So if I follow Fox Sports rankings then I have already blogged about the Top 3 ballparks in Major League Baseball. So here’s number 4.

Oriole Park at Camden Yard is home to the Baltimore Orioles. (They are not the Ravens so I am okay with praising their ballpark.) Oriole Park opened on April 6, 1992, and is known as the first “retro” ballparks and is still considered one of the best. “Retro” ballparks are a throwback to the traditional ballparks that began the MLB. They put a modern twist on the original park of their team.

I believe that the best park about this stadium is the glorious view of the Baltimore skyline, but the construction of two buildings slightly blocks the view. To make up for the blockage, they have other stellar characteristics to showcase, sich as their delicious ballpark food and the giant clock which is actually pretty cool! The park sports some awesome two-tiered bullpens, that were actually designed after designs submitted by the general public, and a view of the field from Eutaw Street. (no I do not know where that is either, but the name is pretty awesome, so I think I am alright with it.)

B&O Warehouse was incorporated into the architecture of the ballpark rather than demolishing it. B&O used to be  the rail yard for the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad‘s Camden Station. The floors of the warehouse contain offices, service spaces, and a private club.

The warehouse has been hit on the fly only once, by Ken Griffey, Jr. during the Home Run Derby of the 1993 MLB All-Star Game. This is similar to someone hitting a home run on the fly into the Allegheny River.

I have never had the chance to visit this stadium, but it seems pretty awesome to me! So if you are ever in Baltimore, skip the Ravens game and hit up Oriole Park to watch the Orioles kick some butt.

So by now y’all know that  love everything Pittsburgh, and my second favorite baseball team is the Red Sox so it is slightly painful to write about how great Yankee Stadium is, but here it goes…

Yankee Stadium is located in the South Bronx of New York City and is, obviously, the home of the New York Yankees.  It is relatively new, having its inaugural season in 2009. Yankee Stadium replaced the original Yankee Stadium which had been in use since 1923. The original stadium was loved so much that many of the design elements incorporated into the new stadium were put in place to pay homage to the old stadium and to Yankee history.

The new stadium used the exterior to closely mimic the look of the 1923 stadium, while the interior is a more spacious and modern ballpark.    The exterior is made completely of limestone and granite with building’s name in V-cut gold lettering above each gate. On the inside, there are hundreds of photos to honor New York and Yankee history. The seats are set up similar to the original in a grandstand pattern, but there are more luxury seats, and a larger seating capacity. The final throwback to the original stadium is the frieze that line the roof the stadium are replicas of those from the original.

I have never been to the new Yankee Stadium, but I did visit the old one 2 years before its closing. If the new one is anywhere near as nice as the original (even though I was stung by a bee there), it is worth the visit. And who doesn’t want to see New York City?!

Anybody know who I am talking about?

The  CHICAGO CUBS at Wrigley Field    The Chicago Cubs were cursed when in 1945 when Billy Goat Tavern owner Billy Sianis was asked to leave a World Series game against the Detroit Tigers at the Cubs’ home ballpark because his pet goat’s odor was bothering other fans. He was outraged and declared, “Them Cubs, they ain’t gonna win no more,” which has been interpreted to mean that there would never be another World Series game won at Wrigley Field. The Cubs have not won a National League pennant since this incident and have not won a World Series since 1908.

This curse may keep the Cubs from winning, but it does not keep their park from being gorgeous. Two of the most profound attributes of this stadium are the ivy-covered outfield walls, and the hand-turned scoreboard. Most ballparks now pride themselves of how high-tech their scoreboards are, but at Wrigley Field they have stuck with baseball tradition and kept the scoreboard man powered.

The Cubs had a tradition of flying a flag with a W for a win and a L for a loss over the scoreboard after the game. This has turned into “white flag time at Wrigley” ever time the Cubs win. They also have a strong tradition with Take Me Out to the Ballgame, and when their conductor Harry Caray. When he passed they began the tradition of star guest conductors. The best known guests are former Cubs second baseman Ryne Sandberg, former pitcher Mike Krukow, former longtime Cubs first baseman Mark Grace, former Houston Rockets star Tracy McGrady, Chicago Blackhawks forwards Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane, Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler, comedian Jay Leno, NASCAR driver Jeff Gordon, singers Ozzy Osbourne and Eddie Vedder, boxer and actor Mr. T, actor and lifelong Cub fan Gary Sinise and actors Tom Arnold, James Belushi, and Bill Murray, WWE Superstar CM Punk.

So visit this ballpark to see a star conduct or to hear die hard fans complain about the curse, or even just to see Chicago. Your trip will be worth it.

I know, I am from Pittsburgh which means I am not a fan of Cleveland or their sports teams, but a friend of my dad’s took him to a game at Progressive Field and he has been raving about it ever since.

Progressive Field is the home of the Cleveland Indians. It was originally named Jacobs Field, for the teams owners, Richard and David Jacobs. In 2008, Progressive Insurance Co. bought the naming rights for the field and changed the name, this was also year that the stadium was voted best MLB Ballpark in a Sports Illustrated fan poll.

Progressive field is the second retro-modern ballpark to be built, only after Oriole Park. The effects that make it retro-modern are the asymmetrical fences of varying heights, a smaller upper deck, and stepped tiers. The stadium is built to blend in with downtown Cleveland and give a beautiful view of the city’s skyline.

