Angel Stadium of Anaheim

Just how enthused were we with our visit to Anaheim?  Well only a short 10 months have passed since then, so you can probably do the math.

After spending a day at Disneyland, we made the 10 minute drive over to Angel Stadium to catch baseball's wordiest team, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim go up against the Rangers.

Angel Stadium opened in 1964 as a baseball-only facility but was converted to a multi-purpose venue in 1980 when the L.A. Rams moved in.  Once the Rams left town in 1998, a major renovation removed the upper level of seating from the outfield area.  The most visible change was the installment of a rock facade/waterfall in centerfield.  Apart from this though, there isn't a lot else that makes it feel like many of the modern stadiums.

Promotions:
We shrewdly planned our visit for one of the season's hottest promos: "Angel Merchandise Scratcher Night". Neither of us wound up a winner, which is probably just as well.  What would we have done with a stuffed Rally Monkey in an Albert Pujols jersey anyway?
Grade: C+

Food:
Food options are easily the most disappointing thing about the stadium.  All over the concourse are handy guides that tout a wide array of options. The stands that offered a very basic, limited menu of hot dogs, popcorn, nachos, etc., are numerous and had virtually no lines.  Other locations with more intriguing offerings are much more sparse.  In the mood for some disgustingly delightful Jack in the Box tacos?  There's only 30 people ahead of you.  After spending 45 minutes making laps around the concourse on 3 different levels to find something spot-hitting that didn't have a ridiculous line, we gave up and settled on one of the unexciting stands near our seats.  We wound up with a generic hot dog, do-it-yourself nachos, and a couple Bud Lights.
Grade: D

If it looks good, prepare to miss a couple innings.

A new low in the world of ballpark nachos.

Overall Gameday Experience:
Maybe it was the long day beforehand at Disneyland, or maybe it's because taking sides between Albert Pujols's team vs. Josh Hamilton's team was a pointless exercise, but we were not too enthralled with our visit to Angel Stadium.  Sadly, the highlight was probably the parking. A giant lot surrounds the stadium, which made it the most hassle-free thing about the evening.  Everything else was average to not-so-great.  The place isn't old enough to have any kind of nostalgic appeal, but in spite of the renovation, the concourse is still cramped and doesn't offer a view of the field.  Apart from the frustration with the concessions, nothing else was particularly awful about it.  Yet, nothing really stood out either.  Witnessing a complete meltdown by the Rangers helped salvage the experience somewhat.  Though, are there really any winners in that outcome?
Final grade: C-.

In spite of this picture, the lines sucked.  We promise.

Busch Stadium

Scheduling more than one visit into enemy territory during one baseball season doesn't sound like the world's best plan.  However, when the alternative was staying at home to watch your team drop 34 of 38 games, then by all means, it was time grab our friends, Sheri and Tim, and hit the road.

This is the third go-round for a St. Louis stadium to take the name Busch Stadium.  It opened up in 2006, a season after the Astros assisted in turning out the lights on Busch II by beating the Cards in the NLCS.  Since the last edition was a relic from the cookie-cutter ballpark era, this one is a sure upgrade. 

Promotions:
The best thing we could score with the price of our admission was a voucher for a free visit to Mermac Caverns if you were 15 or younger. Granted, most teams don't need to rely on a hot promo to keep the turnstiles moving on Friday nights, but we don't think a fireworks show would have been too much to ask.  Besides, doesn't holding back on Friday fireworks violate some sort of baseball law? Grade: C

Food:
It seems that the more stadiums we've been to, the more difficult it is to find any stand-out items at the concession stands.  St. Louis isn't much different in this department. There wasn't really anything all that unique. The only item not previously seen elsewhere was the mac and cheese bowl with about 4 different mix-in options. 

As you also might guess from the stadium's naming rights, there is an offering or two from the giant beer monolith just down the highway.  They did have a decent selection of craft beers including: New Belgium, Boulevard, and locals Schlafly and O'Fallon, but those stands were few.  Prices overall were about average as well. Grade: B

We didn't take many food photos.  Here's a list of their girly drinks.

