Ranking the 10 best ballparks in Major League Baseball
By Will Osgood
7. Safeco Field
Sadly, Safeco Field is one of the parks on this list I have not had the pleasure of visiting. But I have seen enough games on television to know that my absence shouldn’t keep it from making the list.
As is the case with really all but one of the stadiums on this list, Safeco is nestled right in the city. Just outside of field sits the CenturyLink Field where the “12th Man” rains terror on opponents eight-plus times per year during the football season.
And the park is situated close enough to the Amtrak station nearby that during games the loud choo-choo sound rains a similar kind of terror. This can be especially trying whenever an unassuming outfielder is trying to rein in a pop fly, or when a pitcher in a tense moment is working to find his control.
Looking out from behind home plate, far above the field of play, is a picturesque scene of downtown Seattle. The Space Needle—high above all other buildings—seems like it’s within grasp of the baseball watcher, or at least close enough for a player to throw a baseball at.
But the other part of Safeco Field which is intriguing, and at least somewhat unique, is its feel of being inside a hangar. We already mentioned how Chase Field from above looks like hangar for jets, but inside feels more like an indoor Habana.
Safeco is designed to actually feel like a baseball field has been brought into a hangar. And it makes sense given Boeing—one of the world’s largest aviation companies—is originally a Seattle creation, not unlike Starbucks.
Thankfully, Seattle did not integrate too much of its coffee history into the stadium, since as George Will says in his little book, A Nice Little Place on the North Side, baseball goes with beer and beer with baseball, and thus by extension not coffee.
Next: The original 'modern' stadium