One step closer

This summer marked the 12th ball park for my son, so we are well on our way to completing our quest.  Next summer appears to be an ambitious one as well. We have plans to visit a friend in Atlanta and check out Turner Field while we are there.  We have also rescheduled our Florida trip, which means that beautiful Marlins Park and somewhat less beautiful Tropicana Field are back on the table. I'm already excited!

With twelve parks completed so far, we have seen so many wonderful places and have met so many amazing people! I think that this is one of the things people connect to at a baseball game - the chance to visit with other fans. Football, basketball, and hockey game interactions are generally limited to high fiving a stranger, but at a baseball game, there is time to really get to know people. Every ballpark we've visited has left us with restaurant recommendations, sights to see in the area, and even embarrassing stories. In fact, during our visit to Los Angeles last summer, we met a couple who told us about the beauties of Coors Field. They then proceeded to mortify their teenage daughter by admitting that she may have been conceived there! I'm pretty confident that the same conversation would not have happened at a 49ers game!

We've also eaten our share of hot dogs over the years and have become very refined conoisseurs, if that's possible. The Rockie Dog we ate this summer was awesome, and actually tied the Chicago Dog! No matter where we go, people assure us that their hot dogs are the best - especially if they're from Chicago! My son never strays far from ketchup and mustard, but I enjoy the local flavour whenever possible. I still proudly wear a chilli stain on my Joey Votto jersey, and I can't wait to see what local spin places like Seattle and Arlington put on their dogs!

One thing is for sure - we'd love to have you along for the adventure!

Coors Field

July 20, 2013 - We just returned from a whirlwind trip to Denver, Colorado. 15 hours in the van is not something I would recommend to most people, but my son was a trooper and he traveled better than I did!

While we were there, of course, we paid a visit to beautiful Coors Field for a Rockies/Cubs game. This, in itself, posed a few challenges. Whenever possible, we enjoy making use of public transit to get to and from games. This saves us, and all fans, from navigating to the park, dealing with traffic, and especially parking.

We started by researching the RTD light rail system that looked like it would take us straight from a mall near our hotel to the park. When we got there, we were shocked by the cost of the fares. It cost nearly as much to take the train as it did to buy tickets! The train was clean and fast, but the Union Station stop, which appeared to be right near the ballpark, still left us with a very long walk to the game, which was even less fun at 10pm than it was at 5.

 

Once we approached the stadium itself, it was clear that we were in for a treat, however. The outer walls of the park were a beautiful mix of red brick and black iron, and the Branch Rickey statue out front made it clear that this was a place designed for fans!

Upon entering, I was also impressed by the openness of Coors Field. Some stadiums, like Rogers Centre and US Cellular, have felt very dark and cavernous in the entrance and concourse areas, but this park has lots of sunlight in all areas.

 

We were fortunate to be there during Roxivus, a three day celebration of the 20th anniversary of the Rockies franchise. This meant that there was a pre-game alumni event and autograph session featuring former Rockies such as Andres Gallaraga, Mike Lansing, Walt Weiss, and others! The lineups for autographs were not terribly long, and moved quickly thanks to staff who deterred fans from engaging in lengthy, awkward conversations with the players.

 

Pre-game autographs were a different story, though. My son and I have a ritual of watching batting practice and getting a signed ball from the visiting team. This was impossible at Coors, however, as there were bright yellow "Do not pass" lines near the dugout, preventing fans from interacting with players. We lined up with other fans far beyond the third base bag, but no players ventured so far down. I have to admit that I am puzzled why Coors Field has gone to this length to take this experience away from fans. We were told that it was because these spaces were reserved for fans who purchased tickets in these sections, but there are very few fans who lineup an hour before the game, and even fewer who are in their seats complaining that they can't see!

 

Coors has many unique features that are worth mentioning as well. There is a Blue Moon brewery right in the stadium, an area where kids (and adults, I guess) can practice their batting and pitching, and a gorgeous view of the mountains! There is also an area of bleacher seating called the Rock Wall, which has seats for as low as $4, making a night out at the ballpark extremely affordable for families (as long as they didn't take the train!).

