Great American Ballpark, 2010

#12

Was here in August 2010, the 1st of a 3 game trip. The view coming up to the park wasn't great. It hides a little where it is at. I know that sounds crazy with a huge ballpark, but I guess if you have been there, you know what I mean. The main entrance is kind of bland, although there are some cool statues there(see below). Although once you get inside it is very nice. The site lines are great. The field is beautiful. The steamboat replica in right/center field is kind of the signature of the park, and it is impressive. Fireworks shoot out of the smokestacks when a Red hits a HR. The Reds were playing the Marlins and won 7-2.


Here you see a close up of the stacks. You can stand underneath them and watch the game, and there are misters and fans that blow on you. And a great view as well. Pretty convenient when you start to melt after the 1st inning on a hot day. This was HOT. 96 degrees and sunny. Our seats were 4 rows up from the field in left center, and I think they were the last two seats in the stadium to get shade relief;). These misters are in a couple places and very nice. We moved up to the third base line around the 7th inning here and I just missed a foul ball. It hit my hand but I couldn't get a grip on it. The guy behind me got it when it hit the ground, but gave it to his kid, which is what I would have done anyway. Maybe I need to invest in a glove so I dont break a finger?


The scoreboard here is pretty basic. Nice, but basic. It isn't overpowering and gets the job done. I had a great time chatting with the Reds fans, even though I was completely decked out in Cubs gear. Of course it helped that I let them know I hate the Cards!


The statues in front of the stadium are below, and in order are Ted Kluszewski, Joe Nuxhall, Frank Robinson & Ernie Lombardi. These four Crosley Field stars are shown in the middle of a game, with Robinson hitting off of Nuxhall and Kluszewski on-deck. I know that Pete Rose can't be in the HOF but the park is on Pete Rose Way, and they don't have a statue of him?.







While we were waiting to go into the park, Shawn and I were discussing the 1990 reds. The "nasty boys" came up and all we could think of was Rob Dibble, and ??? Myers. We asked several fans and employees if they could name them, and nobody could come up with the 3rd. One lady got Randy Myers after we said the last name. At least we weren't the only ones that couldn't get it. The 3rd was Norm Charlton.

Progressive Field, 2010

#11

Went here at end of June 2010. It was a great night for baseball. The stadium was very nice, but not filled even close to capacity, but with the way the Indians have been playing lately, no surprise there.


Heritage park, located out beyond the center field fence, is a neat bit of history about the Indians. It has plaques for alot of players, even if they are not HOF or retired numbers with the club. There was 1 statue of Bob Feller by the left field entrance. Cool statue, but it should be either out front or near the Heritage Park, IMO.







The stadium has a pretty nice scoreboard. I have been looking a lot more at the scoreboard set-up when I go to parks lately. Wrigley is so basic, and manual of course, but still one of the best, not that I dislike the new styles. Some get a little overzealous with the advertising, but something has to pay these guys salaries.


I had on my (Cubs) Kerry Wood jersey hoping to see him pitch in the game, and he came in for the save in the top of the 9th. The Indians shot down the Jays 2-1. It was good seeing one of my favorite Cubs come through at the game, even though he wasn't wearing Cubs gear.


I went to this game with my brother in-law Pat, nephew Sean, and my son Chris. Pat got us great seats on the 1st base line, right behind the dugout about 8 rows up. Close enough that when Jays 1B Lyle Overbay threw a ball into the stands in between innings, I caught it. I gave it to Sean right away, and the look on his face was priceless. I hope I just made a lifelong baseball fan. This was the third park that I have been to a game to with Chris. Yankee Stadium, Turner and here. Hopefully he can go next year on the trip with us.

Citi Field, 2010

#10

Went here in June of '10. This park is a huge improvement over the old Shea Stadium. I have read a lot of complaints by Mets fans that they tried to bring back the Brooklyn Dodger feel with the stadium. I think Ebbets was a classic stadium, and I think to use it as a basic design was pretty good idea. It does have a Jackie Robinson Tribute thing as you go in, but considering his # is retired through baseball, its not a big deal. After all, if the Dodgers didn't move to L.A., the Mets wouldn't even be in existence.


