87 thoughts on “2020 WGOM Draft: Round 28 (Stadium Round)”

  1. Not, real sure where to go with this round. Myself I've only been to a handful of MLB stadiums, and the stadium that I have far and away been to most often is the Metrodome. While it does hold a lot of great memories for me, it really was a crappy baseball stadium. So I'm going to go with where it all started as far I'm concerned.

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    I'll leave Target Field for someone else, a citizen who has been able to enjoy its charms more than I.

    1. When I first moved here, I said we were only missing 3 things: ocean, mountains, and outdoor baseball. At least we added one of them.

      1. Clouds are the mountains of the prairie. - Keillor

        There are many days when I'm driving out here and the clouds really do seem like mountains - it only really works with the cumulus and cumulonimbus - but it is a pretty awesome sight. And ever since I heard that Keillor line, it's made me appreciate them even more, and I feel even less like we're missing out on mountains.

        1. I love visiting mountains, not sure if I need to live in them or next to them. My first time driving through western Colorado, though, I think my jaw didn't come up for like an hour. Way more awe-inspiring to me than canyons.

          1. Probably mentioned that after moving back to Minneapolis after school in Japan, the skyline was a large disappointment. Moving to Winona helped a bit though.

          2. We live in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains, and I absolutely love it. The main roads near our house end about 2 miles north of us, when the mountains start getting too steep. I often sort of take our views for granted, until we spend time elsewhere. After a week or two in the midwest, coming back here makes the mountains outside our door seem even so much more impressive.

    2. The Athletic readers ranked the 29 parks (skipped the Home Depot in Arlington) and Marc Carig added his ranking of every park he's been to. Target Field finished third in the fans' survey, ahead of PNC because of how bad the Pirates are. Carig placed Target Field sixth out of 38. He nominated it as "the best of the newest wave of ballparks". It's satisfying to know that not only did it rank well in 2010, but it's stayed there or even improved in the decade since. They must never, ever move again.

      1. He definitely has a soft spot for the old parks. Depending where you are, Wrigley and Fenway can be terrible.

          1. Me too. I love both of them. I'd also take the worst seat in Target Field before I'd take the worst seat in either of them.

        1. Depending where you are, Wrigley and Fenway can be terrible.

          The restrooms definitely come to mind.

  2. I have very limited experience with ballparks, and no way am I taking Miller Park. So I'll just go with one I think looks damn good.

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  3. I didn't assemble a team of speedsters, and I seem to be a little right-handed heavy (both hitting and pitching). Thus, the Los Angeles Coliseum is just begging to be taken, but it's just such a stupid baseball field that I'll have to pass on that home field advantage. Stars Park in St. Louis similarly doesn't quite pass my smell test because it lacked longevity. Instead, I'll go for one with more of a historical imprint on baseball:

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    1. Shoot. I was really hoping I'd be able to have my outfield roaming the deepest park ever. I felt like it would have been an absolute asset for me, on both sides of the ball.

    2. That was a crazy ballpark. Centerfield was almost double the distance (depending on who you asked) as it was down the lines.

  4. Well, I got a bunch of home run hitters on my team, so definitely want a place that's going to enhance those numbers.

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    If that's not allowed, then I'll take this place that has a short right field porch for all my lefty sluggers.

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  5. I figured my choice would come down to two ballparks — one I'm never likely to get to, the other squarely near the top of my list of favorites. In the end, I surprised myself by not picking the ballpark I thought I would.

    A couple words about the park I didn't pick: I'm fascinated with it. Babe Ruth played there, yet it is still active and was recently renovated. The short distances to the straightaway dimensions mask some fairly deep power alleys. The distance to the left-center and right-center power alleys is the same as the distance to straight-away center! I'm not a fan of symmetrical outfields or uniform-height walls, but this one doesn't bother me. I think it's unusual infield has something to do with that. I love the lack of any overhang over much of the seating down the lines and in the outfield, though I wonder if I'd enjoy sitting out there on a hot summer day. The beer vendors pour drafts from chilled kegs on their backs, so that' s nice. The view from the top of the left field stands is pretty nice, with mountains running across the top of the bowl and into the roof over the grandstand. The experience is said to be second to none, even in a league known for strong fan engagement. The park is on the short list of greatest ballparks ever, yet it won't resonate with many fans. Unbelievably, the home team is displaced from the ballpark for a nationwide high school tournament each summer.

