"Another day in the park, I think it was the 4th of July..."
Well, it is the 4th of July, but I'm not in a ballpark (like I last was 2 years ago in Cleveland), so instead I'm updating my Ballpark Travelogue, looking back on the 3 baseball trips I've made this year to see the Astros play at Truist Park, Minute Maid Park and Busch Stadium. I've been blessed with great weather on these driving road trips to Atlanta in April and St. Louis in June, and a flight with my family to Houston which included a round trip drive up to Austin as the girls got to experience their first Astros home game and visit the University of Texas.
BALLPARK TRAVELOGUE
1. 1973 – 1999 Houston, TX The Astrodome
Too many games to list all, but here are some highlights:
4/07/79 Ken Forsch’s No-hitter
10/12/80 Game 5 of NLCS vs. Phillies (lost a heartbreaker; so close to W.S.)
7/11/85 Nolan Ryan’s 4000th strikeout vs Danny Heep of Mets
7/15/86 All-Star Game
5/17/90 Eric Anthony first and only Astro to hit an upper deck HR to RF
4/17/99 My last Astros game at the Dome
2. Summer ‘79 Anaheim, CA Anaheim Stadium
During family trip to CA, this game was sold-out (jacket night), but on the day of the game we ran into Angels manager, Jim Fregosi, in the parking lot. Dad asked him where we could get some tickets, and he kindly left us a pair at will-call.
#2: 4/06/96, on a CA trip to visit Cindy (she was working a summer job for old boss); saw the Angels vs. White Sox.
#3: 7/31/02, on a business trip to CA, visited the renovated stadium now known as Edisson Field, and saw the eventual World Champion Angels vs. the Red Sox.
3. Summer ‘79 Oakland, CA Oakland Alameda County Coliseum
During family trip to CA, baseball game #2 -- we rode the BART across the bay from SF to catch an A’s game. (Stadium has since been renovated to accommodate for additional seating for the Raiders – should probably revisit this park)
#2: 7/18-19/16 My return visit was 37 yrs later on my 2016 summer baseball trip. Upon exiting from the BART station’s fenced in walkway, the Coliseum welcomes you with barbed wire over the entrance gate. I saw 2 Astros-A’s night games; first night only had 10,000 fans so Astros fans stood out. I walked to the stadium from my hotel for game #2 but rode a cab home as the area is scary after dark.
4. Summer ‘84 New York, NY Shea Stadium
My first trip to NYC with my parents; Dad and I went to a Mets game.
#2: 8/28/01, in NY for the DMA Non-profit conf.; great tickets from WPIX; I invited my vendors from Listworks to the Mets vs. Phillies game, and they provided the Limo transportation to and from the game.
#3: 5/14/08, in NY for a DMA seminar, caught games at both Shea and Yankee Stadium. I took the subway from Times Square to Flushing for the Mets-Nationals game, with game time temperature of 50 and windy (in mid-May). The highlight was seeing the new stadium (Citi Field) being built directly behind the outfield walls.
5. 5/20/90 San Diego, CA Jack Murphy Stadium
Following my graduation from UT, parents took me to San Diego for a quick vacation; my dad and I caught the Padres vs. Mets on a beautiful Sunday afternoon.
6. 5/01/92 Baltimore, MD Oriole Park at Camden Yards
ISI business seminar trip took me to Baltimore, and I was fortunate to catch an Orioles game in their inaugural season in this fine stadium; it would remain my favorite ballpark for a number of years.
#2: 6/13-15/05, my 2005 summer baseball trip to DC and Baltimore brought me back to Camden Yards 13 years after my first visit. This was the Astros first ever trip to play in this park and they were swept by the Orioles. I sat 6 rows behind home plate the first night, 8 rows straight up from 1st base the second night, and just beyond 3rd base on the third night. I caught my first ever ball at a game—off the bat of Berkman during BP.
7. 9/26/92 Philadelphia, PA Veterans Stadium
ISI business seminar trip to Philly for a twi-night DH with the Phillies vs. Cards.
8. 4/23/93 Toronto, ON The Skydome
Vacation trip and first visit to Canada, included a stay at Skydome Hotel and a Blue Jays vs. White Sox game. No, my room didn’t overlook the field, rather a view of downtown.
