Every MLB Stadium's Most Distracting Features: Arizona-Los Angeles

With everyone’s focus on baseball currently on the upcoming MLB trade deadline, it’s difficult to focus on anything else.

However, we at Bleacher Report always strive to bring the most comprehensive coverage possible, not only for baseball but for every sport on the map.

In MLB in particular however, what makes each team unique is their home stadiums. While the NFL, NHL and NBA play in arenas with the same measurements and confines, each and every stadium in baseball is unique in its own right. No two stadiums are the same in terms of fence distances or outfield configurations.

What also makes each stadium unique in baseball are other features that can be in some ways distracting, and it’s not confined to just outfield walls or fences.

Here then are the most distracting features in each MLB stadium, alphabetically from Arizona to Los Angeles. Next week, we will feature Milwaukee through Washington.

Doug Mead is a featured columnist with Bleacher Report. His work has been featured on the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, SF Gate, CBS Sports, the Los Angeles Times and the Houston Chronicle. Follow Doug on Twitter, @Sports_A_Holic.

Arizona Diamondbacks: Chase Field and Its Swimming Pool

For all who watched the 2011 MLB All-Star Game, and specifically the State Farm Home Run Derby (yes, have to call it by its rightful corporate name), the feature of Chase Field most featured was the famous swimming pool located beyond the right field fence.

And of course, MLB took advantage of it, with its MLB Fan Cave and the Santa who was drinking Pepsi Max instead of his traditional Coca-Cola.

Don't you just love how marketing has completely taken over?

Yuck.

Atlanta Braves: Turner Field and Its Mechanical Chick Fil-a Cow

For anyone who has ever visited Atlanta and Turner Field, they know full well that one of the traditions at a home game is the Tomahawk Chop. Used by the Braves to get their fans excited, it has been in place for many years.

However three years ago, a mechanical cow was erected in Turner Field right next to the Coca-Cola Bottle, and it is sponsored by none other than Chick-fil-A, which opened its first restaurant in Atlanta in 1967.

I don't know if I'll ever get used to seeing a cow doing a tomahawk chop.

Baltimore Orioles: Camden Yards Turning into Yankee Stadium/Fenway Park South

For any fan who has ever visited Oriole Park at Camden Yards, it really is an incredible experience. But for Orioles fans, and for players, the one major distraction is when the Boston Red Sox or New York Yankees come to town, and Camden Yards is filled with more of their fans than O's fans.

Orioles center field Adam Jones feels the exact same way. In an interview with the Baltimore Sun before the season started, Jones offered two solutions to avoid seeing Camden Yards turn into Yankee Stadium/Fenway Park South:

"

Orioles fans, Jones says, can "knock the ---- out of 'em" when Yankee and Red Sox fans turn Camden into their road-field advantage. "You want 'em to leave?" Jones asks. "Knock the ---- out of 'em."

Or, perhaps a more pragmatic solution: the Orioles themselves can turn their fortunes around. "If we beat the hell out of them out of the field...maybe more of our fans will go to the game."

"

Sounds pretty logical to me. Unfortunately, the O's haven't cooperated in turning their own fortunes around.

Boston Red Sox: Fenway Park and Its Center Field Triangle

For all of the quirks in the little bandbox called Fenway Park—its 37-foot high left field known as the Green Monster and the Pesky Pole in right field—the center field triangle may just be even a bigger distraction, especially for visiting outfielders unfamiliar with the unpredictable bounces that balls can take when hit in that area.

Located just to the left of the Red Sox bullpen 420 feet from home plate, any ball hit in that area can easily turn into a triple when it caroms off the corner walls that form the triangle like a pinball, and at times batters can just as easily be frustrated when a ball hit towards the triangle can bounce into the bullpen itself, turning a possible triple into a double.

Chicago White Sox: US Cellular Field Is Okay, but What About Homer Broadcasters?

While US Cellular Field, home to the Chicago White Sox, is a more than capable stadium with not a lot of quirks built in, one quirk that has been a part of the White Sox franchise for over 20 years is their play-by-play announcer, Ken Harrelson.

Harrelson has won numerous Emmy awards and has been voted Illinois Sportscaster of the Year twice, but he without a doubt the biggest "homer" in all of professional broadcasting.

If you are a baseball fan that doesn't necessarily have a bias for the White Sox in particular, don't worry, "Hawk" Harrelson will be happy to provide the bias for you... and more.

White Sox fans, don't beat me up, I'm a huge Harrelson fan since his days wearing the Red Sox uniform from 1967-1969. I'm just saying that if you're not a White Sox fan, don't be surprised at what comes out of Harrelson's mouth during a White Sox telecast.

Chicago Cubs: Wrigley Field and Its Ivy Outfield Walls

Ever since Bill Veeck decided to add to the Wrigley Field ambiance by adding ivy to the outfield walls in 1937, the ground rules concerning balls hit into the ivy can certainly be a distraction in many ways.

Under current ground rules, if a ball is hit into the ivy and an outfielder is unable to see it, he can throw his hands in the air, and the umpire rules for a ground rule double.

However, if an outfielder starts digging into the ivy to retrieve the ball without indicating that it's stuck, the hitter can run the bases as long as he wants.

Cincinnati Reds: Great American Ballpark and Its Sea of Red Seats

When Great American Ballpark opened in 2003 to replace Cinergy Field/Riverfront Stadium, which had been home to the Cincinnati Reds from 1970-2002, many Reds fans were overjoyed at having a baseball-only stadium instead of the all-purpose stadium that housed both the Reds and the NFL Cincinnati Bengals.

However, the Reds took things a little to literally when it came to their seating. Every single seat in the stadium is red.

