With the World Series just ending, it’s got me in the mood to reminisce about my sons’ and my baseball trip this year. This was our fifth season of baseball park hopping and we took two separate trips to see four more major league baseball stadiums. The first week of June we were at Safeco Park in Seattle, and later in the summer we spent a week in Southern California and went to the three ballparks there. Initially I thought it was going to be a little less exciting as compared to our previous trips because we were staying so close to home, but like every year so far, it proved to be a great experience that created more memories for my sons and me and even produced a new “best hot dog”.
I am not sure why, but Ichiro is one of my son’s favorite players so going to Safeco Park to watch him play on his home field made this park extra exciting for Sam. Safeco, like many parks we have been to, is located the city’s downtown so we were able to walk to the stadium while enjoying the sights of city. It is a newer stadium with a brick exterior and rounded entrance that reflects the baseball parks of old. It has a retractable roof, but it was left open because the weather was more than cooperative on the Sunday we were there. It is a great park to watch a game with its stunning views of Puget Sound and the Seattle skyline. The Mariners did not disappoint us either, as on that day there were three Mariner home runs hit all by different players and Seattle beat Minnesota 4 to 2.
The last week of July we headed to Southern California and that trip turned out to be great fun. A good friend of mine from that area was away during the time we were in town and offered her home to us for our visit. That worked out well because her home is located in Laguna Niguel which is an easy trip to all three of the Southern California ball parks.
Our first visit was to Angel Stadium. I had been there before but didn’t recognize the park because it has been renovated over the years and it felt much more modern than I remembered it. It is fairly open and scenic and it certainly doesn’t seem as though it is over forty years old. John Lackey pitched well for the Angels allowing only three hits and the Angels easily beat the Indians 7 to1.
My son, Nelson, was excited as we headed south toward San Diego because he has wanted to see San Diego play ever since he was on a championship Padres Little League team a few years ago. We had heard a lot about Petco Park prior to our visit and we were not disappointed. It seems that Petco is the quintessential neighborhood stadium; it’s almost a park within a park. It’s located in San Diego’s Gas Lamp district and is surrounded by restaurants, shops, hotels and office buildings. Inside the park feels intimate with the seats located close to the field and they are all angled toward the pitcher’s mound. It had been a close game and was tied 1-1 going into the seventh, but the Brewers scored 5 runs in that inning and the Padres couldn’t recover. The final score was 7 to 1 Brewers, and even though we always root for the home team, a San Diego loss didn’t ruin our experience.
Nostalgia overcame me as we entered Dodger Stadium which was a feeling I hadn’t expected. As a Giants fan from way back, I realized that this is the place where Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale had pitched against some of the great Giant players of my day including Willie Mays, Willie McCovey and Orlando Cepeda. I told the boys that I could have actually come and watched the Giants play their long-time rival in this very spot some 45 years ago. Dodger Stadium, or Chavez Ravine as many people call it, is one of the oldest parks we have visited. We found the park unique, almost grandiose with a “space age” feel to it. It has the largest parking lot I have ever seen which is connected to a tree-lined entrance. Upon entering the stadium we found yellow, orange, turquoise and sky blue seats that added to the eclectic feel of the stadium. I had considered reneging on the boys’ and my pact to root for the home team because of my loyalty to the Giants, but the boys convinced me that doing so would somehow change the enjoyment of the moment, and they were right. The game was close and it was 6-5 Brewers going in to the ninth. One of the most exciting moments for us was when Manny Ramirez came up to bat with two outs with the winning run on second. You could hear a pin drop in the stadium. The tension didn’t last long because Manny hit it to right and it was a game ending flyout. This was the second day in a row that we had watched the Brewers beat the home team; but it was fun nonetheless!
Some of the parks’ hot dog reputations had preceded them. Many people have heard of the Dodger dog, and those in the know talk about the foot-long grilled dog found at Angel Stadium. We tried both of those hot dogs, plus the Padres offer what they call “5 for $5”, which is a hot dog, peanuts, a cookie, popcorn and a drink all for $5 – now that’s a steal. All of these dogs were decent, but none were as good as the one we tasted in Baltimore early in our baseball park touring days. That hot dog was grilled plump and juicy and served on a large toasted bun, and we had become convinced, after many attempts to find a better one, that we were not going to find a better hot dog. Seattle changed that. The Mariners have a hot dog that is even better than the dog that the Orioles serve. The hot dog is fairly large, grilled perfectly and served on a soft, fresh, potato bread-type-bun and it was tasty. After one bite, the three of us looked at each other and we knew we had found a new champion of hot dogs. Congratulations to the Mariners!
