Ballpark facts for kids

A ballpark, also called a baseball park, is a special sports place where baseball games are played. The playing area has two main parts: the infield and the outfield. The infield has exact measurements because of where the bases are. But the outfield can be very different in size and shape from one ballpark to another. A really big ballpark might also be called a baseball stadium.

What Makes a Ballpark Special?

The Playing Field

The baseball field is often called a diamond because of its shape. The infield is a perfect diamond made of dirt and grass. It has the three bases, home plate, and the pitcher's mound. Usually, the area between the bases is grass, except for the dirt mound in the middle. Some ballparks have grass or fake grass (artificial turf) between the bases, with dirt only around the bases and pitcher's mound. Other fields, like Koshien Stadium in Japan, are all dirt in the infield.

Two white lines stretch out from home plate, going towards first and third base. These are called the foul lines. If a batted ball lands outside these lines or rolls out before reaching first or third base, it's a "foul" ball, and the play stops. If it lands between or on the lines, it's a "fair" ball. At the end of these lines are two tall poles called foul poles. They help umpires decide if a ball is fair or foul. If a ball hits a foul pole in the air, it's a home run!

Next to home plate are two batter's boxes, one for left-handed hitters and one for right-handed hitters. This is where the batter stands. Behind home plate is the catcher's box, where the catcher and the home plate umpire stand.

Near first and third base are the coaches' boxes. First and third base coaches stand here to give signals to the players running the bases. A runner going from second to third base can't see the ball, so they rely on the third base coach to tell them whether to keep running, stop, or slide.

Further from the infield are the dugouts. This is where the teams and coaches sit when they are not playing. At professional ballparks, dugouts are usually built below the field level. This is so fans in the expensive seats can see the game better. At smaller, amateur parks, dugouts might be above ground, like simple benches behind a fence.

Beyond the infield, between the foul lines, is the large grass outfield. It's usually about twice as deep as the infield. A fence surrounds the playing field. The fences near the infield are in foul territory and are often lower so fans can see better. Outfield fences can be very tall in some areas, especially if the distance from home plate is shorter.

Many professional ballparks have a dirt or rubber track about 10 feet (3 meters) wide around the field. This is called a "warning track". It helps outfielders know they are getting close to the fence without having to look back. Major League Baseball made warning tracks a requirement in 1949.

Behind the outfield fence in professional parks is an area called the batter's eye. This area has no seats and is usually a dark color. This helps the batter see the white baseball clearly when the pitcher throws it. The batter's eye can be a dark wall or even a grassy slope.

Most major league ballparks are built so that home plate faces north or east. This is to prevent the setting sun from shining directly into the batter's eyes during evening games.

Seating

Today, in Major League Baseball, a large seating area called a grandstand surrounds the infield. This seating often has many levels. How far these seats go down the lines or around the foul poles changes from park to park. In smaller minor league parks, the grandstands are much smaller.

The seating beyond the outfield fence is usually different from the main grandstand. This area might have cheaper bleacher seats or smaller grandstands. At local parks, you might just see a few rows of metal bleachers.

Variations in Field Size

Unlike sports like football or basketball, which have fixed playing areas, baseball fields can vary a lot in size and shape, especially in the outfield.

Baseball leagues often set a minimum distance from home plate to the outfield fences. Higher-level leagues usually require deeper fields to prevent too many home runs. In Major League Baseball, a rule from 1958 said new fields must be at least 325 feet (99 meters) down the left and right field lines and 400 feet (122 meters) to center field. This rule was made to avoid very short fields, like the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, which was only 251 feet (77 meters) down the left field line.

However, since Oriole Park at Camden Yards opened in 1992, this rule has often been ignored. Fans loved the old-fashioned, "retro" look of Camden Yards with its unique measurements. Many new "retro" stadiums have been built since then, each with different outfield fence shapes and distances. For example, the old Yankee Stadium had a right field that was much shorter than its left field. The Polo Grounds had extremely short distances down the lines (258 feet to right, 280 feet to left), but a very deep center field (nearly 500 feet).

