Sky Dome / Rogers Centre

I took a three-day weekend this year to visit Toronto and the Rogers Centre. Sky Dome was completed in 1989 at a cost around 570M CAD. By comparison, other baseball stadia built in this era included Tropicana Field in 1990 for $130M, New Commiskey in 1991 for $130M USD, and Camden Yard in 1992 for $110M USD. Since the exchange rate around this time was 1 USD = 1.05 CAD that means Sky Dome cost over $100M more than the next three ballparks combined. Of course Sky Dome had a retractable roof which was still a relatively new innovation for sports stadiums. Also note that Olympic Stadium in Montreal had a retractable roof at a higher cost than Sky Dome, but Olympic stadium was built for the Olympics. [aptly named!] One final note I will mention, Sky Dome was the last baseball stadium designed to be dual purpose with football and is one of the two remaining major league parks to co-occupy with a professional football team. Other stadiums can be configured for football games but are not intended for a full time NLF [or CFL] team. 

My friend and I decided to stay at the hotel connected to the ballpark. We opted not to get one of the rooms that look into the park at triple the rate of the normal rooms. We attended two games against the Texas Rangers. Over the past few seasons, Texas has put together some good seasons. Toronto has been struggling in part due to being in the division with the biggest arms race [Yankees & Red Sox] making it hard to compete. This was going to be their big breakout season. Boston was terrible last year, the Yankees were starting to look their age, and the Marlins conducted a fire sale at the end of last year sending everyone of value to the Blue Jays. There were high hopes in Canada! As we approach the All Star break, it turns out getting everyone of value off a last place team doesn’t have the kind of impact they were hoping for. The Blue Jays look like they might finish in last in their division. Their roster looks pretty good on paper with RA Dickey coming off a Cy Young season, Jose Reyes, and Melky Cabrera. Texas is living up to expectations and is battling for first place in their division. They ‘lost’ Josh Hamilton in the off season to free agency but it turns out he is under-producing in Anaheim. The Rangers have Yu Darvish and Joe Nathan. A great ace and reliever – but beyond that they are achieving success with good players and no superstars.

The first game we saw was Tepesch for the Rangers against ‘Staff’. Apparently the scheduled Toronto starter couldn’t make the start s they let the bullpen pitch the whole game – and they pitched great. One run on four hits/one walk. Tepesch looked pretty good too until he melted down in the sixth inning. The Blue Jays handled this one easily. The whole game took 2:10 to complete. 

The second game was Mark Buehrle against Yu Darvish. The Jays looked strong early. Colby Rasmus hit a line drive into center scoring two. Rasmus ended up scoring too on a throwing error. Things were cruising along until they Rangers scored one in the 8^th and were two outs away from winning when back-to-back RBI’s at bats tied the game. The bullpens both stood up and pitched great. In the bottom of the 18^th inning Emilio Bonifacio hits a one out single and later advances to third on a bad pickoff attempt that went to the backstop. Rajai Davis gets the game winning base hit to end it. This turns out to be the longest game ever in Toronto. [The Expos had a few games that went longer.]

A few more notes about the stadium.

·        The stadium is relatively quiet. There is very little noise or sound clips coming over the PA system. Even the vendors don’t yell. They just walk to the bottom of the stairs and look to see if anyone waves them over to buy beer, pretzels, etc.

·        For the 7^th inning stretch they have this “Let’s Go Blue Jays” song with calisthenics. And the fans are doing the exercises! This is definitely not a Philadelphia crowd. They also have a 17^th inning stretch + calisthenics.

·        The fans represent their team well. Most people wore jerseys or T-shirts with player names. Among the jerseys we saw with current and former players, we noted; Alomar, Bell, Carter, Stieb, Halladay, Lawrie, Delgado, Stairs, Fielder, Hentgen, AJ Burnett, Gruber, and a Clemens. I was hoping to see a Fernandez jersey but was denied.