Overall Gameday Experience:
This is the category where the stadium really shines.  From the moment we walked in, there wasn't much that left us for wanting.  Concourses were spacious.  Restrooms and concession stands were numerous.  And since we purchased seats on the upper concourse behind home plate, we got a view that was tough to beat.  The only real complaint was that there was a premium placed on all of this when it came to ticket pricing.  Then again, it's somewhat to be expected because filling seats for baseball in St. Louis has never really been a problem.

Just where did they get the idea for the goofy design in the outfield grass?

Behind home plate on the main level is the massive team store.  A few nice memorabilia pieces are on display in there, or if that's not your thing, you can build-a-Clydesdale.



Stan Musial's final game-worn jersey



Can't believe Toby didn't wind up with one

Wandering out to the concourse in the outfield offered the opportunity to take a picture with the 2011 World Series trophy.  Beyond that, is perhaps the world's greatest team store.  Well, it could be, if they offered more than Cardinals-related inventory.  All kinds of memorabilia ranging from game-used baseballs, bases, and jerseys to old pads from the outfield walls are for sale.  One of the workers in the shop said there are currently a few similar stores in other cities that recently opened with hopefully more on the way.

Cardinal fans have the self-proclaimed distinction of being baseball's best fans.  While we didn't feel awash with new enlightment for the game by any of the fans in our vicinity, most everyone was wearing hometown gear. Plus, they didn't have to necessarily be prompted by a scoreboard to get loud at key moments.  However, no fanbase is immune to criticism.  Case in point below:

The Wave started sometime in the 7th inning of a 3-2 ballgame.

All in all, we were pleasantly surprised by how much we enjoyed watching baseball in St. Louis.  A return trip in the future won't be ruled out, especially if a disappointing Cards loss is in the offing. Final grade: B+

Turner Field

Following the Astros' playoff failures of '97, '99 and '01 to the Atlanta Braves, I was loathe to ever set foot in Turner Field.  Alas, if we are going to knock out all 30 parks, a trip to the ATL at some point was going to be unavoidable.  Luckily, a friend's wedding took us to there, rather than having to dedicate a vacation to this endeavor.

Turner Field's first season was 1997.  Originally, it was built as the stadium that hosted the track and field events for the 1996 Olympics, with the plan to convert it to a full-time baseball facility once the games were over.  Visually, it's difficult to tell that it was anything other than a baseball stadium. 

Once we arrived, it appeared there were a very limited number of gates, which seemed strange considering the stadium holds 49,500. Ordinarily, it probably isn't too much of a problem, but a full-capacity opening day crowd led to the mess pictured below.  Not fun!

Extensive pregame tailgating meant most everyone pictured here is hammered

Promotions:
Free foam tomahawks were handed out to all fans that wanted them, so everyone could properly do the Chop.  Needless to say, we passed.  We were there on a Friday night, so they had a nice post-game fireworks show and a short musical performance by the Civil Wars.  We'll bump the final score a notch for the surprise "concert" and the fact they were at least not stingy with their giveaway.  Grade: B

Concessions:
All of the standard options are widely available all over the park, but in the night's recurring theme, the stadium seemed under-equipped to handle a sell-out.  Lines were extrememly long at most stands.   Some of the less-traditional standouts were gyros, sushi, and crepes.  We opted for the gyros, which turned out to be a pretty solid selection.

No lack of soda variety, though few were interested

The wild card is Chick-Fil-A was served at a few stands, which begs the question, can those be open on Sunday games?

If you want Chick-Fil-A, you're going to have to deal with a giant cow somewhere

Beer selection wasn't overwhelmingly diverse, and prices were consistent with most other MLB parks we've visited.  Grade: B

Overall gameday experience:
Braves fans have not been widely known for packing the yard.  Afterall, there were divisional playoff games in the early 2000's they couldn't sell out.  Over and over, though, it felt cramped and crowded most everywhere we went, although this is supposedly far from the norm. 

The incessant Tomahawk Chop that started up with seemingly every Braves' hit got old in a hurry.  Ryan Braun's first Turner Field appearance after his off-season steroid accusation did add some fun.  Fans made sure to boo him heartily on every at-bat and play he made.  For whatever reason, everyone also seemed to take great pleasure in booing former Brave Alex Gonzalez, though we weren't sure why exactly a journeyman shortstop's departure would inspire that much wrath.

