Citi Field

I have attended one game at Citi Field so far. I happened to see this game on Memorial Day – right after going to my first two games at the new Yankee Stadium. Perhaps it was a difference in expectations, but as disappointing as Yankee was, Citi was really impressive. From the outside the park is OK. A friend described one side as looking like the outside of a NASCAR track. The rotunda entrance behind home plate is fairly impressive. I attended this game with my friend Joe and we decided to enter through the rotunda. As we were walking in, people are talking about the Jackie Robinson statue. Robinson got his start in New York and he’s the only player to have his number retired by all major league clubs. All around there are pictures of Robinson on the interior walls. As we make it past the turnstiles I walk to the back of the rotunda and there is a giant 42. WTF! I figured this was in addition to the Robinson statue. Sadly this was the Robinson statue. This was disappointing. We made our way to the seats. We bought club-level tickets and sat close to home plate.

 
The inside of the park is nice. They seemed to go to a great deal to make the retro feel and pulled it off. One of the interesting things was putting the out of town scores above the upper deck in left field. The tendency for most new parks is to put the other scores near field level. The stadium staff were friendly and so were the fans. I should mention my friend Joe is more of a Met fan than a Yankee fan. The food was also pretty good.

The game I saw was against the Nationals. The Mets were considering contending for the division but they eventually finished fourth in the division. New York looked better on paper than in reality. They had good offense in David Wright and Carlos Beltran. For pitching they had Johan Santana and the newly signed Francisco Rodriguez. The Mets also had Jose Reyes who was injured a few days before the game I saw. He would miss the rest of the season. They were playing the Nationals who had the worst record in the majors last year and would have the worst record this year too. The Nats had pretty good offense but terrible pitching. They had Adam Dunn and Ryan Zimmerman. For the first half of the season they had Nick Johnson and towards the end they picked up Nyjer Morgan. Not surprisingly, this game went to the Mets. Of note for this game, the 40yo Gary Sheffield had a home run and FRod got the save.
 

One of the things that impressed me the most was the waterless urinals in the men’s rooms. If you consider how many men attend a Mets game over the season. Presume they use the restroom once per game at one gallon per use and that’s an impressive amount of water saved. It’s not as though the men’s room was going to smell any worse.

If you’re in New York and you can only see one game, I’d recommend Citi much more than the new Yankee stadium. 

UPDATE 09/24/2012: I was in NYC for a business trip and had the chance to catch a game with my friends CJ and Grace. It was the last home stand for the Mets who had been eliminated from the post-season for a while. The Mets were playing against the Pirates who had been eliminated from the playoffs even earlier. The result was an empty ballpark. Attendance was announced as 22,000. I think they were including ballpark employees, the Pirates staff, and people who happened to drive too close to the stadium. We sat in the lower level just past 3rd base in good seats. The good news about empty parks is no lines for anything. We entered the stadium through the rotunda [behind home plate] and walked around to left-center field looking for food. CJ mentioned that Citi was known for having really good food. The stadium does have a wide selection of offerings. I settled for hot pastrami on rye with a knish. I was impressed. For ballpark food this was really good…a little better than the game itself. This match-up featured two September call-ups pitching against each other. Perhaps one day I can say, "I saw Kyle McPherson pitch against Jenrry Mejia” as they battle each other for the Cy Young but I’m guessing not. The highlight of the game? With no fans in the park, the Mets teamed up with a local drug store for the “Get $2 off detergent if the Mets hit 2 home runs in the game” promotion. Thanks to Ike Davis I was a winner that night!

(new) Yankee Stadium

I attended two games during the inaugural season for this new park. It is the most expensive park built to date. As you approach from the outside, the imposing limestone and granite façade has a post-world war II/Berlin wall feel to it. As we passed the turnstiles we entered a cavernous atrium which included a JumboTron. This very clearly was a ballpark that cost a lot of money and wanted you to know that. For my first game there, we had upper deck seats behind the plate for the ‘bargain’ price of $85 per ticket. Once you left the atrium, the park was mediocre at best. The seats were basic and cramped. The food was bland. There was nothing to say “Yankees” in the seating area. Disappointed is not a strong enough word. This park is designed for people to be in luxury suites. I think the only reason they included regular seating was so the people in the ‘less desirable’ suites had people to look down on. The Yankees were certainly not going for a fan friendly approach with those ticket prices. I attended a second game the following day in the front row of the loge section past first base. [Only $140/ticket!] Same problem as the upper deck. No charm.

