Denver - Coors Field

Coors is a very nice stadium. We took the stadium tour in the morning before the game and I was very impressed. Coors is built so that you can be walking around inside the stadium and can basically see the field at all times. It was very charming and very nice. I highly recommend seeing a game if you are in the area. Denver is of course the Mile High city so the stadium has a row of different colored seats in the upper deck that is exactly 1-mile above sea level.

Rockies 5 vs. San Francisco Giants 7
Barry Bonds came up to the plate 6 times. 1 Hit, 3 intentional walks and a strikeout with the bases loaded.

Toronto - Skydome

Toronto Blue Jays 4 vs. Minnesota Twins 9

Boston - Fenway Park (1912-present)

This was THE park I wanted to see above all others. The stadium is old, small and dirty but it is so unique and full of history that it was a great experience. The manual scoreboard, Pesky's pole, Duffy's Cliff, the Green Monster, curse of the Bambino, Bill Buckner and coming back from 3 games - O to beat the Yankees in the 2004 ALCS all make this the Mecca of ballparks. There are a number of interesting facts and historical moments surrounding Fenway Park.

Hall of Famers who called Fenway home are numerous but here are a few who stand out; Ted Williams, Wade Boggs, Carl Yastrzemski, Cy Young and even Babe Ruth for 6 seasons. Fenway was also witness to 9 World Series', 5 of which resulted in Championships for the Red Sox.

We arrived early to take the stadium tour. We saw the replica "Cheers" bar behind the Stadium Club seats and then were able to walk around the field on the warning track. I then was fortunate to run into Peter Gammons on my wayout of the stadium. The game was very hot and we were cramped in our tiny seats but it was a fun game with enthusiastic fans. My friends John and Naomi even took time on their honeymoon to enjoy Fenway; this is a must for any serious baseball fan.

Red Sox 7 vs. Devil Rays 6
Pedro Martinez was making his first start since coming off the DL.
Greg Vaughn hit a grand slam and nearly hit a 2nd but it wasn't enough as the Red Sox pulled out the victory.

San Francisco - 3Com Park

San Francisco Giants 5 vs. Montreal Expos 4. Barry Bonds hit one of his 700+ home runs in the 1st inning and this also the 1st and only time I saw the Montreal Expos play.

Oakland - Oakland Colisseum

Oakland Athletics 5 vs. NY Yankees 3

Season opening game of the Yankees last world championship. As a homefield Domer I always enjoy getting rained on. This game went into rain delay because of a very cold rain for 20-30 min. Stadium was very average and in a crummy part of town. Doesn't rank very high on my list of stadiums.

Chicago - Comisky Park

Chicago White Sox 5 vs. Minnesota Twins 2

Attended the game with Suzy and my good friend Mike Anderson. We got some sweet free hats for signing up for a credit card.

Suzy got freaked out by an imaginary spider! Neither Mike or I saw it but she freaked out!

Milwaukee - County Stadium (1970 - 2000)

County Stadium was a very old stadium that did not have much to offer for ammenities or uniqueness but it was charming in a Milwaukee sort of way. Pictured below is the famous Sausage Race that has become a fun tradition in Milwaukee. County Stadium was home to Hall of Famers Hank Aaron, Rollie Fingers, Don Sutton, Robin Yount and Paul Molitor and it hosted the 1982 World Series which the Brewers lost in 7 games to St. Louis.

The picture in the upper right also has Miller Park in the background as it was being built.

Milwaukee Brewers 2 vs. Cleveland Indians 5
My first experience at County stadium. This was also my first baseball game with my eventual wife, it was a very fun game and we had great seats.

August 07, 1998
Brewers 0 vs. Cincinatti Reds 17

September 05, 1999
Brewers 9 vs. St. Louis Cardinals 13
The season of Mark McGwires single season HR chase. Big Mac did not hit a HR but he did hit won hard and deep that hit the fence above the padding. To most of the fans in the stadium it appeared to be a HR but we were all disappointed to only see the double.

