FORBES: Ranking All 30 Of MLB's Ballparks: First To Worst

[Fenway]

Hard to argue over #1 and #30

Ranking All 30 Of MLB's Ballparks: First To Worst

At the top of the list is AT&T Park in San Francisco, home of the Giants. Located on the Bay, where balls hit out to right field land in McCovey Cove, it’s a gem, with great views of downtown, activity around the ballpark and trolley access. And while Candlestick Park, the former home of the Giants, could be as cold and windy as any place in the league, the AT&T Park location largely dodges this. Summer day games are beyond glorious.

In second, it’s the ballpark that started the whole retro-design phase and has been seen as the benchmark for all ballpark designs since: Oriole Park at Camden Yards (OPACY), which has the signature B&O Warehouse against right field and is just a few blocks off the inner harbor of downtown Baltimore, is pure beauty.

Rounding out the top 5 are Busch Stadium, thanks to the incredible views of the Gateway Arch and downtown St. Louis; Dodger Stadium, with its classic view of Chavez Ravine and the fact that it feels very modern despite being the third-oldest ballpark in all of MLB; and PNC Park in Pittsburgh, which has a view that might be the most stunning in all of baseball, with a view of the iconic Roberto Clemente Bridge and downtown.

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[AtlantaWhaler]

I personally have only been to AT&T in that top-5, so I have no say. That said, is this ranking stadiums or views? One thing I'll mention is that it'll get increasingly harder to rate these as more and more stadiums will be part of a whole mixed-use development (retail/restaurants, multifamily, office...).

 

[TheMoreYouKnow]

I personally would hate to attend games in San Francisco. It always seems to be cold there.

 

[SJSharksfan39]

I personally would hate to attend games in San Francisco. It always seems to be cold there.

It's actually quite lovely to attend a game in that park. More often than not the weather has been beautiful when I have gone.

 

[GIN ANTONIC]

In the top 5 on that list I've only been to Dodgers stadium but it was great. Like exactly the atmosphere that a night baseball game in summer should have.

 

[garnetpalmetto]

In their Top 5 I've been to Oriole Park at Camden Yards and PNC. I've also been to #11 (Safeco) and #24 (Nationals Park). I may hit up Dodger Stadium in a couple weeks but we'll see. Offhand while I liked Camden Yards I feel like it's a little too high. I'd call PNC nicer than Oriole Park, for instance. While Oriole Park definitely helped lead off the retro-classic phase of ballpark design I wasn't as enamored by it as I thought I'd be. Sure the B&O Warehouse in right field is cool and all, but...eh. I also think there's a point where you could easily mix around the ranking and there wouldn't be much difference - for instance I like Nationals Park just fine and don't think it's quite as bad as they have it ranked - it's a perfectly adequate MLB park that isn't amazing and isn't awful either.

 

[Belieber]

Imagine building an expensive new park and being ranked in the 20’s. Reds and Nats must be ashamed.

 

[Duke33]

Imagine building an expensive new park and being ranked in the 20’s. Reds and Nats must be ashamed.

I've been to both. Nats Park is kinda blah, it would have been better with some more decent views of the monuments, Capitol, etc. And the river is the Anacostia...yuck.

I thought the Reds place was nice though. Downtown, on the river, good sight lines, great food, loved the brats and the cheese coneys. Wonder why it got a lousy rating.

 

[hockeykicker]

theres no way nats park is 24th. just no way. not saying its a top 5 but its behind a usually closed dome of toronto?

 

[hockeykicker]

how does a stadium with a train going through it only 21st? lol

 

[rangerssharks414]

Imagine building an expensive new park and being ranked in the 20’s. Reds and Nats must be ashamed.

The Marlins are near the bottom as well.

 

[Belieber]

The Marlins are near the bottom as well.

I don't know how a team of qualified people, with all the potential design options for a stadium, end up with something as hideous as the Marlins park. A huge concrete beam down the RF line, really?

I do think they were too nice to Rogers Centre though. Should be 27.

 

[MMC]

Might be biased but Dodger Stadium shouldn’t be top 5. Nice looking stadium but the location is horrible.

 

[AtlantaWhaler]

The Marlins are near the bottom as well.

Yep. One year in and the Braves shiny new toy comes in at 18.

 

[Big McLargehuge]

PNC ranks below Dodger Stadium, which means I'm not giving them a damn click.

 

[GIN ANTONIC]

Might be biased but Dodger Stadium shouldn’t be top 5. Nice looking stadium but the location is horrible.

I wouldn't say it's horrible. It would be nice to be closer to the water but it's not like it's out in the middle of nowhere. It's right beside Echo park and Silver lake. They just need to get more hipsters into baseball.

 

[Duke33]

The Marlins are near the bottom as well.

It should be. Both Florida "parks" should have gotten negative ratings.

 

[robertmac43]

I honestly cannot stand Rogers Centre especially after visiting some other parks. I think it should be in the 25-30 range. It might not be a totally fair assessment as we obviously need the dome in Toronto for weather reasons, but I just think the design could have some character or uniqueness to make it stand out more.

 

[MMC]

I wouldn't say it's horrible. It would be nice to be closer to the water but it's not like it's out in the middle of nowhere. It's right beside Echo park and Silver lake. They just need to get more hipsters into baseball.

It’s hard to access and the parking situation is awful

 

[GIN ANTONIC]

It’s hard to access and the parking situation is awful

Yeah, parking is brutal for sure.

 

[Tecumseh]

Parking is not nearly as bad as it used to be and in LA no parking situation is going to be good. The location is fine. It’s not like downtown LA needs another stadium.

 

[ref88]

You know this is a BS list when they have Target Field #16

 

[Big McLargehuge]

Dodger Stadium's location is fine and acceptable, beyond the horrifying history of what it took to build that stadium there, but the giant sea of parking lots and useless public transportation are massive negatives and there's nothing really great about the stadium by itself that comes close to undoing the giant pain-in-the-ass it is to get to (no solution to this in LA, period, but it's still a negative).

Dodger Stadium is a good stadium. It's a nice place to watch a baseball game. Nothing more, nothing less.

 

[GIN ANTONIC]

Dodger Stadium's location is fine and acceptable, beyond the horrifying history of what it took to build that stadium there, but the giant sea of parking lots and useless public transportation are massive negatives and there's nothing really great about the stadium by itself that comes close to undoing the giant pain-in-the-ass it is to get to (no solution to this in LA, period, but it's still a negative).

Dodger Stadium is a good stadium. It's a nice place to watch a baseball game. Nothing more, nothing less.

This is actually what I love about it. It's not a f***ing themepark. You go there to watch the game. The sightlines to the field are great. The view is beautiful. It's not run down like Fenway but has history to it. I like some modern parks like Camden, PNC, AT&T, Target, Progressive. Don't get me wrong but there is something nice about the 'No frills' nature of Dodgers Stadium.

 

[Quid Pro Clowe]

This is actually what I love about it. It's not a ****ing themepark. You go there to watch the game. The sightlines to the field are great. The view is beautiful. It's not run down like Fenway but has history to it. I like some modern parks like Camden, PNC, AT&T, Target, Progressive. Don't get me wrong but there is something nice about the 'No frills' nature of Dodgers Stadium.

Has a 'Sandlot' feel to it.