 

By the 3rd inning, the hot dog growls started, so my son and I lined up to try the Rockie Dog. The line was ridiculously slow and, when I commented to a few other fans in the line, they assured me that it was always slow. We missed an entire inning waiting for our hotdogs, but it was well worth it! Coors Field boasts one of the best ballpark hot dogs we've ever had! Here's how we rated it:

Bun:                 9/10
Temperature: 9/10
Flavour:       8.5/10
Juiciness:     9.5/10
Total:            36/40

 

If you are planning a trip to Denver, and plan to take in a game at Coors Field, I hope you found this posting useful. If you have any comments, or questions about this or any other park, please post a comment below!

 

Things to do in Denver...

A visit to Coors Field is something I've been really looking forward to, but not something I've been overly planned for. I generally have the sections and seats scouted out months in advance, planned my game day experience to the letter, and payed special attention to the roster for both home and away rosters and starting rotations. Not this time, and I'm not sure why.

That said, I just bought tickets tonight and was surprised to hear that my visit coincides with an event called Roxivus and will feature an alumni game as part of the pre-game show. So far, details of the event are few, but one name jumped out at me from the list of confirmed participants - El Gato himself, Mr. Andres Galarraga!

I'm not going to lie. If Larry Walker shows up, I will be a completely geeked out embarassment to my son, but the chance to see and potentially meet Galarraga is pretty exciting. Growing up, it was all Jays, all the time, but when the boys in T.O. weren't on TV, you could always count on good ol' French CBC to have the broadcast of Les Expos live from the Big O in Montreal. Galarraga was one of the first Expos besides Carter, Dawson, and Martinez that I remember from those mid-to-late 80s Expos teams, and he was always a great first baseman and a gentleman on the field. Looking forward to the opportunity to see him back in a uniform in a few short weeks!

Rogers Center - Toronto, Ontario

25 May 2013 - It's strange to say, since I've been a Jays fan all my life, but I honestly thought that the Rogers Center in Toronto would be one of the most challenging parks to get to on the MLB Quest. The reason is a simple one, and one that most Canadians will agree with - air travel in Canada is among the most expensive in the world! Luckily for me, I was approved to attend an educational conference in Toronto, so I was heading back to the Rogers Center for the first time in nearly twenty years! (though it was the SkyDome back then)

Taking a cab to the game, I made sure to give myself plenty of time so that I would not get caught up in traffic. I was fortunate that the Wednesday game had a 4:37 start time, so there was no commuter traffic on the streets.

I was excited to see the Blue Jays again, after they had spent "Yankee money" on free agents during the off season, picking up names like R.A. Dickey, Melky Cabrera, Jose Reyes (injured), Josh Johnson (injured), and tonight's pitcher Mark Buerhle. Though this team has been pretty cold out of the gates in 2013 and are currently last in their division, this is a team with post-season written all over it.

The crowd was small, but intimate and vocal. Over two nights, they gave the opposition plenty of distractions and were generous with their loud support of the home team. I was relieved to see this, as Jays fans have a reputation for having extremely short attention spans and limited understanding of the game. Not on these nights, they didn't. The Jays cruised to back-to-back wins over these two nights, and fans went home happy!

As for the park itself, I was amazed at how well Rogers Center has held up over twenty years. The walkways and entrances all look pristine, the seating shows little sign of wear, and the newly renovated 200 Level concourse (right below the CF scoreboard) offers amazing views for fans. Sure, there are areas that are not as nice, (The ramps are dark and in rough shape, and the washrooms look extremely dated and abused.) but first time visitors to Rogers Center would never guess that it has been a part of Toronto since 1989.

I was hoping that there would be a little more atmosphere immediately surrounding the park, to be honest. Given that it is in the shadow of the CN Tower, being able to sit in a Wrigleyville-style pub area would be a real enhancement to the fan experience. Sadly, fans are limited to a Boston Pizza across the street, unless they want to walk a few blocks to restaurants like Gretzky's or several others.

