Twelve Ballparks and Counting

Second post,and I’m already straying off topic but continuing with the current topic in the baseball blogosphere. This started with Russ Smith’s “Seventeen Ballparks and Counting”piece and continued with Shysterball and wezen-ball. I have made trips,including a day trip last summer to NYC,for the sole purpose of visiting ball parks. My count currently stands at twelve. So here we go! My list of visited ball parks (in chronological order):

Fulton County Stadium –Hey,it wasn’t pretty,but after attending several spring training games in Florida,this was my first major league stadium. Plenty of memories here,my first major league game,seeing Hank Aaron hit a home run off Al Downing on the 10th anniversary of #715,1991,and attending the city’s and my first World Series game (Game 3 of the ’91 Series). I was there for the final regular season game in 1996 when Expo OF Moises Alou got the final hit in the stadium. Notable because his dad,Felipe,got the first base hit in 1966. But as a stadium,I didn’t know better until I visited Wrigley Field in 1993. I finally had a point of comparison and the Launching Pad was now officially a dump in my eyes.

Candlestick Park –Enjoyed upper deck seats in center field on a beautiful August Saturday afternoon in 1987. Giants vs. Dodgers. Dravecky vs. Valenzuela. Dravecky shuts out the Dodgers,and I’m happy because Dravecky is on my rotisserie team. After his tragic injury,I am glad to say that I saw him pitch in person in his home ball park.

Wrigley Field –Visited many times since that first visit in 1993. What can I say,but this is one of my favorite places on the planet. Some people think of a tropical beach as their “happy place”. I think of a cold beer at Murphy’s on a summer Chicago afternoon pre and post-game.

Turner Field –My home field. Major,major upgrade over Fulton County. Best memory is witnessing the All-Century team pre-game before Game 2 of the ’99 Series. We had parked ourselves at the Chop House for a few adult beverages before the ceremony. We reached our seats in time for the ceremony,but midway through,I realized I had not made that critical first trip to the rest room. If my autopsy reveals kidney damage,it was caused by waiting it out through that ceremony. Runner up is attending my first All-Star Game in 2000 and seeing what I thought would be a classic pitching duel between Smoltz and Mussina turn into a 6-for-6 night for Cal Ripken,Jr.

The Kingdome –First experience with indoor baseball,and I felt like I was in a cave. Best memory was seeing Griffey throw Ripken out at third base as Cal tried to advance on a deep fly out to the center field wall. Griffey threw a one-bounce strike to third. I thought to myself at the time that I just saw two Hall of Famers in an incredible play. A few days later,a concrete chunk fell and the Kingdome was closed. The Mariners were spared having to play the rest of their season on the road by the 1994 player’s strike.

Tiger Stadium –I was fortunate enough to have a good friend score dugout level seats for the next-to-last game in September,1999. Classic ball park. I loved the tunnel-like walkways and cat-walks high above to reach the upper deck from the concourse. The seats were so close to the action,and you could not see the Tigers dugout from our first base dugout seats due to the pitch of the field. Perhaps it was that it was late September in Detroit or more likely the fact that the scoreboard located above the third base line still had lighted footballs to indicate possession,but Tiger Stadium gave me a feeling of old time football action with the chill in the air and the shadows casting over the field. As a fan of Sparky’s boys in 1984,I am glad I had the opportunity to visit the Corner.

Fenway Park –I never liked the Red Sox or Celtics growing up. My trip to Boston in 2000 changed that. At Fenway,you can visualize Williams and Yastrzemski playing on that same field. Probably because your seat is a few inches narrower and pointed straight ahead rather than toward home plate. My seat behind Pesky’s Pole had a great view of the bullpens in right field. You had to lean in and turn your head to the left to see the batter. Unfortunately,I was about 10-12 seats in from the aisle to my left so I practically had to have my head in my lap to look over all the other twisted heads. We eventually moved to the SRO area along the third base line. Despite all that,I would jump on the opportunity to return. I even rooted for the Sawks in the Series.

County Stadium –The tour of retiring ball parks continued the next year in Milwaukee. The stadium reminded me of bigger Al Lopez Field in Tampa. Probably because they were both built in the 1950′s. The looming Miller Park in the outfield took away from my ability to visualize that Henry Aaron and Gorman Thomas played on that same field. This trip included a trip to Wrigley and Solider Field for a Bears-Browns exhibition game.

Comiskey Park –Second best major league ball park in the city. I wish I had a chance to visit the old Comiskey. Anyhow,check another off the list. The Bill Veeck showers in the outfield were entertaining. I didn’t jump in though it was warm enough.

Tropicana Field –Build in the 1980′s in a hurry to lure the White Sox and Giants,the original Suncoast Dome is right up there with the Kingdome. Here’s hoping that Tampa can follow Seattle’s lead. I saw Clemens pitch,and there were more Yankee fans than Rays fans in the stands. I can’t say much about that because that occurs in Atlanta on some days.

The Ballpark in Arlington –Good ball park which reminded me of Comiskey Park (now U.S. Cellular Field),but the “Tiger Stadium”overhang n right field makes it distinctive. I arrived early enough to take in the Legends of the Game Museum which was very enjoyable. The sports bar in center field came in handy as there was an hour and half rain delay and it was NFL Opening Day. On the field,the game was the A’s vs. Rangers which was notable because they were the last two teams I had not seen play in a major league game in person.

Yankee Stadium –The threat of the wrecking ball finally motivated me to see “The House that Ruth Built”. The runways and concourses that were not part of the mid-70′s renovation reminded me of Tiger Stadium. You definitely had the feeling that you were at the place to be. My only regret is not making it in time to walk through Monument Garden. I have photos from this visit posted here.