There were a few interesting features to be had.  We entered the stadium through the centerfield concourse, which is the one area that provided a large area for milling about.  There's a large video board where fans could watch the game while standing in line for concessions or consuming their favorite beverage, which a surprising number were doing.

On the main concourse on the 3rd base side, there's a Braves museum.  There was a nominal $2 entry fee, but it houses some pretty cool, albeit Braves-related memorabilia.  Inside are awards and artifacts from Braves' Hall of Famers, lockers representing each season of their record consective playoff appearance run from '91-'05, and even an old railroad car you could walk through that was used by the Milwaukee Braves from the early 50's. 

Playoffs from '91-'05...

But only 1 title!

While all of this was pretty cool, the design of the stadium is fairly generic and certainly not well designed for large crowds, while also lacking the character of many of the other stadiums we've visited.
Final grade: B-

Security Service Field

The day following the game at Coors, we headed down to Colorado Springs to check out their AAA affiliate, the Sky Sox, at Security Service Field.   Admittidley, we've begun following the Rockies' entire organization more closely, living with their AA affiliate in our own backyard.  Also factoring in, was my (alleged) obsession with Scott Beerer, who had been promoted from Tulsa to Colorado Springs about a month ago.  To give a little background on this so-called obsessions, Beerer played at Texas A&M as our LF/closer while I was in school, so following his career since we moved here has been fun.

We arrived at the stadium in our Drillers gear about an hour prior to first pitch as a light drizzle was falling to find a tarped infield and an empty playing field.  It looked as if we might be in for a long night.  Shortly after finding our seats, the rain stopped. The grounds crew removed the tarp, and the players took the field to warm up.  Luckily, we were able to catch Beerer as he headed out, and he graciously signed what we had brought and chatted us up a bit.



Beerer and I pregame

Tangent over.  Let's get down to the stadium...

Promotions:
Keeping with MiLB tradition, it was Thirsty Thursday.  In lieu of $1 domestic beers, the Sky Sox offered a select $3 microbrew.  On the night we attended, local restaurants were competing to see who had the best wings in Colorado Springs.  Each restaurant was offering free samples of their wings.  Unfortunately, we did not learn about this until after the fact.  Grade: B.

Concessions:

At Security Service Field, the usual suspects are all available.  However, there were a few highlights.  One stand offered funnel cakes and garlic fries.  Jenny got an order of the garlic fries, and they did not disappoint.  As a bonus, the batch we got was freshly out of the fryer and seasoned as we waited.  Although we did not sample everything the stadium had to offer, it seemed like it was a tough one to beat.  I ordered was a "Chicago style" hot dog and was clearly out-ordered.  The hot dog was good but was not what I would call "Chicago style."  Although good enough, there were no peppers, pickle, tomato slices or poppy seed bun to be found.  Helping to bring up the score was the stand featurinng the Colorado Springs local micro brewery, Bristol Brewing Company.  Grade B+.

Hooray microbrews!

Overall gameday experience:

Opened in 1988, Security Service Field has a couple of claims to fame.  The first, at 6531 feet above sea level, it sports the highest elevation of any professional baseball stadium.  At a capacity of only 8500, it is the smallest venue in all of AAA baseball. 

As far as MiLB experience goes, it delivers.  Due to the fact we were there an hour before game time, one of the ushers asked us if we'd be willing to participate in one of the on-field promotions between innings.  Our objective: Race one another to complete a relay in which we had to construct a giant foam hamburger.  Due to this, we decided to hold off on beer/food until after we were finished sprinting at altitude.  The race was pretty close, thanks in part to an assist to the Sky Sox mascot, Sox the Fox, setting a pick on me during the final layer.  Obviously, the between innings promos gets high marks from us, even though they were fairly standard.  The aforementioned Sox the Fox is another reason to come out to a game in Colorado Springs.  It's safe to say he's the most popular mascot we've seen this season as kids were badgering him all night for autographs and photos.  He's pretty athletic, demonstrating profeciency in a pre-game back flip and making leaps between the stands and dugout all night long. 

Because of the pregame wing competition, he also got to work his game with some of the local Hooters girls.