Last, but not least, comes the hotdog rating! I was tempted before the Thursday game to try the famous Homerun Dog, and I was not disappointed at all. A footlong hotdog loaded with cheddar cheese, bacon, and baked beans, it was an awesome treat for the ballpark. That said, however, I have based the rating below on their Stadium Dog in order to be consistent with other ballparks.

Temperature: 6 / 10
Flavour:         6 / 10
Bun:            5.5 / 10
Juiciness:       6 / 10

Verdict: 2nd last place (Just one point above Oakland)

All in all, not a terribly exciting hotdog. Thanks again to my son, Nigel, for dreaming up the hot dog ratings criteria.

2014 All Star Game

Wednesday, 29 August 2012 - Congratulations to the good people of Minnesota!  I was pleased to hear the announcement from Bud Selig that Target Field will host the MLB All Star Game in the 2014 season.  We certainly enjoyed our visit to Target Field last summer and, as it was where my son saw his very first MLB game, it holds a special place in my heart.

This announcement comes as a welcome distraction for Twins fans, as their team is currently last in the American League.  After losing several consistent contributors to free agency and several others to injury, this has been a difficult season for the Twins.  I hope that the ownership team in Minneapolis is able to avoid the temptation to off-load big money players like Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau, or Denard Span, and instead spend some money on picking up some solid pitching to build around.  The Twins are a proud team in one of baseball's most fluid divisions, so I'm sure they will be able to recover.  Maybe even by 2014!

Hot Dog Scores (so far)

Wednesday, 22 August 2012 - The votes have been counted and, after careful deliberation, I am pleased to unveil Phase 1 of the MLB Quest Hot Dog Championships.  Congratulations to the Chicago White Sox, whose Chicago-Style dog currently ranks highest, with close competition from the Dodger Dog and the Giants Dog.

My sympathies to the hot dog connoisseurs in Oakland, California. It would have been nice to have at least something positive to say about your park, but clearly your dogs are among the worst in the land.  Keep checking in for updated scores, and I'd love to hear your hotdog related comments!

Plans for 2013? Already?

Yep - That's right! We have barely returned from this California marathon, and we are already talking about hitting three parks in 2013.

First, a moderate road trip to Denver will happen at some point, giving us a chance to see Coors Field.  This idea came about when we were waiting for our tour at Warner Brothers Studios to begin, and started talking with a very nice family from Colorado.  I told them all about our quest, and that we'd never been to Denver, and they said that their daughter may have actually been conceived at Coors Field! They were joking, of course, but the horrified teenager beside them didn't see the humour.  I've heard good things about the stadium, so I'm looking forward to a Rockies game next year.

For our actual, for-real, game-on trip of 2013, I believe we will be Florida bound.  My son is a Harry Potter fanatic so, unless we want to travel overseas, we are destined for Universal Studios Orlando.  It looks like a lot of fun, so that is fine by me.  While we are there, of course, we plan to pay a visit to Tropicana Field for a Tampa Bay Rays game and Marlins Park in Miami as well.  I'm looking forward to Marlins Park, as it looks so state-of-the-art and pristine.  Tropicana, on the other hand, has me less excited. 

Tropicana Field, Tampa Bay (above)

Marlins Park, Miami (below)

I like visiting a park where I can cheer for the home team and talk with the locals a bit.  This is not likely in TB.  As a life-long Jays fan, I refuse to wear the colours of ANY other AL East team.  Hopefully they have good hot dogs and get clobbered by an AL team I appreciate, like the Tigers or the Angels.  Either way, I do hope that Evan Longoria is healthy when we are down there, as he was on the DL with a hamstring injury during our California trip.

PetCo Park

Sunday, 5 August 2012 - Well, today my family was officially "baseballed out."  I have to hand it to them, though! Four games in a week and a half is a lot!  They both did very well, and did not complain one bit!