For those of you that don't know what Ebbets Field looked like, well here you are. This was an all time classic stadium and and as I said, I think the Mets did a great thing by designing it to look like Ebbets. Both Connie Mack and Forbes Field had a similar look as well, but not as close as Ebbets.



The old HR apple is now in front of the new stadium, which is pretty cool. It was replaced by a new one in the batters eye in center field. The stadium has a lot of great features and there is not a bad seat in the place. The planes flying over about every 2 minutes can get annoying, but once your into the game they are not quite as noticeable. Not much you can do about it when your literally 1/2 mile from Laguardia. And for those Cub fans that complained about the measly little Toyota sign in left field, get back to me when Wrigley has 1/10th of this advertising, and these pics don't even show it all. Overall, a very nice park. When your down in the lower sections it makes the park seem smaller, probably because of the way the stands are set up, but when up high it really opens up. Mets were playing the Twins.


Talk about being modern. You cannot find Gluten free stuff in a lot of restaurants, but they are on top of it here. They had a good selection of food overall though, and beer. And the prices were not terrible, for NY, same or less than Atlanta.


Looks like someone else is having fun visiting parks as well. You think she was trying to fit in with the NY crowd by wearing her Billy Joel concert shirt? She has been to Wrigley, Citi, Turner, Coors, and will go to Fenway with me when we finally make it to Boston. There are a lot of die hard baseball fans that haven't been to that many parks.

Turner Field, 2010

Was here for opening day when the Cubs took a 4-0 lead in the top of the 1st, only to get blown out and lose 16-5. I did see Jason Heyward hit his 1st HR on his first at bat, but unfortunately it was against my Cubbies. Went to the next game as well when Chipper hit a 2 run shot in the 8th to beat us 3-2.




The Chik-Fila cow and his ever changing sign.




This is obviously from the playoffs in 2010. This was the game that Brooks Conrad had 3 errors, and basically cost the Braves the win. Giants won 3-2. Being a Cub fan, I can empathize. This was my first playoff game. The only other time I lived in a city that had a playoff team was in NY, but trying to get Yankees tix for post season. Yeah Right.


The Chik-fila cow for playoff time. There is one more older post from Turner Field.

AT&T Park, 2009

#9

Although it was off season (Jan 09') the park was open for tours and I did the full tour. Got to sit in the dugout and check out the locker room. Also went up into a luxury box. It was cool, although I would have much rather have caught a game there. Great View of the bay and a very nice park. The coke bottle and glove are really nice and a distinctive feature here. Will have to do a trip to California one year and hit all the parks down the coast.




Two statues at AT&T of the great Willie Mays and Juan Marichal.




The right outfield wall is another great feature, you can see in the stadium as your walking on the pier. A great set up with McCovey's Cove behind and the way the bleachers and benches are positioned.

Oriole Park at Camden Yards, 2008

#8

Went there in fall of 08'. Went on a trip with my friend Shawn to Yankee Stadium in its final season and hit Camden on the way. Hung out at Pickles bar before the game and scored free box seats from a lady that had some extras. That's me in the bottom left of the warehouse pic wearing the cubs hat. That day the O's beat the Indians 6-3.


This is a beautiful and classic ballpark and besides Wrigley, its the nicest park I've been to. There is something to the feel with the warehouse.As you walk around the neighborhood around the park, it really has that ballpark feel to it, a lot like Wrigleyville. That is something not all parks have, like Turner.


The scoreboard here was cool. The clock and metal works was nice. The scoreboard was just revamped the year before we went, so we got to see the new version of it.





There is a statue of "Baby Babe" at Oriole Park, who was originally from Baltimore. And although not a statue, there is a plaque of Cal Jr. Maybe someday they will put up a statue of him since he is probably the most recognized Oriole.

Coors Field, 2007

#7

Went there fall of 07'. Was on a trip with my wife and it is a beautiful park. They were playing the Padres and I went to 2 games while I was there. I remember listening to some of the fans talking and saying how they were still in the race, and thinking to myself, not a prayer. They then went on that run which took them to the world series, where they ran out of gas against the Red Sox.