Clearly, they're impressed

 As with Coors Field, everyone at the stadium was very friendly.  Ticket prices are also very reasonable.  We purchased our tickets 2 days before the game and were able to snag tickets 5 rows behind the Sky Sox dugout for only $12/each.

 

The one final small nitpick we have with the Sky Sox, is their lack of discression in retiring numbers.  He managed the team for a total of 4 seasons, but for some reason, Brad Mills was able to get his numbers placed among the Sky Sox elite.



Apparently, he was able to coach young players effectively at one point...



Although lacking in some of the amenities provided by MiLB's newer parks, Security Service Field is able to present Minor League Baseball in its intended simplicity in an enjoyable setting. (yes, we may be slightly biased since we were part of the show).  Grade B+.

Coors Field

Since our move from Houston, we have been attempting to catch up with the Astros on the road and simultaneously mark more stadiums off of our list.  Sure, this year's squad is a lock to be picking first overall next June, but the allure of some Rocky Moutain air in the midst of a brutal summer was too tempting to pass up.



Home plate entrance

 As with many of the modern MLB stadiums, Coors Field is located downtown, so there are a wide array of hotels to choose from.  We had an easy walk to the park from ours. 

Promotions:
For the game we attended, there wasn't anything going on in regard to promotions.  Like most MLB teams, they give away bobbleheads, t-shirts, and other fairly generic swag throughout the season.  Although not really a promotion, fans can buy general admission tickets out in "the Rockpile" beyond the fence in dead center for just $4.  Grade: C+

The Rockpile

Concessions:
Coors Field has quite an overwhelming selection when it comes to food.  Unbelievably, the accomapnying prices are not excessively high either.  We took a lap around the concourse on the lower level to get a complete look at our bevy of options.  All the ballpark favorites are here, but Coors also features some more unique options, including egg rolls, burritos, pistachos, and wood-fire pizzas.  It was also fun to see a couple of old favorites from the Astrodome, soft serve ice cream and churros.  Since Colorado is big on their breweries, there are a multitude of local beers available.  We ended up going for a pretzel roll (pretty much what it sounds like), some loaded tater tots and a slice of the wood-fire pizza.  Coors Field is a place where you don't feel compelled to grab a meal before the game. Grade: A+



Our pretzel roll's dousing in cinnamon



Looked better in person





Overall gameday experience:

The Rockies moved into Coors Field two years after coming into the league as an expansion team for the beginning of the 1995 season.  The park still feels very modern in spite of being in operation for its 17th year.  Seats along the first base side of the staduim offer a view of the Rocky Mountains off in the distance.  A purple row of seats runs along the entire upper level marking the mile high point of the stadium.  The area past the outfield fence in right are the bullpens filled with evergreens, where bored relievers occasionally hide from one another. 

The purple row

The bullpen forest

In center, there's a fountain that goes off for each Rockie home run.



A frequent sight with the Astros in town



Around us, the fans were actually watching the game, grumbling about another subpar start from pitcher Aaron Cook and expressing their general disappointment with a sub .500 team that had high hopes coming into the season.  Their mascot, Dinger, is a purple dinosaur.  During the stadium's construction, a triceratops skull was unearthed, hence the dinosaur theme.  Maybe it's the dreadful assortment of the minor league mascots we've seen this summer, but he gets a passing grade from us.

All in all, Coors provided a great setting to catch a game.  Final grade: A.

Dr. Pepper Ballpark

Some of the best decisions are made 6 innings into a Thirsty Thursday, like the one that took us and some friends to Frisco to see the local nine take on the Roughriders and grab an In-N-Out burger or two.  Luckily, we brought rain with us from Tulsa, so we didn't have to take in another ballgame in 105 degree heat.

We walked over from our hotel in time to check out the digs and catch a little pregame action.  One positive about Dr. Pepper Ballpark is there are an abundance of hotels within walking distance.  Unlike the Astrodome, you'd actually want to stay in all of these. 

Ben Paulsen on far left

Unsurprisingly, we were the only 4 in the entire park sporting Drillers gear.  Drillers 1B Ben Paulsen noticed us loitering along the railing, and we chatted him up about their 6 hour bus ride from Midland the night before.  Apparently it brought him a little good karma later on as he smacked a long homer to right.

