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.

Friday, March 29, 2013

2013 season predictions

This is my last post before the season starts. I will post on the Braves game and the trip including the HOF when I get back. But, before the season starts, I just want to throw a few predictions out to see how off I can actually be.

AL
EAST
Orioles
Rays (wc)
RedSox
Bluejays
Yankees

CENTRAL
Tigers
Indians
Whitesox
Royals
Twins

WEST
Angels
Mariners(wc)
Rangers
A's
Houston

NL
EAST
Nationals
Braves (wc)
Phillies
Mets
Marlins

CENTRAL
Reds
Pirates
Cubs
StLouis
Milwaukee

WEST
Dodgers
Giants (wc)
Diamonbacks
Padres
Rockies

In the end it will be the Tigers and the Nationals in the WS, with the Tigers winning it all.
Opening day is 3 days away! Enjoy the season folks, and I will be posting after my first game and with stops from my trip. Go Cubbies!

Thursday, March 14, 2013

5 weeks away!

Before I get into the trip, I will be going to see the Cubs at Turner field on April 7. I didn't get to my first game last year until June. I will have at least 4, probably 5 in by May 1 this year. I will try to hit the Cubs on the 5th  as well, if I can get out of work. I already have minor league tickets for the 6th, so I will have to miss that one. 
Now, onto the trip. 
5 weeks from now and we will be traveling on our way to Pittsburgh. They will be hosting the Braves. We are gonna try to hit Primanti Bros while there, which shouldn't be hard because there is actually one in the stadium if we cant hit the one near the stadium. The local beer seems to be Iron City beer, so we will have to sample one with our sandwich.  
We will then be heading to Cooperstown NY to hit the Hall of Fame. The plan is to spend the whole day cruising through the halls and we will spend a lot of time there. It closes at 5 p.m., which works out great because we are about 4 hours from our hotel outside of Boston from there.
We will crash outside of Boston, get up early and take the train into Boston early Saturday a.m.. Sam Adams has it's first tour around 10 a.m. and we will be there early to try to get in. The game is at 1:30 at Fenway vs. the Royals, so we will have plenty of time to get there. After the game we have a few options. We could go tour the Harpoon brewery, or just hang in the area around Fenway, and hit the local bars. Or both! We are staying in Boston that night too so it we have some flexibility. Taking transit around allows us to drink freely. 
Sunday am we will be heading to Philly. After a 5 hour drive, we have some time to burn as well since the game vs. the Cardinals is the Sunday night game. Obviously we will be getting a cheese steak. Pats? Geno's? Well that is still up for debate. I read somewhere online that, since they are basically across the street from each other, to hit both. That a lot of food. We will see. That still leaves us with some spare time. I'm sure the game will be pretty filled considering it is a prime time game. We will get there early to check out the park. If we have a few hours extra, and anyone has any ideas, not including the historical stuff (Liberty Bell, etc) throw it out there. There are some local breweries, but they don't do tours on Sunday if at all. 


Citizens Bank Park