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I took a little baseball trip (by car) this past week. I had been to 24 of the current MLB stadiums and 3 of the ones I havent visited are in the SE US. After checking the schedules, I saw that I could see all 3 in 4 days. Below is my baseball "travelogue":
Tuesday 5/28 - Tampa vs. Miami
I decided to eliminate 1 day of motel expenses by just driving all the way from Maryland to Tampa w/o stopping (except for a brief rest). Was 950 miles and took about 16 hours.
I had heard that it was a real hassle getting from the Tampa side of the bay to the stadium in St Pete, but it wasnt bad for me at all. I crossed the bay at 5 PM, which should have been the height of the rush hour, but there was virtually no slowdown. I was told later that if I had come at a later time it would have been much worse. Upon seeing the stadium for the first time, I saw that it looked "lopsided", which I didnt realize before. I was able to park for free in a residential neighborhood w/i about a mile. There were plenty of $10 parking lots, which is quite reasonable compared to other stadiums but I hate paying to park and I had plenty of time. I had heard plenty of times that Tropicana was a crappy stadium, but it wasnt as bad as I thought. I've been to the Kingdome and Olympic Stadium so I know what a crappy MLB stadium is like. Tropicana didnt strike me as nearly as bad as those 2. It was also better than the Astrodome, which I didnt think was that bad either, except for the horrendous orange and yellow seats. My ticket was $13. I had a very friendly usher and we talked for a while. I think the announced attendance was about 16,000 or so. Food prices were pretty standard. I had a "Cuban" which seemed basically like a ham sandwich, and later a personal pizza. The game was good, w Tampa earning a nice comeback win w a walkoff hit by Jennings. But Hellickson had another lousy outing. Not one of the better stadiums, but all in all I had a very good ballpark experience.
Wednesday 5/29 - Miami vs. Tampa
Marlins Park is huge! From the outside, it reminded me of the Cowboys' new stadium. They had stadium parking for $15, and there seemed to be plenty of it, but why pay if you dont have to? I parked on the street for free a little over a mile away. As usual for me, I asked for an upper deck seat behind home plate, These were $20-$22, but I was told this entire section was closed! The cheapest seats were $16-$17 way out beyond the outfield and I think they were lawn seats. The cheapest "regular" seat they had was $31, which was down the left field line, so I got that. I wanted to buy a media guide but it was $25!!! The most I've ever paid for a media guide is $12, so no way. I got the impression they were overcharging for everything, but the food prices seemed reasonable. They kept the roof closed the entire game. There looked to be about 15,000 people there.
I had heard about the "Clevelander" club beyond the outfield and that it featured girls w nothing on but body paint. The admission for this was $10 but my clerk said he'd waive the charge if I bought a meal, which I had planned to do anyway, which was nice. When I got in, I saw that there were little kids there so I figured the rumor about the body-painted naked girls couldnt possibly be true. Actually, this turned out to be half true as they started painting a girl clad in only bikini pants right there in front of the crowd. After she turned around however, I saw that she had pasties over her nipples. There were couple of other scantily clad girls dancing on a small stage. They also had a small pool, but the only people that got in it were some guys. I asked about the name "Clevelander" and it has nothing to do w Cleveland. It is the name of a South Beach club that decided to open another franchise in the stadium. The club is not a bad place to see the game if you have binoculars, which I did. I cant speak much re: the food, as I had only a salad. I had planned to spend only part of the game at the club, but I wanted to see the final product after they got finished painting the girl, which took forever. They never really finished doing her and started painting another girl, who evidently was not wearing pasties because she kept her arms folded across her chest. I ended up watching practically the entire game from the club. The game itself was another good one. "Fausto" Hernandez pitched what must have been his best game of the year and Tampa won 3-1.
The stadium was not one of my favorites. It's big and it's new and that's about it. I've now been to all of the retractable roof parks except for Milwaukee, and this one might be the least attractive. The Clevelander was interesting, but for me, and I imagine also for many others if not most, after you've seen it once, it loses its appeal. It is also open during non game-time and it probably is more fun then.