Takes the phrase "seeing red" to a whole new level, especially when the stadium is half-empty.

Cleveland Indians: Progessive Field and Its "Little Green Monster"

When Jacobs Field—now named Progressive Field—opened in 1994, Cleveland Indians fans were treated to a wall that replicated another famous wall. In Cleveland's case, it's called the Little Green Monster.

The wall, around 19 feet high, can certainly keep home runs from becoming home runs, much like Fenway Park's original Green Monster, but at only half the height can still easily reward long fly balls.

The only issue I have with it is the name. There's already a Green Monster. There doesn't need to be a "Little Green Monster" or anything else resembling Green Monster. Call it whatever. Just don't call it something that's already taken and is already a unique quirk all unto itself.

Just saying...

I know, my Boston roots are coming out, but I had to come up with some kind of quirk, and that fit.

Colorado Rockies: Coors Field and the Humidor

When Coors Field opened in 1995, balls started flying out of the park almost immediately. The Colorado Rockies' home field set a record for home runs in 1996 when 271 bombs were launched out of Coors Field. That record was shattered in 1998, when 303 home runs were hit.

It was determined that the thin air, due to the high altitude of the park, and the drier air, were major contributing factors to the balls flying quickly out of Coors Field. A steel 9' X 9' humidor was then built to store the baseballs at a temperature of 70 degrees, and ever since the 2002 season, the home runs totals at Coors Field are much more in line with average ballpark numbers.

The problem is, it took a MAJOR advantage away from the Rockies, who for years built a team around the advantage that the rarified air gave their hitters.

Detroit Tigers: Comerica Park and Its Merry-Go-Round and Ferris Wheel

Baseball stadiums have certainly evolved through the years, with many of the newer parks offering a number of different amenities designed to stir up interest for their fans.

In Detroit however, they decided to add an amusement park to the actual baseball experience.

Comerica Park features both a ferris wheel and a merry-go-round, or carousel. The ferris wheel cars are in the shape of baseballs, presumably to show a connection between baseball and ferris wheels.

Not sure there is a connection, but Comerica Park must think there is.

Florida Marlins: Sun Life Stadium and the Sore Neck Experience

When Miami Dolphins owner Joe Robbie built Joe Robbie Stadium, now known as Sun Life Stadium after about 167 name changes, he originally intended for it to be a football-only stadium for his beloved Dolphins.

Home to five Super Bowls since it opened in 1987, Sun Life Stadium also became the home of the Florida Marlins in 1993.

The problem is, since it was built as a football-only stadium at the time, many of the seats in Sun Life Stadium face directly toward the football field, so in certain seats at the stadium during a baseball game, a spectator has to crick their neck a lot to look at home plate and the pitchers mound to see the live action going on.

As a season-ticket holder for the Marlins in 1996 and 1997, I can attest to the fact that I walked out of Sun Life Stadium on numerous occasions with a stiff neck.

Houston Astros: Minute Maid Park and Tal's Hill and the Center Field Flagpole

When Houston Astros president of baseball operations Tal Smith decided to put a hill in center field along with a flagpole in the new stadium in Houston, now known as Minute Maid Park, he meant for it to be a tribute to many of the older ballparks that had similar features.

The old Crosley Field in Cincinnati had hills, and at one time, Fenway Park had what was known as Duffy's Cliff in left field that was later flattened by owner Tom Yawkey in 1934.

However, Tal's Hill and the flagpole are not always player-friendly.

"If the ball rolls onto the hill, it's not steep enough to roll back, so you have to go get it," Lance Berkman once said of the area. "Then there's the chance of running into the flagpole that's on it and getting hurt. I'm no fan of that, either. But I guess that's what makes baseball unique, these parks configured differently."

Configured differently is one thing. Being dangerous is another.

Kansas City Royals: Kauffman Stadium and Its...Bad Team?

When Kaufman Stadium opened in April 1973, the Kansas City Royals had one of the few modern stadiums that were built strictly for baseball. All-purpose stadiums were the rage at the time, and Kansas City already had Arrowhead Stadium for the Chiefs, as part of the Truman Sports Complex.

For 39 seasons now, the Royals have played host to one of the most gorgeous stadiums in the majors, and although it went through a $250 million renovation a few years ago, it was still a gorgeous park even before the recent upgrades.

There really isn't anything bad to say about Kauffman Stadium, nor are there any distractions that take away from the game experience. Well, other than the fact that the Royals have had one winning season since 1993, that is.

Los Angeles Angels: Angel Stadium and Its Rally Monkey

During the 2002 World Series between the Anaheim Angels and San Francisco Giants, the baseball was introduced to the Rally Monkey.

While the Rally Monkey was actually introduced two years earlier, it was during the Fall Classic that the Rally Monkey gained its popularity, especially during Game 6, when the Angels were down 5-0 heading into the bottom of the seventh and the team facing elimination.

However, it's now nine years later, and the Rally Monkey is still around. Considering the Halos haven't won since that time, maybe it's time for a new rallying cry from a different animal.

Los Angeles Dodgers: Dodger Stadium and the Godawful Ride Home

Dodger Stadium has been home to the Los Angeles Dodgers since 1962, and while it's still a very functional ballpark by today's standards, it definitely needs a facelift.

However, when attending a Dodgers game, it's no wonder that people flock out of the game in the sixth and seventh innings—it is an absolute nightmare just getting out of the parking lot.

Sure, you're treated to "I Love LA" blaring from the speakers as you leave the stadium, but be prepared to bring your favorite CD with you in your car, chances are you'll get to listen to the entire selection of songs while waiting to get out of the parking lot.