Finally, we're back and ready to blog, next up, Tropicana Field, "The Trop"

     I know we've been gone for months. Thing is, I moved across the country again. I took some time to see part of the country I've never seen before and got to see some great baseball too - more on that later. With that said, there wasn't much time to blog or find internet access. With that said, my last ball game in Florida was the Seattle Mariners visting the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field, commonly referred to as "The Trop." Overall it was a fun experience that we got to enjoy with my good friends Nick and Meg as well. 
     Onto the review! Tropicana Field was the first baseball stadium either one of us had been to that was completely enclosed with no view to the outside either (at one point we were fully aware of a lightining storm as we could hear plenty of thunder, yet the ballgame went on, which was very neat). For the record, I'm totally opposed to Tampa building a facility that does not include a dome as some people are suggesting. It seems there are lightning storms all the time in Florida summers. Now, with that said, the current Tropicana Field is suitable for baseball, but it does not compare to most modern stadiums that I've been to. Overall the atmosphere feels the same as a late 80s, early 90s mall. 

Does this not look like a mall? Even the TVs are old

There's lots of cinderblocks along the walls making it feel cheap, only made worse by the paint job that looks like the local high school art class designed to look like Ybor City. Also, unbelievably, once you go up, it is hard to go down. There's one outside turntable type ramp, an elevator you have to convince employees to use, and... that's it until they turn the elevators to go down. That proved to be extremely annoying when we tried to get some hot dogs and sodas as the concessions were not being sold upstairs - which brings us to another point - the fan attendance in Tampa. The concessionaires are not open in the upper levels undeniably because Tampa's fan attendance is notoriously among the worst in the league even in the playoffs. (That's mostly another discussion on how to evaluate where sports teams go, as Tampa is a perfect example of a town whose average income cannot support two major sports teams). However, the fans that were in attendance were into their team and the show on the field which was good to see. At the Time, the Rays were in 3rd place trailing the Yankees and Orioles at a time when many people thought the Rays had a chance to take the AL Wild Card or maybe even the AL East title. In terms of the seats, I had a problem with the fact that there were no cup holders and the teams were not facing home plate; so everyone leans and if you have a bigger person in front of you, well there goes your view of what the batter is doing.
      
Despite the stadium shows its age in its "new age" design, there are some redeeming qualities about it which I list next: In center field there is an area where you can pet sting rays (or are they devil rays? I've never known.) 

You might be able to make out the tank above the Geico advertisement in right-center field

Part of the history of Tampa Baseball exhibit

Central Entrance

The food selection isn't bad if you can withstand the prices ($10 for a beer? $6 for a hot dog! $9 souvenir cups?!! Some tickets are cheaper!) - the selection even included a quick serve Outback Steakhouse; as always, the Bloomin' Onion was a fan favorite. The 100 level (field level seats) were actually quite close to the field; getting down there in the middle of the game was also fairly easy, once again due to low attendance. Mid-inning humor was actually funny - at one point they had some sort of sexy dance competition by obese men, which, I would not have thought I'd laugh at, but was pretty funny. Props to those guys. The staff, by and large was friendly and helpful. The National Anthem included a sign-language version which I had never seen before and I thought was neat.  Ticket prices on stub hub are pretty reasonable. They also have a fairly interesting history of baseball in Tampa exhibit I wish I got to see more of.

The field level seats are very close to the action, and I've gotta give credit, the Rays' bullpen was full of nice guys willing to sign autographs. 

 

 

 

But, perhaps best of all is Tampa Bay's Summer Concert Series. Instead of the typical seat cushion giveaway, Tampa actually has several dates each summer that give a legit concert (ok, it's probably a little shorter than what you'd normally pay for, but, for including it in the ticket price, that's neat!). We chose to see Gavin Degraw and, what a show! He did a great job, the stadium lighting was set right, all in all-  what time!
      In summary, as far as a date goes, Tropicana Field would be a good spot if both of you like baseball or are willing to withstand one for a person you really want to see in concert fairly cheap (it did seem like plenty of people did do that too). As far as a baseball facility goes, "The Trop" needs some major improvements. Overall, I'll give it a 5/10.

