TV and Baseball's Diversity of Parks

I was watching the season opening game for the Baltimore Orioles and Boston Red Sox the other day on TV when I noticed a peculiar thing.  Looking out toward right field, just past the ball park and in surrounding Baltimore starkly looms a large beige building...with numerous windows facing the park.  It was as if whoever put it there was daring any slugger to break one of them with a tape measure home run.  Of course, perceived distances can sometimes be deceptive...especially on TV.  So I don't know exactly how far away from the park that building is.  But the view is impressive regardless. 

Each baseball park has its own "view" past the outfield...some are more enclosed and all you see is more seating.  Others, like Boston's Fenway Park with its Green Monster wall in left field, have peculiar features that clearly distinguish them from the other ball parks. And although the dimensions of the infield in baseball are strictly measured, the outfields are incredibly different in size from one park to the next. This diversity in baseball of its ball parks makes its presentation on TV markedly different from other sports like basketball, hockey, and football, although with the last the existence of domed stadiums in some cities precludes the sight of snow or rain in their games.  But visually, except for blimp shots from above, the games in these sports don't reveal their locations to the degree that they do in baseball: just follow a long fly ball into the outfield (or beyond) and you'll get a glimpse (sometimes) of the city beyond.  And since baseball parks tend to be more downtown oriented, the view can be pretty interesting: the open-ended outfield in Baltimore inspired some there to create a pretty shopping/dining area just outside...and it is showcased on TV with every home game. Now I want to go there...I just saw something similar with the Chicago White Sox ball park.  I wonder how it is in St. Petersburg, where the Rays play their home games...