So I was on my own for the last stop on our tour - San Diego's beautiful PetCo Park.  The first thing that struck me was the convenience of the public transit system in San Diego! This is always a HUGE bonus when you don't have to worry about parking and everything else.  My wife and son decided that they would spend the afternoon shopping at the Fashion Valley Mall, and I simply got on a Special Red Line train that took me to within a block of the stadium.  Sure, the Day Pass cost me $5, but I'd pay at least double that to park! Beautiful start, San Diego!

The lady at the ticket office was very pleasant, and I tried my best to reciprocate this. I imagine this is hard to do for most Padres fans, though, as this is a pretty expensive place to see a game.  I sat at the top of Section 111 (not bad seats, about 40 rows up) and paid $53 for the single seat.  This made me slightly relieved that I was on a solo mission this afternoon!

Walking into PetCo is unique in many ways.  The plaza itself looks more like a street mall than a ball park.  There is also a "Kids Run The Bases" park for pre-game fun.  I had wanted to get a close look at the bronze statue of Tony Gwynn on Picnic Hill, but the boys from CBS Sports were filming there and the area was roped off to riff raff like me.

San Diego wears its heart on its sleeve when it comes to recognizing the various branches of the US military, and this was instantly apparent to me after entering the park.  My first stop was, of course, at the beer vendors.  After ordering, I was asked to move aside and, to my surprise, hundreds of members of the Marine Corps were marching beside me in formation.  Fans removed their hats and applauded until they had passed, and I considered myself lucky to have been in the right spot to see this local tradition in action!

This was also Coast Guard Day at PetCo, and featured a flyover by some massive helicopters and a pregame recognition of a brave group of Coast Guard members who had recently saved the lives of five people aboard a burning ship.  So far, PetCo was a very humbling place!

Once I took my seat, I was able to truly appreciate the beauty of this park.  The old Western Metal and Supply Co. building ingeniously built into the left field seats, adorned with balcony seating for fans willing to pay the price. There were many families enjoying the Park at the Park, and lots of kids were having a blast at the beach. For a city like San Diego, including features like this for hot afternoons is brilliant!  Though I have to admit that I was confused by a monolithic black wall to the right of the scoreboard.  It seemed like something that would be more at home in Oakland!

Unique features of the PetCo Park outfield

The game itself was a great one, as the Padres faced off against the New York Mets.  I did not have a dog in this fight, so I just wanted to watch a good ball game, and I certainly got that!  The Padres went up 4-1 early as the friars hit Matt Harvey early, giving a little support for their starter Jason Marquis.  David Wright and company applied the pressure late, however, making a 7th inning surge, but the home team pulled it out in the end.  Always nice to have happy people on the post-game train!

And now for the hot dog rating! Hope I did a good job without the expertise of my son!

Temperature:      7.5/10
Flavour:                8.5/10
Juiciness:              7.0/10
Bun Texture:        7.0/10
TOTAL:            30/40

O.Co Colisseum

Friday, 3 August 2012 - I hate to make excuses, but it has been a tough year for the Blue Jays.  With a strong, young lineup, and a pitching rotation that looked extremely promising, Jays fans came into 2012 with high hopes for that additional Wild Card spot in the American League.

Unfortunately, the Jays had been absolutely decimated by injuries to much of their core lineup and many of their starting pitchers.  That said, my son and I were still very excited to see our Jays on the road in Oakland.  This would be the first time I had attended a Jays game in seventeen years!!

Having stayed in San Francisco, we took the Blue Line BART from the Embarcadero Station, and just 20 minutes later, we arrived at O.Co Colisseum.  I know I've said it many times, but I am a big fan of taking public transportation to games!

Now I know that I have been spoiled to date.  Wrigleyville, Great American, Angel Stadium, and other parks all boast stunning front gates adorned with statues, plaques, and memorabilia that are intended to heighten the fan experience.  O.Co Colisseum, though? Not a chance. I had heard that Oakland was home to the worst stadium in the league, but come on!

After leaving the train, we walked over a concrete bridge that appeared to cross over some sort of container storage yard. I don't exaggerate when I say that I wouldn't be surprised to learn that some of those white container units hold some kind of toxic waste! Above us were enough coils of razor wire to make even the most hardened of Raiders fans feel emmasculated.  There was no doubt about it - this was an interesting stop on our quest!