#2: 9/28/07 vs. Devil Rays. 14 years after my initial visit to Skydome (now called the Rogers Centre), Cindy and I celebrated our 10 yr anniversary with a weekend trip to Canada. The stadium still looks new, and has the biggest widescreen TV above centerfield (between the hotel room windows) I’ve seen at a ballpark. The roof was closed for our game on Friday night but we saw that it was open for their day game on Sat. The hotel is now a Renaissance hotel and we couldn’t afford the $400 a night rates so we had dinner at the Hard Rock overlooking right field. Beers cost $9 for a tall boy and $9.50 for a 20 oz draft! (This was with an even exchange rate at the time of our visit).
9. 9/30/93 Atlanta, GA Atlanta Fulton County Stadium
Trip to visit and Anne and catch the Astros vs. the Braves.
10. 4/23-24/94 St. Louis, MO Busch Stadium (Old Busch)
First of many trips to St.L from my new home in Memphis to catch the Astros in wknd series vs the Cards. Great tickets usually provided by KMOV.
#2: wknd trip on 7/30/94 with Vance and Lee for Cards vs. Cubs.
#3 & #4: trips with Cindy to see the Astros on: 6/01/96 and 6/30-7/01/00.
11. 5/07/94 Dallas, TX The Ballpark in Arlington
First of many trips to Dallas, either for Showdown, or later, to see my parents; this time saw the Rangers vs. Twins.
#2, #3, #4, #5: 5/08/98 vs. Indians; 8/01/98 vs. White Sox; 4/30/99 vs. Indians; 7/05/99 vs. Mariners.
#6: with Barclay and Jean on 6/28/02 vs. Astros in the Lone Star Series.
#7: with Dad, Paul and Barclay on 5/27/07 vs. Red Sox for a Sunday matinee during a family visit to Dallas over Memorial Day weekend.
#8: with Dad and David on 3/31/19, Sunday afternoon game vs. Cubs on Opening Weekend. (was in town with Nicole for appt at Scottish Rite.)
12. 6/21/94 Chicago, IL New Comiskey Park/U.S. Cellular Field
First of many business trips to visit TV reps; White Sox vs. Rangers.
#2 & #3: 6/19/95 for White Sox vs. Mariners; 4/29/03 in the newly named U.S. Cellular Field vs. A’s, with great tickets from WCIU, but cold, rainy Chicago weather!
13. 8/21/96 New York, NY Yankee Stadium
In NY for DMA Non-profit conf, I caught the subway to the Bronx for a day game between the Yankees vs. Angels.
#2: Second trip to Yankee stadium was for the Mets-Yankees weekend series on 5/16-17/08, after catching a Mets game at Shea 2 days earlier. Friday night’s game was rained out after heavy rains all day long; I rode the subway again out to the stadium on Saturday afternoon. The rivalry didn’t seem as intense as a Yankees/Red Sox series would have been. The new Yankee Stadium is being built right next to it.
14. 6/01/97 Chicago, IL Wrigley Field
On a business trip, and to visit Jim and Joe, I finally catch a game at historic Wrigley. Recvd great seats from WGN – a few rows behind visitor’s dugout for the Cubs vs. Reds.
#2: 6/21/02, recvd even better seats from WLS – just up from the Cubs on-deck circle for the Cubs vs. Cards game; attended the game on a Friday afternoon with Jim and Mick after my business meetings.
#3: My third trip to Wrigley consisted of consecutive night games on 9/13-14/04 vs. the Pirates as the Cubs were in a battle with the Astros for the wild card spot. The first night I went with co-workers (tickets from WGN), and the second night I scalped a nice ticket up from the Cubs dugout. I made several attempts to sneak into the bleachers but the ushers check closely for tickets and I was denied. Next trip I’ll have to buy a ticket for the bleachers.
#4: 6/6/05, met up with Jim and Mick for an inter-league night game vs. the Blue Jays. Great tickets once again from WGN.
15. 7/23/98 Los Angeles, CA Dodger Stadium
Vacation trip to LA with Cindy, caught the Astros vs. Dodgers and we had great seats right behind home plate from KCBS.