There is a pretty good view from the park, when clear. You can see the mountains in the distance. was pretty cool at sunset.


One of the games I sat in left field, it was upper deck (4 rows back), which were good seats, but you cannot see the fence line below. Kaz Matsui hit a HR but from the deck you just saw it disappear from view and then the crowd go nuts. I guess that's just a quirk you have to deal with if you sit in those seats.

Interesting notes, there is a CUBS store right next to the stadium. They sell a little of everything but mostly cubs stuff. The owner is from Chicago and the store is very successful. Also, one of the games I went to was on a Sunday, and you couldn't move around in the gift shops and some concourses because the TV's had the Bronco game on and people were huddled around watching it.

Turner Field, 2004-2009

#6

Living in Atlanta, I have been to a lot of games here. Most of the games here have been Cub games, but have been to others as well. I've actually gone to more games at this park than any other.


Above is the Chick-fil-a cow that moves its arm (or is it a leg) up and down during the chant. This picture was from 2009.

Below are the statues at Turner. Warren Spahn,Phil Niekro and Hank Aaron. The last is of Ty Cobb, which is a tribute because Cobb was from Georgia and was known as "the Georgia peach".

Shea Stadium, 2001

#5

I was last there on Oct 3 2001 after 911. My tickets were for an earlier date, but of course the season was delayed due to that day. I remember the game because the Mets had been eliminated from playoff contention the day before and had nothing but scrubs playing. They were all wearing the NYPD and NYFD hats. The stadium was old and dated and needed to be replaced. Looking forward to visiting Citi Field. The Mets won 3-0 over the Pirates. I saw the Mets twice at Yankee stadium during subway series games as well.


I really did not like the outside of the stadium. It had the feel of a football stadium from outside. The stadium once your inside and watching the game was pretty good, but it was ugly and old. I think the Homerun Apple was a cool feature at Shea, but alot of other fans dont like it (or make fun of it), especially Yankee fans.


The stadium is out in the middle of nowhere, as much as that is possible in NYC. It is right next to the U.S. Open courts in Flushing Meadows. Not much else out there though.

Yankee Stadium, 1999-2008

#4

This was the final season at the old Yankee Stadium (08). The new one was almost finished and I will have to hit it someday. I had been here several times, but my friend Shawn had never been to the old one so this was a must for him.You see him here, he's like a kid in a candy store. He loved watching Mariano get the save against the Rays. Even with my dislike of the team, I enjoy watching them and have a ton of respect for players like Jeter and Rivera.


We got rained out and had to catch the second game of a double header the next day, but went down to the city and had a good time there. Also hit a bar next to yankee stadium, Billys sports bar, it was of course loaded with yankee stuff and was pretty cool. We were gonna hit Philly on the way home, but having to wait until the next day due to the rainout, we had to pass on Philly.


We had nosebleed seats, but thanks to the rain we were able to move up a little closer. We probably could have gotten even closer, but these were pretty good and the fans around us were pretty entertaining as well.


The scoreboard here was very basic, although they knew for many years that the new stadium was coming, so no reason to update it. You can see monument park below in the pic. The all star game was held here earlier in the year since it was the final season of an iconic ballpark.



This last pic was from 1999 when I took my kids to thier first game at Yankee Stadium. They were playing the Tigers that day. Its amazing how much digital cameras have improved since then.
I also went to 2 "subway series" games here. I remember the play that El Duque caught a comeback grounder and couldnt get the ball out of his glove, so he just threw the whole glove to 1st for the out. But I also had a chance to go to a game and passed, of course that was the day that David Cone was perfect. Still shooting myself for that one.

Toronto Skydome, 1998

#3

I was there in 1998 when I made a trip to Toronto. Also had lunch at the Hardrock in the Skydome. The stadium was pretty basic, but the distinction is the closing roof. Since this park opened, newer parks with closing roofs have opened and seem to have more of a baseball feel. The roof was closed when I was there. It was a nice day, but hot, and I guess they just wanted to keep it cool in there.