One of the unique features of the park is the massive hi-def JumboTron. Big, but not so big as to dwarf the other newer stadiums. If someone didn’t mention it was the biggest, you probably wouldn’t have noticed. We were misinformed before the game that the new statue garden in center would be open for viewing during play. Not true. However, they do have a free Yankee museum on the second level by first base. It’s a single large room, but they have a ton of autographed baseballs on display along with some older uniforms. It’s not a nice as some other stadium museums, but it’s free and on really hot days, it’s air conditioned. The ushers and vendors were generally very friendly – except for customer service. [The baby stroller incident.] The ‘old’ Yankee stadium is next door to the new one. Many fans were complaining that the old stadium was a better venue and the upper level seats still gave the impression you were right over the field. You definitely don’t get that sense in this park.

As was typical for the Yankees, they had a ton of talent and would win the World Series this year. They had Derek Jeter, Johnny Damon, Mark Texiera, Alex Rodriguez, and Hideki Matsui. Their starting rotation included CC Sabathia, Andy Pettite, AJ Burnett, and Joba Chamberlain. [Joba was a starter at the insistence of ownership over the managers. He would finish the season with 9 wins – one less that middle reliever Alfredo Aceves.] The Yankee closer was Mariano Rivera. The two games I saw were against the Phillies who were the reigning world champs and would go on to play the Yankees in the series this year. The Phils had Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, and Jason Werth. Their rotation included Cole Hamels, Jamie Moyer, JA Happ, and Joe Blanton with a struggling Brad Lidge as the closer. In the first game we saw JA Happ against Andy Pettite. Happ had the better outing but neither starter got a decision as Lidge blew the save and gave up the win. Jeter and A-Rod had home runs. The second game was Hamels vs. Sabathia. CC had a good outing in a no decision. Lidge blew another save in the 9^th [ironically both blown saves were facing Melky Cabrera.] This blown save didn’t cost the Phillies the game and they rallied for the win in the 11^th inning. All things being equal, these were two great games to attend this season.

One thing I’d like to mention about the first game. The Yulia Curse. This is the second game I attended with Yulia, who is married to BoCJ and is a wonderful and pleasant person. Our first game was in Baltimore after the BRBL Philadelphia draft. Easily one of the coldest games I have ever attended. But that was opening day and this was Memorial Day. It’s been hot every day for the past two weeks. We were sweating walking into the park! But the Yulia Curse kicked in and we froze our asses off. At the end of May! The next day was hot – especially in the sun. The seats a few rows behind us were shaded. I predicted we’d be in the shade by the third inning. I might as well have predicted the iPhone would never be successful. We didn’t get shade until the end of the game. But I did take some time to visit the museum.

Dolphins Stadium

This is another stadium I have attended one game. This place is a dump and unless I’m in Miami for some other reason, I won’t be back to see a game at this facility. This is not meant to be insulting to the Marlins. They’re playing in Dolphins Stadium – a football stadium that happens to accommodate a baseball field. Fortunately the team is getting a new baseball only park. I’ll be down to see that when it opens. One positive note about the park, the food was pretty good. I had chicken empanadas that were very tasty. Later I had trouble keeping them down as the Manatees dance troupe performed on the field. The Manatees are Marlins management’s idea of how to attract fans since they’re not spending any money on getting good pitching. It’s a group of fat guys in uncoordinated uniforms dancing with even less coordination. Let’s hope they don’t transition to the new park.


As you walk into the park, nothing about the structure says baseball. Having an inflatable giant baseball player near one entrance made it look like a car dealership. There were a ton of empty seats for the game I saw. What’s wrong with that? It was opening day! I was attending with John, CJ, BoCJ, and Grace in what remains of the live attendees of the BRBL draft. The Marlins were playing the Nationals. While the Marlins had finished above .500 the previous year, they did not seriously contend for a playoff spot. This season they’re flirting with a spot but will likely fall short again. The Marlins had Hanley Ramirez, Jorge Cantu, and Dan Uggla. The Nationals had lost 102 games the previous year and manager Manny Acta was excited about the prospects this season would bring with Nick Johnson (who would be a Marlin by the end of the season), Adam Dunn, Austin Kearns, and Ryan Zimmerman. This game belonged to the Marlins in every sense of the word. Florida had four home runs including a Ramirez grand slam and rookie Emilio Bonafacio’s inside the park home run. The Marlins demonstrated to the league that if you want to look like an All Star team, play the Nats.

Miller Park

I have been to Milwaukee twice in my life. On two different occasions for a combined total of less than 24 hours. During these two trips I have seen three baseball games. (For the first trip/game see County Stadium Milwaukee.) 

[Update July 2010: Make that three times in Milwaukee, four baseball games, and maybe still under 24 total hours in the city.]