Older ballparks, like Fenway Park, were allowed to keep their original, unique dimensions. Sometimes, new parks also get special permission to have different sizes. For example, the second Yankee Stadium, built in 2009, used the same dimensions as the original.

The height of the outfield fences can also vary a lot. The most famous example is the 37-foot (11-meter) high Green Monster in Fenway Park's left field. Tall fences are often used in areas where the distance from home plate is shorter. Some scoreboards are even built into high fences, reaching 50 to 60 feet (15 to 18 meters) tall.

Some ballparks have fences with unusual shapes. They might have round, curving fences or sharp, angled ones. For instance, at Fenway Park, the center field and left field stands meet at an odd angle, creating a sharp indentation called "the triangle." At Citi Field and Oracle Park, part of the right field fence sticks out into the outfield. Some "retro" parks, like Globe Life Park in Arlington, have a small, sudden inward turn in the fence just to make the design more unique.

Originally, these variations happened because of the shape of the land where the park was built. If a street was behind left field, the fence there would be shorter and might need to be taller. Now, these unique features are often planned by the designers to give the park a special feel. New "retro" parks try to bring back these old-fashioned quirks.

How Ballpark Names Changed

Baseball was first played in open fields or public parks. One famous early place was Elysian Fields in Hoboken, New Jersey, where people played organized baseball and cricket in the mid-1840s. That's why early baseball places were often called "Field" or "Park."

When professional baseball started, ballfields became more complex. They added fixed seats for fans and fences to keep out people who didn't pay. Because of this, names like "Grounds" became popular for ballparks, starting with the Union Grounds in 1862. The last major league "Grounds" was the Polo Grounds in New York City, which was torn down in 1964.

The word "stadium" has been used for a long time, usually for running tracks and their seating areas. As college football became popular, smaller fields were replaced by large stadiums, many built in the 1920s. Baseball also grew a lot. One of the first major league ballparks called a "stadium" was the Polo Grounds, which was temporarily renamed Brush Stadium. Later, the most famous baseball "stadium" of all, Yankee Stadium, was built. After that, most new major league venues were called "Stadiums."

From the 1960s, indoor stadiums were built and often called "Dome," like the Houston Astrodome. But their official names often still included "Stadium," like "Harris County Domed Stadium." In the 1990s, with the "retro" trend, some new venues started using "park" in their names again, even for domed stadiums like T-Mobile Park and American Family Field.

There isn't a strict rule for choosing "Field" or "Park" today. For example, Houston's Daikin Park was first called "Enron Field."

Where Ballparks Are Built

The design of stadium seating is affected by how many people it needs to hold, how fans get there, and traffic. Early ballparks like Elysian Fields were far from city centers. Each game was a big event, and fans used public transportation to get there.

As professional leagues grew and more games were played, each game became less of a special event. So, it became more important for fans to get to the games easily. Many professional ballparks were built closer to city centers or in working-class neighborhoods. This meant classic ballparks often had little space for cars, as most fans were expected to use public transport. This is still true for Fenway Park in Boston and Wrigley Field in Chicago. Some early ballparks, like Eastern Park in Brooklyn, were even abandoned because trolley lines didn't go far enough, and the team wasn't playing well enough for people to bother with the travel.

As fans became wealthier and moved to the suburbs, they started driving cars, and the lack of parking became a big problem. Some ballparks added parking garages nearby, or new ballparks were built with lots of parking. Others built ballparks in the suburbs, usually with huge parking lots. This made the ballpark an "island" in a "sea" of parking spaces.

Today's "retro" trend tries to combine the best of both worlds: an urban location with plenty of parking and public transportation options.

