Baseball Park Trivia

      When the 3rd game of the NCLS series came on this evening from Chicago, the TV announcer mentioned that Wrigley Field was the 2nd oldest Major League Park still in use. Even after having seen games in all of the current ones, it took me a minute to remember that Fenway Park was the oldest. Google helped me find the following: 1)  Fenway Park, Boston – 1912, ,2) Wrigley Field, Chicago – 1914, 3)  Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles – 1962, 4)  Angel Stadium of Anaheim, California – 1966, 4)  The Coliseum, Oakland – 1966, 6)  Kauffman Stadium, Kansas City, MO – 1973, 7)  Rogers Centre, Toronto, Ontario – 1989, 8)  Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg – 1990, 9)  U.S. Cellular Field, Chicago (South Side) – 1991, 10) Oriole Park at Camden Yards, Baltimore – 1992, 11) Progressive Field, Cleveland – 1994, 11) Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, Arlington, TX – 1994, 13) Coors Field, Denver – 1995, 14) Turner Field, Atlanta – 1996, 15) Chase Field, Phoenix, AZ – 1998, 16) Safeco Field, Seattle, WA – 1999, 17) AT&T Park, San Francisco – 2000, 17) Comerica Park, Detroit – 2000, 17) Minute Maid Park, Houston – 2000, 20) Miller Park, Milwaukee – 2001, 20) PNC Park, Pittsburgh – 2001, 22) Great American Ball Park, Cincinnati – 2003, 23) Citizen’s Bank Park, Philadelphia – 2004 , 23) Petco Park, San Diego, 2004, 25) Busch Stadium, St. Louis, MO – 2006, 26) Nationals Park, Washington, D.C. – 2008, 27) Citi Field, (Queens) New York – 2009, 27) Yankee Stadium, (Bronx) New York – 2009, 29) Target Field, Minneapolis, MN – 2010, 30) Marlins Park, Miami, FL – 2012

Only two stadiums, the Rogers Centre in Toronto and Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg (which, as you’ll notice, were built just a year apart, and are each in the A.L. East), still use artificial turf. Fourteen ballparks, representing 47% of all the parks in MLB, have been built since the year 2000. Camden Yards in Baltimore, at one time the showpiece of the return to the “retro” ballparks, is now the tenth oldest park in America. No ballparks built in the 1920’s, ’30’s, 40’s, or ’50’s are still in existence, and only one each from the ’70’s and ’80’s are still in use today. Since 1999, the only teams to have won a World Series after moving into a new stadium are the Giants and the Cardinals (twice each), the Phillies (won in 2008), and the Yankees (won in 2009.)  It’s interesting to note that the Cardinals and the Yankees each won the World Series in their first year in their new parks.  Also, the Tigers have been to two World Series since 2000, but lost them both. Dodgers Stadium in Los Angeles is capable of holding the most fans (56,000.) Tropicana Field can hold the fewest (34,000.)  There are currently seven ballparks that are designed to seat fewer than 40,000 people, including three that have been built since the year 2000. If you are currently at least 50 years old, all but two of the ballparks currently in use have been built in your lifetime.