Baseball continues to vie with football as the most popular professional sport in the United States. Still known as the "Nation's Past time", each season, people from all walks of life make their way to the great baseball stadiums across the nation.
Five of those venues have been dubbed the best stadiums at which to watch baseball. A variety of factors come into consideration when it comes to christening the best baseball stadiums in the country. These include the design of the stadium itself, the history and standing of the hometown team, and the surrounding neighborhood.
With the MLB postseason in full swing, let's see what are the stand out venues with the world of Baseball.
*Guest writer Jessica Kane*
Coors Field: Colorado Rockies
Located in the LoDo District of Denver, Colorado, Coors Field ends up on the list of nearly everyone's best location to take in a major league baseball game. The stadium is constructed in a manner that hearkens back to those iconic venues of days gone by. The brick stadium fits in perfectly with the popular LoDo neighborhood, which is comprised of sharply rehabbed warehouses that now feature restaurants, bars, stores, and other compelling venues.
Fans attending a game at Coors Field are not only able to take in America's favorite pastime, but are given a spectacular view of the majestic Rocky Mountain in the process. Finding a similar vista at a baseball stadium anywhere else in the nation is a true challenge.
Located in the Mile High City, Coors Field is 5,280 feet above sea level. Coors Field is at the highest elevation of any stadium in the nation. The altitude of the stadium results in a drying and added hardness to baseballs, also not found anywhere else. Once hit by a batter, a baseball actually flies 9 percent faster than is the case at any other U.S. stadium.
Fenway Park: Boston Red Sox
Often dubbed "America's Most Beloved Ballpark," iconic Fenway Park opened its gates on April 20, 1912. While other baseball stadiums may hearken back to another era, Fenway Park is the real deal. Known locally as the Green Monster celebrated its 100th season in 2012. Fenway Park remains very much like it did during it's first season at the beginning of the 20th century.
The iconic architecture of the century-old structure is in and of itself considered to be a celebration of baseball in and of itself. Fenway Park features one of the last remaining hand-operated scoreboards found anywhere in the United States.
Fenway Park is located in an area within Boston that itself celebrates baseball, and particularly the Red Sox, The pubs and bistros in the area celebrate the Sox and the Park as well as the history of both.
Camden Yards: Baltimore Oriels
Another of the fives best stadiums to watch major league baseball in the United States is Camden Yards. The current stadium opened in 1992. Nevertheless, Camden Yards brings together the old and the new, perhaps better than any other baseball stadium in the country.
Camden Yards is considered the leader in the spreading practice of making sure a baseball stadium harmonizes with the surrounding neighborhood. In addition, the neighborhood surrounding the stadium is committed to supporting the hometown team. From the bistros to the bars, the businesses surrounding the stadium provide specials and events that enhance the overall experience of attending a game a Camden Yards.
Camden Yards is also known for its unique history. The stadium is built not only over an old railroad station, but also over a café once owned by baseball legend Babe Ruth's father.
Yankee Stadium: New York Yankees
Although new Yankee uniforms have made media headlines in recent times, tradition carries on at new Yankee Stadium. Yankee Stadium is one of the best places in the country to watch baseball and to celebrate one of the most highly-regarded teams in sports history.
The new stadium was designed and built with the original Yankee Stadium well in mind. In addition, Monument Park, located across the street from the new stadium, pays homage to Yankees' greats Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, and Mickey Mantle among many more.
In addition to being able to watch the game's most successful team in history, new Yankee Stadium still serves up some of the same grub that contributed to the original stadium becoming truly legendary over time. Sitting in the heart of the Bronx Yankee Stadium is as much a staple of the Empire State as the Statue of Liberty and Times Square.
Wrigley Field: Chicago Cubs
Finally, Wrigley field is on the list of the five top stadiums in the United States to take in a game of major league baseball. Wrigley field truly bespeaks the history of baseball. Wrigley Field is the second oldest ballpark in the country, after Boston's Fenway Park.
One of the reasons Wrigley Field is considered among the best stadiums to watch a baseball game is the incomparable level of camaraderie a the stadium. Although the team has not won a championship since 1908, the Chicago Cubs have a diehard fan base like no other team.
**Jessica Kane is a writer for SteelLocker Sports, a leading retailer of brand name baseball equipment at great discount prices.**