Life 2.1

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.

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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.

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This post about Coors Field is long over due. Normally it doesn’t take me this long to get a review of my latest stadium up, but sadly, adult life (read: a full-time job) got in the way of posting in a timely fashion. So let’s pretend that I have just returned from Denver, instead of 2 weeks ago.

Coors Field has some pretty big shoes to fill because on the trip to the airport (the first time) my Uncle Nick had made it out to be pretty spectacular. I have to say, I agree with him. So much so, that I give the ballpark a 7.5. He had explained that the area had basically been a ghetto prior to the building of the field and it was the building of the field that initiated all the development around the part of town. And it was a nice area; it had shops and loft apartments and what appeared to be a great bar scene. I immediately got my ticket from the ticket lady about an hour and 30 minutes before the scheduled first pitch. Upon entry, I noticed the big, open breezeways that had great sight lines to the field. Considered the Rockies (and their stadium) came to be about 17 years ago (give or take a year or two) it still seemed very contemporary for its design.

Of course, I was greeted with the tarp on the infield and the temperature seemingly frozen at 39 degrees. I did a lap around the field level and took a look around. Since I had nothing but time to kill, I stopped to ask an usher if he had any idea if the game was going to be played because, at that point, it was still up in the air due to the heavy mist that continually came down.

I was betting they would and had a really well-formulated argument in favor of playing. The Rockies and Mets didn’t face each other anymore this season so I wasn’t sure when they would have had an opportunity to play again, thus the need to absolutely get this game in, no matter how late first pitch would be. I had also asked some knowledgeable resources (read: the members of the Padres organization I had chatted with earlier) and they agreed they would play it. The trick was that I had to leave for the airport no later than 3:30 so I was already only going to see a few innings of the scheduled game and now it was looking like it was surely going to be delayed. I got nervous.

The usher said they would usually take the tarp off about 30 minutes out so if I didn’t see movement by 12:35 or so, I could bet it would be delayed. I explained my situation and we struck up a conversation. In the mean time, another usher (who I later learned was the supervisor) joined us and the usher passed along my story to the head guy. Boss Man Dan, as I will now call him, was very helpful. He was also the one to notice that my fingertips were beginning to turn purple and he went and got me some hand warmers from their secret usher stash (which may or may not have been First Aid, but I was grateful either way). This won some serious points. I gotta say, the Rockies have a great crew. They are all extremely helpful and I enjoyed talking with them. Even the lady who sold me my ticket was pleasant. One of the ushers, Tim, had lived in Vallejo for quite some time so naturally, we talked about that. The ushers directed me to some quality barbecue and my sandwich of Texas brisket wasn’t too shabby.

Eventually the Official Rain Delay screen shot came on the screens around the ball park but no estimated time was listed. Since I had made friends with the ushers, they were keeping me posted based on what they heard on the radios. I walked around the yard again and looked to find the food the New York Times recommended, which was mini-doughnuts. I didn’t see them on my lap, so of course went back to my Coors Field resources and I asked the ushers if they knew of anything like that. While he did know what I was talking about, he pulled out his concession map because it had occurred to him that he hadn’t seen any this season. He couldn’t find them on the map either so I assume they weren’t offering mini doughnuts yet. Bummer. I love a good doughnut…Could’ve made the stadium an 8.

After I settled on some hot chocolate, the cashier said something about the airlines being all messed up so it occurred to me that I should check my flight because, as it was then shaping up, I was not going to see a baseball game with this rain delay. Boss Man Dan had told me I had until first pitch to request a ticket refund, hence the reason they were keeping me updated.

I went to the Southwest website and sure enough, my flight was delayed. I’ve never been so excited for a delay. Fast forward to the tarp coming off at approximately 2:15 and I got so excited, I moved down to my seat, standing watching the activities.

My usher friends came down and toweled my seat off (very nice of them) and we finally got under way at 3:20. Because of my delayed flight, I knew I had to leave the ball park no later than 5:45 in order to pick up my luggage and make it to the airport. That was just enough for seven innings and two of Carlos Beltran’s three homeruns.

The stadium has a great atmosphere and similarly to Pac Bell Park, I don’t think there is a bad seat in the house. I also liked that they have a row of purple seats running across the upper deck, which marks to Mile High altitude point. They are also a Coke stadium (as opposed to Pepsi) which earns them points in my book. The Rockies’ jumbo-tron is also good-sized and aesthetically-pleasing. It serves as a nice pillar out in left field.

