I hate the names of new baseball stadiums.  When I hear the name of a stadium, i want to think about the team, not the bank or store that it's named after.  The New York Mets played their final season at Shea Stadium.  They will be kicking off the 2009 season at their new home, Citi Field.  When I learned this, I hated it so much that i decided to write this post about how much I despise new ballpark names.  So what's so special about the Yankees that their new stadium is still Yankee Stadium?  

Other vapid stadium names include the following: (Names in parenthesis are the cooler parks the new ones replaced)

     *Chase Field (no previous park), home to the Arizona Diamondbacks

     *U.S. Cellular Field (Comiskey Park), home to the Chicago White Sox

     *Progressive Field (Cleveland Stadium), home of the Cleveland Indians

     *Comerica Park (Tiger Stadium), home of the Detroit Tigers

     *Minute Maid Park (Astrodome), home of the Houston Astros

     *Citizens Bank Park (Veterans Park), home of the Philadelphia Phillies

     *PETCO Park (Qualcomm Stadium), home of the San Diego Padres

     *AT&T Park (Candlestick Park), home of the San Francisco Giants

     *Safeco Field (The Kingdome), home of the Seattle Marlins

There are some names I can deal with.  Miller Park, for example, which is the home of the Milwaukee Brewers.  Brewers (real ones, not the baseball team) brew beer.  Miller is a beer, that's what I can handle that one.  Same goes for Coors Field, home of the Colorado Rockies.  Oddly enough, another "beer" stadium.  I'm ok with it because Coors is made in Colorado.

In 2010, the Minnesota Twins will no longer play their home games at Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome.  Their home games will be played at Target Field.  Lame.  

All these new business named fields just don't sit well at all with me.  They certainly can't beat the more original names like Oriole Park at Camden Yards, Fenway Park, or Tiger Stadium.  And it really saddens me that Tiger Stadium was replaced with a bank stadium.

And for the record, the award for best stadium name goes to where the Cincinnati Reds played from 1902 - 1911... Palace of the Fans.  Tiger Stadium doesn't count because that will always be the best to me.