Stadium GIS
- RED MARKER : NATIONAL LEAGUE
- BLUE MARKER : AMERICAN LEAGUE
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Colorado Rockies
COLORADO ROCKIES
The Colorado Rockies are a Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise based in Denver, Colorado. They are currently members of the National League West Division. Their home venue is Coors Field. Their manager is Walt Weiss.
The Colorado Rockies have won one National League championship (2007). They mounted a spirited rally in the last month of the 2007 regular season, winning 21 of their final 22 games, and qualified for the 2007 World Series. However, they lost to the American League champion Boston Red Sox four games to none.
COORS FIELD
Coors Field is a baseball venue located in Denver, Colorado. It is the home field of Major League Baseball's Colorado Rockies. It is named for the Coors Brewing Company of Golden, Colorado, which purchased the naming rights to the park prior to its completion in 1995. The Rockies played their first two seasons, 1993 and 1994, in Mile High Stadium before moving to Coors Field, two blocks from Union Station in Denver's Lower Downtown (or LoDo) neighborhood. The park includes 63 luxury suites and 4,526 club seats.
Arizona Diamondbacks
ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS
Baseball had a rich tradition in Arizona long before talk of bringing a big-league team even started. The state has been a frequent spring training site since 1946. With a large number of people relocating to the state from the Midwest and the Northeast, as well as from California, many teams (most notably the Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, New York Yankees, New York Mets, San Francisco Giants and the Los Angeles Dodgers) have normally had large followings in Arizona.
On March 9, 1995, Arizona was awarded a franchise to begin play for the 1998 season. A $130 million franchise fee was paid to Major League Baseball and on January 16, 1997, the Diamondbacks were officially voted into the National League.
Since their debut, the Diamondbacks have won five National League West titles, one National League Championship pennant and the 2001 World Series.
The Arizona Diamondbacks (often shortened as the D-Backs) are a professional baseball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They play in the West Division of Major League Baseball's National League. Since the team's inception in 1998, they have played at Chase Field. The Diamondbacks have one World Series title, in 2001, becoming the fastest expansion team in the majors to win a championship, doing it in only the fourth season since their expansion in 1998.
CHASE FIELD
Chase Field is a stadium located in downtown Phoenix, Arizona and is the home of the Arizona Diamondbacks of Major League Baseball. It opened in 1998, in time for the Diamondbacks' first game as an expansion team. Chase Field was also the first stadium built in the United States with a retractable roof.
San Diego Padres
SAN DIEGO PADRES
The San Diego Padres are a Major League Baseball (MLB) team based in San Diego, California. They play in the National League Western Division. Founded in 1969, the Padres have won the National League Pennant twice, in 1984 and 1998, losing in the World Series both times. As of 2013, they have had 13 winning seasons in franchise history.[1] The Padres and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim are the only MLB teams in California to originate from California, while the Athletics are originally from Philadelphia (and moved to the state from Kansas City), and the Dodgers and Giants are originally from New York.
As of October 24, 2013, the Padres are the only team in the MLB to never pitch a no-hitter. They are also one of two teams, along with the Miami Marlins, in MLB history to never have a player hit for the cycle.
PETCO PARK
Petco Park is an open-air ballpark in downtown San Diego, California, USA. It opened in 2004, replacing Qualcomm Stadium as the home park of Major League Baseball's San Diego Padres. Before then, the Padres shared Qualcomm Stadium with the National Football League's San Diego Chargers. Petco Park is named after the pet supplies retailer Petco, which is based in San Diego and paid for the naming rights.
The ballpark is located between 7th and 10th avenues, south of J Street. The southern side of the stadium is bounded by San Diego Trolley light rail tracks along the north side of Harbor Drive (which serve the adjacent San Diego Convention Center). The portion of K Street between 7th and 10th is now closed to automobiles and serves as a pedestrian promenade along the back of the left and center field outfield seating (and also provides access to the "Park at the Park" behind center field). Two of the stadium's outfield entrance areas are located at K Street's intersections with 7th and 10th Avenues. The main entrance, behind home plate, is at the south end of Park Boulevard (at Imperial) and faces the San Diego Trolley 12th & Imperial Transit Center.
San Francisco Giants
SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS
The San Francisco Giants are a Major League Baseball (MLB) team based in San Francisco, California that plays in the National League West Division. Originally known as the New York Giants, the team moved to San Francisco in 1958.
As one of the longest-established professional baseball teams, the franchise has won the most games of any team in the history of American baseball, and any North American professional sports team. They have won 22 National League pennants and appeared in 19 World Series competitions – both records in the National League. The Giants' 7 World Series Championships rank second in the National League (the St. Louis Cardinals have won 11). The Giants have played in the World Series 19 times but boycotted the event in 1904.
