Corpus Christi Hooks & Whataburger Field (Dan)

Mandi and I have frequented Whataburger Field, home of the Corpus Christi Hooks several times now. The Hooks are a AA Affiliate of the Houston Astros.

First of all, I think the name should be addressed, especially for northerners who have never heard of Whataburger. While I typically hate how baseball teams are more and more frequently turning to sponsorships to name their field (thank God Yankee Stadium stayed "Yankee Stadium" and not something like Bank of America Stadium, or even worse: MET Life Stadium - not that I have a problem with the company, but the name would be unfortunate and ironic, no? But I digress), I actually like the name Whataburger Field. First of all, at least there's some roots in it - Whataburger, a regional fast food chain (with delicious burgers I might add), was founded in Corpus Christi, Texas. Secondly, the name "Whataburger" is just fun to roll off the tongue (it's pronounced exactly like it's spelled 'What-a-burger' - just say it faster), and finally, the logos around the stadium for Whataburger actually give it some character.

The stadium itself is of much higher quality than any other minor league facility I've been to. It's beautiful. It's clean. It has great views of the Corpus Christi Harbor Bridge and the USS Lexington in the outfield. You can walk around the entire stadium and get right up into both team's bullpens. All the seats provide excellent views of the field and are all reasonably priced. There are promotions literally every night, with several cap nights and jersey nights throughout the year and every Friday night they are home there is a spectacular fireworks show. The first time we went, they even had the Budweiser Clydesdale's take a lap before the fireworks. They really put on a good show every time we've been to Whataburger field. The stadium was designed to make a tribute to the local cotton-growing industry roots here (the stadium was built on land that were previously cotton warehouses). I can kind of see it in it's design, some of the exterior seems like a barn or something, but I would never have noticed any of it without having read about it previously. The one exception is left field where there is old (I'm not sure if its original) industrial machinery built into the design and a warehouse as well. There is a pool in right center, a rock wall, a little league field past the outfield, a basketball court and a playground among some other amenities that make the park unique.

We've witnessed some good baseball there too. One of the most memorable had to have been this one where we witnessed Xavier Cedeno pitch 14 K's, of which the first 9 were in a row. He was perfect through 5.2 innings. Sadly, the bullpen blew it and the Hooks lost, but still, very memorable.  

The food is good, and reasonably priced, though if I had to choose, I'd say the food is a little pricey for the minor leagues. Mondays are dollar hot dog and soda nights which is nice. There are several options - a BBQ pit, typical hot dogs/sodas/fries, and of course, there is a Whataburger within the stadium. As far as the minor leagues go, they surpass most places in terms of variety and as I said are maybe slightly above average in pricing. Figure it'll cost you about $12 for 2 sodas and 2 standard hot dogs on a non promotional night. There are some food promotions they'll do in game, like "if a Hook scores this inning Cracker Jacks are a dollar" which is always nice when they do get that run (and the Cracker Jacks bags are pretty large!).

The location is fairly good. It's close to downtown (probably out of walking distance for most people though) but is near the museum USS Lexington and across the parking lot is Brewster Street Ice House (which is a neat bar/restaurant that has lots of live music from some notable bands) and Concrete Street, another live music venue. As I mentioned, the view is beautiful and occasionally, if you're lucky, a Navy plane will buzz the stadium which always enamors the crowd.

The fans are mostly good. It's a pretty young crowd typically with some families as well. The fans really do love the team - it's not common to see "diehard" minor league fans, but they certainly exist here with the nearest major league team being 4 hours north (the Astros). It's also neat that the fans here are mostly Astros fans so they are seeing their own prospects. After every home run, some of the season ticket holders will go around and collect money for the player with some fans donating a few bucks for him. I've never seen anyone get rowdy but the fans are more enthusiastic about the team than the average minor league team for sure.

The weather in Corpus is typically pleasant for the games - it's warm, sometimes even too hot, but there is a constant coastal breeze and the games typically start late enough in the day that it's comfortable.

Onto the ratings!

Here's the breakdown:

Food:  6/10 - Good variety, mediocre pricing. Neat that there is a Whataburger within the stadium.  

Crowd:  7/10 - Better than the typical minor league fan base; the fans truly seem to care about the team. 

Cleanliness: 9/10 -This ballpark is extremely clean and it feels new.

Transportation to stadium: 6/10 - There is a bus system in Corpus but I couldn't tell you if there is a stop near the stadium. Driving is easy though; there's hardly any traffic here.  

Stadium Location: 7/10 -Better than average - there is an "entertainment" district. It's a 5 minute drive to downtown where there are some great bars and restaurants, and a walk across the parking lot to get to Brewster Street Ice House to get a beer some food and listen to a good band.

Stadium Appearance - 10/10 -As far as minor league parks go, this one blows the others out of the water. It's nicely constructed, has a pleasant exterior, left field has the cotton warehouse shout-outs, the center field has a wonderful view of the bridge and the USS Lexington and, to be honest, I enjoy seeing the neon Whataburger signs.

Cost: 9/10 - You can get a front row seat for $10 on a weeknight. Some promotional nights, if you bring in a receipt that you bought honey or Kraft cheese it's buy one get one free.

Entertainment: 7/10 - Decent baseball and some mid inning antics that are suitable for minor league baseball. Additionally, I have yet to find a game that does not have some sort of promotion.

Overall:  8/10 - As far as dates go, this is a great place to be. You can make a great evening by going downtown for dinner, get to the ballgame and have a blast, then head out to Brewster Street afterwards for some drinks and music. The baseball is fun, the crowd is pleasant, the stadium and weather are beautiful - have a great time!