#2: Also visited Dodger Stadium on 7/8/04 during our summer family vacation to Southern California; again caught an Astros road game here - the fourth in four nights following their series in SD. I received loge level tickets with Stadium Club passes from KNBC; went to the game with Derek from Russ Reid agency.
16. 5/12/99 Boston, MA Fenway Park
Vacation trip to Boston with Cindy; we toured Fenway Park (touched the Green Monster) and saw Pedro Martinez strike out 15 Mariners including Griffey Jr 3x; went to the game with Cindy’s friend Laura and Stewart.
#2: 15 years later (8/14-17/14) for my return trip to see the Astros-Red Sox 4 game series. Thu night saw Roger Clemens inducted into Red Sox Hall of Fame; Friday toured Fenway and saw the view from the Monster Seats (tour no longer takes you on the field to touch the Green Monster). Saturday night sat in the bleachers and came close to catching Big Papi’s 400th HR. Sunday saw Altuve hit a grand slam over the monster. Astros split the series 2-2.
17. 10/19/99 Atlanta, GA Turner Field
In Atlanta for an AMA seminar, I caught Game 6 of the NLCS Braves vs. Mets. Needless to say, Turner Field is a big improvement from their old stadium.
#2: Next trip to Turner was 10 years later for an Astros weekend series 5/1-3/09. Astros took 2 of 3. Travel to and from the game was easy using the MARTA shuttle from Underground ATL downtown. On Sunday, I met the 3 guys from 30 Ballparks in 30 Days. I enjoyed chatting with Joey, Travis and Pedro as they were on Day 19 of their trip. It was also “bark in park” promotion on Sunday and I saw lots of dogs on the concourse entering the stadium.
18. 4/7-8/00 Houston, TX Enron Field / Minute Maid Park
Opening night of Enron Field! Astros vs. Phillies with Cindy and my dad. Following Friday night’s game, we went back for the second game which was Sat afternoon with Barclay.
#2: We made a return trip 2 years later, 7/24-25/02, to the newly named Minute Maid Park for a summer vacation with Barclay and Jean. The first night we saw the Astros take on the Brewers, and we had great seats from KPRC, just down the first base line; then, we caught a matinee the next day vs. Pirates before driving down to Galveston for the wknd.
#3 9/29/05 – traveled to Houston for Barclay’s wedding; in the race for the wild card berth, caught the Astros v. Cubs in the first game of the final 4 game home stand. The magic number was 2, and the Astros lost this game and the following night (while the Phillies were winning), but won the final 2 games to secure the spot in the playoffs on their way to their first World Series.
#4 7/28/06 – traveled to Houston for my 20-year HS reunion. Stayed at the Inn at the Ballpark; walked over to the stadium and sat in the Crawford Boxes for the Astros v. D’backs. Luke Scott hit for the cycle, and hit his first ML HR which landed directly 5 rows in front of us.
#5 7/23-24/07 – this was the back-end of my “summer ’07” baseball trip; saw the Astros play 5 games in Pittsburgh and Houston. Met up with John Hamer and his wife for the first game vs. the Dodgers; sat behind home plate on the club level in his company tix. The following night – on the day that Craig Biggio announced his retirement at the end of this season, he hit a game-winning grand slam on the first pitch of tie ball game which electrified the crowd, just one month after he collected his 3000th hit. Made a mental note to myself that I needed to plan my first ever trip to Cooperstown for the first weekend in August 2013, when Biggio will no doubt be inducted into the Hall of Fame; the first player in the Hall for the Astros (unless Bagwell beats him to it).
