BALLPARK HISTORY

Ballparks are full of history. They each have thier own distinct features, The bricks and ivy in Wrigley, monument park and the mystique of Yankee stadium, the warehouse at Camden, the green monster at Fenway, and more, but when you go to a park its more than to see the game, its to take in the environment. As much as I dislike it, part of going to Turner is listening to the fans do that tommohawk chant. I also enjoy seeing the statues or plaques of players who have contributed to all that history.

Each ballpark also gives you a different perspective of the game. What might be a HR at one park is just a fly ball in another. The site lines, angles and views of a game vary from park to park, even if your sitting in the same general area. Also the in game extras , like the mascot races, or singing the stretch at Wrigley, Sweet Caroline at Fenway, or the 7th inning God Bless America at Yankee stadium.

Another great thing about parks is visiting the local bar near the stadium. Harry Carays and Murphy's in Chicago, Pickles in Baltimore, Hockeytown Cafe in Detroit, Hooters in Anaheim, Rock Bottom Brewery in Denver (and Cinci), Harpoon Brewery in Boston, and Billys sports bar in the Bronx.

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Almost time for pitchers an catchers

While I believe the Cubs are done making moves for the time being, there are still a couple of key FA out there that haven't been picked up yet,  Michael Bourne and Kyle Loshe. It will be interesting to see where they land. Otherwise there is not a lot more to happen during the off season, and there will be a bit of a warm up for some players with the World Baseball Classic starting soon.

In my last post I said I was looking to hit the NE. Well that's what the plan is. It will start in Pittsburgh, then possibly hit Philly, Boston, the HOF, and Yankee Stadium in some order. I really want to work in the Hall Of Fame. That would be an awesome trip. The 2 I want to hit the most are Pittsburgh and Boston. I'm sure I will hit the NE again, so if I was to miss Philly or NY, I could live with it. I haven't gotten commitment from Shawn yet, and Chris will not be able to go on a trip until late summer, so I might do a second trip with Chris this year and maybe hit both Texas parks or both in Florida.



That will leave me 7 parks, if it works out correctly, to hit my mark. I am officially setting a mark of hitting all of them by the end of 2015 season. I would shoot for the end of 2014, but with Seattle, Minnesota, and Arizona left, they are pretty spread out and can't be hit on multi-park trips. When I make my trip in the summer with Chris I might hit 2 more parks, which will get me down to 5. This is all still in the works, but a plan is in place and I am determined to make it happen.