558…

39. Arlington Stadium, Arlington, Texas. It always struck me as looking like a shopping mall that was converted into a baseball stadium. But man, the ball flew out of there. An ugly but fun bandbox.

38. Astrodome, Houston. The Eighth Wonder of the World. It was massive and sterile, but not without its charms. The Luther’s BBQ Chopped Baker baked potato was the best concession stand food at any stadium. Here’s a misguided 1-star Luther’s Yelp review: yelp.com/biz/luthers-ba…

37. Guaranteed Rate Field, Chicago. Great beer selection.

36. Chase Field, Phoenix. Bumped up a few spots because it’s got a pool and a hot tub in the outfield, which honestly is pretty cool. But it feels overly manufactured.

35. Busch Stadium (old), St. Louis. I hate the Cardinals, but I didn’t hate old Busch. It was by far the best of the bowl stadiums. The arches that ringed the top of the stadium added a touch of elegance, and they did a nice job of keeping it current up till the end.

34. Angel Stadium, Anaheim. I want to like it more. Opening up the outfield bleachers after the Rams left was a huge improvement. But the rock formation in left-center field is cheesy as hell.

33. American Family Field, Milwaukee. Bernie Brewer should celebrate home runs in a giant beer mug, not sliding onto some generic, lame, oversized home plate. Bring back the Bernie’s barrel and mug. Dear lord. This is non-negotiable. jsonline.com/story/entertai…

32. Turner Field, Atlanta. I liked the outfield plaza beyond center field, which seemed ahead of its time. Plus, it carried the history of the 1996 Olympics. I’m a sucker for history.

31. Metropolitan Stadium, Minneapolis. (Technically Bloomington). The first stadium I ever went to. It was old school in every way – nothing fancy but handled baseball and football well. Now the site of the Mall of Americas, an ugly turn.

30. Great American Ballpark, Cincinnati. I love that it’s on the Ohio River, and that the ball absolutely rockets out of there in the summer. The smokestacks in the outfield seem forced, but I give them points for trying.

29. Citizens Bank Stadium, Philadelphia. It’s…fine. All of the modern amenities, but nothing quirky or fun. Seems like a missed opportunity. But their mow game is hot: philliesnation.com/2022/05/the-ph…

28. Yankee Stadium (new), New York. It’s massive and has great food options. It lacks the charm of the original, which was a dump – but a historic dump.

27. Shea Stadium, New York. A few extra points for the natural grass, and for the home run apple (carried over to the new stadium). Shea was sorta grungy and no-nonsense, which felt very NYC to me. metsheritage.com/item/original-…

26. Busch Stadium (new) St. Louis. I love, love, love the view of the Arch and the skyline beyond the outfield. The seats are appropriately red, the terrace in right field is fun and affords great views of the city. Overall, cozy and vibrant.

25. Candlestick Park, San Francisco. Much maligned for wind and cold, but I liked it. Wind, fog, rain, it had it all. Every fly ball was an adventure. And for a multi-purpose stadium, it had some character.

24. Progressive Field, Cleveland. It felt groundbreaking when it opened, but since has been passed by so many new parks. The Little Green Monster in left is a nice touch. It’s still “The Jake” in my mind.

23. Citi Park, New York. It still has the home run apple but is 99% less grungy than Shea. Intimate with great sight lines. I’m a sucker for overhanging porches like the one in right field.

22. Rogers Centre, Toronto. I watched a game from the attached hotel, which is pretty f’ing cool. The window to our hotel room overlooked left field, which makes incidents like the link below possible. Good, wholesome family fun. torontosun.com/2014/08/24/doe…

21. Minute Maid Park, Houston. It’s cheesy, but I like the home run train. It’s slow and carries a load of fake oranges. What’s not to like? By far the best of the retractable-roof dome. Oozes character.

20. Municipal Stadium, Cleveland. The Mistake by the Lake was huge & humorless but very Cleveland, like the Cuyahoga River catching fire. Went with my dad and pretty much had whole section to ourselves…behind home plate. He saw Satchel Paige pitch there. smithsonianmag.com/history/cuyaho…

19. Globe Life Field, Arlington. I wanted to hate it, and it’s hideous from the outside, like a gray barn. But man, it’s nice. Cozy and quirky, spectacular with the roof open. The attached entertainment complex has a brewery and decent BBQ.

