My Ballpark Experiences
Rich Lederer, proprietor of the site BaseballAnalysts.com and one of the true gentlemen of the baseball blogosphere, emailed a bunch of friends of his (some writers, many not) to find out how many major league ballparks they’ve attended to see a game.
It’s a question that’s right up my alley, since I’ve seen a major league game in every current major league city except St. Paul/Minneapolis (and with the Metrodome closing and a new park opening up, that’s one monstrosity I’ll never get to see). So here’s what I wrote at BaseballAnalysts. Yup, I’ve been to a LOT of games.
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Wow, let’s see.
Olympic Stadium
Shea Stadium
Veterans Stadium
Turner Field
Dolphins Stadium
RFK Stadium
Minute Maid Park
Riverfront Stadium
Three Rivers Stadium
(Old) Busch Stadium
County Stadium
Wrigley Field
Dodger Stadium
Qualcommm Stadium
Petco Park
Candlestick Park
AT&T Park
Chase Field
Coors Field
Yankee Stadium
Fenway Park
Oriole Park at Camden Yards
Exhibition Stadium
SkyDome
Tropicana Field
U.S. Cellular Field
Kauffman Stadium
Jacobs Field
Tiger Stadium
Angel Stadium
Safeco Field
McAfee Coliseum
Rangers Ballpark in Arlington
So, 33 parks. And the vast, vast majority were as a fan, more than half of those coming on annual road trips with buddies in my 20s and a cross-country drive a few years later. I’ve never been to a game where the first time I saw a ballpark was for work.
Best ballpark experience: Probably Sept. 17, 1993, which I discussed at the bottom of this piece.
Worst ballpark experience: It’s a tie. Went to a game as a kid at old Exhibition Stadium in Toronto with my dad. Sat on metal benches on a day when it was 812 degrees with 607% humidity out. Jays fell behind something like 10-1 early on (ended up losing 13-3, I believe). My dad and I, two of the palest people in the world, are broiling.
3rd inning, my dad turns to me and says, “Do you want to stay?”
Me: “No. Air conditioned car looks good right now.”
And we left in the 3rd inning.
Other worst experience involves an unfortunate incident with an Arby’s sandwich at Yankee Stadium that I promised to Alex for Bronx Banter.
Trying to figure out how many games I’ve seen. I peaked at about 40 games a year (all walkup, all bleacher seats) in high school and early college, at Olympic Stadium. Also quit following the game after ‘94, started again after future wife bought me a Felipe Alou rookie card for my birthday (story I’ve told way too often).
Before and after ‘94-’95 I probably averaged about 10-15 games a year, as a kid and then late college. Since ‘97, it’s fluctuated a lot (tons of games in L.A. and San Diego, fewer since).
So I’d say not counting spring training games, about 475.
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Since I love this idea that Rich concocted, feel free to post your own ballpark counts, game counts and favorite/least favorite memories here. (Hopefully Rich won’t mind that I fleeced his idea!)
Tags: Ballparks, Baseball, Baseball Analysts, Exhibition Stadium, Montreal Expos, Post your baseball memories here!, Rich Lederer, Road trip!, Sports, Toronto Blue Jays, Yankee Stadium
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12 September 2008 at 12:02 am
I have several: sometime in the 90’s, at the Big Owe with Jonah, Elan and Brian, and probably some other Expos die-hards, playing the cubs and Calvin Schiraldi, the count was 2 and 2 with 2 outs and a runner on 2nd base, and Nelson Santovenia (obscure catcher with no glove and generally no bat to speak of) and he hit a double that scored a run and we won the game. From that moment on, the 2-2-2 count against Calvin Schiraldi with Santovenia at bat became some kind of Expos-geek mantra for superstition.
Another, a 1-0 21-inning loss to the Dodgers (again at the Big Owe) in 1989, when Rick Dempsey hit a homer in the top of the 21st. We got home at 2:30 am only because we saw another loser like us (whom we had just met that summer) who happened to have a minivan.
Marlins game with Jonah and Angele, got to watch the late innings in the broadcast booth with Dave Van Horne. It was the year the Marilins won the world series for the 2nd time, I think.
16 September 2008 at 11:43 am
Ballparks (in order of my visit!)
Metrodome
Wrigley
Old Comisky
New Comisky
County Stadium (Milwaukee)
Camden Yards
Safeco
Fenway
Coors
Petco
Oakland Coliseum (I don’t know who the sponsor was last year)
My best ballpark memory is one that I don’t even have. My parents have told me this story over 1,000 times, so I might as well know it. I was a young-un, we were in Chicago at Wrigley and Harry Cary was out sick. Bill Murray was guest singing the 7th inning stretch, but sat in the booth all day. The guy sitting next to us had a tv and they watched the game from the upper deck first base side and listened to Murray and laughed their butts off.
Worst game: last year, at a Twins game in Seattle, the Twins had the lead but the M’s had tied it up in the 8th. I had been rather loud and obnoxious throughout the game. Any time the section would start chanting “Let’s go Mariners” (and by section, I mean the four guys sitting ahead of us) I would chant “Let’s go Twin-kies” louder then them. They gave up chanting in about the 6th inning. In the ninth, Beltre hits a sharp single to LF with two outs. Everyone stands up as Sexson comes to the plate. The boys ahead of me start chanting “Walkoff.” And I of course point out rather loudly that Sexson sucks. Sexson deposits the ball in the Twins bullpen and I had to walk out of the stadium with an entire section screaming at me. Fantastic.
Favorite stadium is of course Wrigley, growing up a Cubs fan. However, Petco was such a cool, fun, laid back, amazingly designed, easy to love, great views, in such an odd, offbeat neighborhood. I also need to get back to Camden as I haven’t seen that in years.
Yes, I am both a Cubs and Twins fan.
Best play I ever saw live was Gabe Kapler’s debut at Camden. Soft fly ball down the RF line in 7th or 8th, with either tying or winning run on 2B. Kapler catches the ball just in foul territory (which there really isn’t much of in Camden) and turns and throws a strike to 3B to hose the guy by like four steps. It was a quick guy like Roberto Alomar too. I have never seen anyone throw a ball so hard and so accurate. I was scared that someone could do that.