I’ve never been to a baseball park that I’ve truly disliked–and that’s saying something, because I’ve been to games at RFK in Washington, DC. I’d rather watch a great game in a crummy stadium than a crummy game in a great stadium.

Anyway, for fans of ballparks like me, Sports Illustrated has given us something to chew over: a ranking of all 30 major-league fields. I’ve been to nine of them, including three in the top five. I was most surprised by Baltimore’s place at #14, barely in the top half. Oriole Park at Camden Yards is a beautiful ballpark, and there’s nothing in the majors like that warehouse in right field. San Francisco’s relatively low ranking at #17 also struck me–I haven’t been there, but the pictures sure make it look nice. I guess I go for uniqueness, such as home-run balls that can land in the bay. A couple of weeks ago, I went to home games for both the Dodgers and the Angels–both very nice ballparks, though the fake-rock-and-waterfall feature in left-center at Angel Stadium is a distraction that belongs in a putt-putt golf course in Myrtle Beach rather than in a baseball park. I give the edge to the Dodgers, though the SI list ranks the Angels at #9 and the Dodgers at #22.

My favorite ballpark of all isn’t on the list. A year from now, what’s left of Tiger Stadium in Detroit may not even exist. But I do have a pair of seats from it, bought in an online auction held last year. My wife banned me from bidding on the dugout urinal trough, which I had suggested putting on our deck and using as a planter.