The Giants have the most Hall of Fame players in all of professional baseball. The Giants' rivalry with the Dodgers is one of the longest-standing and biggest rivalries in American baseball. The teams began their rivalry as the New York Giants and Brooklyn Dodgers, respectively, before moving west for the 1958 season.
The Giants played at the Polo Grounds in Manhattan, New York, until the close of the 1957 season, after which they moved west to California to become the San Francisco Giants. As the New York Giants, they won 14 pennants and 5 World Championships behind managers such as John McGraw and Bill Terry and players like Christy Mathewson, Carl Hubbell, Mel Ott, Bobby Thomson, and Willie Mays. The Giants have won five pennants and two World Series championships since arriving in San Francisco.
AT&T PARK
AT&T Park is a ballpark primarily used for hosting Major League Baseball games. It is located in the South of Market (SoMa) neighborhood of San Francisco, California, at 24 Willie Mays Plaza, at the corner of Third and King Streets. It has served as the home of the San Francisco Giants since 2000.
Originally named Pacific Bell Park, then SBC Park in 2003 after SBC Communications acquired Pacific Bell, the stadium was ultimately christened AT&T Park in 2006 following SBC's merger with AT&T.
The park also hosted the annual Fight Hunger Bowl, a college football bowl game from 2002 to 2013, and other occasional sporting and musical events. For the 2011 season, the park served as the home of the California Golden Bears football team.
Los Angeles Dodgers
LOS ANGELES DODGERS
The Los Angeles Dodgers are a professional baseball team located in Los Angeles, California. The Dodgers are members of the National League West division of Major League Baseball (MLB). Established in 1883, the team originated in Brooklyn, New York, where it was known by a number of nicknames before becoming the Brooklyn Dodgers definitively by 1932. The team moved to Los Angeles before the 1958 season. They played their first four seasons in Los Angeles at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum before moving to their current home of Dodger Stadium, the third-oldest ballpark in Major League Baseball (after Fenway Park and Wrigley Field).
The Dodgers have won six World Series titles and 21 National League pennants. Eight Cy Young Award winners have pitched for the Dodgers, winning a total of eleven Cy Young Awards (both MLB records). The team has also produced 12 Rookie of the Year Awardwinners, including four consecutive from 1979–1982 and five consecutive from 1992–1996, the longest consecutive streaks in Major League Baseball.
DODGERS STADIUM
Dodger Stadium, occasionally referenced by local sportscasters with the metonym Chavez Ravine, is a stadium in Los Angeles. Located adjacent to Downtown Los Angeles, Dodger Stadium has been the home ballpark of Major League Baseball's Los Angeles Dodgers team since 1962. Dodger Stadium was constructed from 1959 to 1962 at a cost of $23 million, financed by private sources.
Dodger Stadium is currently the third-oldest ballpark in Major League Baseball, after Fenway Park in Boston (opened in 1912) and Wrigley Field in Chicago (opened in 1914) and is, by seating capacity, the largest baseball-specific stadium in the United States.
The stadium hosted the 1980 MLB All-Star Game, as well as games of the 1963, 1965, 1966, 1974, 1977, 1978, 1981, and 1988 World Series.
It also hosted the semifinals and finals of the 2009 World Baseball Classic as well as exhibition baseball during the 1984 Summer Olympics. The 2012 season marked the fiftieth anniversary of the stadium.
For the first time at Dodger Stadium, a soccer tournament featuring four clubs, the hometown team Los Angeles Galaxy, and European giants Real Madrid, Everton, and Juventus, were played on August 3, 2013, in a doubleheader. The field dimensions were from the third base side to right field, temporary grass was covered on the pitcher's mound and the infield. The tournament was a semifinal and Real Madrid defeated Everton 2-1 and Los Angeles Galaxy defeated Juventus 3-1. For the first time at Dodger Stadium, the Los Angeles Kingsand Anaheim Ducks played a regular season game on January 25th as part of the NHL Stadium Series.
Chicago Cubs
CHICAGO CUBS
The Chicago Cubs are a professional baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois, USA. They are members of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League. The Cubs are one of the two remaining charter members of the National League (the other being the Atlanta Braves) and one of two active major league clubs based in Chicago, the other being the Chicago White Sox of the American League. The team is currently owned by a family trust of TD Ameritrade founder Joe Ricketts.
The Cubs have not won the World Series in 105 years, the longest championship drought of any major North American professional sports team, and are often referred to as the "Lovable Losers" because of this distinction. They are also known as "The North Siders" because Wrigley Field, their home park since 1916, is located in Chicago's north side Lake View community at 1060 West Addison Street (as opposed to their crosstown rivals, the Chicago White Sox, who play on the city's South Side).
The club played its first games in 1870 as the Chicago White Stockings. This makes the Cubs who were founded in 1871, the oldest active baseball team continuously existing in the same city for their entire history.