Thursday 5/30 - Pensacola vs. Jacksonville
The Braves next home game wasnt until Friday, and it's a long drive from Miami to Atlanta anyway, so I decided to see a minor league game on the way. This is the Southern League, which is AA ball. Had some trouble finding the stadium so I thought I would be late, but I hadnt realized that Pensacola is in the Central Time Zone, so I still got there on time. This franchise is in its 2nd year in Pensacola and the stadium is brand new. It's one of the nicest minor league stadiums I've ever seen. Right next to the Gulf. And a guy gave me his ticket so I got in for free! Since parking near the stadium was only $3, I decided to pay it. Not much in the way of prospects for Pensacola (Reds affiliate), but Jacksonville (Marlins affiliate) had Christian Yelich and Jake Marisnick. Marisnick had one of the best days of anyone anywhere this year, as he hit 2 grand slams (in consecutive innings) and had an RBI double, so 9 RBI for the game. Jacksonville won 11-3.
Friday 5/31 - Atlanta vs. Washington
I went to the track and field stadium at the 1996 Olympics, which they later converted into Turner Field, but this was my first time attending after the conversion. Again, I parked for free in a residential neighborhood. Again, I tried for a media guide, but was told they havent sold these at the stadium for 15 years! Unprecedented! I assume these are available elsewhere. Lovely stadium. They have one of the best scoreboard systems I've seen, which includes a display of the batter's OBP and SLG. The information is large and bright and easy to see. Food prices were pretty standard. I had a foot long "buffalo chicken" hot dog for $8. Another good game. Strasburg left after 2 innings w the oblique/lat problem. Stammen was brilliant in relief, retiring all 12 batters he faced. The Nats survived some shaky late-inning relief to win 3-2.
I dont hear people talking about this stadium much, but I'd be tempted to put it in my top 10 in MLB - almost certainly top dozen.
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So now there are only 3 MLB stadiums left to see: St. Louis, Milwaukee and Minnesota. I might take another car trip to see these 3 at some future date.
Tuesday 5/28 - Tampa vs. Miami
I decided to eliminate 1 day of motel expenses by just driving all the way from Maryland to Tampa w/o stopping (except for a brief rest). Was 950 miles and took about 16 hours.
I had heard that it was a real hassle getting from the Tampa side of the bay to the stadium in St Pete, but it wasnt bad for me at all. I crossed the bay at 5 PM, which should have been the height of the rush hour, but there was virtually no slowdown. I was told later that if I had come at a later time it would have been much worse. Upon seeing the stadium for the first time, I saw that it looked "lopsided", which I didnt realize before. I was able to park for free in a residential neighborhood w/i about a mile. There were plenty of $10 parking lots, which is quite reasonable compared to other stadiums but I hate paying to park and I had plenty of time. I had heard plenty of times that Tropicana was a crappy stadium, but it wasnt as bad as I thought. I've been to the Kingdome and Olympic Stadium so I know what a crappy MLB stadium is like. Tropicana didnt strike me as nearly as bad as those 2. It was also better than the Astrodome, which I didnt think was that bad either, except for the horrendous orange and yellow seats. My ticket was $13. I had a very friendly usher and we talked for a while. I think the announced attendance was about 16,000 or so. Food prices were pretty standard. I had a "Cuban" which seemed basically like a ham sandwich, and later a personal pizza. The game was good, w Tampa earning a nice comeback win w a walkoff hit by Jennings. But Hellickson had another lousy outing. Not one of the better stadiums, but all in all I had a very good ballpark experience.