Types of Ballparks

Wooden Ballparks

The very first professional baseball venues were large wooden ballparks. They had seats on wooden platforms and sometimes iron columns for support. Some had one sloped level of seating, often with a roof. The outfield was surrounded by tall walls or fences covered in advertisements. Wood was cheap, but it had a big problem: it caught fire easily. Many of these parks burned down completely.

This fire risk, along with baseball's growing popularity, led to a change. Ballparks started being built with stronger, fire-resistant materials like steel and concrete. These new parks often lasted for many decades and are now called "jewel boxes." No professional wooden ballparks exist today.

Jewel Box Ballparks

The first ballparks built with reinforced concrete, brick, and steel are known as jewel box ballparks or classic parks. These parks often had two levels of seating. The Baker Bowl in Philadelphia (opened 1895) was one of the first to use steel and brick. Shibe Park (opened 1909), also in Philadelphia, was the first to use reinforced concrete.

In these parks, steel pillars often held up the upper decks, which could block the view from some lower seats. However, this design allowed the upper decks to be very close to the field. This two-tiered design was standard for many years until Yankee Stadium was built with three tiers to hold more fans.

Most jewel box parks were built to fit into city blocks, which often meant their outfield dimensions were uneven, and they had tall outfield walls to stop easy home runs. Famous examples include League Park in Cleveland, with a 40-foot (12-meter) wall in right field, and the Green Monster, the 37-foot (11-meter) tall left field wall at Fenway Park.

These parks were often used for other sports like soccer and football, but the seats were usually angled best for baseball. The "retro" ballparks built in the 1990s try to bring back the feel of these jewel box parks. Today, only Fenway Park and Wrigley Field are still used by Major League Baseball teams.

Major League Baseball (MLB) Jewel Box Parks

Ballpark	Location	Team	Opened	Closed	Current status
Fenway Park	Boston	Red Sox	1912	—	Active.
Wrigley Field	Chicago	Cubs	1914	—	Active.

Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) Jewel Box Parks

Ballpark	Location	Team	Opened	Closed	Current status
Koshien Stadium	Nishinomiya	Hanshin Tigers	1924	—	Active.
Meiji Jingu Stadium	Tokyo	Tokyo Yakult Swallows	1926	—	Active.

Multi-purpose Stadiums

From the 1960s until the 1990s, many baseball teams played in multi-purpose ballparks. People sometimes called them "concrete donuts" or "cookie-cutters" because they were often round or square and made of plain concrete. These parks were built to host baseball, but also football and soccer. The idea was that one stadium for all sports would save money.

The shape of these parks often depended on what they were first built for. If they were changed from a football stadium to also host baseball, they might be rectangular. If they were built for both sports from the start, they were usually circular and fully enclosed. This circular design is what gave them their "cookie-cutter" reputation. The first one built for multiple sports was DC Stadium (now RFK Stadium) in Washington, D.C.

One big change in multi-purpose parks was the cantilevered upper deck. This design removed the columns that used to block views in older ballparks. However, it also meant the upper decks had to be further back from the field, and the roofs were smaller, leaving more fans exposed to the weather.

These parks had other problems too. Seats were often angled towards the center of the field, not home plate, making it hard to see the baseball action. The furthest seats could be 500 feet (152 meters) or more from home plate. Also, these stadiums were very large, and typical baseball crowds didn't fill them. Because they were shaped for football, the outfield dimensions were usually perfectly even, which wasn't as interesting as the unique shapes of older parks.

Multi-purpose stadiums also weren't great for football. The front rows were sometimes too close to the field, making it hard for fans to see over the football benches. Even though they saved money, these problems eventually made multi-purpose parks unpopular.

The Rogers Centre in Toronto, opened in 1989, was a very advanced multi-purpose stadium. It had a retractable roof, a hotel, and a restaurant where people could watch games. Rogers Centre was later changed to be only for baseball from 2022 to 2024.

Today, there are almost no purely open-air multi-purpose parks left. The Oakland Coliseum was the last one used for baseball, but the Athletics team moved out in 2024.