And did I mention how friendly everyone was? Basically, all I did that entire day was make friends. With the pleasant ushers, the girl sitting behind me…(Kate, who will now be meeting me in Philly, when it comes time to visit that stadium. I am 100% positive that we will have a blast there.)

The only thing the stadium lacks is a nod to their history, but, it defense of the franchise, they haven’t been around long enough to accumulate such a thing. I have a sneaking suspicion that in the future, there will be nods to Todd Helton and Troy Tulowitzki all over that place. I would, if I were the Rockies. Just sayin’.

In the mean time, there is Helton’s burger shack in left field so I appreciate the attempt.

Over all, Uncle Nick wasn’t wrong; it’s a great ball park, definitely one of my new favorites and I have every intention of visiting again soon, this time, preferably with my cousins attending with me, as was planned this trip, which the snow derailed.

No Comments | In: Sports, because, have you met me? | tags: baseball, Colorado Rockies, Coors Field, Mets, MLB, rain delay. | #

Oh Dodger Stadium. We have such a love-hate relationship. By birth, I’m a Giants fan, and was therefore raised to loathe you. Yet, when I entered, I thought, “self, this isn’t so bad. Just rip the band-aid off and go for it.“

And for about 3 innings I was all right. Then the stands started to fill up and I was surrounded by Dodger fans. Ugh. But, points for having a loyal and passionate fan base.

Bobby and Jason picked me up around 1:30 and we got caught up over a hole-in-the-wall Mexican restaurant near the stadium. Maybe it was the strawberry margarita talking but I went into Dodger Stadium with an open mind. After all, it’s one of the oldest stadiums left with all the rebuilding going on.

Welcome to Dodger Stadium

The boys and I drove into Chavez Ravine around 5:15 and parking was amazingly easy and cheap ($15 compared to $30 at Pac-Bell!) and we proceeded to Will Call, got our tickets no problem and headed up the escalator to enter.

They didn’t let fans in until closer to 5:45 but it was all right, we just stood in line and people-watched. There wasn’t much going on outside the stadium. They have massive parking lots but prohibit tailgating so that’s no fun.

Finally we entered and made our way to our seats to watch BP. We were in the RF upper reserve level, which was a decent view. I was still feeling ok about this whole Dodgers thing.

A shot of that famous LA behind the dish

Before the game got going, we walked around the upper level breezeway and enjoyed an adult beverage, taking it all in. I did appreciate the fact that the ushers didn’t give us any grief about standing in the left field upper reserve shade prior to the game.

We made it back to our seats in time for first pitch and the area around us had really filled up with families and fans, which is another criteria earning positive points. Good family/fan atmosphere. I was thinking it was somewhere around a 7 at this point. Then the game got going and everything was still ok. The stadium had loads of snack bars at which you could buy Dodgerdogs and the lines were never too bad. I happened to be in the world’s slowest line for a bottle of water and a cup of coffee but it was definitely just my unfortunate luck, not standard.

J and me

About the 7th inning, the boys and I decided it was time to walk around and take in some sights of the yard. Only, they wouldn’t let us! It’s baseball fan segregation, I tell you! I’m not looking to swoop on people’s seats down there but God forbid I mix in with the fancy people on the lower levels. Huge point loss for this. I was not a happy camper.

So, in conclusion, the stadium gets points for its history and fan base and snack bar lines but a huge deduction for the lack of pre-game atmosphere and the no-fan-mixing policy. Crowd-control, the usher called it. Whatever. Not my fault that the Dodgers are concerned about their fanbase getting too crazy, but thanks for ruining it for the rest of us trying to appreciate the stadium. On the plus side, I got a chance to take pictures with the guys, since I didn’t have any pics with them prior to 2006. Bob, we’re gonna have to take a re-do, I didn’t realize this was blurry. Fail.

CL and Bob

Right after I was told I was prohibited from mingling with the fancy people, I was feeling like the stadium was a 4 but in hindsight, I give it a high 5. The stadium does come complete with Vin Scully. But since fans don’t get the opportunity to fully enjoy the stadium, I can’t give it higher than that.

Thank goodness I got that one over with.

