It actually looks like a baseball stadium. The reconfigured ballpark makes you feel good, even if the baseball doesn't. By blasting away the center- field stands to make room for the team's new Great American Ball Park, construction crews let the world in. Now there is more sky and less concrete, which is good for anybody who doesn't make his living with a cement mixer. Opening it up . . .
Atmosphere means more to baseball than any other sport.
On a warm, sunny afternoon, the game can be incidental. On a day at the ballpark, the grass, the smells, the sounds, the company are all part of the experience. The fans don't flock to Wrigley for the winning. The Indians' resurgence had a lot to do with the feel-good atmosphere of Jacobs Field. The old, closed-in place was both confining and sterile.