Indoor Ballparks

Another type of ballpark is the indoor park. These parks have a fixed roof, often a hard concrete dome. They were built for different reasons, like escaping hot, humid weather in Houston (the Astrodome) or constant rain in Seattle (the Kingdome). In Japan, domes were built to avoid rain and heavy snow.

A key feature of indoor parks is that they usually have artificial turf instead of real grass. This is because there isn't enough natural light for grass to grow. Artificial turf is harder, so batted balls move faster and bounce higher. Also, the usually dull white or gray roofs could make it hard to see a fly ball, giving the home team an advantage.

Olympic Stadium in Montreal was designed with a retractable roof, but it never worked well and was eventually replaced with a fixed roof. The Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis had a roof made of inflatable fiberglass, held up by air pressure. This roof collapsed three times in its first three years because of heavy snow.

Indoor parks often have the same problems as multi-purpose parks, like bad views from some seats. Tropicana Field is the only indoor-only park built just for baseball that still hosts a Major League Baseball team. It is planned to be replaced soon with a new indoor ballpark that will have windows for natural light. Japan still has several fixed-dome parks mainly for baseball.

Major League Baseball (MLB) Indoor Parks

Ballpark	Location	Team	Opened	Closed	Current status
Tropicana Field	St. Petersburg, Florida	Rays	1990	—	Active.

Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) Indoor Parks

Ballpark	Location	Team	Opened	Closed	Current status
Kyocera Dome Osaka	Osaka	Orix Buffaloes	1997	—	Active.
MetLife Dome	Tokorozawa	Saitama Seibu Lions	1979	—	Active.
Tokyo Dome	Tokyo	Yomiuri Giants	1988	—	Active.
Vantelin Dome Nagoya	Nagoya	Chunichi Dragons	1997	—	Active.

Modern Ballparks

While many teams built multi-purpose parks, some chose to build baseball-only parks. These modern ballparks avoided some multi-purpose features but kept new ones. Key features included cantilevered upper decks (no view-blocking columns), colorful seats (not just green), plain concrete outsides, and symmetrical outfields. Many modern parks, like Dodger Stadium and Kauffman Stadium, are still used today and have been updated with new features.

Milwaukee County Stadium is seen as the ancestor of the modern ballpark. It was the first to have a perfectly round, symmetrical outfield fence. It also had a rounded V-shaped grandstand and colorful seats, which became common in modern parks.

The first truly modern ballparks were built by the New York teams that moved to California: the Giants and the Dodgers. Candlestick Park was built first but was later changed to be multi-purpose. Dodger Stadium has been updated many times but remains baseball-only, and its original design is mostly still there.

Angel Stadium was first like Dodger Stadium. It was later expanded for football, but when the football team left, much of the extra outfield seating was removed, making it look more like its original design.

The original Yankee Stadium was a jewel box park, but it was heavily updated in the 1970s, making it more like a modern ballpark. It kept some of its classic features, so it was a mix of both styles.

Rogers Centre (with its retractable roof) and Tropicana Field (with its fixed roof) can also be seen as modern ballparks. Rogers Centre was originally multi-purpose but is now baseball-only. Tropicana Field was built to attract a Major League Baseball team.

Rate Field (originally New Comiskey Park) was the last modern ballpark built in North America. It opened in 1991, but just a year later, it was already considered old-fashioned because of the new "retro" style. The White Sox later renovated it to look more like a retro-classic park.

Some modern ballparks also hosted professional soccer and football teams. For example, the Minnesota Vikings played at Metropolitan Stadium, and the Green Bay Packers played some home games at Milwaukee County Stadium.

Today, the only modern parks still used by Major League Baseball are Dodger Stadium, Angel Stadium, Kauffman Stadium, Rate Field, Rogers Centre, and Tropicana Field. However, Rate Field has been changed to look like a retro-classic park, and Angel Stadium and Kauffman Stadium have been updated to be retro-modern. Tropicana Field, Rate Field, and Kauffman Stadium are all planned to be replaced soon.

