Citizens Bank Park

This one and Comerica are excellent fields. I give a slight edge to this one.

They have better concourse games. They have one called "Ballpark Pinball," which has a baseball bat in place of flippers. You get one swing to hit the ball cleanly into one of the compartments labeled for base hits. If you don't hit it firmly into the slot, it's an out. You get three outs. I was on line to play this until I realized everyone else in line was 8 years old, then I slinked away.

They have Greg Luzinski sitting alongside "Bull's Barbeque." He's in a booth -- actually, it looks like a dunk tank. He'll sign what you have or give you an autographed picture. I wore my Rangers jersey tonight and looked at him for some glint of recognition, or conversation. Getting none, I accepted his scrawl on my game ticket and went back over to Ballpark Pinball.

Like the Tigers, the Phillies salute the past, but do it better. They have an area off the outfield concourse with Hall of Fame-style plaques of Phillies greats (no snide remarks here), and a big plaque for some all-time Phillies team that was picked in 1983. When Pete Rose ia a member of the all-time greats of a team other than the Reds or Leavenworth, I've got a problem, but there it is: 1B, Pete Rose. There is a three-part mural of the history of baseball in Philadelphia, which includes not just the Phillies but also the A's and the Negro Leagues. That's a unique touch, though their real reason for doing it is a celebration of highlights only of the Phillies would fit on the back of a chair. This whole historical area sits above both bullpens, which are tiered alongside each other, so you can watch pitchers warm up while immersing yourself in Phillies history.

The Phillies make better use of their video board than either the Tigers or the White Sox do, and can find any stat you want, from season to situations to pitch count and speed once you know where to look. They also have an out-of-town scoreboard, which I know because our seats were where I could see it without exerting myself.

All four Philadelphia sports facilities are on the same site -- Citizens Bank Park, Lincoln Financial Field, the Wachovia Center and even the old Spectrum.

The grade for Citizens Bank Park: A