Neat lighting effect

For an extra fee you could get on the field for the concert, overall we deemed it wasn't worth it. We think we were right.

Pensacola Multi Use Stadium - Home of the Pensacola Blue Wahoos

What used to be an eyesore now stands Vince J. Whibbs Sr. Community Maritime Park in Downtown Pensacola

A local friend recently invited Mandi and I to go see the Pensacola Blue Wahoos in their inaugural season as the AA affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. It was a pleasant afternoon and we were especially lucky because the previous night weather had cancelled the game so we got a chance to watch a double header against the Birmingham Barons (if that team sounds familiar to you, it might be because it's the minor league team Michael Jordan played for during one of his "retirements" from basketball). We also went on our own a second time (but happened to run into Meg again!) for a game against the Jackson Generals.

The games themselves were entertaining enough with no major managerial head-scratching moves and company of course was good (thanks for the company Meg and AJ!). The game against the Generals was an exciting game with a back and forth score that ended up in a 4-2 Wahoos victory.

As far as the stadium and the experience - there's a lot to be said here. I'll preface my reviews by saying the stadium itself is still going through changes and isn't 100% complete. You could see this as one club level seating had a canopy over it while the other one did not and there were no fans in it either (assuming it will become a club level, eventually). The outfield grass seating leave a little bit more to be desired than most other stadiums. The hill is a bit steep and some fans (mostly kids, but some teenagers too) stand next to the fence blocking your view. There should be a sign or something to suggest not to do that for an extended period of time. The first games we went to had no sign on the other side of the stadium so you never could immediately look up to see who was batting, the count, number of outs, score, etc., which proved to be much more frustrating than I ever would have imagined. I suppose enough fans complained as by the time we went to the second game they had at least semi-alleviated the problem by putting up a very rudimentary scoreboard on a structure behind home plate that gave at least the score.

A beautiful view of Pensacola Bay. This is also the view of where the fireworks are launched.

The stadium itself is quite fashionable. Officially named Vince J. Whibbs Sr. Community Maritime Park, it has a modern beach/nautical feel complete with some palm trees (which are less common in northwest Florida than I suspect most Americans think), appropriate for Pensacola. The beautiful views of the the Pensacola Bay, however, are tempered by the fact that there is extremely minimal shading provided by the lack of overhangs or canopies which makes the day games often EXTREMELY hot. The seats (not including the outfield berm/grass seating) are all pretty close to the field as is common with minor league stadiums. The playing field itself is a fairly small field and home runs in both games seemed to be fairly common to left field (sadly, there are no seats there). The entirety of the concourse is open and vast, so it rarely feels crowded and you'll never miss a play by choice. The bathrooms are also very large and spacious with plenty of capacity; they are also clean. Right before the start of the game, a video of a local military member politely teaches then asks fans to observe proper protocol for the National Anthem, which is something I hadn't seen in a while.

One of the better graphics on the jumbo-tron. (I also think the scoreboard itself is quite fashionable with the logo lit up at night)

The stadium is located near downtown Pensacola which is great on one hand - it feels like a perfect fit in Pensacola and took up what was an eyesore previously and gives quick access to some nice bars and restaurants in the downtown area. On the other hand, the stadium's parking is very limited and it seems like most fans choose to park downtown and walk 10 minutes or so to the stadium. At least on the weekends downtown parking is free.    