Major League Baseball (MLB) Modern Parks

Ballpark	Location	Team	Opened	Closed	Current status
Angel Stadium	Anaheim, California	Angels	1966	—	Active.
Dodger Stadium	Los Angeles	Dodgers	1962	—	Active.
Kauffman Stadium	Kansas City, Missouri	Royals	1973	—	Active.
Rate Field	Chicago	White Sox	1991	—	Active.
Rogers Centre	Toronto	Blue Jays	1989	—	Active.
Tropicana Field	St. Petersburg, Florida	Rays	1990	—	Active.

Retractable-roof Ballparks

Indoor parks were built to avoid bad weather, but they became less popular. This led to the creation of retractable-roof parks. These stadiums can be closed to protect from rain or cold, but they can also open up when the weather is nice. To hold the roof, most of these parks are fully enclosed.

When the roof is open, it needs a place to go. So, a key feature of these parks is a large area on one or both sides of the field where the roof slides or folds. Sometimes, even when open, the roof still casts shadows over the field. American Family Field has large glass panels under its roof to help with this. Some stadiums, like T-Mobile Park, have roofs that act more like an "umbrella" to shield from rain, but still allow some openness.

The Civic Arena in Pittsburgh was the first sports building with a retractable roof, but it wasn't used for baseball. Montreal's Olympic Stadium was the first baseball park with a retractable roof, but it had many problems. This made Rogers Centre the first fully working retractable-roof park. It had a roof that folded back over a hotel in center field.

Retractable-roof parks can look very different. Some are very practical (like Rogers Centre), some have old-fashioned "retro" parts (like Daikin Park), and some are very modern (like loanDepot Park). Their style often matches the popular architecture of the time they were built.

MLB Retractable-roof Parks

Ballpark	Location	Team	Opened	Closed	Current status
American Family Field	Milwaukee	Brewers	2001	—	Active.
Chase Field	Phoenix	Diamondbacks	1998	—	Active.
Daikin Park	Houston	Astros	2000	—	Active.
Globe Life Field	Arlington, Texas	Rangers	2020	—	Active.
LoanDepot Park	Miami	Marlins	2012	—	Active.
Rogers Centre	Toronto	Blue Jays	1989	—	Active.
T-Mobile Park	Seattle	Mariners	1999	—	Active.

NPB Retractable-roof Parks

Ballpark	Location	Team	Opened	Closed	Current status
Fukuoka PayPay Dome	Fukuoka	Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks	1993	—	Active.
Es Con Field Hokkaido	Kitahiroshima	Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters	2023	—	Active.

Retro-classic Ballparks

In 1992, Oriole Park at Camden Yards opened in Baltimore. It looked like the old "jewel box" parks, with red brick and dark green colors, but it had modern features and comforts. It also had a new, stepped-deck seating layout without columns blocking views.

Since Camden Yards opened, many other Major League Baseball teams have built new ballparks in a similar style. These retro-classic ballparks are mainly for baseball, but they can also host football, soccer, and even ice hockey games.

Rate Field was built in 1991 as a modern park, but it quickly seemed old-fashioned after Camden Yards opened. So, the White Sox made many changes to Rate Field to make it look more like a retro-classic park, adding things like different roof styles, uneven fences, and a dark green color scheme. They also removed some upper deck seats that weren't often used.

The newest retro-classic ballparks were built in New York City in 2009. Citi Field in Queens looks like the old Ebbets Field, and the new Yankee Stadium in the Bronx looks like the original "House that Ruth Built" before its big renovation.

Teams are now moving away from the retro-classic look and building retro-modern or contemporary ballparks instead.