WRIGLEY FIELD
Wrigley Field is a baseball venue located in Chicago, Illinois, United States that has served as the home ballpark of the Chicago Cubs since 1916. It was built in 1914 as Weeghman Park for the Chicago Federal League baseball team, the Chicago Whales. It was called Cubs Park between 1920 and 1926 before being renamed for then Cubs team owner and chewing gum magnate, William Wrigley, Jr.. Between 1921 and 1970, it was also the home of the Chicago Bears of the National Football League. It hosted the second annual National Hockey League Winter Classic on January 1, 2009.
Located in the community area of Lakeview, Wrigley Field sits on an irregular block bounded by Clark (west) and Addison (south) Streets and Waveland (north) and Sheffield (east) Avenues. The area surrounding the ballpark contains residential streets, in addition to bars, restaurants and other establishments and is called Wrigleyville. The ballpark's mailing address is 1060 W. Addison Street.
Wrigley Field is nicknamed The Friendly Confines, a phrase popularized by "Mr. Cub", Hall of Famer Ernie Banks. The current capacity is 41,009, making Wrigley Field the 10th-smallest actively used ballpark. It is the oldest National League ballpark and the second oldest active major league ballpark (after Fenway Park on April 20, 1912), and the only remaining Federal League park. Wrigley is known for its ivy covered brick outfield wall, the unusual wind patterns off Lake Michigan, the iconic red marquee over the main entrance, the hand turned scoreboard, and for being the last major league park to have lights installed for play after dark, with lighting installed in 1988.
Milwaukee Brewers
MILWAUKEE BREWERS
The Milwaukee Brewers are a professional baseball team based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The team is a member of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League and plays its home games at Miller Park. The team is so named because of the city's association with the brewing industry. Originating in Seattle, Washington, as the Seattle Pilots, the club played for one season in 1969 before being acquired in bankruptcy court by current MLB Commissioner Bud Selig and then moved to Milwaukee. The Brewers were part of the American League from their creation as an expansion club in 1969 through the 1997 season, after which they moved to the National League Central Division. Milwaukee had previously been a National League city when its team was the Milwaukee Braves (1953–1965).
In 1982, Milwaukee won the American League East Division and the American League Pennant, earning their only World Series appearance to date. In the Series, they lost to the St. Louis Cardinals, four games to three.
In 2008, the Brewers achieved their first postseason berth in the 26 years since their World Series appearance as the wild card team in the National League. They were eliminated in the NLDS by the eventual World Series champion Philadelphia Phillies.
On September 23, 2011, the Milwaukee Brewers clinched their first division title in 29 years. They won the National League Division Series in five games over the Arizona Diamondbacks, but lost to the eventual World Series champions St. Louis Cardinals in six games during the NLCS. Some outsiders felt the a softer schedule fueled the Brewers' scorching summer stretch that included 22 wins in 25 games. GM Doug Melvin vehemently denied such talk, stating that teams such as the Marlins, Reds, and Pirates were over .500 at the time when each contest took place.
MILLER PARK
Miller Park is a ballpark located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It is home to the Milwaukee Brewers and was completed in 2001 as a replacement for Milwaukee County Stadium. The park is located just southwest of the intersection of I-94, US-41, and Miller Park Way (WIS-341). The title sponsor is the Miller Brewing Company. Miller's contract with the stadium was for $40 million, and runs until 2020.
Miller Park features North America's only fan-shaped convertible roof, which can open and close in less than 10 minutes. Large panes of glass allow natural grass to grow.
St. Louis Cardinals
ST. LOUIS CARDINALS
The St. Louis Cardinals, a professional baseball team based in St. Louis, Missouri, compete in the National League (NL) Central Division of Major League Baseball (MLB). Busch Stadium has served as their home field since 2006. The Cardinals' roots commence from an earlier local team from whom they took their original name, Brown Stockings. St. Louis established themselves in 1882 as a charter American Association (AA) team, shortened their name to "Browns" the next season, then joined the NL in 1892. They were also known as the "Perfectos" before adopting Cardinals as their official name in 1900.
