Classic Watering Holes Where Baseball Fans Gather Before And After The Game
Some of the best baseball traditions don’t happen inside the stadium. They happen around the corner in neighborhood dive bars where fans gather before first pitch and celebrate – or commiserate – after the final out.
By Kevin Wilkerson, Editor & Publisher, PubClub.com
As any sports fan knows, beer goes along with baseball like a bat to a ball. And going to bars near stadiums is a part of the game-watching culture, especially in Boston and Chicago where no true Red Sox or Cubbies fan would ever consider going to a game without first stepping into one of the bars near Fenway Park or Wrigley Field.
The majority of those bars are nearly as old as the stadiums themselves. Heck, in some MLB cities, such as here in San Diego, they are far older than the ballpark. This article focuses on the best dive bars located near MLB stadiums. Dive bars by Fenway Park, Wrigley Field, San Diego, San Francisco, LA & Atlanta are highlighted here.
Based on my travels and baseball experiences, along with additional research from BJ Courchaine who penned Shots Out of the Park: The Legendary Dive Bars Near MLB Stadium. here’s legendary dive bars by Fenway Park, Wrigley Field, Petco Park in San Diego, Dodger Stadium, Oracle Park (San Francisco Giants) and Truist Park (Atlanta Braves).
What Makes A Great Baseball Dive Bar?
- Close to the stadium
- Full of longtime fans
- Lots of baseball history
- Character over polish
- The kind of place you’d visit even in the offseason
Best Fenway Park Dive Bar
While Courchaine’s article doesn’t mention Fenway Park, I know from personal experiences that there are several bars – most of them dive bars – around the stadium. The best of these is the Cask ‘N Flagon, which has been there since Carton Fisk was catcher, Jim Lonborg was on the mound and “Yaz” was in right field.
Best Wrigley Field Dive Bar
Courchaine nominates Nisei Lounge, which has been a block south of Wrigley Field since 1951. Well, nobody really know for sure when it opened but they do know that it is pronounced “knee say.” I say, tho, that the best dive bar ever near Wrigley Field was the Wrigleyville Tap, because I stole one of their pens which had “stolen from Wrigleyville Tap” on it. Unfortunately it is now closed. So I’m going with my first runner-up and a Cubbies fans tradition, the Cubbie Bear, which has been there since 1953. The best bar, period, by Wrigley Field is the one people go to before the game, Murphy’s Bleachers. The latter serves beer by the pail and has been home to the Bleacher Bums since the 1960’s. You don’t go to a game at Wrigley Field without first going to Murphy’s Bleaches. On a side note, there’s a new player in the pre- and post-Cubs games bar scene, a tiki bar! It’s called Bamboo Club (3506 N. Clark Street) and it promises a “tropical escape” in the Windy City. While some tiki bars are also dive bars, this one is not.
Best Petco Park (San Diego Padres) Dive Bar
Named “Best Ballpark In America” by MLB.com, Petco Park is a gem of a stadium. It is so modern that it’s hard to believe it has been in downtown San Diego since 2004. The problem with this is, of course, is that it’s location in the East Village/Gaslamp Quarter means the restaurants and bars around it are, well, too nice. Bub’s By The Ballpark is the most popular bar before games but if you’re looking for a dive then you’ll want the oldest tavern in San Diego, Tivoli. It’s been there since the late 1880s and has a photo of former patron Wyatt Erp on the wall. It’s hardly the pregame scene you’ll find in Boston or Chicago, tho. Courchaine mentions the Waterfront Bar, which is not only not on the water (anymore, anyway) in Little Italy, about four miles from Petco Park. That being said, he’s got one thing right – it’s a great dive watering hole and one of my fav San Diego hangouts.
Best Dodger Stadium Dive Bar
When I lived in LA, which I did for many years, whenever I went to Dodger Stadium, I got in and out of there as fast as possible. Traffic was that bad. So I never went to Courchaine’s pick the The Short Stop, tho I certainly know about it as the place Dodgers fans go both before and after games.
Best Oracle Park (San Francisco Giants) Dive Bar
When I go to Giants games while visiting San Francisco, I start out at MoMo’s because of the pregame scene. Tho being a nice restaurant it hardly qualifies as a dive bar. The Homestead is Courchaine’s pick. It’s a peanuts-on-the-floor bar in the Mission District, which puts it two miles from Oracle Park. The closest bar to the stadium is its Public House, which is so close it has its own entrance to Oracle Park.
Best Truist Park (Atlanta Braves) Dive Bar
Courchaine names The Clermont Lounge near the old Turner Field, a place “that merges baseball vibes with burlesque entertainment,” he wrote. Even tho I’m from the South, I’ve not been to a Braves game since I was a kid so I will defer to Courchaine on this pick.
By the way, for you lovers of dive bars, National Dive Bar Day is July 7.
Kevin Wilkerson is the founder of PubClub.com, an award-winning journalist and nightlife expert who has covered destinations, events and nightlife for more than two decades. While working as a newspaper reporter, he received an Associated Press award for investigative journalism.
Next Stops On The Baseball Ballparks Party Bus
• Fenway Park Bars And The Red Sox Experience From A New England Native
• The Nightlife Blogger: Inside Wrigley Field
• Why The Wrigley Field Is A Better Game-Day Experience Than Fenway Park
• The Bars Around Wrigley Field Fans Go To Before & After Cubs Games Games
And…
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