Favorite Parks From MLB.com

[Xero]

Ballparks -- places that come in all ages, shapes and sizes -- are their offices.

And Major League Baseball players either adore them or simply put up with them, depending upon their clubhouse sizes and dimensions. History is a big consideration, as are amenities. After all, a guy who comes to work every day wants to be comfortable, both sitting in front of his locker and at the plate.

 

"You're always going to pick a field that you played well at," said the Blue Jays' Reed Johnson. "You're not going to pick somewhere that you get shut down every time."

 

For this edition of Full Count, we spoke to 90 players -- three on each of the 30 Major League teams -- and asked them this simple question:

 

What ballpark is your favorite to play in?

 

 

Player picks

 

Ballpark Votes

Wrigley Field 16

Safeco Field 13

Yankee Stadium 10

PNC Park 7

Dodger Stadium 5

Busch Stadium 5

Jacobs Field 4

Shea Stadium 3

Coors Field 3

Citizens Bank Park 3

Kauffman Stadium 3

Fenway Park 3

Bank One Ballpark 3

SBC Park 2

Angels Field at Anaheim 2

Minute Maid Park 2

Miller Park 2

Camden Yards 2

Pro Player Stadium 1

Qualcomm Stadium 1

Not receiving votes: Tropicana Field, SkyDome, Turner Field, Olympic Stadium, Comerica Park, Metrodome, U.S. Cellular Field, Great American Ballpark, Network Associates Coliseum, Ameriquest Field in Arlington, PETCO Park.

 

The answers were as varied as the players responding. Cincinnati's Barry Larkin, for one, has been so enamored of New York's multipurpose Shea Stadium during the course of his 19-year career that he actually named a daughter, DeShea, after the ballpark.

"My wife liked the name, but I don't think she liked the origin a whole lot," Larkin said.

 

The top four favorite yards were both historic and faux-historic -- Chicago's Wrigley Field, Seattle' Safeco Field, New York's Yankee Stadium and Pittsburgh's PNC Park.

 

The 92-year-old Wrigley was the winner with 16 votes, and it earned a clean sweep from the trio of players interviewed from both the San Diego Padres and the Colorado Rockies. Safeco garnered 13, Yankee Stadium 10, and PNC Park seven.

 

"I just like the historical standpoint of the park," Padres reliever extraordinaire Trevor Hoffman said about Wrigley. "You know a lot of the older [retired] players have played there. The history you can't recreate, and so Wrigley would probably be my favorite."

 

"I like the old-school look and feel of the place, with the ivy and all the tradition," said Colorado's Shawn Chacon. "[The fans] really support their team. They get on the other team, too, but I try not to pay any attention to that."

 

Votes were cast for 19 current parks and Qualcomm Stadium, which hosted its final Padres game last September. Wouldn't you know that Kansas City's Benito Santiago would wax eloquent about "the Q," which was called San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium in 1987, the year he broke in as a catcher with the Padres and was named National League Rookie of the Year?

 

"I loved that place and they've destroyed it," said Santiago, who ended that 1987 season on a 34-game hitting streak that still stands as the Padres' record. "That was always my favorite. The weather was nice. I played six years there and I haven't seen anything else like that. I hit well there."

 

Qualcomm was replaced this season by PETCO Park and not surprisingly, with so few games played there, none of the voters picked San Diego's new downtown digs as a favorite. Ten other stadiums also didn't snare a vote: Tropicana Field, SkyDome, Turner Field, Olympic Stadium, Comerica Park, Metrodome, U.S. Cellular Field, Great American Ballpark, Network Associates Coliseum and Ameriquest Field in Arlington.

 

The hallowed Fenway Park, with its 37-foot high Green Monster in left field, only grabbed three votes. Fenway was open in 1912 and the Red Sox haven't won a World Series since 1918, when Babe Ruth pitched for them. Players from out of town deal with the cramped visitor's clubhouse. Some Red Sox players have a constant love-hate relationship with the victory-starved New England fans.

