December 7, 2018 [LINK / comment]
State of the diagrams, 2018
"Rounding third and heading for home!" With a relentless force of will, I am approaching the end point of this Odyssean (!) endeavor of diagramming baseball stadiums. Well, at least an end point: completing the major league ballpark diagrams of the concrete-and-steel era, as opposed to ballparks built prior to 1909, or the various foreign, minor league, and college ballparks that I believe qualify for such treatment. In fact, I probably should have highlighted the fact that, with the updating of the Angel (Anaheim) Stadium diagrams on November 25, my diagrams for all 30 current MLB stadiums are essentially state-of-the-art! An unheralded landmark event. Some of them are lacking in details such as in the bullpens or the concourse areas, but I'm confident the stadiums and the fields are rendered with a satisfactorily high degree of accuracy. One possible question mark is Candlestick Park, which I last updated on the very last day of 2012. At the time, it was a huge leap forward, diagram-wise, and as far as I can tell, that set of diagrams has withstood the test of time.
Anyway, as this final stretch begins, I thought it would be fitting to review where the diagrams stand, following the example of five years ago, when I presented my own "state of the diagrams" assessment. My diagrams for each of the 76 MLB stadiums are ranked from "A" (superb), "B" (pretty good), "C" (marginally acceptable), and "D" (just plain lousy). This reflects only the diagrams themselves, in their current published state, and has nothing to do with the aesthetic appeal of the real-world stadiums. This list only includes major league stadiums, including short-term ones such as Sick's Stadium but not temporary ones such as Hiram Bithorn Stadium, minor league stadiums, or those in foreign countries. So here goes...
Stadium name | Team name | Diagram status | Last update |
---|---|---|---|
Baker Bowl * | Philadelphia Phillies | A | 2016 |
Forbes Field | Pittsburgh Pirates | D | 2005 |
Shibe Park * | Philadelphia Athletics & Phillies | A | 2016 |
Sportsman's Park * | St. Louis Browns & Cardinals | A | 2016 |
League Park * | Cleveland Indians | A | 2016 |
Comiskey Park * | Chicago White Sox | A | 2017 |
Polo Grounds | New York Giants, (Yankees, & Mets) | C | 2007 |
Griffith Stadium * | Washington Senators | C | 2008 |
Crosley Field * | Cincinnati Reds | D | 2006 |
Tiger Stadium * * | Detroit Tigers | B | 2009 |
Fenway Park | Boston Red Sox (& Braves) | A | 2018 |
Ebbets Field | Brooklyn Dodgers | A | 2018 |
Wrigley Field * | Chicago Cubs (& Whales) | A | 2018 |
Braves Field * | Boston Braves | A | 2014 |
Yankee Stadium | New York Yankees | C | 2008 |
Cleveland Municipal Stadium * | Cleveland Indians | A | 2016 |
Milwaukee County Stadium | Milwaukee Braves & Brewers | A | 2015 |
Memorial Stadium | Baltimore Orioles | A | 2013 |
(K.C.) Municipal Stadium * | Kansas City Athletics & Royals | A | 2014 |
(L.A.) Memorial Coliseum | Los Angeles Dodgers | A | 2016 |
Seals Stadium | San Franciso Giants | A | 2015 |
Candlestick Park * | San Franciso Giants | A | 2012 |
Wrigley Field (L.A.) | Los Angeles Angels | A | 2015 |
Metropolitan Stadium | Minnesota Twins | B | 2014 |
Dodger Stadium | Los Angeles Dodgers (& Angels) | A | 2014 |
Colt Stadium | Houston Colt 45s | A | 2013 |
Robert F. Kennedy Stadium * | Washington Senators & Nationals | A | 2013 |
Shea Stadium | New York Mets (& Yankees) | A | 2015 |
Astrodome | Houston Astros | A | 2015 |
Angel Stadium of Anaheim * | L.A. / Calif. / Anaheim Angels | A | 2018 |
Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium * | Atlanta Braves | A | 2016 |
Busch Stadium II | St. Louis Cardinals | A | 2015 |
Oakland Coliseum * * | Oakland Athletics | A | 2016 |
Jarry Park | Montreal Expos | A | 2013 |
Sick's Stadium | Seattle Pilots | A | 2015 |
Jack Murphy Stadium * * | San Diego Padres | A | 2016 |
Riverfront Stadium * | Cincinnati Reds | A | 2018 |
Three Rivers Stadium | Pittsburgh Pirates | A | 2014 |
Veterans Stadium | Philadelphia Phillies | A | 2016 |
Arlington Stadium | Texas Rangers | A | 2018 |
Kauffman Stadium * | Kansas City Royals | A | 2015 |
Olympic Stadium | Montreal Expos | B | 2012 |
Kingdome | Seattle Mariners | A | 2015 |
Exhibition Stadium | Toronto Blue Jays | A | 2014 |
H.H.H. Metrodome | Minnesota Twins | A | 2016 |
Rogers Centre * | Toronto Blue Jays | A | 2016 |
Guaranteed Rate (U.S. Cellular) Field * * | Chicago White Sox | A | 2015 |
Oriole Park at Camden Yards | Baltimore Orioles | A | 2014 |
Dolphin (Sun Life) Stadium * * | Florida Marlins | A | 2015 |
Mile High Stadium * | Colorado Rockies | A | 2015 |
Progressive Field * | Cleveland Indians | A | 2016 |
Globe Life Park in Arlington * | Texas Rangers | A | 2016 |
Coors Field | Colorado Rockies | A | 2016 |
Turner Field * | Atlanta Braves | A | 2016 |
Tropicana Field * | Tampa Bay Rays | A | 2014 |
