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A fresh look at ranking the parks of MLB


I was asked by USA TODAY Sports to participate in a project to rank the 30 ballparks in Major League Baseball. I was one of eight panelists who provided a ranking from 1 to 30. Those responses were tabulated and a final ranking was released on USATODAY.com. This article was picked up by a number of publications around country, usually to report on how their local ballpark fared.

Before providing my own ranking, I decided to take a fresh look at how I felt about each of the 30. For instance, massive renovations on Rogers Centre caused me to move it up. The announcement that the Royals are looking to move to a brand new park in downtown KC (meaning Kauffman Stadium is no longer receiving improvements) prompted me to move it down.

If you look at the USA TODAY post, there is a blurb about each of the 30 parks. I wrote all of those. I’ve included those blurbs in my updated rankings here on BaseballParks.com, as well as how the overall panel ranked the park. I think you’ll find it interesting reading.

By the way, the park in this photo was not only my #1, but it was voted #1 by the overall panel.

So … check out my updated rankings!

Tribal community made Salt River Fields possible


Widely regarded as the best of MLB’s 23 spring-training complexes, Salt River Fields might never have been built if it weren’t for the Salt River Pima Maricopa Indian Community. They provided the land on their reservation, and paid for the construction. But how did the relationship between the tribal council and the two MLB teams (Rockies and Diamondbacks) come about? Read our article to find out.

This originally appeared in the 2024 USA TODAY Sports Weekly Spring Training Preview. Used by permission.

The best right now


When it came time to write my 100th article for USA TODAY Sports, my editor and I decided on an interesting topic. Since I’m the “sports facilities beat writer” for USA TODAY publications, we thought writing a piece on the best venue in each pro sport would be a fun undertaking — both for me and for the readers. It was published 11/29/23 in USA TODAY Sports Weekly. You can read it here for free. Leave a comment with your reactions to my selections!

2023 Tale of the Tape


While TV network executives might not be thrilled with the matchup, the 2023 World Series should be a good one!

As we do every year, we break down the two ballparks being used. Which one is more of a hitters’ park? What architects designed them? What non-baseball events have been held in them? And more!

So check out our “tale of the tape” of these two heavyweight ballparks! It’s gonna be a slugfest!

One thing is for sure:  there won’t be any rainouts this year, since both stadiums feature retractable roofs!

About the Author

Joe Mock

I surprised myself recently when I determined that I had visited 349 different parks where Major or affiliated Minor League teams are either current or former tenants. That's a lot of pro-baseball stadiums. Read More ❭❭