As one of the most decorated and successful franchises in MLB history, St. Louis has won eleven World Series championships, 19 National League pennants, and 12 division titles. Their 11 World Series titles are second only to the New York Yankees' 27. In the AA, St. Louis dominated with four league championships and tied one pre-World Series championship with, and, took another against, the Chicago White Stockings (now the Chicago Cubs) of the NL. Other notable achievements include Branch Rickey's pioneering of the farm system, Rogers Hornsby's two Triple Crowns, Joe Medwick's one Triple Crown, Dizzy Dean's 30-win season, Stan Musial's 17 Major League and 29 NL records, Bob Gibson's 1.12 ERA season, Whitey Herzog's Whiteyball, Mark McGwire and the Chicago Cubs' Sammy Sosa breaking the single-season home run record, and the 2011 championship team's unprecedented comebacks. Four times in their history St. Louis has won 105 or more games and won 100 or more a total of eight times. Cardinals players have won 20 league MVPs, four batting Triple Crowns, and three Cy Young Awards. Baseball Hall of Fame inductees include Lou Brock, Dizzy Dean, Gibson, Herzog, Hornsby, Joe Medwick, Musial, Rickey, Red Schoendienst, Ozzie Smith, and Bruce Sutter. Their historic rivalry with the Cubs is one of the most storied in professional sports.
An investment group headed by William DeWitt, Jr., the chairman and managing partner, has owned the Cardinals since 1995. John Mozeliak is the general manager and Mike Matheny is the manager. Renowned for strong support from fans despite being in one of the sport's middle markets, the Cardinals routinely see attendances among the league's highest, and are consistently among the top three in MLB in local television ratings. As of 2013, Forbes valued the Cardinals at $716 million, making them the tenth-most valuable franchise in MLB "in the best single-team baseball market" in the United States.
BUSCH STADIUM
Busch Stadium (also referred to informally as "New Busch Stadium" or "Busch Stadium III") is the home of the St. Louis Cardinals, of MLB. The stadium has a seating capacity of 43,975, and contains 3,706 club seats and 61 luxury suites. It replaced Busch Memorial Stadium and occupies a portion of that stadium's former footprint. A commercial area, dubbed Ballpark Village, is being developed adjacent to the stadium over the remainder of the former stadium's footprint.
The ballpark opened on April 4, 2006 with an exhibition between the minor league Memphis Redbirds and Springfield Cardinals, both affiliates of the St. Louis Cardinals, which Springfield won 5-3 with right-hander Mike Parisi recording the first win. The first official major league game occurred on April 10, 2006 as the Cardinals defeated the Milwaukee Brewers 6–4 behind an Albert Pujols home run and winning pitcher Mark Mulder.
The highest attendance for a sports event was on May 23, 2013 when 48,263 people watched Chelsea Football Club and Manchester City Football Club play a friendly match.
The stadium is the third stadium in St. Louis to carry the name Busch Stadium. Sportsman's Park was renamed Busch Stadium in 1953, after team owner Gussie Busch. The first Busch closed in 1966, and both the baseball Cardinals, and the NFL's St. Louis Cardinals moved to a new multi-purpose stadium, named Busch Memorial Stadium. However, the current stadium is actually a corporate name and named after Anheuser-Busch, not Gussie Busch. The naming rights deal was signed in 2004 and would extend from the stadium's opening in 2006 until 2026.
Cincinnati Reds
CINCINNATI REDS
The Cincinnati Reds are a Major League Baseball team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are members of the National League Central Division. Established in 1881 as an independent club, the team became a charter member of the American Association in 1882, and joined the National League in 1890. The club traditionally traces its origin to baseball's first openly professional team in 1869.
The Reds have won five World Series titles, one American Association pennant, nine National League pennants and ten division titles. The Reds played in the National League West between 1969 and 1993 and have been in the National League Central since 1994.
Since 2003, the Reds have played at Great American Ball Park, built next to their home from 1970 to 2002, Riverfront Stadium. Bob Castellini has owned the Cincinnati Reds since 2006.
GREAT AMERICAN BALLPARK
Great American Ball Park is a baseball stadium located in Cincinnati, Ohio. It is the home field of the Cincinnati Reds of Major League Baseball (MLB). It opened in 2003, replacing Cinergy Field (formerly Riverfront Stadium), which had been their home field from June 1970 to 2002. Despite the patriotic tone of the name, the park's name comes from the Great American Insurance Group, which purchased the park's naming rights. Carl Lindner, Jr., the late chairman of Great American Insurance Group's parent company, American Financial Group, was the majority owner of the Cincinnati Reds from 1999 to 2005.
On January 23, 2013, the park was chosen to host the 2015 MLB All-Star Game.
Pittsburgh Pirates
PITTSBURGH PIRATES
The Pittsburgh Pirates are a professional baseball club based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania that competes in Major League Baseball (MLB). They compete in the Central Division of the National League (NL), and play their home games at PNC Park. Founded in 1882 as Allegheny, the franchise has won five World Series championships. The Pirates are also often referred to as the "Bucs" or the "Buccos" (derived from buccaneer, a synonym for pirate).
The franchise joined the NL in its sixth season in 1887 and was competitive from its early years, winning three NL titles from 1901 to 1903, playing in the very first World Series in 1903 and winning their first World Series in 1909 behind Honus Wagner. The Pirates have had many ups and downs during their long history, most famously winning the 1960 World Series on a game-winning home run by Bill Mazeroski, the only time that Game 7 of the World Series has ever ended with a home run. They also won the 1971 World Series with Roberto Clemente and the 1979 World Series under the slogan "We Are Family", led by "Pops" Willie Stargell. Overall the Pirates have won five World Series and lost two.