The closest thing to a statue was a banner acknowledging the accomplishments of the great Rickey Henderson, which is a shame.  The A's were a serious team in the late 80s, and had a legitimate team this year, but there was no sense of legacy in this park whatsoever.

We took our seats on the steel risers behind the visitors dugout and were immediately struck by the fact that every upper section was covered by large green tarps. I'm not sure if this is a way of trying to fool people into thinking that they are attending a sellout game, but it was strange to say the least. I'm guessing that Billy Beane and company got a good deal on green tarps at CostCo!

Even with our brutal surroundings, we enjoyed watching the Jays during their pre-game warm up.  My son and I chatted briefly with Ricky Romero and Rajai Davis, and before the game started, Moises Sierra and Colby Rasmus signed a baseball for my son!  The Jays struggled in this game against the red-hot A's, and Brett Cecil was forced out of the game after 4 innings. Brett Lawrie left the game with rib pain after just his first at bat, and Colby Rasmus left late in the game with a pulled groin. On the other hand, Oakland pitcher Dan Straily pitched an outstanding game and got some run support courtesy of Coco Crisp and Josh Reddick.

(above) Rajai Davis

(above) Brett Lawrie warms up

(below) Edwin Encarnacion and Yunel Escobar

Leaving the game was no more charming than our arrival, as the bridge that we planned to walk across to take the train back to San Francisco was closed due to that night's fireworks show.  This forced us to take a painfully slow and seemingly directionally challenged shuttle through a scary neighbourhood and to the back of the train station.  Insult to injury.

The only positive thing I can honestly say about this stadium is that it was, by far, the least expensive stop on our trip.  Our tickets alone would have topped $200 a piece in many stadiums, but were less than $50 each. Food was also pretty reasonable, though their vendors were inexplicably on different levels of the stadium ("Do you have cheeseburgers?" "No, those are on level three" "Fries?" "Level three, Sir." "Just the hot dogs, then."). 

Speaking of the hot dogs, here is the ranking for O.Co Colisseum's dogs:

Temperature:     6.0/10
Flavour:               5.5/10
Juiciness:             6.0/10
Bun Texture:       5.0/10
TOTAL:           22.5/40

AT&T Park

Wednesday, 1 August 2012 - San Francisco is an absolutely beautiful city, and was such a welcome change to the high-octane insanity of Los Angeles. The whole city has a very interesting vibe that oozes cool without coming off as unwelcoming.  Because of this, my wife, son, and I were all in a very good place when it came time for our visit to the beautiful AT&T Park.

Having spent the day touring the city on an open-top bus, we had planned to walk to the park after taking a bus to the Port of San Francisco.  We were told that it was a beautiful 30 minute walk, but we barely got started before a bike taxi approached us and offered to take us there. The ride cost us $20, but it was a fun way to get there, and we weren't sweaty from the walk.

We got to the stadium nice and early as a result, which was good, as I found it a little tricky to find our gate.  As well, this was "Jerry Garcia Night" at AT&T Park, and there was a pre-game concert by the surviving members of the Grateful Dead.

While listening to the great music, we had a chance to check out some of the interesting features of AT&T Park.  With elements like the golden glove, giant Coke bottle, the analog clock, and the scenic Levi's Landing, your first visit to this park will be half baseball and half "I Spy"!  I did find, however, that the seats were not nearly as staggered as they are in other sections, making the sightlines difficult for my son and a short guy like me.

(above) Statue of Orlando Cepeda,

(below) Statue of Willie Mays, Willie McCovey plaque

 

 

I was very excited about this game, as we had missed some amazing pitchers on this trip so far.  In fact, Jarrod Weaver, Zach Greinke, Clayton Kershaw, R.A. Dickey and Tim Lincecum had all pitched either one night before or after our visit! Brutal! Tonight, however, Giants ace Matt Cain was set to take the mound.  Little did anyone know that Mets fielder Ruben Tejada would take Cain yard on just the second pitch of the game.  Cain continued to struggle after that and was bailed out repeatedly by some incredible defensive play by teammates like Gregor Blanco.  He left the game after just four innings.  As it turned out, Mets starter Jon Niese looked like the ace this time around, fanning Giants sluggers all night long (including newly-acquired Hunter Pence, who was making his first start for the Giants). That's baseball for you.

