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Here's my last set of ballparks that I have visited. This one is for older ballparks. Wrigley Field: I haven't been there since the major renovations. This is a difficult one for me to rank because of that and because of my blind hatred for the Cubs. I've sat in some pretty crappy seats at Wrigley in the lower deck with the overhang blocking popups. The concessions area was cramped and the food was unremarkable (though I don't know if the food is better now). Communal urinal troughs in the men's room? Gross! All these faults inexplicably get totally swept under the rug when grown men weep at the thought of this place. That being said, you can't beat the atmosphere there and there's no denying that the place has become a bucket list destination for some. Even a number of Sox fans acknowledge enjoying the Wrigley experience. Unlike the Sox under Jerry, they've done a masterful job of embracing their history. Obviously the neighborhood is a huge draw. Parking sucks, it's not next to an expressway, and yet they still manage to draw huge crowds even when they're bad. Fenway Park: I was there 30 years ago, so maybe the park as been renovated since then. You can't beat the history and how it's integrated into the neighborhood. When we walked up to it, I was amazed at how it just looked like another building. Much more so than Wrigley. That being said, other than the history, I thought the place was a dump. Cramped concessions, cramped seating, the food was just standard ballpark fare (though that might have changed). They've obviously done extremely well there and it'll be their forever home, but IMHO, I thought the place was overrated. Transit access was great - we were able to take the "T" from our hotel to Fenway no problem Angel Stadium: One of those "there's nothing wrong with it" ballparks. The concourse is worse than Rate Field. It's surrounding by nothing but parking lots, but unlike at Rate Field, you can't just walk to a nearby neighborhood and it's not right by a couple of train lines that are a few stops away from downtown. There IS a train station near the ballpark, but for most people the only way to get there is to drive and park. On the plus side, it's just a couple of miles down the road from Disneyland. They seem to have done a fine job renovating the place in the 1990s and the Angels always draw well despite many years of poor play, but it'll be interesting to see what Kroenke does when their lease is up in the 2030s. My guess is either massive overhaul or build a new park on the parking lots.

What a nailbiter at the end! Great game. As I said earlier, i'd be glad for either franchise for winning it all. But the Brewers have waited longer (1969 expansion vs. 1998 expansion) plus 1957 for the City of Milwaukee. The Brewers and the Padres are the only 1960s expansion franchises that still haven't won a WS. Another bonus is that I'm sure most Cubs fans will hate it to see the Brewers win the WS (LOL). Remember last year's playoffs? Boo hoo hoo! Mean Brewers fans waved an "L" flag when they won the playoff series against our beloved Cubbies at "Wrigley North". How dare they?! 😭😭😭😭. Is Paul Sullivan still sore about that?🤣

Just like Rick Hahn promised!

I know it's just two guys, but I wonder why they felt the experience at Rate Field was the worst fan experience. That seems way over the top to me. The best anecdotal experience I have is that I worked downtown for 30 years and was always known as an unabashed Sox fan. In all those years, it was always a tough sell to convince people who weren't already big Sox fans or just huge baseball fans who will go see a game anywhere to go to Sox Park. This included coworkers and especially people who were coming in from out of town for conferences. It had nothing to do with false perceptions of crime in the area and they knew it was a short ride on the Red Line to get there, it was just people thought the park was generic and the area around it was boring. I know that's unscientific, but that's been the challenge for the Sox for decades. Tailgating and chest thumping about the South Side isn't bringing in more fans. @Falstaff , I too have met some diehard Cubs fans who said they like Sox Park over Wrigley. So, that's definitely not unheard of. Not every lifelong Cubs fans likes the bar scene culture around Wrigley. Of course, it still doesn't change the fact that there's not enough people out there who feel this way to make the Sox a better draw.

Merkin's story: https://www.mlb.com/whitesox/news/5-offseason-questions-for-white-sox

No billionaire gets there without ruffling lots of feathers along the way. https://www.chicagotribune.com/2005/03/06/aons-fall-from-grace-personal-for-ceo-ryan/

Go Brew Crew! My 2nd fav team

It's pure pleasure to watch teams that accentuate pitching and defense and not every guy is swinging for the fences.

lol I was just gonna let this ride for the duration of the World Series

I think this means Kyyle23 has to start a new thread, right?

Both sides of what? This thread ostensibly was about the aesthetics of mlb stadiums. I attended a game at a new football stadium. I found that the architectural design and the engineering to create that structure was impressive. Not sure why that is/was controversial.

Matas lost me when he talked all that smack on Billy D in offseason. He has some talent but he isn’t anything special. Good thing is I think Caleb is and we will suck and hopefully accumulate some more assets.

"Since 2020, however, Kansas City Chiefs cheerleaders have been required to lead the chop with a closed fist rather than the traditional open palm." Was looking up what FSU does now...apparently KC has to play the FSU band's rendition on the PA. weird.

🧌 👿 😈

Go brew crew! Let's get Andrew Vaughn his ring!

All in all, a really well played game. Not a lot of offense but really just enough, and to be expected with who is playing. Both teams played a clean game. Good defense, kept the walks to a minimum. These are the teams that should be in it right now.

I heard they changed the name of it to the “Indigenous Peoples’ Chop”, so it is now fully PC.

Two factoids today: October 24, 2000 - Ken Williams was named the new G.M. replacing the retiring Ron Schueler. Williams, a former Sox player, would bring passion and heart to the position. He also wasn’t afraid to take risks, no matter how many times they failed. He eventually would create a World Series champion in 2005, his signature moment in the organization. He then moved upstairs as one of the team’s executive vice-presidents after the 2012 campaign before being fired due to the disaster of 2023 in late August of that same year. October 24, 2005 - The White Sox winning the pennant drew a small cover mention in Sports Illustrated. In the upper left corner was a photo of Paul Konerko swinging his bat with the caption, “At Last! The White Sox Are in the World Series.”

I have to wonder if the fireworks going off with all the smoke affected the visibility for the batter.

Added to the drama lol

All of that and it didn't even matter.

Pratt is off the bag at 2nd.

And that is how you pitch to Caminero with the game on the line.

Wow Hicks is slow. I thought there was no chance they double them up on that off the bat.

You literally have never seen him play in the outfield