AHHH, BALTIMORE BASEBALL BEFORE CAMDEN YARDS. LOOKING AT MY RATINGS FOR THIS PLACE, YOU WOULD THINK I HATED IT ... JUST THE OPPOSITE, THIS WAS ONE OF MY FAVORITE PARKS.

FOR THE 'TOURIST' THE BIGGEST PROBLEM WITH MEMORIAL STADIUM WAS LOCATION. THIS WAS A NEIGHBORHOOD PARK WITH NO DIRECT ACCESS FROM AN INTERSTATE. ONCE AT THE PARK, IF YOU MADE ONE WRONG TURN YOU WERE EITHER AT THE JAIL,WHICH WAS RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER, OR JUST LOST WITHOUT A VIEW OF THE STADIUM.
HOWEVER, ONCE PARKED, MEMORIAL STADIUM WAS 100% CHARM. THE FIRST PERSON YOU MEET IS THE TICKET TAKER. UNLIKE SHEA, THESE GUYS ARE HAPPY TO SEE YOU. THEY GREET YOU WITH A SMILE AND AN ENJOY THE GAME. I FELT WELCOME FROM THE SECOND I ARRIVED.

IN THE STANDS, THE BIGGEST PROBLEMS WERE THE PILLARS. BIG ROUND ONES AT THAT. IF THERE WAS A REASON TO BUILD CAMDEN YARDS, THE ABSENCE OF PILLARS IS AS GOOD A REASON AS ANY. OTHER THAN THAT, MEMORIAL STADIUM WAS A FRIENDLY PLACE THAT WILL BE MISSED BY ME.

OF THE 40 PARKS I HAVE VISITED, I RATE MEMORIAL STADIUM 12TH, BEHIND TIGER STADIUM AND AHEAD OF YANKEE STADIUM. IN MY EYES, A LITTLE CHARM GOES A LONG WAY, AND IN BALTIMORE THE PEOPLE WERE THE SAME IN THE OLD PLACE AS THEY ARE IN THE NEW.

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