Wednesday 5/29 - Miami vs. Tampa
Marlins Park is huge! From the outside, it reminded me of the Cowboys' new stadium. They had stadium parking for $15, and there seemed to be plenty of it, but why pay if you dont have to? I parked on the street for free a little over a mile away. As usual for me, I asked for an upper deck seat behind home plate, These were $20-$22, but I was told this entire section was closed! The cheapest seats were $16-$17 way out beyond the outfield and I think they were lawn seats. The cheapest "regular" seat they had was $31, which was down the left field line, so I got that. I wanted to buy a media guide but it was $25!!! The most I've ever paid for a media guide is $12, so no way. I got the impression they were overcharging for everything, but the food prices seemed reasonable. They kept the roof closed the entire game. There looked to be about 15,000 people there.
I had heard about the "Clevelander" club beyond the outfield and that it featured girls w nothing on but body paint. The admission for this was $10 but my clerk said he'd waive the charge if I bought a meal, which I had planned to do anyway, which was nice. When I got in, I saw that there were little kids there so I figured the rumor about the body-painted naked girls couldnt possibly be true. Actually, this turned out to be half true as they started painting a girl clad in only bikini pants right there in front of the crowd. After she turned around however, I saw that she had pasties over her nipples. There were couple of other scantily clad girls dancing on a small stage. They also had a small pool, but the only people that got in it were some guys. I asked about the name "Clevelander" and it has nothing to do w Cleveland. It is the name of a South Beach club that decided to open another franchise in the stadium. The club is not a bad place to see the game if you have binoculars, which I did. I cant speak much re: the food, as I had only a salad. I had planned to spend only part of the game at the club, but I wanted to see the final product after they got finished painting the girl, which took forever. They never really finished doing her and started painting another girl, who evidently was not wearing pasties because she kept her arms folded across her chest. I ended up watching practically the entire game from the club. The game itself was another good one. "Fausto" Hernandez pitched what must have been his best game of the year and Tampa won 3-1.
The stadium was not one of my favorites. It's big and it's new and that's about it. I've now been to all of the retractable roof parks except for Milwaukee, and this one might be the least attractive. The Clevelander was interesting, but for me, and I imagine also for many others if not most, after you've seen it once, it loses its appeal. It is also open during non game-time and it probably is more fun then.
Thursday 5/30 - Pensacola vs. Jacksonville
The Braves next home game wasnt until Friday, and it's a long drive from Miami to Atlanta anyway, so I decided to see a minor league game on the way. This is the Southern League, which is AA ball. Had some trouble finding the stadium so I thought I would be late, but I hadnt realized that Pensacola is in the Central Time Zone, so I still got there on time. This franchise is in its 2nd year in Pensacola and the stadium is brand new. It's one of the nicest minor league stadiums I've ever seen. Right next to the Gulf. And a guy gave me his ticket so I got in for free! Since parking near the stadium was only $3, I decided to pay it. Not much in the way of prospects for Pensacola (Reds affiliate), but Jacksonville (Marlins affiliate) had Christian Yelich and Jake Marisnick. Marisnick had one of the best days of anyone anywhere this year, as he hit 2 grand slams (in consecutive innings) and had an RBI double, so 9 RBI for the game. Jacksonville won 11-3.
Friday 5/31 - Atlanta vs. Washington
I went to the track and field stadium at the 1996 Olympics, which they later converted into Turner Field, but this was my first time attending after the conversion. Again, I parked for free in a residential neighborhood. Again, I tried for a media guide, but was told they havent sold these at the stadium for 15 years! Unprecedented! I assume these are available elsewhere. Lovely stadium. They have one of the best scoreboard systems I've seen, which includes a display of the batter's OBP and SLG. The information is large and bright and easy to see. Food prices were pretty standard. I had a foot long "buffalo chicken" hot dog for $8. Another good game. Strasburg left after 2 innings w the oblique/lat problem. Stammen was brilliant in relief, retiring all 12 batters he faced. The Nats survived some shaky late-inning relief to win 3-2.
I dont hear people talking about this stadium much, but I'd be tempted to put it in my top 10 in MLB - almost certainly top dozen.
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So now there are only 3 MLB stadiums left to see: St. Louis, Milwaukee and Minnesota. I might take another car trip to see these 3 at some future date.
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