Text and photos by Joe Mock
All rights reserved
For the past two decades, we’ve provided a comparison of the two ballparks being used in that year’s World Series.
In 2021, it was almost a relief that a “normal” World Series occurred, as the games bounced between Houston and Atlanta. The previous year, though, MLB created a “bubble” in Arlington, Texas for all games of the Series, and since the teams were the Rays and Dodgers, it was truly a neutral bubble … although the Dodgers treated it like they were playing in Chavez Ravine.
We’ll continue the normalcy in 2022, as Games 1 and 2 will be in Minute Maid Park in Houston, and 3, 4 and 5 at Philadelphia’s Citizens Bank Park. If 6 and 7 are necessary, they’ll be back in Houston.
It’s interesting that the two parks have quite a different experience in Fall Classic usage in recent years. Citizens Bank Park hasn’t seen a World Series contest since 2009, while Minute Maid has hosted in five of the last six years.
The corporate sponsorship names of the two venues lend themselves to some cute nicknames, as many Houston fans refer to Minute Maid Park as “The Juice Box,” while Philly fans often refer to Citizens Bank Park as “The Vault.”
So as we’ve been doing every autumn since 2003, here’s our look at the “tale of the tape” of the two parks in this year’s World Series. As always, it’s a little tongue-in-cheek! By the way, the photos for Minute Maid Park are from the 2021 World Series and for Citizens Bank Park, from September 2022.
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Minute Maid Park |
Citizens Bank Park |
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| Back in 2000, Houston ushered in the new millennium with a new park, although Astros fans want to forget it was originally called Enron Field. The current name arrived in 2002. | Year opened | The Phillies moved just a block away from Veterans Stadium when they began play here in 2004. |
| The site used to be the city’s train station, and in fact much of Union Station was incorporated into the park’s western corner. | Site | While there was some (non-serious) talk of building a really traditional park elsewhere in the city, the sports complex won by default |
| Never been a fan of its aesthetics, so it ranks 24th in our MLB rankings | Our ranking among 30 MLB parks | Citizens Bank Park comes in at number 20 |
| 41,168. The Astros finished 7th in MLB in attendance in 2022, averaging 33,197. | Seating capacity | 42,792. The Phils’ home average of 28,459 is middle of the pack (16th in MLB) |
| Natural grass (Platinum TE Paspalum) | Playing surface | Natural grass (Kentucky Bluegrass) |
| Renovations in 2016 cleaned up some of the bizarre outfield dimensions, but the Crawford Boxes (i.e., cheap HRs) were a mistake | Special features | Ashburn Alley (the outfield concourse) is heavily visited, where the kids area, famous concessions and an accessible bullpen are located |
| Populous (then called HOK) and Molina | Designed by | Ewing Cole and HOK |
| $250 million | Cost to build | $458 million |
| 315′-362′-409′-373′-326′ The short LF is due to the Crawford Boxes | Outfield dimensions | 329′-374′-401′-369′-330′ |
| This is the fifth, with a sweep by the White Sox in 2005 the first, and 2021’s loss to Atlanta the most recent | World Series hosted | This will be the park’s third, with the Phils beating the Rays in 2008 and falling to the Yanks the falling year |
| The Astros’ only World Series title was in 2017 | Last World Series won by home team | The Phillies won in five games over Tampa Bay in 2008 |
| With Astros pitcher Roger Clemens taking the loss, the AL beat the NL 9-4 in 2004 | All Star Games hosted | CBP has never hosted the Mid-Season Classic. It will in 2026, the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence |
| Beautiful Union Station, which is on the National Register of Historic Places, anchors the west corner of the ballpark | Landmarks | Aside from the other facilities in the sports complex, you’d have to travel 5 miles north to visit Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell |
| Concerts with the highest attendance have been Taylor Swift, Madonna and Beyoncé/Jay-Z | Other events | The 2012 NHL Winter Classic was here, while Elton John/Billy Joel, Jimmy Buffet and Bruce Springsteen have sold the most concert tickets |
| The Astros’ home is 16th in average number of runs scored (so pretty average), but 12% more HRs and 6% fewer doubles are hit here | 2022 park factors Source: ESPN |
About 5% more runs are scored here than average. About 12% more HRs and 11% more triples are hit here. |
| Fans who feel they should’ve won more than one World Series, but who still bristle when 2019’s cheating scandal is mentioned | Filled with | As Phillies fans have demonstrated during the playoffs, they create a real home-field advantage. |
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