·        For some reason I cannot explain, Blue Jay fans have a love affair with Munenori Kawasaki. The crowd went nuts every time he came to the plate. He’s also hitting just over .200 and doesn’t seem that strong defensively.

·        Finally, the CN Tower is adjacent to the stadium. We took the elevators to the top observation deck. Not the big round thing but where the color goes from concrete gray to white. [That’s an additional 33 stories above the big observation deck.] While we were up here they opened the dome. While I can’t technically call this one of the parks I was ‘in’ while the roof was opening, I was kind of in their airspace.

Target Field

I was able to get to two games at Target Field this summer while at a conference. When I visited the park is in its third year of use for the Twins. Let’s start with the obvious comparison to the Metrodome which I visited in 2007. It’s a huge improvement even though they started from a pretty low standpoint. However, it’s not a great ballpark. I don’t know all the details of how they acquired the land and everything but the seating area in the outfield seems crowded and really high. The right field seats are extremely steep and there are no lower seats in right field. This makes for a lot of high fence area and presumably more doubles/fewer home runs. A problem with the seats on the third base line is the surrounding buildings at sunset. Starting about the second inning [in mid-June] the sun’s reflection is really distracting and stays that way until the end of the fourth.

One thing I can say about how the stadium was designed; there is a clear and unobstructed view of the Target Center next door and there happens to be a huge neon Target sign viewable from the third base side. I suppose if you pay for the naming rights to both facilities, you can advertise all you like. Just like mascot race in the fourth inning which pits the Target Dog against semi-random creatures like Babe the blue ox [which kind of makes sense], and a mosquito, and a goldfish, and some kind of bird. One the plus side, the limestone is a nice touch, the sightlines from the seats are good, and the staff are very friendly. There are also two jumbo-trons. A larger one in left field and a smaller one in right. Neither wins the award for the biggest screen but the dual screens are nice.

Minnesota also has a nice fan base. I found it interesting when something bad would happen the fans would say, “dang it” or “jeez it”. There was a good crowd for both games while the Twins were in last place in the division and were tied for the third worst record in baseball. Attendance was about 32,000 for each game on a Tuesday and Wednesday night. The first game was Jim Thome’s first time back this season and still clearly a fan favorite despite only being there for 1.5 seasons. The crowd gave a standing ovation his first at bat and cheered loudly every subsequent at bat. However, there was one fan who kept saying ‘good pitch!’ – which turned out to be a ball every time. The highlight was yelling “hit it under the Budweiser sign!” trying to urge his home team to hit a home run. Unfortunately the big Bud sign is in foul territory. There is a smaller Bud sign on the left field wall, but you would think his cheer would be to hit it over the Bud sign.

The games I saw were interleague play against the Phillies. Philadelphia was expected to run away with the division again but found themselves in last place with a number of injuries, most notable Roy Halladay. If I was hoping to see pitching duels, I picked the wrong two games. Both match-ups were blowouts. There were 56 hits and 36 runs scored in two games with 11 home runs. Both games were fairly closely contested. With the Twins winning the first and the Phillies winning the second. The Twins probably would have won both games except for the starting pitcher was injured at the start of the game. PJ Walters gave up four consecutive hits with no out before coming out of the game. All four batters would score in a six run first inning.

Bottom line is this is a very nice ballpark. Not great, but a good place to see a game.

Minute Maid Park

I was able to get to my first two games at Minute Maid Park or what was originally built as Enron Park. It’s a bit of an imposing building near downtown – but not by the massive cluster of hospitals. I was at a hotel near the park so I was able to walk to/from the games. Fortunately it was April so the weather was pretty nice. Sadly, the exterior of the park is pretty boring. I walked the perimeter hoping for some grand entry way. When I talked to the guys at the home plate entrance, they informed me this was the grand entrance. I was underwhelmed. 