The architecture of the ballpark is makes it easy to see why it has been named one of the top Minor League venues, even if it does make you feel like you're at the Kentucky Derby.

Should I order a Bud Light or a mint julep?

Promotions: 
Free Roughriders hats w/ the purchase of a family pack of tickets.  Also, there were Roughriders pitchers stationed at the main entrances for pictures and autographs pregame.  Grade: B+.

Concessions: 
The selection was standard fare.  As far as adult beverages go, they had a fairly good selection of beer including Shiner and St. Arnold's.  On the negative side, prices were high.  A 16 oz premium draft goes for a Drayton-like $7.50.  In true Dallas fashion, another negative was there were many "exclusive" lines that were only available to those with upgraded or special tickets.  Grade: C.

Overall gameday experience:
Dr. Pepper Ballpark has the highest seating capacity (10,600) of any in the Texas League, and it certainly feels like it once inside.  A large foul territory results in the seats feeling like they are fairly far from the field.
Fans are able to catch games from balconies at the Embassy Suites Hotel out beyond centerfield.

They did feature the single best between inning entertainment we've seen in a long time.  Three pairs of dads and babies lined up along the baseline.  Each took a turn giving their baby a hit off of a bottle of lemon juice, and the crowd got to vote for the best resulting face.  Good times.  The field features a pool in right field that can be rented for groups of up to 25.  In fact, there was a stunning number of exclusive patio areas that could be rented out to groups, which left fewer individual tickets for sale.





Frisco's giant furry groundhog mascot, Deuce, left a lot to be desired.  You can probably guess how long it took for a crude comment to be made about his name (not actually by me).  Amazingly, Deuce clothing is for sale in their gift shop in kids and ADULT sizes.



Anyone walking out with this needs their Man Card revoked immediately

Having some good friends, Sheri and Tim, along for the trip helped in boosting the overall experience.  Grade: B-.

Redhawks Field at Bricktown Ballpark

As the 2011 edition of the Houston Astros is on pace for 110 losses this season, we couldn't help ourselves from checking in on the 25 guys that weren't able to crack this illustrious group.  Perhaps the fact that Oklahoma City became the Astros AAA affiliate beginning in 2011 combined with the fact this stadium is a mere 120 miles from our house may have factored in as well. 

View from the hotel

Redhawks Field is located in Bricktown, which is in downtown Oklahoma City.  Just behind left field is the Hampton Inn, which offers rooms overlooking the ballpark. 

The Nashville Sounds (AAA affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers) were in town that night taking on the local nine.  We were able to take in pregame activities from the comfort of our room. 



Pregame activities

Our seats for the night were behind home plate, which meant we were also in amongst scouts.



Nelson Figeuroa's next stop might be Japan

Completed in 1998, Redhawks Field provides a good venue for AAA baseball. Although the quality of the on-field product is lacking, there was still plenty to like, but some to dislike, too.

Promotions: Thirsty Thursday = $1 beers.  A+

Concessions: Standard ballpark concessions are available with prices somewhat on the high side considering this is minor league (although keeping with Astros tradition).  The highlights included a Hideaway Pizza stand, which offers both traditional and specialty pizza by the slice.  Also bringing up the grade was the availability of Pop Ice.  Overall grade: B-



Overall gameday atmosphere: In true Astro tradition, the between inning entertainment and mascot pretty much sucked.  They did spare us the Goya Bean Can Shuffle, but we were subjected to "If You're Happy and You Know It," and the worst mascot this side of Junction Jack.  For whatever reason, a western-themed red female bird was hanging out with a male counterpart.  At least this is less of a stretch than a rabbit's relation to "Astros," but was still overall pretty weak.  Also, the graphics department couldn't seem to get hold of a Nashville media guide, so several players appeared on the Jumbotron as silhouettes. On the plus side, as the score reached 12-2 by the 7th, the guys in the bullpen had decided it would be more fun to screw around than warm up for any game time, unless pitching behind your back or under your legs is some new fancy delivery.  Final grade C+, saved by the bullpen guys.  Mascot still gets an F--.