Two MLB Parks are in a League of Their Own

It's one of the biggest topics in all of sports: The best MLB ballparks. Widely speculated and overly-debated, this conversation has been at the center of baseball for decades. Families and couples from all over the country concoct diabolical road trips to the biggest cities just to experience America's oldest pastime in as many different ways as possible ... and to truly find out themselves which ballpark is the best. 

I was blessed to grow up in a situation like this (and have even taken a 2-week baseball trip with an ex-girlfriend LMAO). My families have sports engrained in their blood. And boy did it get passed down to me. I have been to 17 of 30 MLB ballparks at the ripe ass age of 24, which certainly doesn't qualify me as some expert on the topic but gives you an idea of how blessed I am been to come up the way I have. 

When people talk about the BEST parks in the US, a few stand out. You obviously hear about the old, classic relics like Wrigley and Fenway ... where baseball at those stadiums legitimately reminds you that all of the greats of the game have swung the bat in the same box as the players you're watching. The Green Monster. The Ivy on the outfield walls. Truly iconic. Then you have the city/scenic stadiums: PNC Park, Oracle Park, Camden Yards, Petco Park. Modern marvels planted right in the middle of their respective cities but yet all very different from each other. I'm lucky enough to say I've been to all six of those. And to me, those are the only six that matter. And only two of them have truly blown me away. PNC Park and Petco Park.

This past Friday was my third time at Petco Park and it somehow topped the first two times I was there. Low 70s, not a could in the sky, at sunset for a rivalry game against the Dodgers. The energy in the stadium was pure. At Petco, they have a huge recreational area outside of the outfield called Gallagher Square where fans can buy SRO tickets and just sit on the grass and watch the game on a bigscreen. Beers and food vendors everywhere. That area was a bit overpacked but I'll chalk that to it being pregame and everyone was just not in their seats yet. 

Inside the stadium, white stansions line the bottoms of the stands and a common Padre brown takes the theme of most of the concession stands. On the second level, green moss hangs down from walkways above and below you and make it look like you're in an outdoor mall. It is without a doubt the cleanest and most aestheticly pleasing park you will ever go to. Every single type of concession and bar you can imagine. They even had a stand with five differnet types of draft beer where Shady Biev and I got a Pink Lemonade Draft beer. It was PHENOMENAL. 

And let's talk about the concessions. Krabs would not stop glazing the absolite shit out of these Cardiff tri tip nachos. He wouldn't shut up about it. We get to the place and line looks like I'm waiting for the best BBQ spot in the state of Texas (InterStellar BBQ in Austin btw). They were great. Were they the best food I've ever tried? Probably not. Best nachos? Probably. I'm not the biggest nacho guy though so that probably isn't saying much. Krabs disagreed (he got them twice 💀).

Also at Petco Park: Board and Brew. An ASU student staple. Mucked a Baja Beef with the signature B&B sauce. Now that was heaven. 

And finally ... our seats. Gootz (who claims he had no idea) got us handicap seats at the top of one of the sections in the middle 200 deck. Made things so much better. Had room to stand up and bitch about the Dodgers and that U7.5 somehow not hitting. Very easy to walk to the bathroom and beer stands. An absolutely gorgeous view of everything in the stadium and behind it. 

Just an all-time day at an elite park. I enjoyed every second of it. Enough to say that it is comfortably better than 28 other parks in the league. I won't get into my never-ending glaze of PNC Park and you know that is something I will never budge on. But the old classic parks, Oracle and Camden did not deliver nearly as hard as Petco did this time around. And that is not a knock on those parks whatsoever. I just enjoyed Petco that much.