The Mariners announced today that they're moving the fences in at Safeco Field. 13-year-old Safeco Field. The same Safeco Field where Ken Griffey and Bret Boone and Edgar Martinez played. The stadium that hosted Cal Ripken's last All-Star Game. Weird, right? But it's actually the thing to do now.

(This article was originally published at DesigNate Robertson. Photos by the author.)

Lost in all the other wonderful features, like the fish and the home run sculpture and the fact that Marlins Park is actually really nice is something called the Bobblehead Museum. No need to come to Little Havana to see it—it'll come to you in your nightmares.

Marlins Park has been unveiled to the masses, and early reviews are fawning. "Contemporary," "dazzling," "forward-looking." The only thing not state-of-the-art is a true center field camera (perhaps the home run sculpture is in the way).

The death of Shannon Stone, the man who died after falling at Rangers Ballpark, had personal meaning for me. As a kid, I had an irrational, omnipresent fear that I would trip and fall while descending the aisle in the upper deck, and go over the edge. Especially at Shea Stadium, where the stairs were alarmingly steep.

Why does baseball hate America? America is beer, and baseball hates beer-lovers.