Tropicana Field is a disgrace and needs to be demolished immediately
The undisputed worst stadium in American professional sports. It’s not even close anymore. The Twins got rid of the Metrodome, the Astros got rid of the Astrodome, the Expos left Olympic Stadium in Montreal 17 years ago. The Rogers Centre in Toronto isn’t great but at least there’s a retractable roof.
All of the other shitty parks are gone now. To say Tropicana Field is outdated would be an understatement. The phase of dome baseball stadiums is ancient history at this point, and for good reason.
Remember wiffle ball as a kid? The obscure rules that you’d come up with, based on the layout of the backyard you were playing in? Off the shed is a double. If it hits the treetops and comes down, it’s a triple. Over the swing set is a homer.
That’s what it’s like at The Trop. Balls that hit the “catwalk” are considered home runs and we’re just supposed to accept the fact that all of the necessary calculations have been executed to determine that it was indeed headed for the seats. I think that rule only applies if it hits a specific catwalk but I’m not 100% sure and I don’t care to look it up because the whole thing is stupid and shouldn’t even be an issue. The stadium should have been torn down years ago.
This needs to be talked about as much as possible because hosting crucial playoff games in that dump is bad for baseball. Even the Rays’ outfielders, who play there 81+ times a year, find themselves losing fly balls in the white ceiling on a regular basis. I’m not saying Tampa fans would ever show up regardless of the venue, but if the organization wants to give itself a fighting chance to increase attendance they’ll demolish that piece of shit immediately.