Wrigley Field 1914 Club

The Coolest Seats in Baseball? 1914 Club at Wrigley Field Review

Home plate club seats – think those “moats” separating the unwashed masses from the corporate crowd at new car season ticket prices – have been a fixture at MLB ballparks throughout the 21st century.  While they are a massive source of stadium revenue, easily bringing in eight figures per year in not only ticket receipts …

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Ballpark Revisit: Miami’s LoanDepot Park for the 2023 World Baseball Classic

An out-of-towner’s experience at a ballpark can vary significantly based on what games they attend.  The vibe for a Tuesday in early April can’t compare to that of Fourth of July weekend. For my MLB ballpark revisits—my game count for the average stadium is now approaching the mid-high single digits—I’ve been trying to make a …

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Best and Worst Features of Each Major League Ballpark, with Rankings

By: Cole ShoemakerApril 1, 2021 Many have lamented the demise of everyday social interactions during Covid—the handshakes, the hugs, the impromptu chats with neighbors—but I mostly just miss the crowds. Particularly when cheering at a live event, that celebratory collective effervescence brings us all together.  As the pandemic endlessly wound on in 2020, those communal …

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Best Foodie Ballparks: The Definitive Guide and Ranking of All 30 MLB Stadiums by Food

By: Cole ShoemakerAugust 24, 2020 For all that I relished about annually revisiting baseball’s cathedrals, namely meeting new fans and discovering ballpark changes, I truly miss the joy of having a high-quality snack at a ballgame. It’s no secret that baseball’s variety and quality of concession stand food has improved dramatically in the last 20 …

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Ballpark Architecture: Ranking all 30 MLB Stadiums, based on Exterior Architecture

In a national landscape of highly acclaimed ballparks with well-positioned skyline panoramas, captivating water views, and sweeping mountain vistas, so much of our attention is devoted to the interior aesthetics of America’s great baseball cathedrals. Grand aesthetic visions are mostly framed by the inside, namely through a ballpark’s contextual integration of its environment, one of …

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In Defense of my Comerica Park Ranking: Why I Think the Park is Underrated

In Defense of my Comerica Park Ranking: Why I Think the Park is Underrated By: Cole Shoemaker Published August 21, 2018 I felt compelled to write this addendum to my feature ranking and rating the MLB ballparks (part 1, part 2) because Detroit’s Comerica Park is the one park where my assessment significantly deviates from …

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Most Family-Friendly Spring Training Ballparks

In a long overdue effort to provide up-to-date content not specific to one ballpark review, I will be writing more blog style articles in 2018 consisting of news, features, rankings, comparisons, special profiles, and more.  I’ve realized long 10-15,000 word in-depth reviews simply aren’t optimal for dispensing, consuming, and sharing information in today’s social media …

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Comparing Florida and Arizona Spring Training Ballparks

In a long overdue effort to provide up-to-date content not specific to one ballpark review, I will be writing more blog style articles in 2018 consisting of news, features, rankings, comparisons, special profiles, and more.  I’ve realized long 10-15,000 word in-depth reviews simply aren’t optimal for dispensing, consuming, and sharing information in today’s social media …

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2018 Spring Training Ballpark Changes

In a long overdue effort to provide up-to-date content not specific to one ballpark review, I will be writing more blog style articles in 2018 consisting of news, features, rankings, comparisons, special profiles, and more.  I’ve realized long 10-15,000 word in-depth reviews simply aren’t optimal for dispensing, consuming, and sharing information in today’s social media …

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Ranking and Rating the Cactus League Ballparks

By: Cole Shoemaker Note: Written in 2012.  Here is the updated version ranking and rating all spring training parks.   The ballparks in the Valley of the Cactus League are generally considered the gold standard of spring training, generations ahead of more intimate yet basic facilities in Florida, often lacking the 360-degree open concourses, outfield berms, …

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Seating Geometry

By: Cole Shoemaker Written in 2011 Angling the seats down the lines with a combination of bowl geometry and reoriented seating is a priority in new modern ballparks. All seats should be pointed toward the infield.   Effectively angled seats in Petco Park Generally, there are two ways of doing this. Most of the new …

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Interior Design Topic: Faux Retro Ballpark Contrivances and Gimmicks

By: Cole Shoemaker Written in 2011 In terms of interior design, one of the most common and overused buzzwords we hear from critics is “contrived” or “gimmicky”. As I’ve touched upon in multiple articles, some of the new retro ballparks added gimmicky features to superficially distinguish the design because of underlying similarity. It can apply …

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