A few other features that make the park so special are; the 19 foot left field wall affectionately called the “little green monster”, the bullpens that are raised above the playing field (so spectators can see players warm up), and unlike most ballparks, the Indians’ dugout is along the third base line and the visitors’ dugout is located along the first base line. (PNC Park in Pittsburgh also has their dugouts set up this way.)

Even though Cleveland is not necessarily known to be a baseball town, they have an amazing stadium that you should all visit if you have a chance. And you know that if the die-hard Pittsburgh fan is saying this that it must be true.

San Francisco! Who doesn’t love the Golden Gate Bridge, and historic Lombard Street and MUNI Cable Car? But one awesome landmark of San Francisco is often forget, Giants Stadium, AT&T Park. This picturesque ballpark sits at 24 Willie Mays Plaza, San Francisco, CA 94107 right on San Francisco Bay.

AT&T Park is the home of the San Francisco Giants baseball team The park has also hosted the Fight Hunger Bowl, a college football bowl game from 2002 to 2013, and other occasional sporting and musical events.

AT&T Park is known to be the most pitcher-friendly ballpark in the National League, but this is not the only special feature of this stadium. The most prominent feature of the ballpark is the right field wall. The wall is 24 feet high in remembrance of the former Giant Willie Mays who wore the number 24. The foul pole in right field is only 309 feet from home plate, because of how close the stadium is to San Francisco Bay. There are four pillars on of the fence on this wall that have fountains with jets of water that shoot up when the Giants hit a home run, win a game, and at the end of the National Anthem. And what I think is the coolest feature is Rusty (the Mechanical Man), the coke bottle, and the glove that sit above right field wall. I visited this stadium last summer and I was sitting right in front this amazing artwork. If you get a chance to visit this stadium you should totally do it, but dress warm! Because no matter how warm it is during the day, when the sun goes down and the wind blows in from the Bay, you will freeze, even in the summer!

Fenway Park. The Green Monster. The Triangle. Pesky’s Pole.

I’m sure all of you have heard at least one of these things, but all of them together make up the special features that the Boston Red Sox stadium has to offer. Fenway Park may be one of the most famous stadiums in America, but it, surprisingly, has one of the lowest seating capacities. Fenway Park actually has the fourth lowest seating capacity of all American stadiums and the second lowest seating capacity in all of Major League Baseball stadiums. Despite the low seating capacity, Fenway Park has hosted 10 World Series, along with multiple other events, such as other sports games and concerts.

This ballpark is considered to be one of the most well-known ballparks in history. Fenway Park reached the centennial mark on April 20, 2012, and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in March of that same year.

My “big sister” in my sorority is from Boston and she used Fenway’s iconic Green Monster as a hint for me to guess who she was. I am assuming most of you know what the Green Monster is, but if you do not… Fenway Park’s Green Monster is a 37 foot and 2 inch high left field wall. This wall was built with the original ballpark in 1912, it was made completely of wood, and covered in tin and concrete in 1934. And then in 1976, someone thought it would be a good idea to cover it in plastic and advertisements. The wall was not painted green until 1947, which is where the namesake came from.

These ballpark is known for more than just its few special features, it is also known for the amazing players that have exhibited their talents for the Red Sox. The most iconic of these players; such as Bobby Doerr, Joe Cronin, Johnny Pesky, Carl Yastrzemski, Ted Williams, Jim Rice, Carlton Fisk, and the amazing Jackie Robinson, have all had their numbers retired.

This is a ballpark that should definitely be on any baseball fans bucket list!

So I know that the website says my blog is called international delicacies, but that’s a lie. I am doing great baseball stadiums across America. Since I’m from Pittsburgh, I am going to do PNC Park first.

Most people do not consider PNC Park the most beautiful stadium around, but it sits on the North Shore of Pittsburgh on the edge of the Allegheny River. The stadium boasts a gorgeous view of downtown Pittsburgh, which I may be biased, is one of the prettiest cities around. PNC Park also has a real grass field, which seems to be becoming rare in professional sports stadiums.

PNC Park is the fifth home of the Pittsburgh Pirates, preceded by Three Rivers Stadium and Forbes Field, but this is the first stadium that a player has been able to hit a home-run into the Allegheny on the fly. This first home run was hit by Daryle Ward (who later became a Pirate) on July 6, 2002. The only other player to homer into the Allegheny without a bounce was Garret Jones on June 2, 2013. A no-hitter was thrown on September 28, 2012 by Reds pitcher Homer Bailey no-hit the Pirates 1–0. PNC Park has yet to see a no-hitter and/or perfect game thrown by a Pirate (it’s going to happen! We’re getting better).

PNC Park may not be known for having the most artful stadium, or holding an amazing team, but it means something to me. I was raised at this stadium, where fans showed up to fill the seats, even when their team was in a slump that happened to last 20 years. The food at the stadium has always been amazing, with choices between regular ballpark foods, numerous fine dining restaurants, healthy choices for the conscious fans, and who can leave out the legendary Primanti Brothers sandwiches that only Pittsburgh can do justice.

In later weeks I will exhibit stadiums that are truly talked about as being legendary, or those that baseball fans have on their bucket lists to visit, but I wanted to start off with my all-time favorite stadium.

Welcome to Sites At Penn State. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start blogging!