MLB Ballpark Roadtrips

[Kepler]

Re: MLB Ballpark Roadtrips

Kepler: thanks for posting about Nationals Park. I don't like to repeat cities (outside of Chicago and St. Louis), but we were talking about going to DC again (I've been to RFK), and it's good to know the ballpark will be worth it. I've found a lot of newer parks are nothing special and I'm usually disappointed.

I went to games at RFK and the new park is a big improvement.

The thing I like most about the new Nats Park is they did not try to "make a statement" (I'm looking at you, Miami). There is no truly glitzy jazz, it's just a good ballpark. Now from what I've read this is mostly because they ran out of money during the construction, but the result is, I think, pleasing.

[PrezdeJohnson09]

Re: MLB Ballpark Roadtrips

There's a new concession stand at Miller Park called the Chef's Table - featuring a signature item from the visiting team's city. I think this is a really cool idea.

Stuff they've had so far:

Pittsburgh: Primanti-style sandwich - served on fresh, soft Italian bread and piled high with pan fried spicy Capicola and Genoa salami. Provolone cheese, tomatoes, zesty cole slaw and–the key to the sandwich–fresh cut French Fries between the bread

Chicago: Italian Beef Sandwich and Taylor Street Steak Sandwich - thin, fried steak that is topped with sweet peppers or hot giardinera and then finished with marinara sauce.

Minnesota: Cajun Walleye Reuben sandwich

Cincinnati: "Skyline" Chili

Houston: Texas Style Chili Pie

LA: L.A.-style sliders (seems a bit uninspired - they already have sliders at the ballpark)

Colorado: Bison Burgers

SF: Chinatown Banh Mi sandwich - beef sirloin glazed in brown sugar and soy sauce topped with Asian Slaw, radish, cucumbers and sweet chili mayonnaise.

Looking forward to the selection for San Diego - better be fish tacos!

This is awesome! Kudos to the Brewers!

[jen]

Re: MLB Ballpark Roadtrips

I went to games at RFK and the new park is a big improvement.

The thing I like most about the new Nats Park is they did not try to "make a statement" (I'm looking at you, Miami). There is no truly glitzy jazz, it's just a good ballpark. Now from what I've read this is mostly because they ran out of money during the construction, but the result is, I think, pleasing.

It'd be hard not to improve on RFK.. although I loved it, because it reminded me a lot of County Stadium. Lots of concrete and way bigger than it needed to be. Huge upper deck.

Dodger Stadium is a good example of a very-little-frills ballpark, too - one of my favorites. It's a ballpark - not an entertainment complex.

[streaker]

Re: MLB Ballpark Roadtrips

A ton of great information. Thanks all.

I've made my way around to the following ballparks: Wrigley (1979, saw Lou Brock in his last season(?) vs. Cubs.) , Old County Stadium, Old Comiskey, Turner Field, Tropicana Field (dump), PNC (very nice), Kaufmann Stadium (nice, great BBQ in KC), Old Busch Stadium, Qualcomm prior to Petco, Big A (prior to renovations), Texas Stadium (now Rangers Ballpark in Arlington), Astrodome, Veterans Stadium, Municipal Stadium & Jacobs Field (now Progressive Field), The BOB (now Chase Field), Camden Yards, Rogers Centre (for our Canadian folk), Old Candlestick and AT&T Park, The Metrodome (but not Target Field) and the worst: Oakland Alameda County Coliseum.

I never made it up to Montreal (Jarry Park or Olympic Stadium) and have yet to see the new stadiums in Minneapolis, Chicago, Houston, Miami, Washington D.C., Milwaukee, San Fran, Cincy, San Diego, St.Louis or Philly. I have never been to Colorado, L.A., Fenway, Yankee Stadium, Seattle or Citi Field (NYM).

My bucket list would include Fenway, Yankee Stadium and Dodger Stadium since two of the three represent the oldest stadiums left that are still in use that I have not been to.

[JF_Gophers]

Re: MLB Ballpark Roadtrips

A ton of great information. Thanks all.

I've made my way around to the following ballparks: Wrigley (1979, saw Lou Brock in his last season(?) vs. Cubs.) , Old County Stadium, Old Comiskey, Turner Field, Tropicana Field (dump), PNC (very nice), Kaufmann Stadium (nice, great BBQ in KC), Old Busch Stadium, Qualcomm prior to Petco, Big A (prior to renovations), Texas Stadium (now Rangers Ballpark in Arlington), Astrodome, Veterans Stadium, Municipal Stadium & Jacobs Field (now Progressive Field), The BOB (now Chase Field), Camden Yards, Rogers Centre (for our Canadian folk), Old Candlestick and AT&T Park, The Metrodome (but not Target Field) and the worst: Oakland Alameda County Coliseum.

I never made it up to Montreal (Jarry Park or Olympic Stadium) and have yet to see the new stadiums in Minneapolis, Chicago, Houston, Miami, Washington D.C., Milwaukee, San Fran, Cincy, San Diego, St.Louis or Philly. I have never been to Colorado, L.A., Fenway, Yankee Stadium, Seattle or Citi Field (NYM).

My bucket list would include Fenway, Yankee Stadium and Dodger Stadium since two of the three represent the oldest stadiums left that are still in use that I have not been to.

AT&T Park is the same place. San Fran hasn't built anything newer then that. They just keep renaming it.

