Baseball has given American sports some of its most iconic areas in history.Think New York’s legends of the past ‘The House That Ruth Built’ and Ebbets Field, and two relics from 1912 that are still going strong in Fenway Park and Wrigley Field.Ebbets Field was the legendary home of the Brooklyn Dodgers and, once upon of time, baseball’s groundbreaking great Jackie RobinsonGettyFenway Park, with the Green Monster and its famous manual scoreboard, are icons of MLB historyGettyThe former are both in the top six of America’s oldest active sports arenas, a list topped by three College Football stadiums – Franklin Field (1895), Harvard Stadium (1903) and Kyle Field (1904).The Indianapolis Motor Speedway (1909) is sandwiched between those football grandfathers and older statesmen of ballparks.Coincidently the iconic race track will host its first baseball game later this summer in the MLB Speedway Classic, which will see the Atlanta Braves and Cincinnati Reds face off in Tennessee in August.But there are 28 other Major League Baseball stadiums across the country, so which is the best of the lot?As a play-by-play announcer, Melanie Newman has seen it all in baseball.Breaking new ground for women in the industry as a broadcaster for the Baltimore Orioles since 2020 – and first female announcer in the team’s history – Mel recently ticked her final MLB ballpark off her bucket list of all 30 in the league.The final destination was Dodger Stadium, baseball’s third-oldest ballpark that has been host to legendary figures since the team’s move from Brooklyn to Los Angeles, and is now the home to Major League Baseball’s latest icon – two-way hitting ‘unicorn’ Shohei Ohtani.The Orioles’ Camden Yards is an icon itself as the first of baseball’s ‘retro-classic’ designed ballparks of the 1990s and 2000s.It has an old school charm despite only being the Birds’ home for 33 years, with the former Baltimore & Ohio Railroad warehouse – which dates back to 1899 – over the stadium’s right field wall adding some history to the otherwise young arena.But, despite also being her home away from home, it’s not Newman’s all-time favourite.Mel Newman has been an Orioles announcer since 2020GettyThe Orioles’ retro-styled Camden Yards is one of the MLB’s ballparks that takes a nod to baseball stadiums of the pastGettyAnd while there might be a clear No.1 in her books, baseball really does have something for everyone when it comes to its ballparks.“It’s really tough to just pick one,” Mel told talkSPORT after making her return to UK TV screens on Bases Covered Live, which brings MLB action back to the BBC.“I did officially knock the last park off my list last year with our trip to Dodger Stadium since they’re an every-other-year visit. “I think you almost have to break it down by category – for me, the overall stadium is always going to be Fenway. “I think between the history and the nostalgia, the emotion of it, the way that it breathes, Fenway just stands by itself. “But then you talk about the view from the park and you have San Francisco and Pittsburgh.Californian sunsets over the Dodger Stadium – the third oldest MLB ballpark and the largest by capacity in the world at 56,000 seatsGettyThe San Francisco Giants’ Oracle Park is one of the most scenic in MLB, with views of the city and Golden Gate Bridge on one side and the bay on the other – fans regularly paddle out in kayaks to catch fly balls that land in the water during gamesGettyThe Pittsburgh Pirates’ PNC Park boasts one of the most stunning viewpoints in all of baseball, particularly from behind home plateGetty“At the Giants and the Pirates you sit in the stands and, as well as watching the game, you just have your breath taken away by the cityscape that lays out behind it. “It’s stunning, at both stadiums. The fact they got real estate that amazing is just crazy!“But then you have to look at the environment, the in-game, the vibes.“Toronto has DJs, they have these huge porches that are built for socialization. “Nobody does it quite like Toronto and, of course, they’re the one team outside of the US. “But there’s just so many good spots and a ton of Minor League stadiums as well. “I would have Fenway at the top, but there’s another good four or five that hold their own for sure.”For Mel, you just can’t beat the nostalgia and history of FenwayGettyThe 2025 MLB season began with the Tokyo Series, as the Dodgers took on the Chicago Cubs at the Tokyo Dome, JapanGetty Then there are the stadiums outside of the United States as MLB expands its brand around the world.The first pitch of the last two Major League Baseball seasons have been in Asia, with Shohai Ohtani the main attraction for both the 2024 opening game at the Gocheok Sky Dome, Seoul, South Korea and the 2025 opener at the Tokyo Dome, Japan.2026 will also see the return of the London Series, where a three-week all hands on deck transformation will see Premier League club West Ham’s London Stadium become a state-of-the-art baseball field, with clay imported from the US and everything.How does the Great British venue compare? “It’s really, really cool,” Mel tells us.“I still find it fascinating, the whole caveat, how it was built because of what it was for the Olympics to restrict airflow. “You naturally think, okay, well, how is that going to affect baseball and the way it travels? But the roofing itself is just stunning to see that big white overhang through it.”It takes 18 days to transform the London Stadium into West Ham’s home ground into a ballpark fit to host some of MLB’s biggest starsGetty ImagesPhillies star Bryce Harper rounds the bases after hitting the first home run of the 2024 London Series – Philadelphia and the New York Mets put on a show for UK fans in 2025GettyMel is joined in the studio by former Cardinals and Marlins first baseman Xavier Scruggs and English musician, baseball and cricket megafan Felix White for MLB Bases Covered LiveInstagram: @melanielynnenShe’s not wrong. UK baseball fans and supporters making the trip over from the States have witnessed some slugfests in Stratford, with 92 runs scored across just six games.There’s more than just the baseball to feast on, too.“I love it,” Newman continues. “The fans are all right there, but they’ve got space. So it seems like everybody has a great view of what’s going on in the field. “It’s very easy to navigate from our perspective, which doesn’t matter when you’re trying to go to a million places before the game.“And I think to be in that little area where you’ve got shops and places to eat within your fingertips just adds to that convenience of the social aspect. “Even prior to the game, you’ve got a place to hang out and chat and enjoy each other before you go inside. “I thought it was really cool, especially for being my first international stop for baseball. I loved everything about it.”Major League Baseball returns to the BBC this summer with a dedicated UK show, Bases Covered Live, every week on BBC iPlayer – Sunday July 27: Dodgers vs Red Sox, Sunday August 3: Yankees vs Marlins