BY
RANDY YOUNGMAN
Pre- andpost-gamecelebratingwith the localsat a friendly
NEIGHBORHOODSTADIUM
bar isoneof the fastestways
to shedyour tourist shackles.Here’s the lowdownonwhere
tomakenew friendsat someof thecountry’sbesturbanballparks.
Ithappens inNewYork’sYankeeStadium,a
relativelynewballparkbuilt inthe imageof
its statelypredecessor. Ithappens inAngel
Stadiumof Anaheim, aLosAngeles–area
ballpark thatwas downsized andmodern-
izedbeforetheturnofthe21stcentury.And
ithappens inSeattle’sSafecoField, a retro-
modernballpark incorporatingthebest fea-
turesof theoldandthenew.
But with these ballparks, one thing
standsoutabovealltherest:Theyareurban
stadiums.Walkoutthe frontdoor, turn left,
and you’re in your friendlyneighborhood
bar celebrating (or commiserating) with
friends. It’s the essential baseball experi-
enceenjoyedthewaybaseballwasmeantto
beenjoyed. Thus, as the2013baseball sea-
songetsunderway,wepresentacloser look
at thehistoryof six iconicurbanballparks
alongwith aprimer onwhere fans of each
team like to go before, after— and some-
timesduring—thegames.
A
S WINTER ENDS
and springarrives,MajorLeagueBase-
ball teamscomeoutofhibernation, report to their training
camps, then return home to begin another grueling 162-
gamemarathon. EveryApril, baseball fans alsobegin the
annual pilgrimage to their favorite team’s homeballpark.Nomatter
what happened last season, theplayers and their fans are filledwith
optimismand renewedhope that this season couldendwithaWorld
Serieschampionship.
Ithappenseveryyear, ineverycity, ineveryballpark.
Ithappens inBoston’sFenwayParkand inChicago’sWrigleyField,
baseball’s livingdinosaursand theoldestactiveballparks in themajors.
WR IGLEY F I ELD, CHICAGO
A
S THE LATE,
great broadcaster Harry
Carayused togush intohismicrophone
atWrigley Field, “Aah, you can’t beat
funat theoldballpark!”
Good thing thathasheld true forChicagoCubs
fansover theyearsbecause thehome teamhasn’t
won a championship since before 1916, when it
moved intoWrigley Field on the North Side of
the city.
The early Cubs did win theWorld Series in
1907 and 1908, back when they played atWest
Side Park, whichmeans that their official cham-
pionshipdrought is goingon 105 years. But, hey,
anybody can have a bad century. (My smirking
disclaimer: As a native Chicagoanwho occasion-
ally skipped college classes to sit inWrigley’s
right-field bleachers and watch the Cubs lose,
yousometimeshave to jokeaboutyourmisery to
keepyour sanity.)
Tobe fair, theCubshavehadseveral nearmiss-
esatWrigley through theyears, losing fiveWorld
Seriesbetween 1929and 1945. In the 1932Series,
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APRIL 01, 2013
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