We have now seen 19 of the 30 major league parks. We get asked all the time what stadium is our favorite, and we always say Fenway. The truth is they are all great – each one being special for a variety of reasons. Much like the homes I deal with every day in my business, each stadium has a unique style, feel and character which reflect the people who inhabit it. So, whether it’s a small flat, a pretentious mansion or a major league ballpark, the old saying really is true – there’s just no place like home!
I am not sure why, but Ichiro is one of my son’s favorite players so going to Safeco Park to watch him play on his home field made this park extra exciting for Sam. Safeco, like many parks we have been to, is located the city’s downtown so we were able to walk to the stadium while enjoying the sights of city. It is a newer stadium with a brick exterior and rounded entrance that reflects the baseball parks of old. It has a retractable roof, but it was left open because the weather was more than cooperative on the Sunday we were there. It is a great park to watch a game with its stunning views of Puget Sound and the Seattle skyline. The Mariners did not disappoint us either, as on that day there were three Mariner home runs hit all by different players and Seattle beat Minnesota 4 to 2.
The last week of July we headed to Southern California and that trip turned out to be great fun. A good friend of mine from that area was away during the time we were in town and offered her home to us for our visit. That worked out well because her home is located in Laguna Niguel which is an easy trip to all three of the Southern California ball parks.
Our first visit was to Angel Stadium. I had been there before but didn’t recognize the park because it has been renovated over the years and it felt much more modern than I remembered it. It is fairly open and scenic and it certainly doesn’t seem as though it is over forty years old. John Lackey pitched well for the Angels allowing only three hits and the Angels easily beat the Indians 7 to1.
My son, Nelson, was excited as we headed south toward San Diego because he has wanted to see San Diego play ever since he was on a championship Padres Little League team a few years ago. We had heard a lot about Petco Park prior to our visit and we were not disappointed. It seems that Petco is the quintessential neighborhood stadium; it’s almost a park within a park. It’s located in San Diego’s Gas Lamp district and is surrounded by restaurants, shops, hotels and office buildings. Inside the park feels intimate with the seats located close to the field and they are all angled toward the pitcher’s mound. It had been a close game and was tied 1-1 going into the seventh, but the Brewers scored 5 runs in that inning and the Padres couldn’t recover. The final score was 7 to 1 Brewers, and even though we always root for the home team, a San Diego loss didn’t ruin our experience.
Nostalgia overcame me as we entered Dodger Stadium which was a feeling I hadn’t expected. As a Giants fan from way back, I realized that this is the place where Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale had pitched against some of the great Giant players of my day including Willie Mays, Willie McCovey and Orlando Cepeda. I told the boys that I could have actually come and watched the Giants play their long-time rival in this very spot some 45 years ago. Dodger Stadium, or Chavez Ravine as many people call it, is one of the oldest parks we have visited. We found the park unique, almost grandiose with a “space age” feel to it. It has the largest parking lot I have ever seen which is connected to a tree-lined entrance. Upon entering the stadium we found yellow, orange, turquoise and sky blue seats that added to the eclectic feel of the stadium. I had considered reneging on the boys’ and my pact to root for the home team because of my loyalty to the Giants, but the boys convinced me that doing so would somehow change the enjoyment of the moment, and they were right. The game was close and it was 6-5 Brewers going in to the ninth. One of the most exciting moments for us was when Manny Ramirez came up to bat with two outs with the winning run on second. You could hear a pin drop in the stadium. The tension didn’t last long because Manny hit it to right and it was a game ending flyout. This was the second day in a row that we had watched the Brewers beat the home team; but it was fun nonetheless!
Some of the parks’ hot dog reputations had preceded them. Many people have heard of the Dodger dog, and those in the know talk about the foot-long grilled dog found at Angel Stadium. We tried both of those hot dogs, plus the Padres offer what they call “5 for $5”, which is a hot dog, peanuts, a cookie, popcorn and a drink all for $5 – now that’s a steal. All of these dogs were decent, but none were as good as the one we tasted in Baltimore early in our baseball park touring days. That hot dog was grilled plump and juicy and served on a large toasted bun, and we had become convinced, after many attempts to find a better one, that we were not going to find a better hot dog. Seattle changed that. The Mariners have a hot dog that is even better than the dog that the Orioles serve. The hot dog is fairly large, grilled perfectly and served on a soft, fresh, potato bread-type-bun and it was tasty. After one bite, the three of us looked at each other and we knew we had found a new champion of hot dogs. Congratulations to the Mariners!
We have now seen 19 of the 30 major league parks. We get asked all the time what stadium is our favorite, and we always say Fenway. The truth is they are all great – each one being special for a variety of reasons. Much like the homes I deal with every day in my business, each stadium has a unique style, feel and character which reflect the people who inhabit it. So, whether it’s a small flat, a pretentious mansion or a major league ballpark, the old saying really is true – there’s just no place like home!
Comments
Post a Comment