MLB Ball Park Showdown: Marlins Park vs Busch Stadium

So what is next for us on this amazing trip of MLB Ball Park Showdown? How about we go to St. Louis and see Busch Stadium?  The St. Louis Cardinals have won more World Series then any other team in the National League with 11 and Busch III has 2 of them! It was opened in 2006, so let’s see how it compares to Marlins Park.

The Outside Look:

OH MY GOSH! I know this isn’t the original Busch Stadium, but when you take the train to the park you see it in all its glory. I don’t know what it is, but the feel of coming to Busch and seeing it from the train or any part of downtown it screams “I’m Busch Stadium and I’m Awesome!” The look of the outside is a great site to see! Sorry Marlins Park, you lose this run.

Standing outside Busch Stadium in my Marlins

Run: Busch Stadium

The Inside:

Here is were it gets interesting. While the outside is amazing, the inside for me is bland at best. The dark industrial feel isn’t for me. When I go to a ball park I want color, happiness, and cheerful thoughts; not steal beams and factory looking walls. I come to see a baseball game not a brewery. MarlinsParkties it up.

Run: Marlins Park

Hall Of Fame:

Alright here comes the tricky part of this inning. TheSt.Louis Cardinals have probably the most history of any National League team. The pictures I’ve seen online of the Cardinals Hall Of Fame looked amazing. The down side to all that is it closed in 2008. Sad baseball fan. Good news is that they announced that in the Ballpark Village across from Busch Stadium they will reopen the Hall of Fame. Until then, The Bobble Heads and Orange Bowl Wall score the run this inning.

Run: Marlins Park

The Home Run Statue:

I got a lot of slack for this one but I’m not a big fan of Home Run Statues in general. When I saw that the Cardinals had no real Home Run Statue I was a happy fan. I don’t need to be distracted from a game. I will say that I love when the Marlins Statue goes off after a win; however the lack of a Home Run Statue is the reason Busch takes this one.

Run: Busch Stadium

The Skyline:

Sorry Miami, there is no winning this one. From my seat and the walk to the seats you could see the Arch. What made it even more spectacular is seeing the Arch in the clouds. This was an amazing site to behold.

You can see the Arch from our seats in Busch Stadium.

Run: Busch Stadium

Variety of Food:

*Sigh* There is only so many way you can make a hot dog, burger, pizza, and nachos.. Busch seems to be following the trend of other ball parks to just have the basic baseball foods in different ways. What if I want sushi, or a salad, or some shrimp, or something new while I’m at a park? Even though Busch did offer some BBQ, Marlins Park’s variety gets this run.

Run: Marlins Park

The Must Have Food Item:

BROADWAY BBQ! I was told by a really reliable St. Louis Fan that I had to eat at Broadway BBQ. So I did. I order the BBQ Pull Pork Sandwich and Beef Brisket Sandwich. How did it compare to the Cuban Sandwich and the Lechon from taste of Miami? Well the Lechon didn’t stand a chance. The Pulled Pork was so juicy and filled with flavor that it beat the Lechon hands down. The Brisket was also very juicy and full of flavor but a different enough flavor from the Pull Pork that it stood on its own. Nevertheless I have to say that I still enjoy the Cuban Sandwich more, so we’ll give both teams a run.

Run: Marlins Park: Cuban Sandwhich and Busch Stadium: BBQ

WI-FI:  

There is no free WI-FI at Busch Stadium! I tweet a lot. With no WI-FI I can’t tweet or check up on other MLB news in between innings. I need WI-FI.

Run: Marlins Park

Seats:

At Busch you felt right on top of the game. We moved around a lot before the game and we couldn’t find a bad seat in the house, and the seats felt a little roomier then Marlins park. So the run will go to Busch.

Run: Busch Stadium

So who won this one? The final score is… 5-5? Oh no, there is no ties in baseball! Time to go into extra innings!

The Rain:

At 9:30 the ground crew removes the tarp and after a 3 hour delay we are ready to play.

Our game at Busch Stadium went into a 3 hour rain delay before the first pitch was even thrown! They would have benefited from a Marlins Park roof! Whether it’s raining, hot, or a Sharknado is coming from the skies the Marlins will play on. Also in St. Louis rained every day we were in town. Sorry Busch, looks like the Marlins just walked off.

Run: Marlins Park

I know history-wise no one can hold a candle in the national league to the Cardinals, but I’m judging them just by their stadiums. Marlins Park is a better baseball park, not by much, but it is better. Now if you are ever in St. Louis, Busch Stadium is a must visit. It’s a great park! I want to go back soon and catch another game there, but I will always choose Marlins Park between these two. Join me next time when its Kauffman Stadium vs MarlinsPark. Till next time…Let’s Go Marlins!