As far as the experience, the Blue Wahoos, despite previously having minor league franchise experience as the Carolina Mudcats seem to be growing into a modern minor league experience and instead feel like a team managed in the early 90s in one of those old-school-wooden-outfield-fenced-laced-with-ads-and-no-scoreboards-type. (I'm sure there's new management and there's definitely new, locally based ownership, so this is understandable). What I mean by this is the team's music selection featured a lot of 90s "jock jams" type music, that didn't always seem to fit; there were not many (if any) mid-inning fun promotions for fans, the announcer was a bit of a "yeller," the jumbo-tron featured graphic designs that felt very dated and unoriginal; and speaking of the jumbo-tron, anytime someone was speaking on it, whether it was a singer or a kid yelling "play ball" or whatever, in all 3 games there was a significant and noticeable lag as to what the person was saying and what was on the screen which also is more annoying than you probably suspect. Game nights that feature fireworks do have an impressive fireworks show, not even discounting the fact it's a baseball-stadium fireworks show. As far as food selection goes, the Blue Wahoos have some reasonably priced items ($3 hot dogs which are a brand that I can't recall, but delicious nonetheless) and some higher priced items like a "sea dog" that features a fish - fried cod I believe - on a bun. I would not recommend the french fries though; they were those cheap not-so-great kind you got as a kid with your elementary school lunch.

All in all, the Blue Wahoos provided a fantastic experience in a brand new stadium. As with any brand new team and stadium, there are kinks to be worked on and fixed and the Wahoos have been quick to address their fan needs, which I hope continues. Their facebook page is very responsive and notes all the changes that they are doing at any given point based on fan feedback. Ideally, they will provide some shading for fans, include some mid-inning promotions, update the music selection and provide some sort of smaller, secondary scoreboard with complete player information for the fans in the outfield, among other changes. The stadium is fits in very nicely to the community and the fans are certainly growing a loyalty to them (though there are some Montgomery Biscuit fans in the area resulting from a Tampa Bay Ray affiliation) and ideally the team will be here for many years to come. I would definitely recommend a visit to see the Blue Wahoos! 

Neat Baseball Park Features

At least according to one writer. I somehow missed the Houston Carillon, or at least didn't take enough notice. Next time, next time.

Steinbrenner Field (Formerly Known as Legends Field) - New York Yankees Spring Training Complex Review

In March, I had the chance to visit Tampa, Florida. While there, I of course did my best to get to a baseball game - and lucky for me the Yankees were hosting the Twins at Steinbrenner Field. While the tickets listed online through Ticketmaster were what I'd consider outrageous for a spring training game ($35+... in my mind, I guess I see Spring Training as going to a Minor League game - it shouldn't cost more than $10 for a bleacher seat - I mean, let's be honest - you don't get to see a lot of the best starters or the highest level of play and you also don't get the best amenities that a MLB stadium would afford you) I was able to get $8 tickets off StubHub (which, please don't see this as a ringing endorsement of StubHub, in many ways, I think it's just legalized scalping and I hate seeing some teams have every game "sold out" because investors have bought tickets on stub hub hoping to make a profit - so in some ways, it made me feel better that someone "lost out" on these tickets by turning a loss on them... anyway, I digress, and I apologize for my rant about Stub Hub). 

Alas, Steinbrenner Field. It was a neat place to be, a very mini Yankee stadium. It's what I'd expect for a Yankee field - references to their long history, depictions of their famous frieze/facade and plenty of training fields surrounding the complex. It was a neat place to see some Spring Training action and the people who were there who were like real Yankees fans up north struck me just like they always do - passionate and knowledgeable about their team. I was pleased as I got to see some greats play, specifically, Mariano Rivera - I didn't want to miss out on him in what was being touted as his possible last season (and given the state of his current injury, it may very well be). I didn't get there early enough to try to get autographs (Tampa, you have a serious public transportation problem), but it was of no matter. The stadium is small and a little cramped - especially around the concourse, the food prices are what you'd expect at a baseball stadium and the sun can beat down on you (it's pretty warm in Tampa in March) if you're sitting in the wrong spot. Getting to the stadium proved difficult and it's not located in an area with anything to do other than watch the game (no sports bar within walking distance, etc.). Long story short, it's fun for an afternoon of baseball, but don't go in expecting Yankee Stadium. Hey, it's Spring Training after all. 

A view of a Concession Stand with reference to the famous frieze

The playing field

Tino Martinez - a Yankee hero of the 90's Dynasty

Mariano Rivera - a Yankee great in perhaps his last Spring Training

One of the practice fields behind the Stadium

George Steinbrenner statue

George Steinbrenner statue

A 9/11 Memorial (Note the Pentagon on the bottom and the WTC towers)

A view of the stadium and practice fields - from the outside, it reminded me a little bit of the old Yankees Stadium after the 1970s renovations: see here

Astros Put Pistol Back in "Colt .45's" Throwback

Just as the title says... MLB has caved to pressure from fans who opposed the "political correctness" of featuring an inaccurate throwback without the firearm on the jersey. 