No Comments | In: Sports, because, have you met me? | tags: baseball, LA Dodgers, Los Angeles Dodgers, MLB. | #

I’ve wrapped up two more ballparks in my quest to see all the MLB yards…this swing was a quick one, since I have events at work all weekend but I managed to steal some time for a spin through Arizona to see Chase Stadium and Thursday night will find me in {gag} Dodger Stadium. As a Giants fan by birth, I almost couldn’t event type the words.

Welcome to Chase Field

Wednesday night’s excursion to Chase Field in Phoenix was positive for a couple of reasons. The first being that this was the view from my seats:

This is just how I roll

The second was that they were playing the Mets and I think we all know how I feel about the Mets third baseman. But the Stadium was a nice experience as well, despite me not getting to do much exploring outside of the gates. Upon my arrival at the plaza/entry way where Will Call tickets could be picked up, there was a bustle of activity, like any ballgame should have. Also, the Will Call Kiosks? Very convenient. There was a bar & grill-looking place across the way, which looked to be home to many pre-gaming fans. The area around the ballpark looked as though it was in the process of being developed and my driver kindly informed me that during the Suns-Lakers games, this place was a zoo. I imagine that when events are taking place at the various arenas that are just blocks away, there is a buzz of activity but I also got the impression that without those activities, there wouldn’t be much action on a random Thursday night, for instance.

First pitch to Jose Reyes

I took my seat and enjoyed an adult beverage from the underground restaurant/bar that was directly below my seat and close in proximity. They had go cups, which, after living in New Orleans, I have learned to appreciate. The stadium wasn’t as full as it should have been, but then again the poor Diamondbacks are currently 19 games out of first, so I guess that might have something to do with it.

As I lowered my beer into my cupholder, I look up two rows in front of me and see none other than my college team’s centerfielder, who I haven’t seen in a few years. Total pleasant surprise since Matty was one of the guys at UCSD who always made me feel like a part of the club. *Side story, one time, during practice, our left-handed hitting catcher was taking BP and I was sitting Zack Morris style in a chair along the first baseline, watching and charting. I was a ways a way from the field but staying loose since Jeff had some pop and sure enough, he sent a screaming rod right at me. I hopped up quick but it still tagged me in the leg or foot somewhere as I was getting out of the way. The next day, it was Matty who had taken my chair and set up the L-screen and orange cones around it. It was a good one.

For those fans who wanna splash around in the AZ heatGood mix of logos and photos of baseball legends

So back to the ball park…The inside feel of the ballpark is similar to the newer stadiums in that it’s got big, open breezeways, which I have always appreciated. As you walk around the inside, you never lose sight of the action and there are no real field-blocking walls or club seats ahem, CitiField, behind the plate. They have a pool in right-centerfield which is neat and they offer a good selection of ballpark food.

For being a relatively new team, they do try and honor those players of their history, but they also do a nice job of honoring their current club members, with a big wall mural of any D-Back who has ever been selected to an All-Star game. They also have former player races, which are hilarious, since Mark Grace has yet to win one. Randy Johnson, Matt Williams and Luis Gonzalez have all by-passed Gracie in a spin-off of the sausage races of Milwaukee.

A good mix of logos and old-time photos

I forgot my New York Times’ Food Guide but apparently the can’t miss item in AZ was garlic fries from Gordon Biersch so I’m ok with bypassing those.

The game was low-scoring, which wasn’t as exciting but it did go 14 innings (all of which, I saw) but the D-Backs have it tough. As it was explained to me, Phoenix is such a transplant city, most of the people who live there already have team affiliations that aren’t the Diamondbacks, which may explain why they have awesome out of town scoreboards, so the people that go to the game can still keep up with their hometown teams. Whatever the reason, they are large and very visible, which is worth some points in the ranking system.

What 14 innings looks like

Overall, I would definitely go back and give the stadium a solid 6, maybe a 7. They get points for the open feel of the stadium with a solid scoreboard and jumbo-tron but are also saddled with a loss of points for the fact that their fan base isn’t the die-hard base (yet) and the bit of a warehouse-feel the stadium has when the roof is closed as it was when I visited. On the plus side, that roof kept out 110-degree heat. It’s a trade off.

No Comments | In: Sports, because, have you met me? | tags: Arizona Diamondbacks, ballparks, baseball, MLB. | #