For millions across the country, it’s the perfect way to spend a summer evening — hot dog and beverage in hand, a cool breeze in the air, and America’s pastime unfolding on a baseball diamond.

And for most, a crucial part of the experience is the ballpark in which all the action unfolds. From Arizona (Diamondbacks) to Washington (Nationals) — not to mention Aberdeen (IronBirds) to Winston-Salem (Dash) — the baseball stadium is a hub of community activity, often as unique as the city in which it’s located.

It could be architecture, it could be a goofy promotion, or it could simply be how the stadium feels on a warm summer night,  but most people have a few stadium experiences that stand out. If you're looking to check out a new park or revisit an old favorite, from the majors to the minors, here's our best bets.

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THE MUD HENS SAY

DOUG MIENTKIEWICZ, MANAGER, 12-YEAR MLB VETERAN

My favorite ballpark was old Yankee Stadium. The mystique, the aura made it the best place to walk off as a winner. And it was 100 times better to wear a Yankee uniform and play there. You really wanted to win there as a Red Sox, but you definitely wanted to win there at home wearing a Yankees uniform.

BRIAN HARPER, HITTING COACH, 16-YEAR MLB VETERAN

There are so many things that go into picking your favorite ballpark: Some is the city itself, some is how you did that year. I loved playing in the Metrodome. It was 72 degrees there every day, and there's something to say for that. We were the second team to play Toronto at SkyDome (now Rogers Centre). It was amazing. We were in awe.

THE FAVORITES

WILL TOMER, BLADE LETTERS AND OP-ED EDITOR

I have had the tremendous fortune of visiting many major league, minor league, and semi-pro stadiums, but all of them pale in comparison to Pittsburgh's PNC Park. A crown jewel of the city, PNC features the best neo-retro design of any contemporary ballpark, the best skyline view in baseball, and games are still affordable for the average fan. Now, if only the Pirates could put together another decent season to complement the beauty of the park.

STEVE UNGREY, BLADE COPY EDITOR

I may be an unabashed St. Louis Cardinals fan, but PNC Park in Pittsburgh beats Busch Stadium ... and all the others, hands down. The walk across the river from downtown to the stadium shows off the surrounding area nicely. And whoever designed this park to show off dramatic views of the river and the city skyline in right field should be rewarded. Add in fairly low ticket prices and this is a rewarding experience everyone should take at least once.

GENE ZMUDA, LUCAS COUNTY COMMON PLEAS JUDGE

Camden Yards was the first stadium built in this new era designed to look like an old stadium. The fact that they were able to integrate a historic area of the community into the stadium with the beautiful brick warehouse in right field has never been surpassed in any of the other stadiums I've been to.

SHANNON KOLKEDY, BLADE STAFF WRITER

Camden Yards in Baltimore is rich with history and is the perfect all-American ballpark. Its location in Baltimore's Inner Harbor, the view of B&O Warehouse, and the Babe Ruth Birthplace and Museum a few blocks away just add to the fun.

WADE KAPSZUKIEWICZ, TOLEDO MAYOR

I just love the old stadiums and how they were squeezed into the neighborhoods around them. Fenway Park hasn't been able to avoid some modernization — I remember when there was a net above the left field wall and now there are seats — but it generally has kept its character since 1912. For what it is worth, the Indians always have the ability to break my heart, but it has been a good stadium to the Indians over the years.

DUANE ALLEN, THE OAK RIDGE BOYS

I just had an ultimate experience. We were asked to sing the anthem at Fenway Park for a Red Sox/Orioles game. I have been a Red Sox fan for a few decades, so getting to see them in Fenway Park was the ultimate experience for me. To sit in a park where so much history has been made was a chilling experience, and to be cheered by the same fans that cheered the Red Sox was a huge high. 

JAY SKEBBA, BLADE STAFF WRITER

It's not much to look at, but you can't beat the atmosphere inside or outside the Friendly Confines of Wrigley Field. The fans understand the game and know everything about their Cubbies. I saw Cole Hamels throw a no-hitter there in 2015.

SANDY BROKAW, HOLLYWOOD AGENT

Wrigley Field is my favorite ballpark. It's just perfect. I've probably seen over 200 games there. At this point, I love to sit near the top of the second deck next to the first base side of the press box. I have my scorecard and the radio tuned to Pat Hughes on WGN. I like to look out and see Lake Michigan. Really, it doesn't get better than this!

BOBB VERGIELS, TIGERS PUBLIC ADDRESS ANNOUNCER

Comerica Park is hands down my favorite park. I look down upon it from the press box and still can't believe I am here. But more than that, I look out and at the skyline as it wraps itself around the outfield and it almost looks like the buildings within view have been painted onto a canvas which is dropped just over the outside edge of the ballpark.

