The other day, USA Today announced the results of a poll of Top 10 Spring Training Ballparks as voted by their readers.

Lists like this are often subjective in nature since one could make arguments that what makes one Ballpark better than another one is in the eye of the beholder with everyone looking for something a little different in terms of what makes a good Ballpark.

While some people might look for a Ballpark that has more amenities such as luxury suites, others might look for a Ballpark that feels like it belongs back in the Golden Age of baseball. With that caveat in place, I tend to mostly agree with the results of the poll.

While there seems to be a yearly campaign of complaining about their regular season home, Tropicana Field, the Tampa Bay Rays garnered the top spot with their Spring Training Home the Charlotte Sports Park, in Port Charlotte, Florida.

I visited Charlotte Sports Park a few years back and definitely found it to be a very nice complex  that I definitely hope to return to many times.

For the record, I also tend to think that Tropicana Field is a very suitable Ballpark for baseball and am growing tired of the yearly whining about how out of date it is and how much it needs to be replaced.

Charlotte Sports Park underwent a $27,000,000 renovation in 2009 and is utilized by the Class-A Charlotte Stone Crabs of the Florida State League at the conclusion of Spring Training which allows for nearly year round use of the complex.

Aside from the bragging rights of having the favorite Ballpark, the Rays also boast one of the shortest commutes between Spring Training home and regular season home with a drive of about 90 minutes between St. Petersburg and Port Charlotte.

The Arizona Diamondbacks and Miami Marlins are the other teams who spend the Spring and regular season based in the same state and also enjoy short commutes for their fans.

The Tampa Bay Rays once had a much shorter Spring Training commute when they spent the entire year in St. Petersburg, FL splitting time between Al Lang Stadium and Tropicana Field a few miles down the road.

The full Top 10 list features only three Ballparks from Arizona’s Cactus League showing that most people surveyed prefer their Spring Training baseball in the Grapefruit League under the Florida sun.

While I cannot speak for the Cactus League Ballparks on the list, I do have extensive bleacher and box seat time in the Grapefruit League. So, I feel pretty confident in commenting on those facilities.

The oldest Ballpark still in use, McKechnie Field, in Bradenton, FL is the long-time home of the Pittsburgh Pirates and ranked fourth on the list.

For historical factors alone I would have moved it up into the top 3. However, I suppose fourth place is not too bad considering it comes in as the second Grapefruit League Ballpark.

As far as fifth and sixth place go, I would swap the Philadelphia Phillies’ Clearwater based Ballpark, Bright House Field with the Baltimore Orioles’ Sarasota home at Ed Smith Stadium.

In full disclosure, I have only driven by Bright House Field. So, perhaps it is nicer on the inside than a quick glance down the highway shows. But for my money, it is hard to beat the old Ballpark charm of Ed Smith Stadium.

Ed Smith Stadium also features an air conditioned restaurant which allows fans a chance at a sit down meal before heading back to catch the action on the field.

The 10^th ranked Ballpark on the list is in danger of no longer hosting Spring Training games in a couple of years. With the Houston Astros exploring locations in West Palm Beach, FL their days at Osceola County Stadium seem numbered.

It will be a shame if the Astros leave the Spring Training home they have had since 1985 for greener pastures since according to the pollsters the fields of Kissimmee, FL are already pretty green.

Granted, Osceola County Stadium is an older facility, but with older Ballparks making the Top 10, it shows that older is sometimes better in the eyes of the ticket buying fans.

For completeness the entire Top 10 Spring Training facilities, according to the readers of USA Today, is included below along with the Major League Baseball teams that call them home.

Ballparks I have visited are listed in bold. Ballparks with an asterisk beside them are among the Ballparks I plan to visit next March.

1. Charlotte Sports Park – Port Charlotte, Fla. Home of the Tampa Bay Rays.
   
2. Goodyear Ballpark – Goodyear, Ariz. Home of the Cleveland Indians and the Cincinnati Reds.
3. Salt River Fields – Scottsdale, Ariz. Home of the Arizona Diamondbacks and Colorado Rockies.
4. McKechnie Field – Bradenton, Fla. Home of the Pittsburgh Pirates.*
5. Bright House Field – Clearwater, Fla. Home of the Philadelphia Phillies. *
6. Ed Smith Stadium – Sarasota, Fla. Home of the Baltimore Orioles.
   
7. Tradition Field – Port St. Lucie, Fla. Home of the New York Mets.
8. Cubs Park – Mesa, Ariz. Home of the Chicago Cubs.
9. JetBlue Park – Fort Myers, Fla. Home of the Boston Red Sox.
10. Osceola County Stadium – Kissimmee, Fla. Home of the Houston Astros.
    

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some trips to some ballparks to plan.

Copyright 2014 R Anderson