After a run of regular-season success in the early 1990s (winning three straight East Division titles), the Pirates struggled in subsequent decades, with 20 consecutive losing seasons—the longest such streak in North American professional sports history—before posting a winning record in 2013 of 94–68 to qualify for the NL Division Series round.
PNC PARK
PNC Park is a baseball park located on the North Shore of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It is the fifth home of the Pittsburgh Pirates, the city's Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise. It opened during the 2001 MLB season, after the controlled implosion of the Pirates' previous home, Three Rivers Stadium. The ballpark is sponsored by PNC Financial Services, which purchased the naming rights in 1998. PNC Park features a natural grass playing surface and seats 38,362 people for baseball.
Funded in conjunction with Heinz Field and the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, the $216 million park stands along the Allegheny River, on the North Shore of Pittsburgh with a view of Downtown Pittsburgh. Plans to build a new stadium for the Pirates originated in 1991, but did not come to fruition for five years. Built in the style of "classic" stadiums, such as Pittsburgh's Forbes Field, PNC Park also introduced unique features, such as the use of limestone in the building's facade.[7] The park also features a riverside concourse, steel truss work, an extensive out-of-town scoreboard, and many local eateries. Constructed faster than most modern stadiums, PNC Park was built in a 24-month span.
Philadelphia Phillies
PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES
The Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team. They are the oldest continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in all of professional American sports, dating to 1883. The Phillies are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League. Since 2004, the team's home has been Citizens Bank Park which is located in South Philadelphia.
The Phillies have won two World Series championships (against Kansas City in 1980 and Tampa Bay in 2008) and seven National League pennants, the first of which came in 1915. The franchise has also experienced long periods of struggle. Once the modern World Series began in 1903, it took the Phillies 77 years from that point (and 97 years from the club's establishment) to win their first World Series—longer than any other of the 16 teams that made up the major leagues for the first half of the 20th century. The 77 years of drought is the fourth longest World Series drought in Major League Baseball history. The longevity of the franchise and its history of adversity have earned it the dubious distinction of having lost the most games of any team in the history of American professional sports. Notwithstanding the collectively poor performance over the years, the Phillies have performed much better in recent seasons, winning five consecutive division titles from 2007 through 2011.
The franchise was founded in Philadelphia in 1883, replacing the team from Worcester, Massachusetts in the National League. The team has played at several stadiums in the city, beginning with Recreation Park and continuing at Baker Bowl; Shibe Park, which was later renamed Connie Mack Stadium in honor of the longtime Philadelphia Athletics manager; Veterans Stadium; and now Citizens Bank Park.
The team's spring training facilities are located in Clearwater, Florida, where its Class-A minor league affiliate Clearwater Threshers plays at Bright House Field. Its Double-A affiliate is the Reading Fightin Phils, which plays in Reading, Pennsylvania, and its Triple-A affiliate is the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs, which plays in Allentown, Pennsylvania.
CITIZEN BANK PARK
Citizens Bank Park is a 43,651-seat baseball park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, part of the South Philadelphia Sports Complex, and home of the Philadelphia Phillies. It is commonly referred to by locals simply as "The Bank" or "CBP". Citizens Bank Park opened on April 3, 2004, and hosted its first regular season baseball game on April 12 of the same year, with the Phillies losing to the Cincinnati Reds, 4–1. The ballpark was built to replace the now-demolished Veterans Stadium (a football/baseball multipurpose facility), and features natural grass and dirt playing field and also features a number of Philadelphia-style food stands, including several which serve cheesesteaks, hoagies, and other regional specialties. The ballpark lies on the northeast corner of the Sports Complex, which includes Lincoln Financial Field, Wells Fargo Center, and Xfinity Live!
Miami Marlins
MIAMI MARLINS
The Miami Marlins are a professional baseball team based in Miami, Florida and a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball (MLB's) National League. Their home park is Marlins Park.
The Miami Marlins began play in the 1993 season as the Florida Marlins. They played home games from their inaugural season to the 2011 season at Sun Life Stadium, which they shared with the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League (NFL) and which was also called Joe Robbie Stadium, Pro Player Park, Pro Player Stadium, Dolphin Stadium, Dolphins Stadium, and Land Shark Stadium during their tenancy. Since the 2012 season, they have played at Marlins Park in downtown Miami, on the site of the former Orange Bowl. The new park, unlike Sun Life Stadium (which was criticized in its baseball configuration for poor sight lines in some locations), was designed foremost as a baseball park. The new park's name is a temporary one until naming rights are purchased. Per agreement with the city and Miami-Dade County (which owns the park), the Marlins officially changed their name to the "Miami Marlins" on November 11, 2011. They also adopted a new logo, color scheme, and uniforms.