EVAN RANKIN, FORMER WALLEYE PLAYER

I saw Derek Jeter live in his last season at Yankee Stadium, and you can’t beat the history of the Green Monster at Fenway Park or the ivy-covered outfield wall at Wrigley Field. No matter; to me, there is nothing like the sunshine and a hot dog at Comerica Park while watching the Tigers.

KYLE ROWLAND, BLADE SPORTS WRITER

We're in the golden age of stadium design, but if we're talking aesthetics and ballpark experience, it gets no better than AT&T Park, the home of the San Francisco Giants. Built in 2000, it offers baseball's most picturesque views, with the San Francisco Bay just beyond the outfield.

RYAN DUNN, BLADE STAFF WRITER

The very existence of San Francisco's AT&T Park remains a marvel in my mind. Along the San Francisco Bay waterfront, in one of the country's most expensive cities, sits 12.5 acres dedicated to baseball. It's the open, cityscape stadium that perfects the sport.

UNIQUE DELIGHTS

BRIAN DUGGER, BLADE STAFF WRITER

When Progressive Field (formerly Jacobs Field) opened in 1994, it transformed downtown Cleveland. As a former season ticket holder, I was there during many of the 455 consecutive sellouts the park had after opening. I have fond memories of my right field seat in Section 109, directly behind Manny Ramirez, who would often inattentively wander around while play was happening. I can still remember fans imploring Ramirez to "put your glove on your hand, Manny."

SCOTT ALBERT, BLADE COPY EDITOR

Petco Park in San Diego has a great location, right in the middle of the Gaslamp District in downtown with restaurants and bars surrounding the stadium. I lived four blocks away and every ballgame is a neighborhood party. It serves the best craft beer in the majors, and the innovative design of the park in old warehouse district features the Western Metal Supply Co., declared a historic landmark in 1978, built into the stands. The stadium is clad in Indian sandstone and stucco for a retro look. 

LAUREN LINDSTROM, BLADE STAFF WRITER

What is a baseball stadium without hot dogs? More specifically, without the Hot Dog, Bratwurst, Chorizo, Polish, and Italian sausages? The Famous Racing Sausages predate the Brewers’ current home, but my delight in them began at Miller Park under its retractable roof, long before I could legally enjoy the stadium's hops and barley offerings. Silly, spirited, and consistent with Wisconsin’s love of all things beer and cased meat, you can keep your pierogies and big-headed presidents. I’ll take a Miller Lite and five bucks on Bratwurst.

NICHOLAS PIOTROWICZ, BLADE SPORTS WRITER

From $4 Rockpile tickets to home plate to the mile-high purple row of seats, you will have an awesome view no matter where you sit at Coors Field in Denver. This stadium and the LoDo neighborhood in which it resides is perfect for a banquet beverage or two while enjoying MLB’s most hitter-friendly park.

TOM HENRY, BLADE STAFF WRITER

The home of the Harrisburg Senators, a Double-A franchise of the Washington Nationals (and before that, the Montreal Expos), FNB Field has one of the most unique features in all of baseball: It's on an island. It's called City Island and is right in downtown Harrisburg. It's accessible by a footbridge, so — if you're up for a short walk — you can get a little exercise and avoid the traffic. There are lots of places to have dinner in downtown before or after the game that are within walking distance of this fun little recreational island, which has trails and other sports amenities.

MATT SWAN, BLADE COPY EDITOR

If you want a break from the country music in Nashville, First Tennessee Park, home of the Triple-A Nashville Sounds, is a treat. My brother and I caught a game of the Oakland Athletics affiliate when I was in town and the crowd was rocking. The scoreboard, shaped like a large guitar, is a treat as well.

DAVID PATCH, BLADE STAFF WRITER

The Single-A Wilmington (Del.) Blue Rocks have the goofiest collection of random mascots I've ever seen at Daniel S. Frawley Stadium. The craziest is a guy in a celery costume — reportedly abandoned in the stadium after some sort of food convention — who dances out onto the field and tosses celery into the crowd whenever the Blue Rocks score a run. I'd go back just to get pictures of him doing that.

TOMMY GALLAGHER, BLADE COPY EDITOR

Hadlock Field in Portland, Maine, home of the Red Sox Double-A affiliate Sea Dogs, features a scaled-down version of the Green Monster in left field. There are no bad seats.

JEREMY SCHNEIDER, BLADE STAFF WRITER

Down in the heart of the Bluegrass and basketball-mad Big Blue Nation, you'll find one of the coziest fields, Whitaker Bank Ballpark in Lexington, Ky. The home of the Single-A Lexington Legends, Whitaker Bank holds just shy of 7,000 fans and goes beyond itself to provide a great experience for each of them, including fireworks and special concerts. A couple of pro tips: Get ready for the West Sixth Inning, when draft selections of Lexington brewery West Sixth go on sale for a dollar; and snag $6 tickets to the bleachers or grassy picnic area along the third base line.

First Published July 6, 2018, 4:24 p.m.