I'm a fan. MLB shouldn't hide from it's rich history - it should embrace it.

And I know this is like the 3rd Astros' article we've written in recent times... they just keep making notable news! I swear, it's not any special affinity I have for this team!

Padres Defend Their Military Jerseys. I join their defense, as well as the Yankees' (Yes, I'm biased)

Recently, ESPN ranked the best and worst jerseys in MLB. Somehow the Padres came dead last for their military jerseys, but they quickly came to their defense. Keep in mind, San Diego has the 2nd largest Naval base in the world there, not to mention Marine Corps Air Station Miramar is there (where TOPGUN was filmed, formerly belonging to the Navy) and in the vicinity is Camp Pendleton, another Marine Corps base. To say that San Diego is saturated with the military is an understatement. As such, the Padres refer to themselves as the Military's Team on occasion and their alternates are these Marine digi-camo uniforms. The Padres were the first team to do the "camo" theme and it's been reproduced with limited success and much failure by a few other teams.

Fortunately, many of the Padres agree they wear a pretty cool jersey, regardless of what ESPN thinks as you can see below: 

My other beef with the ESPN article is HOW IN THE HELL DID THE YANKEES NOT GET FIRST PLACE?!!! (They got 3rd, behind the Dodgers, which ok, I'll give you, have great uniforms too, but also the Cardinals, whose uniforms while nice, always struck me as a little bland). Seriously, it's all about the Pinstripes! Not to mention, the Yankees road jerseys aren't all that shabby either. The interlocked NY is the most recognizable and beautiful logo in all of sports - and it's history is just as beautiful - it was originally created by Tiffany and Co. as a medal for the first NYPD officer shot in the line of duty, John McDowell. The Yankees were also the first team to permanently wear numbers, and to this day are the only team in the Major Leagues who don't wear names on the backs of their away jerseys (a violation of MLB rules, actually) in the name of tradition. That's the thing, the Yankees don't need names on the backs of their jerseys, precisely because they are the Yankees. I'll get off my soapbox, but end with this clip from Catch Me if You Can:

"You know why the Yankees always win Frank?" 

" 'Cause they have Mickey Mantle?" 

"No, it's 'cause the other teams can't stop staring at those damn pinstripes." 

 Anyway, if you still need convincing that the article is crazy, the Marlins got 8th best uniforms. Seriously? See our earlier post about how they are just as ugly as their new home run feature! Woof.

Help Nick Vogt Meet Tayor Swift!

As many of you found out from this webpage, a few months back, my good friend, Nick Vogt, an officer in the Army Rangers was severely wounded after stepping on a roadside bomb. His recovery to this point has been nothing short of miraculous. 

The other day, his mom told him he had a special visitor and he immediately perked up and said "Taylor Swift?!" but it ended up being his sister (which is awesome too!). However, I know it'd be a real treat for Nick to meet Taylor Swift, so please sign this online petition going around - and spread it to your friends and family! Thanks so much!

Marlins Home Run Feature: Almost as Ugly as Their New Uniforms!

Perhaps inspired by the (actually pretty cool) Home Run Apple of the New York Mets the Florida Miami Marlins have decided to have their own outfield home run sculpture. 

Words can not describe the atrocity that this is, so you'll have to settle for the Youtube video showing what it will look like.

It's almost complete. Woof.

I dare say it's almost as ugly as Miami's new uniforms:

Some Big Changes Coming to the Astros?

Some changes will be welcomed by fans - including lowering many ticket prices - and some may not - including a name change in the future.

I personally am a fan of the name Astros - even if they don't play in the Astrodome anymore, Houston obviously has a rich history with American space flight. Also, the history of uniforms of the Astros, including their infamous "rainbow" jerseys, is so bad it's good.

