D-backs’ Chase Field ranks in Top 5 in MLB stadium food safety rankings

The Arizona Diamondbacks don’t shy away from eccentric food creations, but it’s icing on the cake that their stadium is among the safest places to eat.

Sports Illustrated released its 2017 MLB Ballpark Food Safety Rankings and Chase Field came in at No. 5.

SI said it “used data from 28 local health departments to compile a comprehensive ranking of ballpark food safety across the league.”

Chase Field — located in the heart of downtown Phoenix and formerly known as Bank One Ballpark — was said to have 44 total violations and 23 “critical violations.” For comparison, some of the worst ballparks in the study had more than 200 total violations and more than 100 critical violations.

While there are new concerns emerging about Chase Field’s conditions, its number of food violations were relatively low. The 2017 inspections, which were almost entirely carried out in mid-May, highlighted a number of issues regarding employee hygiene. In one violation, two employees didn’t wash hands after using their cell phones. In another, an employee cleaned their hands with a paper towel only, rather than with soap at a hand sink. Two other employees handled cash, and then directly started serving food. Chase Field would have fared even better if not for Lo-Lo’s Chicken & Waffles, which tallied seven violations by itself.

So which ballparks were in front of Chase Field on the list? That would be Coors Field (Colorado Rockies), Minute Maid Park (Houston Astros), Fenway Park (Boston Red Sox) and Safeco Field (Seattle Mariners), fourth-through-first, respectively.

The Tampa Bay Rays’ Tropicana Field was dead last on the list at No. 28, and two stadiums — the Cleveland Indians’ Progressive Field and the Detroit Tigers’ Comerica Park — were not included in the study.

And for those wondering, Dodger Stadium was No. 25 on the list.

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