The White Sox Play In A Soulless Stadium

Quinn Harris. Getty Images.

Guaranteed Rate Field is the perfect name for what should be called New Comiskey Park. It's a soulless name for a soulless place. It's a stadium that could have been something very good if only more thought and care was put into it. Some of that is bad timing. This was the last stadium built before Camden Yards changed the game just a year later.

This is still a better stadium than the cookie cutter parks that came before it. I've been to Pro Player Stadium where the Marlins played and that was the worst place I've ever seen a MLB game. I've also been to Tropicana Field and Olympic Stadium which are so bad that they are almost enjoyable. 

Quinn Harris. Getty Images.

Guaranteed Rate Field is the most frustrating stadium I've ever set foot in. There are so many things about this place that could be great but they fuck it up. For example, they have a nice large scoreboard but they don't have a free standing out of town scoreboard. Instead, it shares space with other things like birthday messages. 

They also have really nice statues but then have plaques on the statues that haven't been cared for. 

I loved Harold Baines so much. I know some people are pissed he is in the Hall Of Fame. Put that aside for a second. Baines was so wildly underrated throughout his career. He was never flashy and incredibly consistent. I do think he belongs in Cooperstown. If the 1981 and 94-95 strikes never happen, he likely gets to 3000 hits and 400 home runs. You can have your opinion if he should be in there but the idea that it's not an argument is wrong. It's a fair debate.

New Comiskey (I'm just going to call it that for the rest of the blog. It's what I call it in everyday life too) isn't all bad. The 400's might have the most food options I've seen in an upper section. The concourse up there is also very nice and under cover. However, it has giant posts throughout the uppers that allow for obstructed views for many seats up there.

I had a few people tell me that the Cubs do everything better but the food. New Comiskey certainly has more food options than Wrigley. It also has a wider concourse that makes it much easier to get around…but of course, they fucked up and made the bathrooms too small so there are lines all over the place. The game I went to had 25,000 people there. I can't imagine how bad the lines would be for a playoff game.

I will say the staff was very nice. So were the fans. It was a good group of people that seemed to really care about their team even if they are awful. I blame the stadium (and the team being shitty) directly on the owner Jerry Reinsdorf. He's an 88 year old owner that was cheap even before he was old. No major league ballpark should have tattered signs throughout. Somewhere along the way, Reinsdorf forgot it was a privilege to own the Chicago White Sox and not his right.

The White Sox are horrible. They have maybe the worst manager in baseball and maybe the worst offense ever. They have been run into the ground. As a Mets fan, I know how hard it is being the little brother in a baseball town. It's even worse when your owner is terrible. When Reinsdorf goes to sleep at night, I'm sure he can blame all of these failures on his player personnel people. But Jerry, you have a stadium that isn't cared for properly. At some point, the organization is your fault. Sell the team to someone who can make the White Sox better.