Ranking the best in-game experiences for each MLB team

LONDON, ENGLAND - JUNE 29 : Freeze races during game one of the 2019 Major League Baseball London Series between the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees on June 29, 2019 at West Ham London Stadium in London, England. (Photo by Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images) /

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Some of the many kayaks and boats anchored in McCovey Cove for Game 5 of baseball’s World Series against the Kansas City Royals at AT&T Park in San Francisco, Calif., on Sunday, Oct. 26, 2014. (Doug Duran/Bay Area News Group) (Photo by MediaNews Group/Bay Area News via Getty Images) /

San Francisco Giants: Chasing homers in a kayak

I’ve spent my entire life attending games at Oriole Park at Camden Yards, so it pains me to say this — the San Francisco Giants probably have the best stadium in baseball. There are absolutely no flaws to be found at Oracle Park, San Francisco’s glistening stadium that overlooks the Bay. Seriously, this place is straight-up perfect.

The Giants took everything that was great about the Camden Yards design and ratcheted up the awesomeness by angling their home towards the waterfront. The views are incredible. The food offerings inside are incredible (sure, the get-off-my-lawn crowd might knock the Giants for offering farm-to-table food, artisan wines, Ghiradelli hot fudge sundaes or Dungeness crab, but that just means more for the sophisticates among us). When the Giants are playing well, there isn’t a more in-tune crowd and electric atmosphere than Oracle Park in a late and close game.

The inside of the park is truly special, but Oracle is most known for the kayakers that congregate in McCovey Cove just beyond the fence in right field in hopes of nabbing a splashdown home run. To date, there have been 132 McCovey splash hits. Barry Bonds is responsible for just over a fourth of them.

Renting a kayak for a game isn’t cheap, but it is an experience worth having for any fan of baseball quirks. Rates start at $35 an hour with each additional hour costing $10. That still comes out cheaper than a good ticket and you’ll get to experience something truly unique. Just be sure to dress warmly, as San Francisco can get quite chilly on the waterfront.

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