[streaker]

Re: MLB Ballpark Roadtrips

AT&T Park is the same place. San Fran hasn't built anything newer then that. They just keep renaming it.

Not true. AT&T =baseball as was built in 2000. Candlestick is still used by the 49ers and was last used by the Giants in 1999.

edit: see the attached. Wiki is not accurate for the most part, but this appears to be:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...eball_stadiums

[JF_Gophers]

Re: MLB Ballpark Roadtrips

Not true. AT&T =baseball as was built in 2000. Candlestick is still used by the 49ers and was last used by the Giants in 1999.

edit: see the attached. Wiki is not accurate for the most part, but this appears to be:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...eball_stadiums

Right, but you said you had been to AT&T. Then later say you hadn't been to the new SF park. There is nothing newer than AT&T (2000).

[streaker]

Re: MLB Ballpark Roadtrips

Right, but you said you had been to AT&T. Then later say you hadn't been to the new SF park. There is nothing newer than AT&T (2000).

Now, that is true. My mistake. I have been to both, though. Either way, they still have panhandlers!

[moose97]

Re: MLB Ballpark Roadtrips

Less than a week 'til I leave for my trip. My first game isn't until next Tue., but I fly out on Sun. for a couple days with family first. In case you don't want to scroll back through the thread, I'll be in Milwaukee next Tue, Detroit next Wed (the 4th), Toronto on Thu and Pittsburgh on Sat. I did post an itinerary for my trip on the first page of this thread, in case anyone cares. Any last minute advice?

[streaker]

Re: MLB Ballpark Roadtrips

Less than a week 'til I leave for my trip. My first game isn't until next Tue., but I fly out on Sun. for a couple days with family first. In case you don't want to scroll back through the thread, I'll be in Milwaukee next Tue, Detroit next Wed (the 4th), Toronto on Thu and Pittsburgh on Sat. I did post an itinerary for my trip on the first page of this thread, in case anyone cares. Any last minute advice?

Bring your air conditioned shorts. The long range forecast is for the current weather pattern to continue in these parts. (Hot, dry, humid. Then a front comes through, hit and miss rain, cooler temps for a few days, then an extreme warm-up again.) Either way, safe travels, have a good time.

[Hammer]

Re: MLB Ballpark Roadtrips

Tomorrow's forecast for Detroit: 30% chance of thunderstorms. High of 97, low of 75. You're gonna cook at the ballpark, even for a night game.

[jen]

Re: MLB Ballpark Roadtrips

I'll be in Milwaukee next Tue

Hope you had fun at the 4 1/2 hour game in 95+ degree heat. Whew.

[Hammer]

Re: MLB Ballpark Roadtrips

101 degrees and it's pouring at Comerica Park. Moose & Co. are getting soaked as well as broiled.

It should blow out of there within 30 minutes to an hour.

[moose97]

Re: MLB Ballpark Roadtrips

Yeah, hot it was!

And I did get hailed on at Comerica... With the game delayed ~ 2 and a half hours, and since I'd been there before, and since we were off to Toronto the next day, um, yeah, we didn't wait it out... Pittsburgh had a brief delay too, but that was maybe 30 minutes.

All-in-all, a fantastic trip. Miller Park was as expected - falling into the, "it's okay" category, and at the bottom end of the retractable roofed ballparks. There's something about Detroit, despite it's size, that I remembered liking, and I still liked it. It's in the upper end of "it's okay," and I can see why some folks don't like it, with the carousel and everything else to distract from the game on the field. Rogers Center? Ugh. It feels to me like what the Metrodome would have ended up looking like had they renovated it - nicer than the Metrodome, but still way worse a ballpark than almost everything else out there. My Dad was very excited to take me to PNC Park, and I could see why. It's his favorite ballpark, and may be mine too (I love AT&T as well). I think it has an even better location and view than AT&T (than the ocean? Crazy, I know), and it is just flat out a nice basic ballpark. Nothing out of the ordinary, nothing crazy, just a well thought out ballpark.

So, I'm now up to 25 of the current 30 MLB parks (with 4 defunct ones thrown in too), missing just Seattle, Denver, St. Louis, Tampa and Miami. Not sure when I'll be able to get another park at this point...

And as a final note, the "other" non-ballpark parts of the trip were great too. The Hockey Hall of Fame was well done, although the entrance through a food court was a bit odd. Niagara Falls is very impressive, but man, skip the American side - trashy, trashy, trashy! Plus you can't even see the falls! The Pro Football HOF was underwhelming, but worth a stop. Of the three major sport HOF's I've been to, it's by far the weakest, as it focused on the last 50 years far more than the first 50 of the sport. And Camp Perry/the National Matches/SAFS was awesome. For $45 you got classroom time with teachers from the US Army Marksmanship Unit, individual on line training from a US Army Reserve shooter and hands on time with a military M9 pistol (with the ammunition included). Not to mention a t-shirt and book. Invaluable teachers and a fantastic value at that.

Now, because of the heat, we did skip a few itinerary items. We had, for example, planned to go to Honda Indy Toronto practice (Free Friday), but skipped to spend less time out of doors. Still, a good time was had by all. Pics to come once the three cameras photos are combined!

[Greyeagle]

Re: MLB Ballpark Roadtrips

I really like Comerica, especially the retired numbers on the fence and the statues above the numbers on the concourse. Love that touch.