Going to a ball game is one of America’s
favorite pastimes and, like the country itself,
it has changed with the times from being a
popular amateur sport to a high-tech multi-billion
dollar business.
One of the most obvious changes for the
fan is the park that he visits to support
his local team. Gone are the days of wooden
benches and home made hot dogs along with
most of the original stadiums themselves,
bulldozed to make way for the multi-seat emporiums
that a successful ball team now demands. Baseball
began in 19th-century America and, when they
were first built, ballparks were nothing more
than wooden stands set up along the foul lines
of the game, constructed hastily as a practicality
with no attention to comfort or additional
amenities. However, as baseball became recognized
as a national pastime, more effort and thought
went into the design of baseball parks. Sometimes
the old ballpark has given way to the new,
but more often than not, the park itself has
moved entirely to another, bigger site.
At the turn of the 1990s, a ballpark renaissance
was underway and a new wave of retro stadiums
emerged. With the aid of historic photography, Ballparks
Then and Now showcases these wonderful
old baseball grounds that are so full of nostalgia
and shows their modern counterparts in contemporary
photographs. This book documents the many
changing faces of these ballparks, including
the current American and National League parks,
as well as former league stadiums. It is an
engaging insight into this ever-popular national
pastime.
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