Oh and how could I forget the giveaways!

At the Astros game we went to, we got a free fleece blanket celebrating their 50th year! Pretty neat!

Minute Maid Park

Mandi and I have previously visited Minute Maid Park for a tour in March 2011 while passing through Houston on my way to moving to Corpus Christi, TX. We had a great time and learned quite a bit about the stadium and a bit about the Astros too. We'll incorporate what we learned on the tour with the experience we had at the ballpark.

Minute Maid Park, nicknamed "The Juice Box," was originally called Enron Field (and we all know how that turned out.) In fact, you can still see some evidence of Enron at the stadium - a few of its logos are there. I'm not sure why if it is to preserve the history of the stadium or if they can't be taken down or what. If I'm Minute Maid, I wouldn't want those logos in my ballpark though! After the collapse of Enron, the Astros renamed it "Astros Field" until Minute Maid bought naming rights. One suggestion was the Ballpark at Union Station because, in a similar fashion to Petco Park, the left field is built in what was originally part of downtown Houston - the Union Station Railroad stop. The lobby in left field retains much of the original architecture and it is clear that it was once a train station there. It is quite beautiful and I'm a huge fan of how newer stadiums incorporate parts of their city's yesteryear. It makes the place feel more like home to the home fans in my mind.

While in the stadium, you feel like you must be in Houston because there are so many energy sponsorships in the stadium its borderline ridiculous. There are exhibits about energy that feel more appropriate for a museum, the Conoco Home Run Porch that keeps track of all the home runs (get it? Home runs = power = energy?!)

The Conoco Home Run Pump and Home Run Porch in left field at Minute Maid Park

The porch itself is actually over the field of play and is just one of the many nuances of the field itself that are not typically seen in baseball, the most notable of which is Tal's hill which is a 30 degree sloped hill in center field with the American flag and pole actually in play on the top of the hill (as in the pre-renovated Yankees Stadium and Tigers Stadium). It is a throwback to the left field in the old Crosley Field in Cincinatti, and from what I recall on the tour, Tal Smith's (then the team's President) little league field. Things like this are one of my favorite things about baseball - unlike any other sport, the field of play is very customizable, each field is unique and can be used as quite an advantage for the home team as there are many corners, distances, and in this case - obstacles and hills that fielders who play half of their games at become more accustomed to. Minute Maid Park was also the first time Mandi and I had seen an indoor baseball game - which I wasn't sure I would enjoy. I've got to admit, I loved the air conditioning. The left field wall is half glass when closed, which lets in plenty of sunlight still, so it certainly doesn't "feel" like a domed stadium. What made us really feel like we were in a domed stadium though, was despite the small crowd (just over 26,000), you could definitely hear all the fans, almost as if you were in a concert or at a hockey game. It was definitely a different sound. During cooler days though, the Astros play with the roof retracted, so your visit could be quite different from ours. Without question though, perhaps the most infamous part of Minute Maid park, much like the Apple at Shea Stadium and Citi Field, is the Minute Maid train full of (fake) oranges that moves throughout the game and is manned by a real train "engineer." It's... cute I guess. I'm not the biggest fan of the thing, but I am fond of the fact that it is supposed to harken the days of the railroad beneath which the locomotive currently stands. In center right, there is the second largest video board in MLB (behind Kaufmann Stadium). For those that sit under it - there is a smaller, but still large, video board across from them. The stadium itself earned a 9/10 in appearance and fan accessibility.

Left Field at Minute Maid Park, when the roof is closed.

A panoramic shot of Minute Maid Park - again note the left field glass, and the large video board above right-center field -

The Minute Maid Train

The train engineer, a cheerleader of sorts

The location itself is near downtown Houston. We stayed at The Inn at the Ballpark which I would highly recommend if you're looking for a complete "baseball weekend" (but skip the valet parking and park yourself somewhere in the city). It is a little bit of a distance from many restaurants and neighborhoods in Houston, but it was an adequate area that seems to certainly have been helped by the stadium's presence. The taxis are also reasonable in Houston. I'll give location a 5/10.

