A stadium strikeout

Christopher HAWTHORNE was caught “off base” in his recent assessment of Dodger Stadium’s place in baseball’s architectural history [“That Home-Field Edge,” June 5]. While the 43-year-old ballpark at Chavez Ravine may cause Los Angelenos to swoon with ardor, Mr. Hawthorne goes too far in stating that “the privileged place that Dodger Stadium now occupies among major-league stadiums” entitles it to join “Fenway Park in Boston, Yankee Stadium in the Bronx and Wrigley Field in Chicago” on a list of “beloved” ballparks.

When was the last time someone planned a vacation to Los Angeles for the express purpose of taking in a game at Dodger Stadium? It’s a common occurrence for vacationers to make such a pilgrimage to Boston’s Fenway Park. Hawthorne would be amazed at the number of visitors to Chicago who feel that they simply must take in a game at Wrigley Field. Can anyone seriously argue that “the House That Ruth Built” doesn’t trump “the House That O’Malley Built” in every conceivable way?

One can argue that Dodger Stadium was the best of what 1960s and ‘70s stadium design had to offer. However, given the dubious legacy of achievement in the sports architecture of the period, that is a far cry from joining the “green cathedrals” of Fenway Park, Wrigley Field and Yankee Stadium in the pantheon of beloved baseball architecture.

Brian Frates

Santa Monica