    The park I chose is not a classic — yet. Its setting is nearly perfect, and the park's architecture & layout will age well, thanks to the architect's restraint and the client's incorporation of few modern gimmicks. There are great seats all over the park, including inside the light towers. The food & beer offerings are excellent. The park plays closer to neutral than it did when it opened. This park deserves a better team than the one that calls it home — and a better name. I want to give it both.

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    1. The one time I got to see a game there was this game. It was a Sunday day game, and it was cool to see how they honored the military. I think they did that every Sunday (or still do perhaps).

    2. I was hoping your pick would fall to me. Oh, well.

      That’s a really nice place to see a game. I think I’ve been there three times now, which makes it third in the list of most times seeing a game in a stadium (after Metrodome and Angel’s Stadium, neither of which are high up on the list for good fan experiences).

      There was also one game I could have gone to there, but didn’t. My wife was in San Diego for a conference, and the kids and I went down there with her. I was looking for something to do with the kids during the day, and almost pulled the trigger on getting tickets. They were even pretty cheap, since it was a mid-week day game against the Marlins. We ended up doing something else instead, and that game ended up being when Ichiro passed Pete Rose for all-time most professional hits.

  6. Well, I was worried that CH would Bogart my pick. He came very close.

    My pick was in America's best climate and one of America's best cities. I saw Padres and Chargers games there in grad school. It may not have the charms or history of classic stadiums or the appeal of the new generation. But there were few better places to take in a ballgame, some fish tacos, and some sun.

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      1. So did I! The game I went to, they were giving away the brown-and-yellow Padres hats to fans. That immediately became my "I don't care how dirty this hat gets" hat that I wore for softball and mowing the lawn.

          1. Looks like the Twins played in San Diego in 2003, so I think it must have been either this game or this one. I'm going to guess the second one, just based on the difficulty in getting down there on a Friday from where I lived in Irvine at that time.

  7. Ah, what can I say. I love the classics.

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    It's a coin flip between this one and Fenway for me. This one manages to have unique character and charm all while having dimensions which are still MLB legal.

    I WILL be renovating the bathrooms, though.

          1. Hmm- that's a good point. Just like with the players, where we get them in their prime.

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  8. I've only been to a few MLB parks. Two of them are still available but I'm going for one where I don't have to worry about baking in 100 degree heat.

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  9. Since Sean took my first choice just one slot before me, I decided to go old school plus it was the first non-Minnesota ballpark I went to. Didn't get a lot of love at the end of it's days (and its replacement was the last one built before Camden showed everyone how to build a ballpark, not a stadium). I bet a well thought out renovation would have done wonders for this place. A great place to see a game back in its heyday. Plus who doesn't love an exploding scoreboard or the infamy of disco demolition day.

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      1. There's a reason why you can't find disinfectant wipes, I've been hoarding them for this moment.

    1. I had this in my mind as a possibility, but then I realized there was an almost 100% chance you would take it right before my turn.

  10. I strongly considered an old-timer here, but I feel much more of a connection to the parks where I've seen a game in person. I think there are 4 major league ballparks left that I've been to, and I'd categorize three of them as either mediocre (Angel Stadium) or awful (Miller Park, Oakland Coliseum) so those are clearly out. That leaves....

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    in large part because of views like this

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      1. I was waiting for the inevitable Rhu Ru drag on Dodger Stadium traffic access quip. May be why I didn't go with Dodger Stadium.

          1. I don't remember traffic being that bad the one time I went there. Though, it was a day game on Easter Sunday, so it ended up being a pretty empty ballpark.

  11. It came down to two parks in cities where my best player started out. In the end, I went with the classic.

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  12. So there are two ballparks I thought would be picked, that so far haven't. I wonder if Philo will take one of them.

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    1. Was going to go with number 2 there, figuring there was no way #1 would be around. Great choices, both.

      1. His DM's are closed on Twitter but looks like you can message him via Facebook.

          1. I saw him review briefly somebody else's project of a similar sort. He panned it immediately for having no Negro Leaguers.

            1. so, we got that going for us.

              with Magoo starting on his Expansion Draft, it seems like we need some sort of retrospective on the "real" draft.

  13. Looks like Craig Calcaterra just put his all-time team on his daughter's dry erase board. Maybe the official WGOM Twitterer should hit him up for his review.

    1. Looks like Craig Calcaterra just put his all-time team on his daughter's dry erase board. Maybe the official WGOM Twitterer should hit him up for his review.

      anybody got a link or screenshot?

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