Top 10 List of Baseball Stadium Experiences

By: Jason Hallmark      Follow me on Twitter for more baseball content.

Everybody has them.

Everybody loves debating and discussing them.

Whether it’s a list of one’s favorite ice cream flavors, rock bands, or romantic comedies, there’s something very universal about ranking and rating things.

And certainly, baseball fans are no different. It could even be argued that we have taken the whole “List your top whatever-whatevers” conversation into a class all its own.

Objectifying the subjective is what makes sports fandom so much fun.

When I was asked to come up with a description of my top baseball stadium experiences, I jumped at the chance. As a baseball road tripper, I’ve had the chance to visit dozens of new places in the past few years. While every stadium I’ve visited has provided me with some unique experience, some have stood above the rest.

Here are my top ten:

10. Comerica Park, Detroit MI – In August of 2018, I visited Detroit for a meaningless, Wednesday afternoon game between the hapless Tigers and the even worse Chicago White Sox. I was very impressed on first visit to “New Tiger Stadium”. I found Comerica to provide a modern stadium feel while paying respect to the history of Detroit baseball, honoring past Tiger legends like Ty Cobb (my all-time favorite player), and others. The best part? A section over from us sat what could only be a die hard, season ticket holding Detroit loyalist who entertained us the entire game with some very creative and colorful old school chatter, heckling the opponents and rooting on the home team. As we left the game, (the Tiger lost), I made sure to shake her hand and thank her for her efforts.

9. War Memorial Stadium, Buffalo NY – As a native WNYer originally, it would be unforgiveable for me to not include my first home field park. The park no longer exists, but it was the stadium where I went to my first professional ball game as a kid. It was the filming site for the Robert Redford movie, The Natural. It was also the home of the Buffalo Bills, but that was before my time. I don’t remember much about the games I saw, but I do remember the architecture and the really old feel to the place. It will always hold a special place in my memories.

8. 

   Rickwood Field, Birmingham AL – I learned about this all but retired venue from an article on MLB.com about a week or two before I had planned a baseball road trip through the deep south. So, as my tour took me through the city of Birmingham, I decided to seek out this place and take a picture by the front of the building. While I was there, I got the bright idea in my head that perhaps I would like to see more of the field. The place was boarded up and the gates were locked, but I managed to find an unlocked gate where someone could drive in. As I entered, I met a gentleman who was tending to the stadium’s museum. He was kind enough to not only let me stay, but he also gave me a personal tour of the place. While I didn’t actually get to see a game here, I count it as one of my favorite stadium experiences because of the building’s history. There are tributes to players like Willie Mays and Reggie Jackson. There is even a lighting rig that was originally installed at New York’s famous Polo Grounds.

7. CHS Field, St Paul MN – The first time I stopped at CHS field, I was just passing through St Paul. I walked around outside and saw some interesting sights. I returned a year a later to catch a game between the St. Paul Saints and the Columbus Clippers. The park atmosphere was amazing, as St. Paul citizens obviously love their baseball. I got to meet up with a couple of people I met on Twitter who also share my love of baseball road tripping. And the coolest thing about the stadium was a full-scale museum of St Paul baseball history just off the concourse in left field. I had not realized how much baseball history is rooted in the Twin Cities, and I was also surprised at how many legendary players are from there. I particularly loved the street map of St Paul painted on the floor, and you can see where people like Dave Winfield grew up. It was hard to believe that just a year prior, this baseball stadium hosted an independent, non-MLB affiliated franchise.

   

6. Bismarck Municipal Ballpark, Bismarck ND – The year 2020 will forever be known as the blackest of years for many reasons, not the least of which will be the cancelling of many sporting events. However, there were a few courageous efforts around the country to make sure that all was not lost. And a die-hard fan like me was determined to get my baseball wherever I could find it. When I learned that there was going to be live baseball being played in…uh… checking notes… Bismarck, North Dakota… a full 1200 miles (one way), and 18 hours of drive time from my home outside of Dayton, Ohio… I knew I had to go. Friends and family thought I was nuts (and perhaps I am a little bit) … but off I went. If there was someone who was going to courageously refuse to give in to Coronavirus, then by God, I was going to do my best to support them! What I found when I got to Bismarck was a warm and welcoming community.