A recent trip was part of the Butthead Midwest Baseball Tour of 2007. As John, Gue, and I were planning the trip we had the opportunity to make the day/night double header in Chicago and Milwaukee on Saturday. John and I were for the DH, Gue was against. We made both games.

Gue before the trip: “Why would I want to spend an extra night in Milwaukee?”
Gue after the trip: “That is the best stadium…EVER!”


Miller Park is one of the newer parks that opened in 2001. It has a unique retractable roof that opens 90 degrees from a pivot point behind home plate. The park is nice. This may not be the best park, but it is one of the greatest ballpark experiences you can hope to have. This is in large part due to the Milwaukee fans. For the Saturday night game we sat in the right field bleachers. The fans were friendly and knowledgeable. They understood the game and paid attention. For the Sunday game we sat in the loge section between home and first base. Same friendly atmosphere. Milwaukee also has pretty good ballpark food, especially if you’re in the mood for a brat or polish sausage.


This was interleague weekend and we saw the Brewers play the Royals. Milwaukee had a good team and would contend for the division title. They fell two games short of the Cubs. The consolation prize was taking the last two games of the year from the Padres to remove them from the wild card slot. The Brewers had Prince Fielder, Bill Hall, and Ben Sheets. They also had Tony Gwynn Jr. They were playing a Royals team that would finish last in their division and tied for the third worst record in baseball that year. They had Mark Grudzielanek, Odalis Perez, and Zack Grienke who was coming of a poor 2006 where he only pitched 6.1 innings.

Saturday night was a blowout win for the Brewers on a strong Dave Bush outing. Hall had a home run and Corey Hart had a stolen base. Sunday was a close win for the Royals in extra innings. We saw the prospect Yovani Gallardo pitch a good game with no decision. Grienke also pitched two innings of relief (no decision).

One of the unique aspects of this park is the sausage race. There’s nothing like watching adults in giant sausage costumes racing around the park. What makes it great is that the contestants try to win. This is very different than the farce of the president’s race in DC. They also kept the yellow slide in the outfield for Bernie Brewer to slide down after home runs, but he no longer slides into the mug of beer.


One final note about the park. After the game Saturday night we decided that we needed to tailgate before the Sunday afternoon game. Problem – we don’t have a grill and we don’t know anyone in Milwaukee. The next morning we got up and went to the store and as we were buying burgers and Brats we ran into some guys wearing Brewers jerseys. They said we could tailgate with them. When people get to Miller Park to tailgate, they don’t spread out. They fill every stall then begin the next row. This is important because they fill the aisle with grills, seats, and that bean bag game (corn hole). I haven’t been to Kansas City yet, but you’d be hard pressed to find a group that tailgates better than Milwaukee fans. We were hanging out with the guys we met and some other people around the grill. I asked how they knew each other and they said they didn’t. It’s that friendly.

Metrodome

This is one of the parks I have attended only one game at. It was the last game of the 2007 Midwest tour I did with John and Gue. To put it mildly, it’s a dump. There’s talk about making a new park in Minneapolis, one without a dome. At first I thought, “why no dome in Minnesota?” After seeing the Metrodome, any park is an improvement. First, baseball is not meant to be played indoors…unless it’s snowing or perhaps 115 degrees outside. But I do believe the retractable dome technology has been perfected! Please see Houston, Milwaukee, Phoenix, and Seattle. Even Toronto has a dome…but I digress. Second, the seats are not only uncomfortable, but the seat back in front jams into your shins. Also, the seats folded into right field are ugly.


The Twins would finish just below .500 this year and would not threaten for the division title. They had Torii Hunter, Joe Mauer, Johan Santana, and Joe Nathan. The Blue Jays were in a similar place except they finished above .500 while not contending for the division title. The Jays had Troy Glaus, Alex Rios, Frank Thomas, AJ Burnett, and Roy Halladay. Not an exciting matchup. But this was the end of a fantastic baseball road trip and it was potential history in the making! Frank Thomas hit home run #499 two nights ago and the Jays were going against a guy with an ERA over 6.50. The stars were aligned!


We didn’t see history that night. In four at bats, Frank was 0-4 with two strikeouts. We did see a great game. Two no-name pitchers went 7.0 and 8.0 innings each giving up only one run. The game would be decided in the 12th with a win for the home team.

