Dodger, Petco and ballpark rankings

Over the course of our relationship, my wife and I have worked on getting to all 30 MLB ballparks. We're both baseball fans and that was a large part of why we started dating in the first place. Our first trip together was down to Kansas City to see the Twins and Royals. The year after we got married we did a week-long stretch of seeing a game almost every day on the way to my friend's wedding in the northeast. Living in Maryland was helpful in this. Our progress did slow significantly while our family was growing but we still aim to keep ticking off stadiums when we can.

As a part of our summer sojourn my wife dreamed on traveling to California, where there were multiple ballparks to be seen. In addition to the Arizona market she's working occasionally in the Golden State and eventually the plan became for me to travel with her, where she would work a couple days, and at night we'd check out the homes of the Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Diego Padres. At one point or other I think she wanted to take the entire family on this excursion but that would've been too much to handle. Instead, we got a three day date. My parents watched the kids and the dogs up in the mountains and my wife and I took off across the desert.

It was a lot of driving and we stayed in three hotels in three nights. The longest day was the first, the day after Independence Day, and the mountain traffic was pretty grueling. After that was a long, boring, high speed drive along I-10 from Phoenix. That's not fun either. We stayed overnight in Palm Springs. The next day I explored Riverside, CA, and climbed Mt. Rubidoux, while my wife worked. Then we drove to Dodger Stadium. Our hotel afterward in Downey was an ordeal (bunch of cops in the parking lot, a door that wouldn't open...), but we survived. From there we escaped from L.A. to the south. The last full day I didn't have the car and had to kill a lot of time (but got to see Young Washington in Escondido) before we made it to downtown San Diego. We stayed a couple blocks from Petco Park and that was a treat. The following day we drove back to Phoenix mostly along I-8, very close to the border. It was a fantastic few days, just the two of us.

Okay, thoughts on the two ballparks.

Lines lines lines

Dodger Stadium, in a way, is a continuation of everything Los Angeles. You drive and wait, drive and wait, on the highways before you get off and then sit in a bumper to bumper line for an hour to reach the stadium parking lots. It's an entirely self-contained stadium, lots and all, which is probably for the best. (Fortunately it's well designed to leave quickly as well.) Altogether it's a process to get in. But once you're in it's a great place to watch a game. They call it 'Blue Heaven on Earth.' The concourses are a little tight, the place was built in 1962, and the food/drink selection on the concourse is somewhat limited. Dodger Dogs for all. We did finally discover, after almost a full loop, that there's a big area out beyond center with more to check out. Up on the 2nd (Loge) Level we still felt close to the action and liked our seats. I think the Dodgers do a ton of game-day stuff super well, with their moderately crazy emcee, their in-between inning games and the best organist in baseball. Overall the Dodgers act like they're all that, and in many ways they are, even beyond the fact they win so much. The biggest drawback is simple: cost. It's an extremely expensive place to visit, from the tickets to everything else. I was also a little embarrassed at how many (clearly uppity) fans left early, before the Dodger pen blew a late lead and the game went to extras. Whoops. My wife and I agreed that, even with the good experience, it wasn't going to crack the real upper echelon of our rankings.

Petco Park, on the other hand, almost immediately became one of my favorite places. For starters, getting into San Diego is much easier than going anywhere in Los Angeles. Yes, there was some highway traffic but it felt like a breeze in comparison. Then you're in a bright, beautiful downtown and there's something special about an urban park like this. We got there plenty early and the line to get in was minimal. Entering on the north side, J-Street, the size of the area inside the stadium was shocking. There's a whole open space in center field, Gallagher Square, with a playground, (faux) grass birms and a huge screen to watch the game on for families or whoever needs room. I appreciated the eccentric shop right through the gates, with interesting merch and beer fridges with San Diego favorites (a great beer city). The rest of the park has wide concourses, quite a few delicious looking food items and is like a small city to explore. That said the focus is clearly on the game (not always the case!). The fans are all-in on this team and have been for the last few years (as was their owner RIP). Overall the feeling was contagious. We also got to sit a lot closer for a lot less money, the stadium stayed packed the entire game and the food we had was delicious (tri-tip nachos, gourmet mini-donuts). I loved it. I want to go back.

