After the first three years of doing this project, I wondered which ballpark would fall to the dubious dishonor of being the worst ballpark in MLB. After fifteen MLB parks knocked out, I didn't have a true disliked ballpark; I had ones that I wasn't really that impressed with, and some that I really, really liked, but none that upon leaving, I'm telling myself, never again.

Hello Chicago; South Side Chicago.

U.S. Cellular Field, formerly known as Comiskey Park. Home of the Chicago White Sox, most recent achievements being the 2005 World Series Champions. But now, all I see is U.S. Cellular Field, the worst park in Major League Baseball. "Never" may be a strong word, and I certainly don't mean it, but the bottom line is that if I ever wish to go there again, I better make sure that I shell out enough money to possibly make it enjoyable to my standards. Otherwise, I see zero reason to ever go there again.

Since my plans were to see both the Cubs and White Sox on the same trip, it was a great opportunity to play the comparison game between the two crosstown rivals. I had enjoyed my trip to Wrigley Field immensely, but it wasn't impossible for me to not enjoy The Cell, if they were halfway decent. And it started off okay, considering The Cell is a lot simpler to access, directly off of the L's Red Line, making it super convenient to get to, even in the heart of Chicago rush hour. But from here on, it seemed to go downhill pretty quickly.

"The Cell" seems to be called that for a very distinct reason; from the outside, you can't really see what's on the inside - at all. There are many series of ramps that take you to your designated sections, but until you cross into any of the many entrance ways, there is absolutely no way to tell what is inside the venue. Most other parks, you can see lights, or see glimpses of a foul pole, or grass, or something that lets you know, that this, is a baseball venue. Not The Cell.

Once seated, there's really nothing special at all about The Cell. The seats are standard, the food selection is nothing out of the ordinary, and for a park that's the relatively not old age of 19 years old, it still has views that are obstructed, by gigantic dark green steel girders. And it's by no fault of the park itself that the chief colors of the place are black, white, and gray, the primary colors of the Chicago White Sox, but it further leads it to be a very ordinary, mediocre place.

Now I fully believe that it's better to be mediocre than poor. And for what it's worth, U.S. Celluar Field is a very mediocre park in general - except for one major factor; the one cardinal sin that makes The Cell cross the line from mediocre, to poor, the worst park in America.

A legitimate class system, based on the price of admission paid. When the idea for this trip was born, I legitimately did try to get tickets somewhere on the lower bowl, so that I could sit somewhat near the field. But when I was unable to acquire said tickets, because the game actually did sell well, I had to resign myself to getting some upper deck tickets. I was not heartbroken, because I am neither a fan of the Chicago White Sox or the Seattle Mariners, and when the day is over, I'm more interested in simply touring around the park, and soaking in the atmosphere.

Unfortunately, after arriving at the park, and discovering that they had this asinine class system, it pretty much ruined my entire experience. By having such rules in place, it basically makes me feel pinned in, not allowed, and forbidden from exploring the rest of the ballpark. And the park made sure to have security and park staff stationed in every junction of the park to ensure that only those who paid for corresponding section's seats could entire the entire sections. The main team store, where I typically get my souvenir baseball from each park - completely inaccessible, because I had a 500 ticket, and thus was forbidden from entering the 100 level where the team store was*. The lower section, where it's been okay for me to watch a little batting practice in 16 previous Major League ballparks, was inaccessible, because of the cheap ticket I had little choice in purchasing. Now I try to keep profanity outside of this little project, but honestly, this whole concept is bullshit.

*It didn't really matter, because not ONE team store or souvenir stand had the very generic ball I was looking for; I ended up purchasing it from an outdoor vendor.

What's the difference between the sign and the gesture? They both pretty much say the same thing.

What makes this a little sad is the fact that parents can't take their kids down to the lower bowls to watch batting practice and try to get a real baseball or autographs or photographs with players, unless they pay for it. It even puts a little bit of a restriction on those who come to the park and want to spend money; if they can't access the level where they wish to spend said money, it's not going to get spent! It shows a lack of trust and good will to the fans in general, in my opinion. People in general, do not like restrictions and boundaries. And The Cell is the first park that I've ever seen that applies both to their patrons; and I certainly hope it's the only one.

So overall, U.S. Cellular Field is de facto worst park in Major League Baseball. It completely misses the point of inviting fans out to the ballpark to enjoy the experience of being there. Instead, they wish to pin their patrons exclusively to the sections that they can afford and/or can acquire. I asked several employees why the rules, and they gave me a lot of invalid rhetoric about how the game I was at was a sell-out, and city ordinances and rules, and overall crowd control. Invalid, because 16 other MLB parks have allowed me go all the way down to front-row, behind home plate, without any argument, with two of them being the oft-sold out Fenway Park and Wrigley Field.

One kind guest relations manager, Bob, was sympathetic to my argument, that he actually gave me an elevator pass, which allowed me passage to the sacred lower level. Don't get me wrong, I was grateful to be allowed to get to go down to the lower level and do my touring, and look around, but it was pretty much too late - my experience was ruined the moment I saw a sign telling me that I can't.

Noteable performance(s):   Alexei Ramirez had a solid performance, going 3-for-4 with a double and RBI, and the light-hitting Juan Pierre also had a three-hit night, while driving in two runs of his own. Paul Konerko hit a mammoth home run off of Felix Hernandez which is worth noting, but the most impressive player of the night was White Sox pitcher, John Danks, who had a dominant eight-inning performance, generating 14 ground balls, and only walking one. Despite the fact that it was all White Sox on this night, the Mariners' Ichiro Suzuki had a brilliant catch in the outfield in the sixth inning, literally robbing a home run away from Mark Kotsay, which will probably be a highlight for the year when 2010 is summarized.

Game Result:   Honestly, I don't know how Don Wakamatsu doesn't kill himself with the players that he's forced to work with. When Casey Kotchman is batting fifth, one has to know that the lineup is weak, and with such void of power in the middle of the lineup, much less talent, the end result was no surprise, and it didn't help the M's that Felix Hernandez had a bad night, as they fell to the home team, by a score of White Sox 6, Mariners 1. It didn't really matter, since I didn't bother to stick around until the inevitable end, since the park sucked so bad.

Additional Photos:

Back to Home

Part of Real Men Don't Wear Small.
All photos, graphics, text, and other miscellaneous content copyright © D. Hong.
Except for all MLB club logos which are copyright © to Major League Baseball.