West Coast Ballpark Tour

Just got back from a week of baseball games up and down the state of California. My good friend Aaron flew out to go to some games with me. He got out early enough to catch a Dodgers game on Sunday before we had returned from a wedding in Canada. At that point we began our trip together.


Game 1 was my first visit to Petco Park in San Diego. The Padres played the LA Dodgers and sadly they beat them badly. It was quite the park - fantastic views from every section, interesting quirky details like the warehouse built into the corner, loads of bars and restaurants around the park to watch the game at, and a grassy park and beach in center field to run around with your kids. A great experience!


Game 2 was at Angel Stadium, a place I've been to before. It was fun to go with Aaron and see his reaction to this park. Parking is only $8 - by far the cheapest of our trip. They played against the hated Yankees and the evil empire won handily. Aaron is a closet Yanks fan, so he was pleased. I was not.


Game 3 took us north to San Francisco to see the Giants play the Arizona Diamondbacks. This park has one of the best views of any park in the majors. It's located right on the bay and if you are up high enough you can see the boats and the Bay Bridge. Like most newer parks this one had a great team shop, it was easy to walk around, and had fantastic views of the playing field to go along with all that they have to offer the casual fan. The Giants came from behind in the bottom of the 9th inning to pull off the upset. Great game.


For game 4 we crossed the bay to Oakland for a game between the A's and the Texas Rangers. Two teams that are out of the playoffs, starting rookie pitchers, and having the game on a Thursday night meant that we were just a few of the lucky people to experience this one. Oakland plays at the massive Coliseum that is an old multipurpose stadium meaning that its not great for football or baseball, but both play there anyway. We went early for batting practice and snagged 3 balls! We sat 20 rows behind the plate and had a great time in great seats. It was pretty chilly that night and was kind of a blow out for the Rangers, but we still enjoyed ourselves.


All in all we had a fantastic time. Between games we were able to get to Alcatraz Island and around other parts of San Fran. On our way home we visited Hearst Castle and were totally blown away with that experience.

Here are my updated ballpark stats:

No longer in use:

1. Municipal Stadium, Cleveland Indians
2. Tiger Stadium, Detroit Tigers
3. RFK Stadium, Washington Nationals


Still in use:

1. Rogers Centre (formerly SkyDome), Toronto Blue Jays - dad took me to my first game here.
2. Progressive Field (formerly Jacob's Field), Cleveland Indians - mom's family is from Ohio
3. Comerica Park, Detroit Tigers
4. Oriole Park at Camden Yards, Baltimore Orioles
5. Great American Ballpark, Cincinnati Reds
6. Shea Stadium, New York Mets
7. Fenway Park, Boston Red Sox
8. Citizen's Bank Park, Philadelphia Phillies
9. Turner Feild, Atlanta Braves
10. PNC Park, Pittsburgh Pirates
11. Yankee Stadium, New York Yankees
12. Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, Texas Rangers
13. Angel Stadium, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
14. Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles Dodgers
15. Nationals Park, Washington Nationals
16. Petco Park, San Diego Padres
17. AT&T Park, San Francisco Giants
18. McCaffee Coliseum, Oakland Athletics