I don't love how the Petco pics turned out, glare was an issue early

So far we've been to 19 (of 30) current Major League Baseball stadiums. It took some memory jogging to put them in order but I wanted to include that here. If you can't tell from my comments above, I take a wholistic approach to ranking them. A number of factors contribute to how enjoyable the experience will be: sight-lines from the seats and concourse, comfort, the surrounding area, food/drink options, the fans, game-day atmosphere, maybe history. It's a lot. Regardless, I'm feeling good with the order and the groupings. I went with a video game tier system with some subheds thrown in. Let me know what you think. 11 to go!

2026 MLB Ballpark Rankings

S Tier

The best

1. PNC Park (Pittsburgh Pirates)

Built: 2001

Visited: 2013/2018

Comment: Layout is key, easy to watch a game, view of the bridges/city makes it tops

2. Petco Park (San Diego Padres)

Built: 2004

Visited: 2026

Comment: Could be #1, awesome urban park, comfortable, kid friendly, big time vibes

3. Target Field (Minnesota Twins)

Built: 2010

Visited: Annually

Comment: Homer pick but super well designed, continually updated, beautiful stadium

A Tier

Cathedrals

4. Fenway Park (Boston Red Sox)

Built: 1912

Visited: 2015/2026

Comment: Nowhere quite like it, tight seats/concourse but awesome place for a game

5. Wrigley Field (Chicago Cubs)

Built: 1914

Visited: 2013 (pre renovation)

Comment: Like watching baseball 100 years ago, glorious, though parking is a pain

Irreplaceable

6. Camden Yards (Baltimore Orioles)

Built: 1992

Visited: Repeatedly 2014-2021

Comment: A personal favorite, Eutaw Street, legendary urban park that lives up to it

7. Dodger Stadium (Los Angeles Dodgers)

Built: 1962

Visited: 2026

Comment: Expensive and long lines, but Blue Heaven on Earth is apt (the organ!)

Modern gems

8. Truist Park (Atlanta Braves)

Built: 2017

Visited: 2024

Comment: Built into brand new commercial center, like a mini city, cool spot

9. Citi Field (New York Mets)

Built: 2009

Visited: 2016

Comment: Like the bridge and big apple, nice park but don't hang around the stadium

B Tier

Fun environs

10. Kauffman Stadium (Kansas City Royals)

Built: 1973

Visited: 2011

Comment: The fountains are great, tailgating a big thing, really HOT

11. Nationals Park (Washington/DC Nationals)

Built: 2008

Visited: Occasionally 2014-2021

Comment: Nice enough, hassle to get in/out, no special views

Stuck in the middle

12. Angel Stadium (Los Angeles Angels/Anaheim)

Built: 1965

Visited: 2016

Comment: It's fine, we got to see Mike Trout play!

13. Progressive Field (Cleveland Guardians)

Built: 1994

Visited: 2013

Comment: Surprisingly pleasant time inside, weirdly dead downtown outside

C Tier

Modern ballparks, major drawback

14. Yankee Stadium (New York Yankees)

Built: 2009

Visited: 2013

Comment: They built a palace, not a baseball stadium

15. Great American Ballpark (Cincinnati Reds)

Built: 2003

Visited: 2014

Comment: The river is cool, I want to like it, but the food (Skyline etc.) is revolting

16. Citizens Bank Park (Philadelphia Philles)

Built: 2004

Visited: 2013

Comment: Nice park, it's just that it's full of Philly fans

Uninspiring and indoors

17. Chase Field (Arizona Diamondbacks)

Built: 1998

Visited: 2024/2026

Comment: I don't understand why its so expensive

18. Rogers Centre (Toronto Blue Jays)

Built: 1989

Visited: 2018

Comment: It's like if they did a better job updating the Metrodome

19. American Family Field (Milwaukee Brewers)

Built: 2001

Visited: 2013

Comment: The best part is how well they do parking and tailgating

TBD:

SEA, SFG, ATH, COL, TEX, HOU, STL, CHW, DET, MIA, TBR