Ballparks

If you love baseball and the venerable stadiums its played in, you need this definitive history and guide to Major League ballparks of the past, present, and future. With a tear-out checklist to mark ballparks you’ve visited and those on your bucket list, Ballparks takes you inside the histories of every park in the Major Leagues, with hundreds of photos, stories, and stats about: Storied parks like Wrigley Field, Fenway Park, and Dodger Stadium Fan favorites AT&T Park, Camden Yards, PNC Park, Safeco Field, and so much more Forgotten treasures like Shibe Park in Philadelphia, Sportsman’s Park in St. Louis, and all five parks of the Detroit Tigers New stadiums like the Atlanta Braves’ SunTrust Park, the Minneapolis Twins’ Target Field, and New York’s Yankee Stadium and Citifield More than 40 other major league parks that tell the story of the national pastime through the lens of the fields the players call home No baseball fan's collection is complete without this up-to-date tome.

An exhilarating, splendidly illustrated, entirely new look at the history of baseball: told through the stories of the vibrant and ever-changing ballparks where the game was and is staged, by the Pulitzer Prize-winning architectural critic. From the earliest corrals of the mid-1800s (Union Grounds in Brooklyn was a "saloon in the open air"), to the much mourned parks of the early 1900s (Detroit's Tiger Stadium, Cincinnati's Palace of the Fans), to the stadiums we fill today, Paul Goldberger makes clear the inextricable bond between the American city and America's favorite pastime. In the changing locations and architecture of our ballparks, Goldberger reveals the manifestations of a changing society: the earliest ballparks evoked the Victorian age in their accommodations--bleachers for the riffraff, grandstands for the middle-class; the "concrete donuts" of the 1950s and '60s made plain television's grip on the public's attention; and more recent ballparks, like Baltimore's Camden Yards, signal a new way forward for stadium design and for baseball's role in urban development. Throughout, Goldberger shows us the way in which baseball's history is concurrent with our cultural history: the rise of urban parks and public transportation; the development of new building materials and engineering and design skills. And how the site details and the requirements of the game--the diamond, the outfields, the walls, the grandstands--shaped our most beloved ballparks. A fascinating, exuberant ode to the Edens at the heart of our cities--where dreams are as limitless as the outfields.

A panoramic view of MLB's current and most storied ballparks, from the oldest--1912's Fenway Park in Boston--to the newest, SunTrust Park, which opened a century later in 2017.

While most serious fans know that the Deadball Era was characterized by low scoring, aggressive baserunning, and strong pitching, few understand the extent to which ballparks determined the style of play. As it turns out, the general absence of standardization and the ever-changing dimensions, configurations, and ground rules had a profound effect on the game, as offensive production would rise and fall, sometimes dramatically, from year to year. Especially in the early years of the American League, home teams enjoyed an unprecedented advantage over visiting clubs. The 1901 Orioles are a case in point, as the club batted an astounding .325 at Oriole Park IV--some 60 points above their road average and 54 points better than visitors to the park. Organized by major league city, this comprehensive study of Deadball parks and park effects provides fact-filled, data-heavy commentary on all 34 ballparks used by the American and National Leagues from 1901 through 1919. Illustrations and historical photos are included, along with a foreword by Philip J. Lowry and a final chapter that offers an assessment of the overall impact of parks on the era.

America’s Classic Ballparks takes you out to the ballgame with the historic and iconic landmarks that amplify American culture and baseball fans alike.

Finalist for the 2022 Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Award in the Regional Category New York's Great Lost Ballparks tells the story of New York playing grounds and ballparks of yesteryear. Organized by region and city, the book includes a complete list of New York's historic ballparks in an easy-to-read guidebook format. Each listing includes the name and location of the park, the years in operation, the names of the professional clubs that called it their home, the park's seating capacity, and a "Fun Fact" or two that distinguishes each locale. More famous ballparks include an extended history that examines the importance of the field in the annals of the game. The book is richly illustrated with historic photos of the parks and players and ten maps of key locations (including New York City's boroughs). Special attention is given to locales that hosted the Negro League and all-women teams.

From the rickety to the palatial, ballparks have grown up with and defined baseball in Minneapolis and St. Paul. Some old-timers have vivid memories of cheering for Willie Mays and Roy Campanella at Nicollet and Lexington. Others marveled at a majestic Killebrew home run at the Met. Many a lucky resident celebrated two world championships in the Metrodome and witnessed one of the greatest pitching performances in World Series history. More recently, fans have enjoyed the return of sunshine and even raindrops at Target Field. Described by City Pages as "the most respected local baseball historian," Stew Thornley leads a tour of where we--as well as our grandparents and now our children--discovered baseball.

The author provides a tour through baseball history with this tribute to America's favorite ballparks.