 

None of the Red Sox players we canvassed voted for Fenway. But Seattle's John Olerud did.

 

"If someone told me I had one game left to play, I would want it to be at Fenway," the lefty-swinging Olerud said. "It's not the best place for a guy like me. The right-field fence is a long way away from the plate, and the infield grass usually is pretty thick. But I imagine every kid learning to play baseball wants to hit a ball off the Green Monster."

 

Yankees All-Star shortstop Derek Jeter was one of 10 players to vote for Yankee Stadium, which opened in 1923 and was refurbished and reopened in 1976. The grand old yard in the South Bronx has been the pinstripes' home for all of their record 26 World Series-winning teams. Jeter played on four World Series champions and two more World Series participants in his first eight big-league seasons.

 

"The field is in the best condition of any I've ever played on, and then you top that off with the history and tradition of the stadium. Even if I didn't play for the Yankees, I think I'd say the same thing," Jeter said.

 

Fred McGriff, who was drafted by the Yankees and is now nearing the 500-homer plateau as a member of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, also said that Yankee Stadium is still his favorite "because of its tradition and atmosphere and very knowledgeable fans."

 

"Yankee Stadium: It's the mecca, man," said Mike Cameron, who plays for the crosstown Mets.

 

Of the new parks that have come online during the last decade, the players liked Safeco and PNC Park the best, hands down.

 

Safeco opened in 1999, replacing the Kingdome south of downtown Seattle, and has helped turn the Mariners into one of baseball's elite, financially stable franchises. It was the only retractable roof park to get that much support. The other three with sliding lids -- Bank One Ballpark, Minute Maid Park and Miller Park -- totaled seven votes.

 

"[safeco] has a great clubhouse, a great atmosphere and a great field," said Anaheim Angels starter Jarrod Washburn, who added that as a pitcher he loves playing in Seattle because "the ball doesn't fly there."

 

PNC has yet to have the same blowback effect on the Pirates financially, but players love it for its coziness and view of the Pittsburgh skyline on the far bank of the Monongahela River. Opened in 2001, its capacity of 38,496 is one of the smallest in baseball.

 

PNC replaced Three Rivers Stadium, a circular enclosed multipurpose palace like others born around the U.S. in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

 

"PNC's got a great view of downtown, right on the river. It's a comfortable place," said former Pirates pitcher Jon Lieber, who now plays for the Yankees.

 

"It's a smaller field, it makes me excited. I can't explain it," said Coco Crisp of the Cleveland Indians. "Of course I love the game, and I love to play there."

 

Old standbys Dodger Stadium and Busch Stadium each earned five votes, although three of the votes for the Cardinals' home came from the trio of St. Louis players interviewed.

 

The Mets' Todd Zeile said the ballpark carved out of a hillside in Chavez Ravine is more than an office. It feels like home.

 

"I really like playing in Dodger Stadium," said Zeile, a former Dodger who grew up in nearby Van Nuys, Calif. "There's a certain comfort level there because of my family and friends, but also it's a baseball-only facility. It's still maintained meticulously and kept up, even though it was built in 1962."

[WHarris1]

"You're always going to pick a field that you played well at," said the Blue Jays' Reed Johnson. "You're not going to pick somewhere that you get shut down every time."

 

 

Not receiving votes: U.S. Cellular Field

THAT'S WHY! Everyone gets shut down at the Cell so it's not their favorite...

[SoxAce]

THAT'S WHY!  Everyone gets shut down at the Cell so it's not their favorite...

[Xero]

Lol

[Wise Master Buehrle]

What the hell?

 

Players complain about how cramped Wrigley is, yet they still vote it as the best.

 

Morons.

[soxman352000]

Wrigley is a f***ing pit. Cub fans treat opposing fans like s***. They treat opposing teams like s***. And as mentioned earlier the locker rooms are crowded as hell. Not to even bring up the bathroom and consession stand problems.