February 17th, 2012
Baseball Season: Opening Day
Happy (College) Baseball Opening Day and congrats to the USF Dons for their season-opening victory!
Enjoy this “wordle” I made from wordle.net for funsies.
September 7th, 2011
PNC Park (Pittsburgh Pirates): 8.5
PNC Park
PNC has been all the rave among everyone I have ever talked to about it. Pirates and non-Pirates fans alike, have promised me this will be my favorite ballpark. Lots of people, mostly fans of their native ballpark, say this to me, but I have to agree, PNC might be the new favorite. It’s definitely a top 5.
However, let’s get two things out of the way. For starters, there is no Bo Derek of baseball stadiums; aka, there is no way for any ballpark to achieve a perfect 10, with the exception of Wrigley, Fenway and Old Yankee Stadium, as they have the historic values that the new stadiums just can’t provide. Now that we have established that the best a yard can do is a 9 (according to me) PNC also loses points for being a Pepsi stadium. I think we all know that I’m a Coca-Cola fan at heart.
My dad says this isn’t fair, but I say it’s my ranking system so sure it is.
I took a cab to the ballpark and my driver was kind enough to take me over the bridge so I could see what he deemed “the most impressive view of entry to a ball park”. He was not kidding. Despite a phone call that interrupted me taking it all in (this was the day of the great email hack of 2011–so my phone was blowing up with messages like “did you mean to send me this highly inappropriate email?” No. No I did not.) I still was in awe of the great view leading into PNC, which basically has you come in from centerfield.
now that is you a backdrop for baseball
I came over the butter-yellow bridges that greet PNC Park fans and really think they did a great job designing this park. I was dropped off a block away, so I could walk in and not have the taxi driver be bogged down with traffic, though there wasn’t much (it was a Wednesday day game). I walked right up to the front and the big, wide streets were shut down to cars so it was just people flocking to the stadium. I like that they shut down the main roads surrounding the ballpark until after the game. There isn’t parking (that I saw) that would warrant cars coming in and out and I suppose the businesses that were surrounding the yard had parked their cars long before they closed the streets.
It also makes for a nice outside atmosphere for the stadium. There are plenty of bars and restaurants to hit before the game (and after) and I am always a fan of a place where people can congregate before and after sporting events to keep the game-like atmosphere going.
At first, I couldn’t find the ticket window, but then I saw ticket kiosks, which work just as well. As I was plugging in my desired seat as “best available” two guys and a girl, all decked out in Pirates gear and perhaps a bit younger than me, asked if I was just buying one ticket. I nodded and they explained that their friend had backed out at the last minute and if I wanted to buy his ticket, he’d give me a deal so it didn’t go to waste. Like an idiot, I said yes, not even asking where the seat was. It was an outfield bleacher seat, which was fine, I suppose. He mentioned that they were being selective about who they asked, as they would be stuck next to the person for 9 innings of their lives they could never get back and I quickly told them about how I like to explore the ballpark so I might not be there long anyway. I also told him I didn’t carry any cash but I’d be happy to buy him a beer inside, if he was ok with that in exchange for the ticket. He was and we all plodded inside.
The inside of the ballpark is very open and the breezeways provide nice sight lines. The rotunda that circles all the way up is nice and gives a great view of the yard from the left field line area. I like how open behind the dish is, I watched about 3 innings from behind the box seats there.
They seem to have a nice mix of food offerings and in the outfield, it almost seems as though there is a food court– like a mall but with actual restaurants in which you seat and eat. I suppose this is nice, but you can’t see the game from inside there so I’d pass, but that is more in the outfield anyway. Behind home plate and the surrounding areas is where the standard baseball fare is to be found. I, of course, used my New York Times food guide and took up their suggestion to eat the pit beef from Manny’s BBQ. Good suggestion too because if they hadn’t said to eat there, I would have had to enjoyed two meals at PNC because we all know my weakness for food from a grill and the smell alone led me to Manny’s. I was like Toucan Sam, just following my nose. It was, in fact, delicious.
They had some nods to their baseball history but I couldn’t find my way to their Hall of Fame area, which I saw advertised on a billboard. I was under the impression it was a restaurant/bar/museum that was only open during the post-game, but apparently I just was geographically challenged and couldn’t find my way there during the game.