The Marlins have the distinction of winning a World Series championship every year they qualified for the postseason, doing so in 1997 and 2003 — both times as the National League wild card team. They defeated the American League champion Cleveland Indians in the 1997 series, which was notable for shortstop Edgar RenterÃa driving in second baseman Craig Counsell for the series-clinching run in the eleventh inning of the seventh and deciding game. The 2003 season was notable for the firing of manager Jeff Torborg after thirty-eight games. The Marlins were in last place in the National League East with a 16–22 record at the time. Torborg's successor, 72-year-old Jack McKeon, led them to the National League's wild card berth in the playoffs; they defeated the New York Yankees four games to two in the 2003 World Series.
MARLINS PARK
Marlins Park is a baseball park located in Miami, Florida. It is the current home of the Miami Marlins, the city's Major League Baseball franchise. It is located on 17 acres of the former Miami Orange Bowl site in Little Havana, about 2 miles (3 km) west of Downtown. Construction was completed in March 2012, in time for the 2012 season.
The stadium is designed in a neomodern form of baseball architecture. Marlins Park was also LEED certified as the greenest MLB park in 2012. The building is the sixth MLB stadium to have a retractable roof. With a seating capacity of 37,442, it is the third-smallest stadium in Major League Baseball by official capacity, and the smallest by actual capacity.
There is wide consensus among sports fans that a retractable-roof stadium is a must for professional baseball to be viable in Miami due to its blistering summer heat. Despite this, Marlins Park has been a source of controversy in South Florida ever since it was proposed. The stadium's public-funding plan—which would eventually strap a $2.4 billion debt to Miami-Dade County alone—led to a protracted lawsuit, largely contributed to the ouster of several local politicians, and triggered an SEC investigation. As revelations of the team's finances and their handling of payroll (both before and after construction) seemed to contradict some of the premises on which the tax-funded-stadium deal were based, the ballpark controversy intensified.
The facility hosted a second-round pool of the 2013 World Baseball Classic. The park also hosts soccer matches during the winter. It will also host the newly created Miami Beach Bowl beginning in December 2014.
New York Mets
NEW YORK METS
The New York Mets are a professional baseball team based in the borough of Queens in New York City. They play in Major League Baseball's National League East Division. One of baseball's first expansion teams, the Mets were founded in 1962 to replace New York's departed National League teams, the New York Giants and Brooklyn Dodgers. The Mets' colors are composed of the Dodgers' blue and Giants' orange. During the 1962 and 1963 seasons, the Mets played their home games at the Polo Grounds. From 1964 to 2008, the Mets' home ballpark was Shea Stadium. In 2009, they moved into a new ballpark, Citi Field.
In their 1962 inaugural season, the Mets posted a record of 40–120, the worst regular season record since Major League Baseball went to a 162-game schedule (two games were canceled). The team never finished better than second to last until the 1969 "Miracle Mets" beat the Baltimore Orioles in the 1969 World Series in what is considered one of the biggest upsets in World Series history. Since then, they have played in three additional World Series, including a dramatic run in 1973 that ended in a Game Seven loss to the Oakland Athletics, a second championship in 1986 over the Boston Red Sox, and a Subway Series loss against their cross-town rivals the New York Yankees in the 2000 World Series.
The Mets have made one playoff appearance since then, when in 2006 they came within one game of the World Series, losing to the eventual champion St. Louis Cardinals in the 2006 National League Championship Series. The Mets missed the playoffs with losses on the last day of the regular season in 2007 and 2008 and have finished with losing records every year since. In 2010, the Mets hired a new general manager, Sandy Alderson, and a new manager, Terry Collins.
CITI FIELD
Citi Field is a stadium located in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in the New York City borough of Queens. Completed in 2009, it is the home baseball park of Major League Baseball's New York Mets. Citi Field was built as a replacement for the adjacent Shea Stadium, which opened in 1964 next to the site of the 1964–1965 World's Fair. Citi Field was designed by Populous (formerly HOK Sport), and is named after Citigroup, a New York financial services company which purchased the naming rights. The $850 million baseball park was funded by the sale of New York City municipal bonds which are to be repaid by the Mets plus interest. The payments will offset property taxes for the lifetime of the park.
The first game at Citi Field was on March 29, 2009, with a college baseball game between St. John's and Georgetown. The Mets played their first two games at the ballpark on April 3 and April 4, 2009 against the Boston Red Sox as charity exhibition games. The first regular season home game was played on April 13, 2009, against the San Diego Padres. Citi Field hosted the 2013 Major League Baseball All-Star Game. This marked the second time the Mets have hosted the game, the first being 1964, the inaugural season of Shea Stadium.
