I’m a ballpark fan.  I grew up going to Reds games at Riverfront Stadium, and I’ve been to their new Great American Ballpark.  I’ve been to Boston (Fenway Park), Baltimore (Camden Yards), Pittsburgh (PNC Park), Toronto (SkyDome), St. Louis (old Busch Stadium), Chicago (Wrigley Field and new Comiskey Park), Atlanta (Turner Field), Milwaukee (Miller Park), Denver (Coors Field), Seattle (Safeco Field).  Some for games, some just for tours, one viewed just from a tower.

An as much as I’d love for Great American Ballpark to be great, it’s only above average.  Wrigley and Fenway are in a class of their own because of the history and the downtown streetside experience.  Camden Yards is beautiful, and Eutaw Street is a great experience.  PNC Park is the best ballpark built in the last 80 years, mostly because it was so thoughtfully designed and they got all the little things right.  Safeco is very good.  Coors is very good, including the view of the Flatirons from the upper deck.
But Great American is getting better.  My biggest complaint from the times I’ve visited is that it’s too bland.  Too much white steel and concrete, some elements too reminiscent of Riverfront Stadium.

The Reds have some great retired numbers - Johnny Bench, Joe Morgan, Tony Perez, Ted Kluszewski, Dave Concepcion, Sparky Anderson, Frank Robinson, and former manager Fred Hutchinson (plus the MLB-wide #42 for Jackie Robinson).  And, they have a prominent unofficially retired number - Pete Rose’s #14.  And they’re called the Reds.

And how do they present those retired numbers at Great American?  Some on a black background, some on a red background, half on one side of a graphic and “Home of the Cincinnati Reds” banner.  Grouped by twos for no apparent reason (#42 & #1 together, #5 and #20 together, etc.).

I think there’s a better way, so I did some work in Photoshop on a new plan for the Reds retired numbers.

First, paint the entire background red.  They’re the Reds, and it should be red.  Remove the graphic of the three old-time players (I think it’s just a logo of some sort, not in recognition of any particular players).  Shift “Home of the Cincinnati Reds” to the left so all the retired numbers are together.  And place them in numerical order, in order to do my favorite part of this display - leave a conspicuous gap where #14 should be.  Pete Rose was a dirtbag who deserved to be suspended, hasn’t stopped lying ever since, and shouldn’t be allowed to manage at the major league level - but he deserves to have his number retired in Cincinnati, his plaque on the wall in Cooperstown, and a chance to work in baseball as an instructor.

I think the Reds have now added retired microphones for three broadcasters (Marty Brenneman, Joe Nuxhall, and one other).  Those can go to the left of the “Home of the Cincinnati Reds” banner, making them both part of the display but separate from the players.

My proposal isn’t perfect.  It doesn’t have player names, which should be there so all fans know whose numbers they’re looking at.  And the placement below the press box means that the majority of fans can’t see the numbers while watching the game; somewhere on or near the outfield wall would be best.  But I think it’s an improvement over what’s there now.