With the 2020 season set to open later this week, it’s time to open the polls in the Best of the Ballparks MLB vote, as we see if PNC Park, home of the Pittsburgh Pirates, can defend its crown as fan favorite for the past two years.
The vote for the best MLB ballpark is one of the most contested votes in our annual Best of the Ballparks competition. This year–no surprise!–is different than the vote in past years. Usually we begin the MLB vote when the season starts, but with the 2020 season launching in July with a 60-game schedule, we are ending the Best of the Ballparks competition with the MLB rounds. So here we are!
We know from marketing stats that a third of our readers work in the baseball industry, so we’re tapping into that collective expertise. And we know from our research that a third of our readers sell to the baseball industry, so that expertise will be valuable as well. The remaining third — fans, media, government — will certainly have a different view on things as well. We can’t wait to see what our readers — whom we consider to be the smartest folks in baseball — say about the best of the ballparks.
As the winner of the 2018 and 2019 fan votes, PNC Park (Pittsburgh Pirates) repeats as the top seed for the 2020 Best of the Ballparks fan vote. We have one new ballpark in the mix: Globe Life Field, new home of the Texas Rangers. In the poll, we listed the new ballpark directly in the middle of the rankings in what we considered a neutral spot. This is what we did in the MiLB Best of the Ballparks competitions. We don’t expect the voting to follow our seedings: our readers can be independent, and they share a love of ballparks and the fan experience. Here are our rankings for the 2020 competition; here is a separate explanation for these rankings.
Best of the Best
1. PNC Park, Pittsburgh Pirates (2019: 1)
2. Wrigley Field, Chicago Cubs (2019: 2)
3. Truist Park, Atlanta Braves (2019: 7)
4. Target Field, Minnesota Twins (2019: 5)
5. Oracle Park, San Francisco Giants (2019: 3)
6. Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles Dodgers (2019: 6)
7. Petco Park, San Diego Padres (2019: 8)
8. Citi Field, New York Mets (2019: 9)
9. Fenway Park, Boston Red Sox (2019: 4)
10. Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia Phillies (2019: 12)
Great Experiences (But Could Use a Little More Updating)
11. T-Mobile Park
12. Yankee Stadium
13. Kauffman Stadium
14. Oriole Park
15. Coors Field
16. Progressive Field
The Wild Cards (Need More Renovations)
17. Nationals Park
18. Miller Park
19. Minute Maid Park
20. Comerica Park
21. Marlins Park
22. Busch Stadium
23. Guaranteed Rate Field
24. Great American Ball Park
The Laggards (Need a Lot of Work)
25. Angel Stadium
26. Chase Field
27. Rogers Centre
Tear Them Down Already
28. Tropicana Field
29. Oakland Coliseum
Too Soon to Tell
Globe Life Field
Here’s our schedule for the Best of the Ballparks 2020 MLB vote:
First Round: Now through July 24, 3 p.m. Central
Second Round: July 24, 3 p.m. Central through July 29, 3 p.m. Central
Third Round: July 29, 3 p.m. Central through August 3, 3 p.m. Central
Semifinals Round: August 3, 3 p.m. Central through August 9, 3 p.m. Central
Final Round: August 9, 3 p.m. Central through end of day August 14
Here’s our schedule for Best of the Ballparks 2020 vote:
Spring Training: Completed (winners: Publix Field at Joker Marchant Stadium and Salt River Fields)
Low A: Completed (winner: Whitaker Bank Ballpark, Lexington Legends)
High A: Completed (winner: The Diamond, Lake Elsinore Storm)
Class AA: Completed (winner: Blue Wahoos Stadium, Pensacola Blue Wahoos)
Class AAA: Completed (winner: Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark, Oklahoma City Dodgers)
Short Season A: Completed (winner: Gesa Stadium, Tri-City Dust Devils)
Rookie: Completed (winner: Motor Mile Field at Calfee Park, Pulaski Yankees)
Independent: Completed (winner: Clipper Magazine Stadium, Lancaster Barnstormers)
Summer Collegiate: Now-July 20
MLB: July 19-August 14
Some things to note. First, you are allowed to vote multiple times, but you can only vote once per day. Second, you don’t need to fill out a full slate: partially filled lineups will count. A running tally of the vote will be presented. Signing up for the Ballpark Digest newsletter means you’ll receive regular updates on the votes.