Washington Nationals
WASHINGTON NATIONALS
The Washington Nationals are a professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C. The Nationals are a member of the East Division of the National League of Major League Baseball (MLB). The team's home ballpark is Nationals Park, located on South Capitol Street in Southeast D.C., near the Anacostia River. The park opened in 2008, replacing RFK Stadium, the team's home from 2005 to 2007.
The Nationals' name derives from the former Washington baseball team that had the same name (used interchangeably with Senators). Their nickname is "the Nats"—a shortened version that was also used by the old D.C. teams.
An expansion franchise, the club was founded in 1969 as the Montreal Expos, the first major league team in Canada. They were based in Montreal, Quebec, and played their home games at Jarry Park Stadium and later in Olympic Stadium. During the strike-shortened 1981 season, the Expos won a division championship and made their only post-season appearance as a Montreal franchise, defeating the Philadelphia Phillies, 3–2, in the National League Division Series, but losing to the Los Angeles Dodgers, 3–2, in the National League Championship Series.
The club had its highest winning percentage in the strike-shortened season of 1994, when the team had the best record in baseball. The team's subsequent shedding of players caused fan interest to drop off, and after the 2001 season, MLB considered revoking the team's franchise, along with either the Minnesota Twins or the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. After being purchased by MLB in 2002, the team was moved before the 2005 season to Washington and renamed the Nationals, the first relocation since the second Washington Senators moved to Arlington, Texas, and became the Texas Rangers in 1972.
The Nationals are one of two MLB franchises, and the only one in the National League, that has never played in a World Series (the Seattle Mariners are the other).
NATIONALS PARK
Nationals Park is a baseball park located along the Anacostia River in the Navy Yard neighborhood of Washington, D.C. It is the home ballpark for the Washington Nationals, the city's Major League Baseball franchise. When the Nationals franchise relocated to Washington, D.C., they temporarily played at RFK Stadium until Nationals Park was completed. It is the first LEED-certified green major professional sports stadium in the United States. The facility hosted the 2008 season's first game (in North America), when the Nationals hosted the Atlanta Braves on March 30, 2008. The first game played there was a collegiate baseball game.
The ballpark, designed by HOK Sport and Devrouax & Purnell Architects and Planners, was originally to cost $611 million but eventually cost $693 million to build, with an additional $84.2 million spent on transportation, art, and infrastructure upgrades to support the stadium for a total cost of $783.9 million. The stadium originally seated 41,888 fans, but some seats from various parts of the stadium have been removed since its opening to reduce the capacity to 41,546 in 2010, down to 41,487 in 2012,[and to 41,418 in 2013. The Washington Monument and the Capitol building are visible from certain areas of the stadium, namely the upper decks on the first base side of the field.
The park's name echoes the original name of the early-1900s ballpark used by the Washington Senators/Nationals, which was called National Park until it was rebuilt and renamed Griffith Stadium. The name was originally a temporary name, as the Lerner Family had planned to sell its naming rights. When a strong bid never surfaced, the team chose to stick with Nationals Park. The stadium and its grounds are owned by the Washington Convention and Sports Authority
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Atlanta Braves
ATLANTA BRAVES
The Atlanta Braves are a Major League Baseball (MLB) team in Atlanta, Georgia, playing in the Eastern Division of the National League. The Braves have played home games at Turner Field since 1997 and play spring training games in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. In 2017, the team is to move to a new $672 million stadium complex in the Cumberland highrise district of Cobb County just north of the I-285 bypass.
The "Braves" name, which was first used in 1912, originates from a term for a Native American warrior. They are nicknamed "the Bravos", and often referred to as "America's Team" in reference to the team's games being broadcast on the nationally available TBS from the 1970s until 2007, giving the team a wide fan base.
From 1991 to 2005 the Braves were one of the most successful franchises in baseball, winning division titles an unprecedented 14 consecutive times in that period (omitting the strike-shortened 1994 season in which there were no official division champions). The Braves won the NL West 1991–93 and the NL East 1995–2005, and they returned to the playoffs as the National League Wild Card in 2010. The Braves advanced to the World Series five times in the 1990s, winning the title in 1995. Since their debut in the National League in 1876, the franchise has won 16 divisional titles, 17 National League pennants, and three World Series championships—in 1914 as the Boston Braves, in 1957 as the Milwaukee Braves, and in 1995 in Atlanta. The Braves are the only Major League Baseball franchise to have won the World Series in three different home cities.