The ballpark food is pretty good. Mandi loved the hot dogs - and they had great deals - if I recall, we got 2 hot dogs, 2 sodas and 2 tickets for about $21 or something like that. The service was a little slow at the concessions - that would be my only criticism. They also have full, sit down restaurants as do many modern ballparks - probably the most noticeable is The FiveSeven Grille - a tribute to former Astros' greats Jeff Bagwell and Craig Biggio. On the tour we learned that one of the concessions along the third base line (I can't recall the name of it) serves a hometown specialty from the opposing team (i.e.: if the Phillies are in town they might have cheese steaks or the Mets might have cheesecakes). Unfortunately, we saw a Rockies game and their "specialty" was some sort of burger. Boring. Oh well. As is the case in many new parks, there are open-air concourses which are very nice in Minute Maid Park. The entire ballpark felt extremely clean and open (perhaps because of the small crowd).

With the expanded 40-man rosters in September, and the Astros having traded away Hunter Pence and Michael Bourn earlier in the season, Mandi and I got to see many of our favorite former Hooks players including J.D. Martinez, Jimmy Paredes and Jose Altuve

It would be unfair to judge the crowd as Mandi and I went to one of the final games of the season, in a season which the Astros were the first team eliminated from playoff contention sometime in August I believe against an opponent who similarly had no chance of making the playoffs. We saw some "free baseball" in the form of 4 extra innings which saw the Rockies win 4-2. However, the crowd was pleasant and unlike many other fields, the closer I got to the stadium, the more knowledgeable about the game the people seemed to be (indicating at least some of the season ticket holders actually show up and care and don't just sell their tickets or gift them).

As far as getting to the stadium, there doesn't seem to be much mass transit to get there. Traffic doesn't seem particularly bad either, so I'll give it a 5/10.

Cost - as far as cost goes, there are many deals to be had with the Astros. Free caps, hot dogs, sodas, etc. can all be found in their deals as of the 2011 season and all indications are they will continue in 2012. For under $25 we had a great time which is tough to find these days at MLB ball parks. Cost is easily 10/10

Entertainment - it's a fun environment to watch baseball. It's not a purist's stadium by any means, but, hey, get with the times. Pre-game, any fans seemed to be allowed to get to the lower terraces to ask for autographs. We got to meet Carlos Gonzalez of the Rockies and our tickets were for right center field. The fans are pleasant. The team is obviously rebuilding, so the baseball product is not the best right now. The seventh inning stretch is one of the best in baseball with "Deep In the Heart of Texas" playing and is clearly a fan favorite (and Mandi's), similar to "Sweet Caroline" in Boston. (Apparently this song is also played in the 5th inning at the Ballpark in Arlington, home of the Rangers, but I'll find out when I get there!) 

Overall, I'd say Minute Maid Park is a good 7/10, maybe 8/10. Its biggest downside is just getting there, but is balanced by a beautiful stadium and a reasonable cost for many seats - all of which have great views.

Here are some more pictures from our two trips:

First things first

It's January 2012 - a new year. A time for hope and a time for new beginnings - so cheers to that. An update on my friend Nick - he's progressively getting better and is a miracle according to the Doctors. I haven't been able to see him yet, but I'm constantly updated by our support group that seemed to build up instantly and now stands over 3,000 people on Facebook receiving updates daily about Nick from his family. Thank you for all of your prayers.

Mandi and I had a fine Christmas, visiting Baltimore and New York in the process to see our families. Mandi, her sister, her Mom and my Dad all got me some very neat baseball stuff: the book 1961* The Inside Story of the Maris-Mantle Home Run Chase by Phil Pepe (I've seen the movie and loved it, so can't wait to read the book!), Ballparks Yesterday & Today, a Yankees logo made of various Yankees over the years, some Yankees folders and notebooks (can you believe I'm turning 25 this year and still using that stuff?), and (not pictured) Yankees oven mitts. Oh, and my roommate got me a Yankees cutting board (I'll show that later). 

All in all, a great Christmas for a baseball fan. 

Up next, our review of the game we saw at Minute Maid Park! (Finally!)