5. Turtle Creek Stadium, Traverse City MI – My visit to see the Traverse City Pit Spitters came in 2020, as the world was shutting down from fears of the Coronavirus. When I got to Traverse City, a northern Michigan mecca for would be vacationers, I found that all was carrying on in a life-as-usual manner, including their commitment to baseball. While the Northwoods League, a collegiate summer “wood bat” league, had pretty much suspended operations, the Pit Spitters organization decide to create, entirely out of thin air, two new baseball teams to form a three team “pod” to play a season’s worth of games. I came away with a lot of cool merchandise, like a replica championship ring honoring the team’s accomplishments a season prior. But most impressive was the beauty of the Pit Spitter’s stadium itself, as clean, well-designed park that I did not expect from a “mere” wood bat league team.

   

4. McCormick Field, Asheville, NC – The first time I visited this park was in 2020, when they were shut down. They were still letting people visit, however, as you could get an ice cream and sit in the stands. If you’ve ever been here, you know why it’s on the list. Set into the side of a mountain, the view over the outfield wall is amazing. And by walking up a path behind the stadium, a visitor can get a great view looking down on to the field from higher up on the mountain. I’ve always loved stadiums that afford a great view of a city sky line, or some natural landscape, and certainly McCormick is one of the best stadiums for this.

3. Fenway Park, Boston, MA – My trip to Fenway Park in the summer of 2006 with my cousin was the one that began my desire to be a ballpark tourist. The city of Boston was a lively town, filled with friendly people and fantastic night life, and we decided then to make such trips an annual tradition. Heading to Fenway for an afternoon game between Sox and the Angels was unforgettable. I recall that David Ortiz went 4-for-5 with a HR (the 212^th of his career) and a walk off RBI hit in the bottom of the 11^th inning to win the game. Our seats were in the right field bleachers and it was a hot one. But we were at historic Fenway Park, with the Green Monster off to our right, and not a care in the world.

   

2. Camden Yards, Baltimore, MD – Built on a former rail yard and set against the backdrop of the old B&O Warehouse, there is simply no matching the beauty and splendor of Camden Yards. I used to live outside of Washington DC, and it was a short trip up I-95 to go catch an Orioles game. It was the first MLB park I had visited multiple times, which I did back in the day when the team featured legendary Hall of Fame (and would-be HOFers) players like Cal Ripken, Roberto Alomar, Rafael Palmeiro, and Mike Mussina. Camden Yards, for me, is the standard by which I judge all other stadiums not called Fenway or Wrigley. I no longer live in the area, but I often find myself pining to walk through the Eutaw Street gates.

And #1 is…. Old Tiger Stadium, Detroit, MI – This list began with “new” Tiger Stadium, and finishes with the original. I made a trip to Detroit the final year it would be the home for the Tigers. It was game against the Orioles, and the sign said there were 16 games scheduled to be played after the one we saw. As I entered the park through a gate on the backside of the stadium, I noticed cracked concrete and small puddles of water on the ground. The place looked OLD. But when I emerged from the concourse and come up into the stands in left field, I could not help but to be overcome with a feeling of awe and wonder. I knew at once I was in a sacred place. This was the place where Ty Cobb (my all-time favorite player) played. I thought of all the other legends that walked the field in front of me: Babe Ruth, Walter Johnson, Ted Williams. It was a place where you just felt the full force of history pressing up on you. Our seats, of course, were dead smack behind a steel girder… and even stealing over a few seats to get a view of the game didn’t keep us from having to constantly shift this way and that, to see around the pole and take in the game.

So, there you have it. My current list of memorable stadium experiences. I still have many, many more to visit, so I’m sure that there are stadiums waiting to make an entry bid. That’s the fun part about all of this… Baseball is not just a game, it’s a destination. And what better excuse could there be to see parts of this country (and world!) one wouldn’t ordinarily think to visit.