18. T-Mobile Park, Seattle. Such a huge improvement over the King Dome. Truly opens up with the roof retracted. I have an irrational love of massive scoreboards, and this one is 11,425 square feet. (Swoon) geekwire.com/2013/photos-sa…

17. Kauffman Stadium, Kansas City. It’s undergone serious renovations, but it was always great. From the Royal crown scoreboard in center field to the dancing fountains, it’s a gem.

16. Nationals Park, Washington, D.C. Bought tickets on StubHub, didn’t realize they were Club Level with access to buffets, etc. So my experience was perhaps a bit skewed, but it was super nice. Good sight lines, all the creature comforts.

15. Coors Field, Denver. The brick exterior is stunning and inside views are spectacular. Rockpile seats are about 1.5 million miles from home plate, but dirt cheap. Love the three levels in right field, SRO areas. Plus, Rocky Mountain Oysters. Mmmm. westword.com/best-of/2012/s…

14. Comerica Park, Detroit. Skyline view beyond the outfield, unobstructed by bleachers. Roaring tigers everywhere. All the modern comforts but dripping with history throughout the park.

13. County Stadium, Milwaukee. The outfield bleachers were aluminum. And Bernie Brewer celebrated home runs in a mug of beer. Because they’re the freakin’ BREWERS. 315 down the lines! Unapologetically old school. Awesome. jsonline.com/story/life/gre…

12. Comiskey Park, Chicago. Another old school gem that embodied its city. Not fussy, but architecturally beautiful. Double-deck outfield seating, pinwheel scoreboard, whitewashed exterior. Half of (older) Chicago claims they were @ Disco Demolition Night. rollingstone.com/music/music-ne…

11. Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles. The third-oldest surviving ballpark has aged well. It’s big, colorful, open and fits in perfectly at Chavez-Ravine. Love the hexagonal scoreboards and the yellow, orange, turquois and blue seats which mimic the ocean.

10. Yankee Stadium (old), New York. Look, it was a dump, but it had sooo much history. Iconic inside and out, with Monument Park just beyond the left-center field wall, and the short porch in right. I hate the Yankees but loved Yankee Stadium.

9. Truist Park, Atlanta. I had low expectations, but it’s a great ballpark. In the middle of nowhere, but the best of ballpark-as-an-experience wave. Comfy, modern, great food, brewery attached. Feels like a charming minor league park on steroids.

8. Oriole Park at Camden Yard, Baltimore. Breathtaking. Seamlessly incorporates the warehouse in right field, with Eutaw Street transforming into a game-day party. The first of the truly great new ballparks, and it remains magnificent. And Boog’s. yelp.com/biz/boogs-barb…

7. Target Field, Minneapolis. Love the downtown location. The best logo in baseball, Minnie and Paul shaking hands over the Mississippi, light up when a Twin hits a homerun. Open air despite the Minnesota chill.

6. Petco Park, San Diego. From the light towers to the Western Metal Supply Co. building in left, it’s fantastic. The grassy area beyond center field merges community and ballpark. The food is 🔥🔥🔥 and Craft Row is best beer selection in MLB.

5. Oracle Park, San Francisco. Wow. Long home runs to right land in McCovey Cove, with breathtaking views of San Francisco Bay and the Bay Bridge. Masterful architecture that embraces its surroundings. And I saw Maddux win #300 there. mlb.com/news/the-giant…

3. Tiger Stadium, Detroit. RIP. So quirky and special, with the 10-foot overhang in the outfield, the giant center-field flagpole – in play – and all those beams, it felt cozy and historic. You felt so close to the action, more than any ballpark…ever.

2. Fenway Park, Boston. The Green Monster, the cramped concourses (although improved with renovation), the gameday scene on Lansdowne Street. All special. Friends and I helped throw the massive flag over the Green Monster before Big Papi’s speech. Chills.

1. Wrigley Field, Chicago. The ivy. The manual scoreboard. The rooftops. The neighborhood. Old Style. Ball hawks. I don’t even hate the new Jumbotrons. Simply, elegantly, the best.

I'm terrible with math...and technology. I skipped #4, PNC Park. Adding now....

4. PNC Park, Pittsburgh. The dramatic views of the bright yellow Roberto Clemente Bridge, the Allegheny River and the Pittsburgh skyline are unmatched. The decision to keep capacity below 40,000 makes it intimate, and all that limestone!