Maybe I’m missing something? Leading up to today’s game at Oracle Park, I heard nothing but rave reviews. I was expecting to be blown away, but left severely underwhelmed. One possible explanation, is I’ve been desensitized to Oracle Park’s best feature, the view of San Francisco Bay. In just the last week, I’ve been to 4 National Parks, and driven the length of the Pacific Coast Highway. It’s fair to say I’ve seen some pretty amazing sights, and in comparison San Francisco Bay is nothing special. The view is certainly nice, and the designers did a great job making the most of the location. But does that one feature make a ballpark? If you strip away the view, what is left? Based off my experience tonight, not a whole lot.
Aside from the view, the food options are often sited as a top feature of Oracle Park. Walking around and sampling the food, it was certainly good, but nothing extraordinary. All things considered, it was on par with Seattle and San Diego. Which to be fair, are two stadiums that are also lauded for their excellent food. Maybe the food will help San Francisco stay near the top of the rankings as I visit more stadiums, but it’s certainly not a differentiator against the current contenders.
Parking was an absolute disaster. As frustrating as it is getting there, leaving is an exercise in patience. I’ll spare you the details, those are reserved for my Zoom call with the therapist I just scheduled. Bottom line, it’s really bad. Again, relative to Seattle and San Diego, Oracle isn’t winning any brownie points. To its credit, San Francisco does have multiple public transit options for those already in the city, but if you are driving to the game, either leave early or budget several hours to escape.
Then there’s the fans. By the 5th inning, I was waiting for Ashton Kutcher to pop up on the jumbotron, letting us all know we’ve been Punk’d. I witnessed more tantrums from full grown adults, than I’ve seen in my entire life. And we’re not talking normal drunken baseball fans fighting. Again, I’ll spare you the details, but chances are this new therapist is never going to visit San Francisco. Maybe this was an aberration, a fluke. But I’m adapting the Dave Portnoy pizza system to baseball, “One Game, Everybody Knows the Rules”.
Now for the good part. I agonized over the rankings for quite a while. I came into the day assuming Oracle Park would leap into the number 1 spot, but I can’t do it. The view of San Francisco Bay is certainly a unique backdrop for a baseball game, but all the negatives bring down the stadium’s ranking. Not only will it not be number 1, it didn’t beat out T-Mobile Park for number two either. Ultimately decided to slot Oracle in-between T-Mobile and Petco. There will be plenty of people that disagree, but again My Game My Rules.
MLB Ballpark Rankings
- Dodger Stadium – Los Angeles, CA
- T-Mobile Park – Seattle, WA
- Oracle Park – San Francisco, CA
- Petco Park – San Diego, CA
- Angel Stadium – Anaheim, CA
29. Oakland Coliseum – Oakland, CA
30. Tropicana Field – St. Petersburg, FL
Really? You couldn’t put it ahead of Dodger Stadium just to make your poor old dad happy?
I tried, but they made it impossible.
Grandma would be thrilled her Dodgers are still in first place. 😊
I’ll fill in for your granmda and say that I’m thrilled you ranked Dodger Stadium ahead of Oracle Park. I went to a game there at the end of the 2019 season. I actually flew up to Oakland and took BART across the bay, but then I had to Uber the last mile or so to the stadium.The lines to get into the stadium were looooong. Glad I got there early. Then I was surprised at how packed the concourse was. Dodger Stadium can get a little frustrating in the concourse because the food lines can reach out into the concourse. Oracle Park was just packed. Period. I did have a good time roaming around after the game, seagulls and all (don’t look up with your mouth open!). The ranking over Petco – I agree. But at least at Petco you can walk around the stadium without having to rub up against some smelly fan. I would give the setting on the bay for SF more points than you do. I think thats what gives it the edge over Petco.
Haven’t been to Dodger Stadium in a very long time, but do remember the sunset backlighting for a night game was nice. Petco Park? Did they let you play in the sandbox beyond right field? Since I’m admittedly biased, I’ll just say that Oracle Park is a more intimate venue, a vast improvement over Candlestick, and fully financed by the Giants. The sordid history of the Dodgers acquisition of their site, and the displacement of the Chavez Ravine community there, speaks for itself. Go Giants!