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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CINCINNATI, OH – JUNE 16: General view of the PNC Power Stacks in center field during a game between the Cincinnati Reds and Los Angeles Dodgers at Great American Ball Park on June 16, 2017 in Cincinnati, Ohio. The Dodgers defeated the Reds 3-1. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** /

Cincinnati Reds: The Power Stacks

By the time ground was broken on Great American Ballpark in 2000, the Cincinnati Reds were in desperate need of an upgrade over seriously-outdated Cinergy Field. The result was a waterfront gem overlooking the Ohio River. Great American Insurance bought the naming rights, so the name isn’t purely patriotic, but it is fitting for an MLB team descended from the first professional baseball players.

Great American Ball Park has developed a reputation as a hitter’s paradise, and the Reds have certainly bombed away over the years. To celebrate every Cincinnati home run or win, two giant smoke stacks in right-center field erupt with giant flames. The stacks are a shoutout to the 19th Century steamboats that used to travel up and down the Ohio before railroads took over. The smokestacks are massive and each is ringed with seven baseball bats. The 14 total bats are meant to pay tribute to Pete Rose, who wore number 14.

The Reds’ new home offers views of the river and downtown core. The Great American Insurance building looms large in the distance. Chalk it up to a clever architect, but there is a giant cutout in the upper deck that offers a view almost perfectly in line with the crown-topped insurance headquarters.

In addition to offering great sight lines and heaping bowls of Cincinnati chili, the Reds have also done well to embrace their great franchise history. There is a Reds Hall of Fame museum, bronze statue garden of former Reds stars staged in an imaginary game and a pair of big mosaics depicting the original Red Stockings and the Big Red Machine.

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