Major League Baseball (MLB) Retro-classic Parks

Ballpark	Location	Team	Opened	Closed	Current status
Busch Stadium III	St. Louis	Cardinals	2006	—	Active.
Citi Field	Queens	Mets	2009	—	Active.
Citizens Bank Park	Philadelphia	Phillies	2004	—	Active.
Comerica Park	Detroit	Tigers	2000	—	Active.
Coors Field	Denver	Rockies	1995	—	Active.
Oracle Park	San Francisco	Giants	2000	—	Active.
Oriole Park at Camden Yards	Baltimore	Orioles	1992	—	Active.
PNC Park	Pittsburgh	Pirates	2001	—	Active.
Rate Field	Chicago	White Sox	1991	—	Active. (Originally a modern ballpark, renovated to retro-classic style.)
Yankee Stadium II	The Bronx	Yankees	2009	—	Active.

Retro-modern Ballparks

While Camden Yards influenced many ballparks, not all followed its exact design. Some parks added more modern-looking features and are called retro-modern ballparks.

Progressive Field (originally Jacobs Field), built two years after Camden Yards, had the uneven, angled fences, a smaller upper deck, and a single color scheme. Its inside felt "retro," but its outside didn't look like the old jewel box parks.

Many ballparks today follow this retro-modern style. Their outsides often use white or gray painted steel instead of brick. If there's any stone, it's usually sandstone or limestone. Some even have modern elements like glass walls or retractable roofs.

Angel Stadium has changed a lot. It started as a modern park. When the Los Angeles Rams football team moved in, it was expanded into a multi-purpose stadium. After the Rams left, it was renovated again to look more like its original baseball-only design, but with a retro-modern feel.

In the same year, Chase Field opened with a retractable roof and even a swimming pool – features not found in old jewel box parks. Despite these modern additions, much of its inside still had the retro feel, similar to Progressive Field.

Later, parks like Petco Park and Kauffman Stadium also followed the retro-modern style. Some newer retro-modern stadiums, like Great American Ball Park (2003) and Nationals Park (2008), used more glass and modern materials on their exteriors, looking more towards the 21st century. Target Field (2010) pushed this even further with a very modern, sculpted exterior.

These later retro-modern parks look very different from the outside compared to jewel-box or even early modern parks. But inside, they still have the classic baseball feel with retro touches like unique fence shapes and single color schemes.

Major League Baseball (MLB) Retro-modern Parks

Ballpark	Location	Team	Opened	Closed	Current status
American Family Field	Milwaukee	Brewers	2001	—	Active.
Angel Stadium	Anaheim, California	Angels	1966	—	Active. (Originally a modern ballpark, renovated to retro-modern.)
Chase Field	Phoenix, Arizona	Diamondbacks	1998	—	Active.
Daikin Park	Houston	Astros	2000	—	Active.
Globe Life Field	Arlington, Texas	Rangers	2020	—	Active.
Great American Ball Park	Cincinnati	Reds	2003	—	Active.
Kauffman Stadium	Kansas City, Missouri	Royals	1973	—	Active. (Originally a modern ballpark, renovated to retro-modern.)
Nationals Park	Washington, D.C.	Nationals	2008	—	Active.
Petco Park	San Diego	Padres	2004	—	Active.
Progressive Field	Cleveland	Guardians	1994	—	Active.
T-Mobile Park	Seattle	Mariners	1999	—	Active.
Target Field	Minneapolis	Twins	2010	—	Active.
Truist Park	Cumberland, Georgia	Braves	2017	—	Active.

Contemporary Ballparks

After two decades of "retro" style, a new design for ballparks appeared in 2012 with the opening of LoanDepot Park (then Marlins Park). This new style, called contemporary, aims to show off the modern culture of the city where the stadium is built, instead of looking back at old designs.

A similar style park for the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters baseball team in Japan opened in 2023.

Major League Baseball (MLB) Contemporary Parks

Ballpark	Location	Team	Opened	Closed	Current status
loanDepot park	Miami	Miami Marlins	2012	—	Active.

Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) Contemporary Parks

Ballpark	Location	Team	Opened	Closed	Current status
Es Con Field Hokkaido	Kitahiroshima	Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters	2023	—	Active.

Temporary and Converted Ballparks

When new baseball teams were added or existing teams moved in the 1960s, two special types of ballparks appeared: temporary ballparks and converted ballparks.

Temporary ballparks are used when a new stadium is planned but not yet finished. This might happen because of delays or if the team wants to wait until a deal is final. In these cases, an existing building, often a minor league park, is used for a short time. For example, when the Dodgers and Giants moved to California from New York, they played in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and Seals Stadium while their new stadiums were being built.

Converted ballparks are existing minor league or college baseball fields that were expanded to fit a Major League team. These are different from football stadiums that were changed to multi-purpose parks because converted ballparks were always meant for baseball, just not at the major league level. Early examples include Memorial Stadium in Baltimore and Metropolitan Stadium in Minnesota.

Temporary ballparks were used again recently. Sahlen Field was a temporary home for the Toronto Blue Jays in 2020 and 2021 because of travel rules during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Sutter Health Park will be the home of the Oakland Athletics from 2025 to 2027 before they move to Las Vegas.

Also, after damage to Tropicana Field from Hurricane Milton, George M. Steinbrenner Field will be the temporary home for the Tampa Bay Rays during their 2025 season.

These two types of ballparks are defined by how they are used, not by their design. So, a temporary or converted ballpark could also be a jewel box, modern, multi-purpose, or any other type of ballpark.

Major League Baseball (MLB) Temporary and Converted Parks

Ballpark	Location	Team	Opened	Closed	Current status
George M. Steinbrenner Field	Tampa	Rays	1996	—	Active. Temporary home of the Rays for the 2025 season.
Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum	Los Angeles	Dodgers	1923	1961	Active; closed for baseball in 1961.
Sahlen Field	Buffalo	Blue Jays	1988	—	Active. Temporary home of the Blue Jays for the 2020 and 2021 seasons.
Sutter Health Park	Sacramento	Athletics	2000	—	Active. Temporary home of the Athletics for the 2025, 2026, and 2027 seasons.

Current Major League Stadiums

This table shows the distances from home plate to the outfield walls for current Major League Baseball stadiums. "LF" means left field, "RF" means right field (along the foul lines). "LC" and "RC" are approximate distances to the "power alleys" (where many extra-base hits land). "CF" means center field, which can be straightaway center or the deepest part. "BS" is the distance from home plate to the backstop.

In 1958, MLB made a rule that new parks had to be at least 325 feet (99 meters) down the lines and 400 feet (122 meters) to center field. Older parks didn't have to follow this rule. But since 1991, many new parks have been allowed to have different dimensions, as you can see below.