#6: 5/25-27/13 -- Since it had been 6 yrs since my last visit to MMP I scheduled my summer 2013 baseball trip to Houston. Also, the Astros 2013 season marked their first season in the AL and a return to their original logo and colors. So, I scheduled a trip over Memorial Day wknd in order to catch 3 games (Sat-Sun vs. A’s; Mon vs. Rockies). Little did I know that the Grizzlies would make a deep playoff run to the WCF vs. Spurs, which only caused a slight distraction in that I rushed out early of Saturday’s game to catch the Grizz game 3 on TV, and leave Monday’s game early in order to catch my flight home to attend for game 4 at the FedExForum (which made for a nice sports DH day!) The baseball games were mostly forgettable as the A’s overpowered the Astros both games, but I enjoyed catching up with my friend Craig Ledbetter at Sunday’s game in the Astros suite (comp tickets thanks to Vance), and enjoyed sitting in the Chronicle’s suite for Monday’s Memorial Day matinee with Vance and his family. Before Monday’s game, I enjoyed a nearly 3-hour walk/run thru downtown, along Buffalo Bayou all the way to Memorial Park. On my return to my hotel (The Sam Houston which is really close to the ballpark), Vance was able to secure on the field access to batting practice, so I raced back to the park at 10:30 and enjoyed watching the Astros take BP from field level inside a nearly empty MMP.
#7: 7/22-23/15 – My 2015 summer baseball trip consisted of 2 games (Wed/Thu) in Houston followed by a weekend series following the Astros to KC. For Wed night’s game Vance had great 3rd row dugout seats from the Chronicle; it was good to catch up with him and Ruth and Josh. Josh secured a baseball tossed from one of the players and he gave it to me as a souvenir. On Thu, Jose Altuve hit a walk-off HR in the 9th as the Astros swept the Red Sox. I stayed at the Hyatt downtown, which was not as close to the ballpark as previous stays at the Sam Houston hotel or the Inn at the Ballpark (which is now a Westin), but still within walking distance.
#8: 7/17-19/17 – My 2017 summer baseball trip started in Atlanta for 3 at SunTrust and ended with what I hope to continue doing every 2 years – visiting Houston and MMP. I stayed downtown at the Hampton Inn a short walk over for Mon, Tue night and a Wednesday matinee vs. the Mariners. The Astros came out of the All-Star break with the best record in the AL and 15 ½ game division lead. This marked the first season without Tal’s Hill, which has been replaced with additional standing/seating concourses and Torchy’s Tacos restaurant in deep center.
#9 7/27-29/18 -- My 2018 summer baseball trip started in Denver then on to Houston for a wknd series vs the Rangers, my first time seeing the Lone Star series in Houston. It was nearly a year ago since my last visit here and I stayed at the same hotel (Hampton Inn which is the second closest hotel to the ballpark), but in that time in between 2 significant events happened: Hurricane Harvey and winning the 2017 WS. The games were bad as the Astros, without Correa and Altuve, were swept. I enjoyed catching up with Vance at Friday’s game, Tom Hebert and Robert Bone at Pit Room BBQ, and visited my old neighborhood (my street was only 5 blocks from being flooded), the Astrodome, original Ninfa’s on Navigation, and 8th Wonder Brewery.
#10 10/27/21 – My first World Series game! Game 2 vs. Braves. Astros evened the series by winning 7-2 behind a strong outing from Jose Urquidy.
#11 10/29/22 – My second World Series game! Game 2 vs. Phillies. Astros evened the series by winning 5-2 behind a strong outing from Framber Valdez.
#12 5/29/23 – Memorial Day game vs. Twins – the girls’ first visit to MMP! Took them to see Broadgreen and Ninfa’s before game, then drove up to Austin following day.
19. 5/4 & 5/6/01 Montreal, QC Olympic Stadium
Vacation trip to Montreal with Cindy, and we caught the Astros beat the Expos on Friday night and Sunday afternoon. With rumors of the Expos relocating, this ballpark, and the city’s support of the Expos, was pretty depressing. The Expos began playing a portion of their home games in Puerto Rico starting in 2003, then relocated to DC in ’05.
20. 5/31/02 Cleveland, OH Jacobs Field/Progressive Field
First stop on what will become several of my “two-cities in one wknd” baseball trips. Rcvd great tickets from WEWS for the Indians vs. White Sox game on Friday night. On Saturday morning, I toured the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame before driving up to Detroit for game #2.