Chase Field * | Arizona Diamondbacks | A | 2015 |
Safeco Field | Seattle Mariners | A | 2015 |
AT&T Park * * | San Franciso Giants | A | 2016 |
Minute Maid Park * | Houston Astros | A | 2015 |
Comerica Park | Detroit Tigers | A | 2015 |
Miller Park | Milwaukee Brewers | A | 2018 |
PNC Park | Pittsburgh Pirates | A | 2015 |
Great American Ballpark | Cincinnati Reds | A | 2018 |
Citizens Bank Park | Philadelphia Phillies | A | 2015 |
PETCO Park | San Diego Padres | A | 2015 |
Busch Stadium III | St. Louis Cardinals | A | 2016 |
Nationals Park | Washington Nationals | A | 2015 |
Yankee Stadium II | New York Yankees | A | 2016 |
Citi Field | New York Mets | A | 2016 |
Target Field | Minnesota Twins | A | 2016 |
Marlins Park | Miami Marlins | A | 2018 |
SunTrust Park | Atlanta Braves | A | 2018 |
Red border: | Denotes stadiums whose diagrams are not yet finished. |
[ * (asterisk) = name change; * * = multiple name changes.]
As you can see, all but eight (i.e., 68 of the 76) diagrams are state of the art, or close to it. For those who only visit this website occasionally or may be new, there are two related pages that track my past progress in updating stadium diagrams: Stadium diagram updates (chronological archives, year by year) and Diagram update log (arranged by city name in alphabetical order). Occasionally I find mistakes on those pages, such as when I was almost done with a particular stadium and that got sidetracked after after inserting a link for an anticipated completion date. So, like the diagrams themselves, those pages are "subject to revision." This table summarizes how many of the diagrams were last updated in each successive year. Since none of the "A"-rated diagrams were done prior to 2012, I have omitted them. But for those who are really curious, I began posting such diagrams way back in 2002 -- a full 16 years ago! (By my current standards, they are embarrassingly crude and amateurish.) My progress over the years has been interrupted by occasional pauses, and indeed I had forgotten what a bleak year 2017 was, diagram-wise.
Year | Number of final stadium diagram updates |
---|---|
2012 | 2 |
2013 | 4 |
2014 | 8 |
2015 | 20 |
2016 | 21 |
2017 | 1 |
2018 | 10 |
TOTAL | 76 |
With eight stadiums left to do, the total for 2018 could theoretically go as high as 18. Anything is possible! As of today, December 7th, here are the "coming attractions," in order of targeted completion:
- Tiger Stadium
- Polo Grounds
- Yankee Stadium
- Olympic Stadium
- Griffith Stadium
- Metropolitan Stadium
- Forbes Field
- Crosley Field
Nats sign Patrick Corbin
The Washington Nationals signed free agent Patrick Corbin to a six-year contract that is supposedly worth $140 million. He was evidently the most sought-after pitcher on the open market, so that seems to be a coup for Nats General Manager Mike Rizzo. Corbin was an All-Star this year (representing the Arizona Diamondbacks), and he will become the third Nat starting pitcher (after Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg) to have earned that honor. Corbin is 29 and had an ERA of 3.15 this year, with 246 strikeouts. The main downside is the possibility that his arm may not last for the full six years, since he had Tommy John surgery. See MLB.com. But as we know, both Stephen Strasburg and former Nat Jordan Zimmermann have pitched well for years after having had such surgery. As a left-handed starting pitcher, Corbin essentially replaces Gio Gonzalez in the pitching rotation.
If Bryce Harper was looking for a sign that the Nats owners are willing to spend what's necessary to attract a full roster of top talent, this was it. Personally, I think Bryce wants first and foremost to play on a championship team, and the salary is not necessarily to determining factor in where he ends up. I really hope he does decide to settle down in D.C., but the longer negotiations drag on, the less likely that seems.
The mail bag
Thanks to Joe Johnston for confirming that the curved grandstand along the first base line in Arlington Stadium was indeed built in 1973, as I hypothesized. He was at a game there in 1972, the inaugural year of the Texas Rangers, and he remembers the temporary rectangular bleachers (built for football games) on that side.
Mike Zurawski recently informed me about Elon Musk's plans to build a tunnel for a high-speed subway line to Dodger Stadium, presumably from downtown. A separate proposed line was recently turned down. Now comes news that they want to build a gondola transportation system that would take 5,000 passengers per hour from Union Station to Dodger Stadium in approximately five minutes. See urbanize.la. Such a system functions much like a ski lift, and in fact I rode one in Medllin, Colombia nearly two years ago. Depending on the terrain, they can be expensive to build, but seem fairly cheap to operate.
More news about the future Oakland stadium soon...