Once inside, the iconic wall behind left field was present, but not particularly interesting. During the games the train moved back & forth a few times at seemingly random intervals. The retractable roof was open for both games. The roof, when retracted, is basically over a small parking lot behind right field. I suppose this is considered behind the ballpark and is utilitarian rather than aesthetic. I was there for opening week of baseball but not opening day. The Astros were expected to do poorly this year [as we approach the All-Star break, they’re living up to that expectation] which probably accounted for the poor showing in the stands. Add into that some fan anger that Hunter Pence was gone. They were playing the Braves who were coming off the amazing end-of-season run that put them in the playoffs last year, but expectations for the Braves season were not too high. Despite being opening week this was going to be the only time the Braves were in Houston this year and was the first stop on the Chipper Jones farewell tour. Craig Biggio made a pre-game appearance and gave Chipper a cowboy hat. [*yawn*] Neither team had much in the way of star power this season.

For the first game, JA Happ got the win for the Astros. Not because he pitched particularly well, but his offense scored 8 runs. For the second game, Tommy Hanson picked up the win for the braves in a decent outing. Of note for the second game, Chipper Jones hit a home run and Jordan Schafer stole 3 bases.

I sat on the 3^rd base side for both games. Once in the club level and once lower level towards home plate. The fans were fairly apathetic but at least cheered at the right times. During the second game I was talking with one of the locals who looked to be in his early 30’s. He was trying to convince me [or perhaps trying to convince himself] that the Astrodome was a better ballpark. This goes against everything I’ve heard from other Houston baseball fans. He said, “This is like watching baseball in a Kleenex box.” Which I found strange because despite the park being drab, at least it wasn’t indoors on fake grass.

Overall I think this is a decent park but not great by any measure.

Kauffman Stadium

I was recently able to get to my first two games at Kauffman with my good friend John. We had no reason to visit KC other than to see the stadium. It was also nice to see the Negro League Baseball Museum and eat some great BBQ. Kauffman is currently the 6th oldest park in service. It was opened in 1973 and built for about $70M dollars. To put things in perspective Citizens Bank paid $95M in 2004 for naming rights in Philadelphia. In 2007 they spent an additional $250M on renovations to the park. Until that point the stadium was the only major league park that didn’t have outfield seating. The renovations probably helped in landing the 2012 All Star Game. Kauffman Stadium was one of the few baseball only parks of that era. Contemporary stadiums of the day were Three Rivers in Pittsburgh ‘70, Veteran’s Stadium in Philadelphia ’71, Kingdome in Seattle ’76, and the Metrodome in Minneapolis ’82. All of which are now closed. 

The two games I saw featured the Minnesota Twins. The Twins and Royals were battling for last place in the division. The Twins had a slumping Joe Mauer. Justin Morneau was out for the year. The Royals had a roster with only one player over the age of 30. This player happened to be Bruce Chen, who threw a masterpiece for the first game. Bruce went 8 innings, gave up no runs and allowed only 3 hits and walks. KC won 4-0. Alex Gordon and Mike Moustakas each had a home run. For the second game, the Royals were again dominant winning 7-3. There were no home runs this game but Jeff Francoeur went 3 for 4 with a SB. Despite a late rally and save situation we did not get to see Joakim Soria. 

One of the things I found surprising was how many Twins fans were in attendance. Most of the ones we talked to had driven down for the series. Overall I rate this as a very nice park. It has a classic feel and good sight lines. The fountains in the outfield are a unique part of the park and lend a nice touch.

Tropicana Field

I was able to attend my first two games at Tropicana Field this season. It’s the last of the domed stadiums. This was built in the late 80’s in hopes of attracting a major league team. Tampa was used by the White Sox, Giants, and Mariners to leverage their respective cities into building new ballparks. If you keep the date in mind the design makes more sense. The Rays began play in 1998. Comparable stadiums for the late 90’s were Bank One/Chase Field and Safeco Field, both of which feature retractable roofs. [Turner Field also opened around this time, but that was just a conversion of the stadium built for the Olympics.] Tropicana Field, originally the Sun Coast dome, opened in early 1990. Comparable parks at that time included Dolphins Stadium, Sky Dome/Rogers Centre, and the new Comiskey. The first two, along with Tropicana, were multi-use stadiums. The point of all this is that the Trop’ is nice…for a late 80’s multi-purpose dome. Having a dome in Tampa is not the worst idea. The Sky Dome was the only real retractable roof stadium of that era and it cost 4 times as much. The weather is also a concern. Aside from the heat and humidity, Tampa is called the lightning capital of the world during the summer months. 