The club is one of the National League's two remaining charter franchises (the other being the Chicago Cubs) and was founded in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1871 as the Boston Red Stockings (not to be confused with the American League's Boston Red Sox). They are considered "the oldest continuously playing team in major North American sports." There is an argument as to which team is actually older, because, although the Cubs are a full season "older" (formed as the Chicago White Stockings in 1870), Chicago did not sponsor a White Stockings team for two seasons due to the Great Chicago Fire; therefore, the Braves have played more consecutive seasons.
After various name changes, the team eventually began operating as the Boston Braves, which lasted for most of the first half of the 20th century. Then, in 1953, the team moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin and became the Milwaukee Braves, followed by the final move to Atlanta in 1966. The team's tenure in Atlanta is noted for Hank Aaron breaking Babe Ruth's career home run record in 1974.
TURNER FIELD
Turner Field is a baseball park located in Atlanta, Georgia. Since 1997, it has served as the home ballpark to the Atlanta Braves of Major League Baseball (MLB). Originally built as Centennial Olympic Stadium in 1996 to serve as the centerpiece of the 1996 Summer Olympics, the stadium was converted into a baseball park to serve as the new home of the franchise. The Braves moved less than one block from Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium, their home ballpark from 1966–1996.
Opening during the Braves' "division dominance" years, Turner Field has hosted the National League Division Series a total of eleven times (1997–2005, 2010, 2013); it has also hosted the National League Championship Series four times (1997–1999, 2001), as well as one World Series (1999), one NL Wild Card Game (2012), and the 2000 Major League Baseball All-Star Game.
On November 11, 2013, the Braves announced that they would vacate Turner Field for a new stadium in Cobb County, in the northwest suburbs outside of Atlanta. This was prompted by the expiration of the lease (in 2016) allowing the Braves to play in Turner Field. The new stadium will be constructed in a public/private partnership. Turner Field will be demolished after the Braves vacate the facility.
Los Angeles Angels
LOS ANGELES ANGELS
The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim are a professional baseball team based in Anaheim, California, United States. The Angels are a member of the West Division of Major League Baseball's American League. The "Angels" name is a tribute to the previous Los Angeles Angels who played in South Central Los Angeles from 1903-1957. The Angels have been based in Angel Stadium of Anaheim since 1966. The Angels franchise of today was established in the MLB in 1961 through Gene Autry, the team’s first Major League owner who bought the rights to continue the franchise name from Walter O'Malley, the former Los Angeles Dodgers owner who acquired the franchise from Phil Wrigley, the owner of the Chicago Cubs at the time.
In 2009, the Angels were AL Western Division champions for the third straight season. 2013 is the fourth straight year in which the team has not made the playoffs, but marks the eleventh straight year in which the Angels franchise has drawn more than three million fans in attendance, and makes thirty seasons of at least two million fans in attendance, a feat only second to the New York Yankees. In 2011, ESPN ranked the Los Angeles Angels #4 on its list of Ultimate Team Rankings ahead of every team in baseball and any franchise in Los Angeles.
ANGEL STADIUM OF ANAHEIM
Angel Stadium of Anaheim (originally Anaheim Stadium and later Edison International Field of Anaheim) is a modern-style ballpark located in Anaheim, California. It is the home ballpark to Major League Baseball's Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim of the American League, and was previously home to the NFL's Los Angeles Rams (now St. Louis Rams). The stadium is often referred to by its unofficial nickname The Big A. It is the fourth-oldest stadium in the major leagues, behind Fenway Park, Wrigley Field and Dodger Stadium. It opened in 1966.
Angel Stadium and its surrounding parking lot are roughly bounded by Katella Avenue to the north, the Orange Freeway to the east, Orangewood Avenue to the south, and State College Boulevard to the west. Located near the eastern boundary of the parking lot is the landmark "Big A" sign and electronic marquee, which originally served as a scoreboard support. The halo located near the top of the 230' tall, 210-ton sign is illuminated following games in which the Angels win (both at home and on the road), which gives rise to the fan expression, "Light up the Halo!"
To the north, a train station servicing Metrolink's Orange County Line and Amtrak's Pacific Surfliner, is located on the edge of the stadium's parking lot. The station provides convenient access to the stadium, the nearby Honda Center, and Disneyland from various communities along the route, which links San Luis Obispo, Los Angeles, and San Diego. The track is owned by the Orange County Transportation Authority.
Aside from professional baseball and football, Angel Stadium has hosted high school and college football games, National Football League pre-season games, the short-lived World Football League, two crusades by evangelist Billy Graham, nearly twenty consecutive annual crusades by evangelist Greg Laurie and musical concerts featuring such acts as The Rolling Stones, The Who,Pink Floyd, The Grateful Dead and Madonna.
Angel Stadium, the fourth oldest active Major League Baseball stadium, was selected to host the 2010 Major League Baseball All-Star Game.
The stadium also houses the studios and offices of the Angels' owned and operated flagship radio station, KLAA (830 AM).