#2 My 2nd visit came 19 years later (7/1-4/2021) for a 4-game Astros series in which the Astros swept (first time I’ve experienced this), closing out the series on a beautiful 4th of July afternoon in a 10-inning game. I enjoyed this park more than I remembered the first time (great location, nice open outfield plaza; Heritage Park Museum), so I’m moving this park up from #19 to #15. Also, enjoyed a nice selection of different beers from multiple local breweries. Picked up 2 different giveaway-souvenir jerseys, and toured the Rock n roll Hall of Fame, and made the hour drive to Canton to Pro Football Hall of Fame. I was also more impressed with downtown Cleveland than I remembered on my initial visit; enjoyed walking over bridge to Ohio City breweries.
21. 6/01/02 Detroit, MI Comerica Park
Second game on this trip; I rcvd front row tickets behind the Tigers dugout from WDIV and saw the Tigers vs. Blue Jays.
#2: I made a return trip the following summer on 6/27/03; same great seats – front row down the 3rd base line at the end of the Tigers dugout. The Tigers played the Diamondbacks in an inter-league match-up. The Tigers are losing at a record pace; they are the worst team in the league and it shows as 2 Tiger outfielders drop routine pop-flys!
#3: My third visit (3 years in a row) was on 7/18/04 for a sold-out Sunday afternoon game vs. the Yankees. The following day I drove one hour South for a TV meeting in Toledo.
#4: My fourth visit occurred 2 weeks later on 8/04/04 for a mid-week night game vs. the Rangers. The following day I drove one-hour north for a TV meeting in Flint.
#5: Back at one of my favorite parks for the first time in 15 years on my 2019 baseball trip for a Sat night/Sunday afternoon games vs. Cleveland on Father’s Day wknd 6/15-16/19. Stayed at nearby Garden Inn Hotel where I stayed the last couple of times.
22. 6/22/02 Milwaukee, WI Miller Park
The day after watching the Cubs at Wrigley (see #14), I drove up to Milwaukee with Jim and Mick to catch a game in the Brewers new stadium vs the Angels. Of note, in the afternoon from our hotel bar, we watched the Longhorns defeat South Carolina to win the College World Series!
23. 9/20/02 Seattle, WA Safeco Field
Vacation trip to Seattle/Vancouver with Cindy, we met my contact from KIRO and he gave us great tickets behind home plate as well as tickets in their suite for the Mariners vs. Angels (3rd time to see the Angels this year, in their championship season).
#2: 7/15-17/16 My 2016 summer baseball trip was a West coast trip to Sea/SF/Oak. Watched the Astros win 2 of 3 from the Mariners on a beautiful wknd; roof remained open for the Fri night and Sat/Sun afternoon games. Toured Century Link Field right next to it.
24. 4/18/03 Kansas City, MO Kauffman Stadium
First of 3 baseball only trips in 2003 given to me by Cindy for Christmas. First stop on the first trip was in KC on Friday night, and I rcvd great tickets – 6 rows up from dugout, from KCTV for the Royals vs. Tigers game. Loved the waterfalls, fountains and giant white and gold crown scoreboard in the outfield – overall, a very underrated stadium.
#2: In 2009, the Royals renovated their ballpark by adding outfield seating and what they call the “outfield experience” while still preserving the fountains so I wanted to revisit this ballpark 12 yrs after my initial visit. This 40 yr old ballpark has held up very well, and I love everything they have done in the outfield from the new video screen on the large crown scoreboard, the Royals Hall of Fame museum, the open bars and restaurants around the Pepsi porch with standing room around the fountains. I’m moving this ballpark up in my rankings as I really like what they have done here. I saw the Astros weekend series on 7/24-26/15. I stayed at a nearby hotel (Adams Mark), which was right across the freeway; with the ballpark situated right next to Arrowhead Stadium, I was impressed with the number of fans who got there early to tailgate before each game. On Saturday morning, I took a great tour of the park and enjoyed spending some time in the Royals museum, which had some great history of the Royals, including the prior season’s 8-0 playoff run to reach the World Series. When I booked this trip in January who would have guessed both the Astros and Royals would be leading their divisions in late July. It made for a great series with sellouts on Fri/Sat, with the Astros winning on Fri behind Scott Kazmir’s gem in his first game as an Astro, but the Royals took the next 2 games. Friday night was very hot (94 degrees at first pitch) though Sat/Sun brought temps in the mid 80’s.