The stadium is predictably dull from the outside reminiscent of the Kingdome and Metrodome. There is a ‘main entrance’ which oddly leads into the area behind center field. The atrium has a scale painting of the field on the floor. Some of the features try to remind people of the outdoors. There is a faux exterior wall both in the playing area and in some of the vending areas. There are also parts of the vending areas that are painted to look like city [eg walls painted to look like red brick, cloudy sky, and a subway stop.] The most unique feature is the tank of rays which are native to the area. You can visit the tank through the 6th inning where you can buy fish and feed it to the rays. I tried to get up there but the lines were huge. The park holds the Ted Williams Hitters Hall of Fame. This is a very cool display giving tribute to some of the great hitters of all time. There is a small museum piece off the vending area which serves as the entrance to the bigger museum [about 10,000 sqft] upstairs. It too is open through the 6th inning and worth looking through.

Aside from not being able to see the field from the vending areas, some of the food was pretty good. The hot dog was bland and came on a stale bun, but the real treat was the ‘hot pressed Cuban’ which is a turkey, ham, salami, and cheese sandwich. It comes on a roll which, true to its’ name, is put into one of those hot sandwich presses before being served.  I highly recommend the Cuban.

The fans seem a bit tepid about the team. The two games I saw were on a Friday and Saturday night immediately following a series with the Yankees where the Rays took 2 of 3 and first place in the division. That being said, attendance was 23,000 Friday and 32,000 Saturday. The fans who showed up were very loyal to the Rays. Lots of jerseys, t-shirts, and hats. Plus they cheered at the right times. The Saturday game was immediately followed by an Adam Lambert concert. I’m no expert in current pop culture so I have no idea how much Adam may have boosted ticket sales for that game, but on the shuttle back to a parking lot I heard someone say, “I’ve never seen so many emo girls at a baseball game before. I thought Slipknot was playing against the Rays.” Later in this entertaining tirade he admitted to being kicked out of the game that evening for ‘enthusiastically supporting the team.’ It’s good to keep things in context here. Every city and state has a personality. In Florida, men tuck their t-shirts into their jeans or shorts, women wear leopard print everything, and mullets are still in style.

The games I got to attend were both excellent. The Angels were in town for the weekend including Bobby Abreu and Hideki Matsui, two great players whose best years are behind them. Friday was a back and forth battle. Dan Haren and Wade Davis both delivered quality starts. The Angels got a solo shot from Brandon Wood in the top of the ninth which won the game. Saturday was an equally good pitching performance from Joel Pinero and David Price. The Angels had the lead going into the bottom of the 9th when pinch hitter Willy Aybar tied the game to send it to extras. In the bottom of the 10th, Friday’s hero Brandon Wood became the goat when his throwing error allowed the winning run to score.
 

Two final thoughts on the ballpark. First, Anaheim has the Rally Monkey, which I still think is pretty funny. The Rays version is a DJ cat wearing a Rays jersey, backwards hat, and the big necklace at the turntable. The arms of the cat you see are not really the cats arms, but they are made to look like they’re clapping, running the turntable, or up in the air going side to side. The Rally Monkey is the original, but the cat was funny too.

Lastly, the Tropicana logo in right field is the straw stuck into the orange which is supposed to give the impression that Tropicana brand juice is so fresh, it’s just like drinking straight from the orange. When the home team hits a home run, the straw lights up in sequence culminating in juice spurting out the end of the straw. The whole thing orange/straw thing looks rather phallic. Rather than being inspired to grab some OJ after a home run, I feel like I need to wash my hands and not touch anything in the stadium.