Over all it is a great place to watch a game. Good atmosphere, decent fans. I respect their passion but in the bleachers, I was surrounded by rookies. No baseball knowledge whatsoever (no, your starting pitcher is not eligible for the win, he didn’t go five innings. And the reason the second baseman is playing behind the bag at second? That’s called a shift and it’s standard for guys like Prince Fielder. Why is that K backwards? Mental headslap, outward groan). It killed me. They were saved by an older couple who were standing with me behind the dish. They had been lifelong Pirates fans and the wife could hold her own with baseball knowledge. I don’t doubt that I saw a sneak peek at my life in 40 years when speaking to them.
My view for the last 3 innings of the game
This ballpark easily earned its 8.5 rating. I’d go back to watch a game in a heartbeat. Well done Pittsburgh, well done.
August 25th, 2011
Citizens Bank Park (Philadelphia Phillies): 7.5
I was excited for the Philadelphia component of my trip. I think by now it’s common knowledge that I always enjoy when I can combine a baseball stadium trip and a Mets road series, so the fact that these two things lined up to coincide makes the trip more fun for me.
I hopped a subway to the stadium, which is essentially situated in a “sports complex” with other professional stadiums and venues scattered nearby, walking distance from one another and all reachable by a single subway stop. I always feel very big city when navigating the subway. I usually bring my iPod to pass the time, furthering my attempt to not stand out as a solo female traveler. For baseball games, it’s usually easy to find my way to the proper stop. I just follow the mom or dad toting their kids who are donning t-shirts with the home team logo prominently displayed.
Approaching the ballpark
Upon arriving to the stadium, I noticed how there seemed to be ample parking why, one would drive to a game accessible by subway (read: a method of transit in which someone else drives) is beyond me. But the stadium(s) is the only thing around. There is a bar that is adjacent to the ticket office, which seems to be the best only “pre-game” spot, and they made it count; it was seemingly packed.
I wandered up to the ticket counter and asked for the best available, winding up with tickets in the upper Lower Box, which means that I was not right up in the section on the field but rather on the same level, just one section back. My seats were shaded just to the third base side of the dish. Not too shabby.
Of course, I got there early enough to watch batting practice, per usual. I noticed Mookie Wilson throws a decent BP and if I had my way, I’d prefer his tosses, with most of them opportunities for the guys to get loose, not having to take too many pitches in the dirt, up out, etc.
While they prepped the field, I did a quick tour. My New York Times food guide suggested a pork and provolone sandwich with broccoli rabe from Tony Luke’s so I staked out where I might be able to obtain what would ultimately be my dinner. As I walked around, I immediately noticed the great site lines. The wide open breezeways were full of fans. (Points for their passion, btw. Even the standing room only tickets were sold out and I could tell. The stands were barely dotted with empty navy blue chairbacks.)
As seen in the Hall of Fame area
They had plenty of space to walk between the seats and the concession stands and I made it my first mission to find Mike Schmidt memorabilia for someone at work who had asked that I take a look around. It was nice to see the throw back merchandise counter, with signed bats, balls, jerseys and the like. They even came with certificates of authenticity. I liked the nod Citizens Bank Park took to their history. They had a Hall of Fame area in center field, a smaller area that chronicled the Phillies history as a franchise that also included Hall of Fame plaques for anyone inducted or who had a jersey number retired.
First Pitch
The weather was perfect at the yard, making the atmosphere even better (if you’re a Phillies fan–the Mets lost both games I saw….wasn’t pretty.) The whole stadium had great site lines and no obstruction behind home plate, which earns major points with me. The fact that it’s a Coca-Cola stadium is also a plus.
The concession stands offered an assortment of foods that were (to me) unique the the ballpark, which was good. The other food recommendation I had received was to try the fries from Chickie’s and Pete’s. My plan was to seek these out on night number two and while the attempt was in fact made, it wasn’t quite how I planned it going down.
Phillie Phanatic
To make a long story short, I happened to save a runaway hotdog for this very nice family in my row and they had some of the fries. They offered me some to try when they heard that I hadn’t had them before and they weren’t bad. They were like crinkle cut fries with some old bay seasoning so I decided to get my own around the 6th inning. That was poor planning on my part because apparently they are the thing to get the line at the only location in center field wound not just through the turn styles, but around to right-center field. I only had three innings and I didn’t want to spend them in line, so I passed.
Overall, Philadelphia is a nice yard, it’s got a lot going for it, which is why it earned a 7.5, but after the game, there’s no where to really go. Everyone filters back to their post-baseball world and there didn’t seem to be an outside atmosphere, which I have always liked. Still, it was a good place to visit and I’m glad I got two games in while I was there.
August 24th, 2011
Oh yeah. . . Sunday
Did I mention Kate, Kraig and I went to the Clippers game (Cleveland’s AAA affiliate) on Sunday? It’s really the only way to spend a Sunday…