My one suggestion to new visitors to AT&T Park is this - bring a blanket! We had been warned that it would be chilly, and thought we had come prepared, but we had no idea. I know your thinking, "It's summer! In California!" but I mean it.  We decided to tough through it in our light jackets, as the alternative was buying a fleece blanket from the Pro Shop for $55, but once the sun went down and the fog rolled in, it was COLD!  We ended up buying a blanket at Fisherman's Wharf the next morning for $8.

And now, the hot dog ratings:

Temperature: 7.5/10
Flavour:   7.0/10
Juiciness: 9.0/10 (Nigel: "I have to go with 9. I really like the juiciness!")
Bun Texture: 8.0/10
TOTAL: 30/40

P.S. - Try the garlic fries!

Dodger Stadium

Monday, 30 July 2012 -

And now... here's how we rated the famous Dodger Dog:

Temperature: 8.5/10
Flavour:           8.0/10
Juiciness:         7.0/10
Bun Texture:   8.0/10
TOTAL:       31.5/40

Angel Stadium

Friday, 27 July 2012 -

Hot dog rating:
Temperature:   8.0/10
Flavour:              5.5/10
Juiciness:            5.0/10
Bun Texture:      8.0/10
TOTAL:        26.5/40

Great American Ballpark

Hot Dog Ratings:

Temperature:  7.5/10
Flavour:            7.5/10
Juiciness:          8.0/10
Bun Texture:    7.0/10
TOTAL:         30/40

U.S. Cellular Field

Hot Dog Ratings:

Temperature:  8.0/10
Flavour:            8.5/10
Juiciness:          8.5/10
Bun Texture:    8.0/10
TOTAL:          33/40

Miller Park

Hot Dog Ratings:

Temperature: 7.0/10
Flavour:           8.5/10
Juiciness:         8.5/10
Bun Texture:   7.0/10
TOTAL:         31/40

P.S. - The real bonus here are all of the beer vendors!

Target Field

Hot Dog Ratings:

Temperature: 7.0/10
Flavour:           7.5/10
Juiciness:        6.5/10
Bun Texture:  6.0/10
TOTAL:        27/40

Wrigley Field

2010 - Well, if you're going to go on an MLB Quest, THIS is the place to get it started! Chicago's legendary Wrigley Field is, for good reason, widely considered to be one of the most magnificent parks in the history of baseball.

My wife and I had the chance to watch the Cubs play under the lights on a hot Chicago night.  The atmosphere of this park is unforgettable.  The crowd consisted of devoted North Side lifers and energized tourists, so everybody was paying close attention to the action on the field.  The only down side was precisely that - the action on the field.  We had the unfortunate timing of watching the Cubs facing off against the Houston Astros - two teams circling the bowl of the National League standings. Manager "Sweet Lou" Piniella had to pull his struggling starter, Carlos Zambrano, after just 3 innings, and the bulk of the crowd left to catch their trains following the seventh inning stretch.

A lot can be said about the Cubs curse and the lack of quality ball in Chicago's North Side, but the park itself is a wonderful place to visit.  After getting off of the red line at Addison, the atmosphere of Wrigleyville hits you like a splash of cold water.  People are decked out in their Cubbies gear, a bronze stature of the late announcer Harry Caray greets you with a smile, and you immediately understand why this park means so much.  Not simply to the people of Chicago, but to baseball itself. 

Upon entering the park, the smells of baseball overwhelm you, and the first glimpse of the ivy in the outfield is magnificent.  There was also a pep band playing in our section consisting of five old men in full pinstripe uniforms playing glowing brass instruments and getting everyone up to dance.  There are so many intangibles about this park that are difficult to explain, but one thing is certain - I have to bring my son here one day!  The quest is on!