Yale Field is the home of the New Haven Ravens of the Eastern League. The Ravens are the AA affiliate of the Seattle Mariners.
Anyone who has been to Yale Field had better sit down. I am about to commit sacrilege. I do not like going to baseball games at Yale Field. There, I said it. Forgive me for cowering while I wait for lightning to strike from above.
Every review of Yale Field that I have ever read has raved about the place as being the cream of the Eastern League and a classic and all that. Well, much of that is true. There is much to like about Yale Field... in an historical sense. It is a great old structure, with ivy growing on the classic brick facade. The roof and it's supporting structure are wonderful as are the arches along the back of the seating area. There's also a manually operated scoreboard in centerfield.
Yale Field is every bit a great ballpark from that point of view. It's very attractive. It just happens to be an awful place to see a game. For some reason, the field is set a mile from the stands. They could slide home plate back twenty-five feet and still the foul lines wouldn't approach the stands down the corners. Considering that the grandstand goes right down to field level, it looks like the game is going on in the next county across a large flat plain.
When the park was renovated in preperation for the Ravens, they chose to build a metal grandstand inside the existing walls and roof. Most of the seating is metal benches with metal backs. The result (especially on a hot day) is a sticky, noisy, uncomfortable day with a lousy view of the action.
And the food's not that good either.
Considering how lousy the game watching experience is, my rating of three hot dogs should stand as testimony to how beautiful the structure itself is.