Stadium	Team	City	Capacity	LF	LC	CF	RC	RF	BS
American Family Field	Milwaukee Brewers	Milwaukee	41,900	344 ft	370 ft	400 ft	374 ft	337 ft	54 ft
Angel Stadium	Los Angeles Angels	Anaheim, California	45,957	330 ft	382 ft	400 ft	365 ft	330 ft	59 ft
Busch Stadium	St. Louis Cardinals	St. Louis	43,975	335 ft	375 ft	400 ft	375 ft	335 ft	55 ft
Chase Field	Arizona Diamondbacks	Phoenix	48,519	330 ft	376 ft	407 ft	376 ft	335 ft	58 ft
Citi Field	New York Mets	Queens, New York	41,922	335 ft	379 ft	408 ft	383 ft	330 ft	45 ft
Citizens Bank Park	Philadelphia Phillies	Philadelphia	43,651	329 ft	355 ft	401 ft	357 ft	330 ft	60 ft
Comerica Park	Detroit Tigers	Detroit	41,574	345 ft	370 ft	420 ft	388 ft	330 ft	62 ft
Coors Field	Colorado Rockies	Denver	50,398	347 ft	390 ft	415 ft	382 ft	350 ft	54 ft
Daikin Park	Houston Astros	Houston	41,574	315 ft	404 ft	409 ft	408 ft	326 ft	56 ft
Dodger Stadium	Los Angeles Dodgers	Los Angeles	56,000	330 ft	368 ft	400 ft	368 ft	330 ft	53 ft
Fenway Park	Boston Red Sox	Boston	37,673	310 ft	389 ft 9 in	420 ft	380 ft	302 ft	60 ft
Globe Life Field	Texas Rangers	Arlington, Texas	40,300	329 ft	372 ft	407 ft	374 ft	326 ft	42 ft
Great American Ball Park	Cincinnati Reds	Cincinnati	42,319	328 ft	365 ft	404 ft	365 ft	325 ft	52 ft
Rate Field	Chicago White Sox	Chicago	40,615	335 ft	375 ft	400 ft	375 ft	330 ft	60 ft
Kauffman Stadium	Kansas City Royals	Kansas City, Missouri	37,903	330 ft	387 ft	410 ft	387 ft	330 ft	50 ft
loanDepot park	Miami Marlins	Miami	36,742	344 ft	386 ft	407 ft	392 ft	335 ft	47 ft
Nationals Park	Washington Nationals	Washington, D.C.	41,888	336 ft	377 ft	402 ft	370 ft	335 ft	53 ft 2 in
Sutter Health Park	Athletics	West Sacramento, California	10,624	330 ft		403 ft		325 ft	58 ft
Oracle Park	San Francisco Giants	San Francisco	41,915	339 ft	399 ft	391 ft	415 ft	309 ft	48 ft
Oriole Park at Camden Yards	Baltimore Orioles	Baltimore	45,971	333 ft	364 ft	410 ft	373 ft	318 ft	58 ft
Petco Park	San Diego Padres	San Diego	39,860	334 ft	378 ft	396 ft	387 ft	322 ft	45 ft
PNC Park	Pittsburgh Pirates	Pittsburgh	38,362	325 ft	389 ft	399 ft	364 ft	320 ft	55 ft
Progressive Field	Cleveland Guardians	Cleveland	34,830	325 ft	370 ft	410 ft	375 ft	325 ft	60 ft
Rogers Centre	Toronto Blue Jays	Toronto	41,500	328 ft	375 ft	400 ft	375 ft	328 ft	60 ft
T-Mobile Park	Seattle Mariners	Seattle	47,574	331 ft	375 ft	405 ft	365 ft	326 ft	62 ft
Target Field	Minnesota Twins	Minneapolis	38,649	339 ft	377 ft	404 ft	367 ft	328 ft	46 ft
George M. Steinbrenner Field	Tampa Bay Rays	Tampa, Florida	11,026	315 ft	399 ft	408 ft	385 ft	314 ft
Truist Park	Atlanta Braves	Cumberland, Georgia	41,149	335 ft	385 ft	400 ft	375 ft	325 ft	TBA
Wrigley Field	Chicago Cubs	Chicago	42,495	355 ft	368 ft	400 ft	368 ft	353 ft	60 ft
Yankee Stadium	New York Yankees	The Bronx	46,537	318 ft	399 ft	408 ft	385 ft	314 ft	52 ft 4 in

Images for kids

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  Fenway Park, home of the Boston Red Sox and the oldest ballpark in Major League Baseball.

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  Globe Life Field, home of the Texas Rangers and the newest ballpark in Major League Baseball.

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  Diagram of a baseball infield.

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  Picture of old Yankee Stadium showing its left field fence, which was famous for being farther than the right.

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  Elysian Fields, where early baseball was played.

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  The Huntington Avenue Grounds during the 1903 World Series.

See also

• List of baseball parks by capacity
• List of Major League Baseball stadiums
• List of U.S. baseball stadiums by capacity
• Scoreboard