25. 4/19/03 Minneapolis, MN The Metrodome
After spending 4 hours on Sat morning at the Mall of America, I caught the Twins vs. Yankees game Sat night. Although I had great seats, 2nd row above the Twins dugout, thanks to one of our print vendors, the atmosphere for this game was much different than the night before, and I would have to say this is the worst stadium to watch a baseball game in. I had planned to take in another game the following afternoon, but instead chose to catch the T’wolves vs. Lakers Game 1 of their playoff series at the Target Center.
26. 7/19-20/03 Cincinnati, OH Great American Ball Park
In the inaugural season of the Reds new downtown stadium, I caught the last 2 games (Sat/Sun matinees) of the Astros successful 4 game sweep of the Reds. Of note, on Sunday, I saw Jeff Bagwell reach a milestone as he hit his 399th and 400th career HRs – joining just 34 other major leaguers in this 400 HR club. The ballpark was nice (but not as cool as some of the other new parks that have opened recently), the weather was great with lots of sunshine, and I picked up a Reds bobblehead at Saturday’s game, which was a sellout.
#2: With the Astros in the AL now, this was their first visit to Cincy in 7 years (2012 last season in NL), so I planned my 2019 baseball trip around the Astros interleague series 6/17-19. Unfortunately the Reds swept winning each game by 1 run, including a walk-off winner in the 9th of the Wed day game. Enjoyed touring the ballpark and visiting the Reds museum which opened in ’04, the year after their ballpark opened.
27. 7/21/03 Pittsburgh, PA PNC Park
This park jumps to the top of my list as the best of the new ballparks – very nice features with fabulous views of the city. After a short walk from my hotel and crossing the Roberto Clemente Bridge, I began my visit of PNC with a tour of this fine stadium - a must for my future stadium trips as tours take you on in-depth look at the club level, press level, and on the field through the dugout. Our tour included a bonus visit from the Pirates GM (who spent at least 20 minutes answering various baseball questions from our group), the Manager (who was jogging around the field), and the team’s owner! As for the game, the Astros lost, but I thoroughly enjoyed watching the game from several different locations throughout the stadium in order to catch the many views of the 3 rivers surrounding downtown Pittsburgh and its impressive skyline.
#2: Much anticipated return trip to PNC occurred 7/20-22/07, exactly 4 years after my initial visit for a 3 game weekend series between the Astros and Pirates. On Friday night, I was able to buy a ticket just 6 rows up from the Astros dugout near 1st base. Before the game during BP, I came away with just my second baseball while attending a game, off the bat of Carlos Lee. On Saturday night, the Pirates retired the jersey of Paul Waner, Hall of Famer and member of 3,000 hit club; during the ceremony, the Pirates recognized Biggio joining the 3,000th hit club and the home crowd gave him a nice standing ovation. The Astros won 2 of 3 with Lidge saving both close wins. And yes, PNC remains on the top of my list for favorite ballparks. Perfect weather and great seats for all 3 games.
28. 8/23/03 Phoenix, AZ Bank One Ball Park
This huge retractable roof stadium dominates the skyline in downtown Phoenix. I toured the park on Friday morning, in which I was able to see the stadium with the roof open, as it was set to close 4 hours prior to first pitch as the game time temp reached 103 degrees. Sammy Sosa treated the many Cubs fans to 2 bombs, including one that nearly landed in the swimming pool in right field – which happened to be rented out by 30 folks from Chicago (for a price of $5,250!) – as the Cubs routed the D’Backs.
#2: My second visit was 2 years later 8/4-5/06 for Astros games with Roy Oswalt and Roger Clemens winning games over the D’Backs. On Friday night, the Astros held on for an 8-7 win in a 9 inning game that lasted nearly 4 hours in which Lidge nearly gave it away in the bottom of the 9th. Roger Clemens won the Sat night game the day after he turned 44.
29. 8/24-25/03 Denver, CO Coors Field
I arrived in Denver on Saturday morning just in time to take a tour of this fine stadium. The upper deck has a row of seats that are marked in purple signifying an altitude of one mile above sea level. From the first base side in the upper deck, you get a nice glimpse of the mountains in the distance to the west of Denver. I caught 2 games – Sat night and Sun afternoon; there were plenty of Braves fans in town as Atlanta swept the Rockies.