Great American Ballpark

Between living in San Diego and the DC area, I spent four years in Lexington Kentucky. The closest major league park to me was Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati, about a 1.5 hour drive. I attended a handful of games from 2004 to 2007. This is a nice park. When you’re inside, you get the sense that all seats are on top of the action. It’s easy to get in and out with parking with good freeway access. Just outside of the park is a Reds Hall of Fame [and gift shop]. As you might notice with this blog, I take pictures of the parks I visit. One day I’m comparing 2006 and 2007 pictures and see that they added this outfield deck with a river boat theme. It’s a nice addition, but not so spectacular that I noticed the change in person.

During this time the Reds were a mediocre team, never finishing above .500. They had pretty good offense including Ken Griffey, Adam Dunn, Sean Casey, Austin Kearns, and Rich Aurilia. Reds starting pitching included Bronson Arroyo, Aaron Harang, Paul Wilson, and Matt Belisle. Some of the better opposing players I got to see in Cincinnati were Derrek Lee and Prince Fielder. I saw home runs from Lee, Dunn, and Griffey and a Trevor Hoffman save.

One frustrating thing about this park was opening day. As I mentioned, the Reds never finished above .500 during the four years I lived there and never drew a large crowd – except opening day. This was the toughest ticket to get and were not available for sale online. You could get them with season tickets. The ones for sale on ebay were more than I cared to spend on a game, which says a lot for someone who has attended at least one opening day game for the previous decade [excluding the 1995 boycott]. One final thought about this park, you want to avoid talking about how Pete Rose should not be in the [real] Hall of Fame. In Cincinnati he is 100% innocent. Even after he admitted to wrong-doing.

Center field before the steam boat addition.

 
Update April 2016: After a 10 year hiatus I was able to get back to GAB for a pair of games. The Rockies were in town. Despite being early in the season expectations for the Reds this season are extremely low. Joey Votto is still on the team and there are other pretty good offensive players. The issue is pitching. During the first game Jumbo Diaz pitched so poorly that he was sent to AAA and his replacement Robert Stephenson got the start that evening. The Rockies were not loaded with star power either. Trevor Story was off to a hot start with 7 HRs in the first 3 weeks. He hit #8 during one of the games I attended.

Petco Park

After living in San Diego for 15 years, I happened to move less than a month before Petco opened. I would have had opening day tickets too. It was on a return visit that I was able to attend my only two games at this park [so far]. This is a great place to see a game. Some of the things that the Padres did right, using a downtown location [right near the convention center, gaslamp district, and a trolley line], incorporating one of the original buildings into the park [Western Metal], and having a large open park in the outfield for people to watch the game on blankets/beach chairs. If I was forced to complain about something, it would be the emphasis they placed on luxury suites which pushes the upper deck seats a little higher.
The games I happened to attend were in the park’s inaugural season against the Giants. I went with my friend AJ who had season tickets along third base in shallow left field. These seats are angled towards the pitcher’s mound which meant that our seats at the end of the row were de facto front row to the outfield. The Giants and Padres would finish second and third in the NL West – both above .500 and both just out of the playoffs. The Pads had Ryan Klesko, Phil Nevin, Brian Giles, and Khalil Greene. The Padre starting rotation was Brian Lawrence, Adam Eaton, Jake Peavey, Ishmael Valdez, and David Wells with Trevor Hoffman in the bullpen. The Giants had Barry Bonds, JT Snow, Marquis Grissom, and Jason Schmidt.
The Pads won the first game on an OK Peavy start [didn’t get the win] and a Trevor Hoffman save. Bonds had a non-steroid related stolen base. The Giants won the second game with Schmidt getting the win over Wells.
 

Before the second game, my friend AJ received an early entry pass for us as a season ticket holder benefit. We arrived at the park and they let us in an hour before the general gates opened. Normally the Padres are finished with batting practice but the extra hour let us see the home team BP. Presumably, we were also let in early so we could get autographs. As we made our way down to the field on the first base side Jake Peavy was signing for everyone…well almost everyone. As he made his way down the line he got to AJ, looked at him without signing the ball, and went on to the next person. No explanation. Another fan who witnessed the snub took AJ’s ball and had Jake sign it. The fan was great. Peavy was a dick. Too bad AJ wasted a clean baseball on his signature.

AJ [in the grey jersey] Getting snubbed by Peavy

Update 09/06/2013: I am in town for some fantasy football drafts and get to attend 2 Padre games. In the second game I am sitting in the right field bleachers - front row just above a "party deck". Bottom of the first, lead off hitter Will Venable hits a 2-1 fastball that bounces off the lower wall, and hits me in the face. It broke my glasses; the right lens popped out - over the wall into the party deck. Fortunately someone found it and gave it back to me. It took 5 minutes to pop the lens back in. Here is the ball - and my shameful moment.