July 4, 2000
Brewers 4 vs. Philadelphia Phillies 7

August 16, 2000
Brewers 5 vs. Cincinnati Reds 1

New York - Yankee Stadium

The House that Ruth built is the place to go for more than the mystique of the Yankees. It is the home of baseball history. 26 World Championships, Mantle, Gerhig, Ruth, Dimaggio and a host of other baseball greats all called Yankee Stadium home. The most loved and most hated team in the majors with the most loved and hated owner in all of professional sports. But you can't deny the lore and awe of watching baseball at Yankee Stadium.

One interesting and I think widely unknown fact is that for the 1974 and 75 seasons the Yankees actually played their home games at Shea Stadium. Yankee Stadium was old and in rough shape ownership sold the stadium to the city, leased it for 30 years and then it was closed for 2 years worth of renovations.

New York Yankees 1 vs. Texas Rangers 6
I remember very little about the actual game. We sat in the LF bleachers and sat next to a father and his young son from Texas who were doing an East Coast Stadium tour. It was this game that planted the seed of my goal to see all major league stadiums. I really did not see much of the stadium and of any park I would return for a 2nd visit, this is the one.

New York - Shea Stadium

New York Mets 3 vs. Philadelphia Phillies 2

Denver - Mile High Stadium (1993-1994)

Mile High is much more widely known as the home to Denver's NFL team, but for 2 years the Rockies played in this stadium. It held 72,000+ and the Rockies racked up some impressive attendance numbers drawing over 7.7 million fans in just under 2 seasons (2nd season was the strike). An interesting fact is that to convert the football field into a baseball diamond and back into a football field, the entire east stands (three tiers containing 21,000 seats) floated out to left field on a cushion of water, transforming a 100-yard football field into an asymmetrical baseball field.

Colorado Rockies 8 vs. Chicago Cubs 9
Sammy Sosa with a 2 HR game

Cincinnati - Riverfront Stadium (1970 - 2002)

Cincinnati Reds 6 vs. NY Mets 9

Kansas City - Royals Stadium

Royals Stadium (now called Kaufman Stadium) is another classic ballpark. It is not in the class of Wrigley, Fenway or Yankee but of the stadiums built in the 60's, 70's or early 80's it ranks near the top of it's class. The signature of this park is the 322-foot wide "water spectacular" in the outfield. The late 70's and early 80's displayed some very good Royal ball clubs, including 2 World Series appearances. But since then you make the trip to Kaufman Stadium for the stadium, NOT the baseball.

Kansas City Royals 8 vs. Texas Rangers 1
I showed up to this game excited to see the great Nolan Ryan pitch for the Rangers. Instead of seeing a classic pitching performance I witnessed what had to be one of Ryan's shortest outings as he lasted 1.2 IP giving up 4 earned runs.

Chicago - Wrigley Field

The Friendly Confines of Wrigley Field is a great place to watch baseball and is a classic ballpark in every sense of the word. Wrigley is the 2nd oldest ball park in the Majors (oldest in the NL), and unfortunately is showing it's age. As old as the ballpark is the "lovable losers" from the North Side have not won a World Series Championship in 6 attempts while playing within the ivy covered outfield of Wrigley. On a sunny afternoon, there may not be a better place to watch baseball than the north side of Chicago. In fact for years to watch a game at Wrigley you had to go in the afternoon as they did not install lights and play a night game until August 9th, 1988 (August 8th was the first game but was rained out after 3 1/2 innings).

Wrigley has been home to the likes of Mr. Cub (Ernie Banks), Ryan Sandberg, Ron Santo and brief stints by Rogers Hornsby, Jimmie Foxx and Lou Brock.

Chicago Cubs 3 vs. NY Mets 7
Dwight Gooden pitching, Darryl Strawberry with a HR
Vikings lost to the Bears in Chicago the same afternoon on a Kevin Butler FG. Butler's FG actually produced the loudest cheer at Wrigley that afternoon.

Chicago Cubs 5 vs. Minnesota Twins 4
June 17, 2001
Kerry Wood vs. Brad Radke
Twins lose and are swept by the Cubs