#2: My second trip to Coors was 15 yrs later on my 2018 summer baseball trip for a 2 game series vs, Astros on 7/24-25/18. Since the Astros are in the AL now, it had been 6 yrs since the team last visited Denver and many Houston fans traveled for this series – it was by far the most Astros fans I’ve seen at a visitor’s park. I sat on the 3rd base side for both games and the sections above the dugout had more orange and ’17 WS gear than Rockies attire, and the Astros fans were loud and proud. Astros won the first game in 10 innings on Tue night, and lost game 2 Wed night on a walk off HR in bottom of 9th. I also toured Coors field. Thur was an off day, so I drove an hour to Colorado Springs to see Pikes Peak and for a AAA Sky Sox game; however, it was cancelled due to wet playing field.
30. 9/20/03 St. Petersburg, FL Tropicana Field
This trip to Tampa-St.Pete was scheduled as our summer was turning to fall, and after Cindy expressed how much she had really missed her beach trip in 2003. So, with just a week before having to go back to work after maternity leave, we (Taylor too!) found a place we had never been to that offered a nice beach on the Gulf along with Major League Baseball. The Devil Rays were facing the Yankees, and I honestly had a hard time figuring out who was the home team! The rowdy Yankees fans cheered on their team in 7-1 rout of the Rays. From the outside, this small domed-stadium appears to have a titled roof, and from inside, the atmosphere was similar to our experience at Olympic Stadium – a small crowd, with the seating areas not ideally arranged for viewing a baseball game at its best.
#2: My second trip to the Trop was 12 yrs after my first visit (Taylor is now 12!) on a business trip to visit Nielsen in Oldsmar for a TV diary audit. The game was on a Tuesday night vs. the Blue Jays so the crowd was small, but the ballpark seemed to be much improved with the Porch Bar installed behind centerfield and the Rays Tank visible from center field next to it. The ballpark includes a nice Ted Williams Museum and Hitters Hall of Fame museum next to the gift shop.
31. 5/18-20/04 Miami, FL Pro Player Stadium
My first baseball trip of 2004 began with a trip to Miami to see the Astros win 2 of 3 over the defending World Champion Marlins. This stadium gets a bad rap because it’s really more of a football stadium built for the Dolphins, but it’s not that bad of a place to see a baseball game, especially when you can pretty much sit wherever you’d like (as I did) with only an average of 12,000 fans for each of the games I attended in this mid-week series. The first night I received tickets from WPLG that were 12 rows up from the Astros dugout; on the second and third night, my $6 “Fish Tank” tickets turned into nice Field box seats.
32. 5/21-22/04 Philadelphia, PA Citizens Bank Park
I traveled from Miami to Philly to see the Phillies take on the Padres in their new park in its inaugural season. I was very impressed with the many neat features this stadium has, particularly the outfield pavilion – Ashburn’s Alley. On Friday night, I sat in the club level with my reps at WPVI and ABC Sales. On Saturday night, the game was a sellout, but I was able to secure a single ticket upstairs.
33. 6/16/04 San Francisco, CA SBC Park/AT&T Park
My much-anticipated trip to SBC Park (formerly PacBell Park) finally came about nearly 3 years after our initial plans to visit were canceled by the events of 9/11. My day began with a tour of the ballpark, which is always a great way to see all areas of the park. The seats in the upper level offer the best view of the SF Bay and Oakland in the distance. I scored some club level seats from KGO which were on the second level. The Giants crushed the Blue Jays 10-2 with Barry Bonds reaching base in each of his at bats, but no HRs or “splash hits” – ever since the park opened in 2000, they’ve kept track of splash hits which are HRs hit by Giants that land in McCovey Cove on the fly. To date, there have been 34 splash hits with Barry hitting 29 of these.
34. 7/5-7/04 San Diego, CA Petco Park
The final ballpark on my tour of all major league ballparks was a visit to the new Petco Park in downtown San Diego for the Astros 3 game series vs. the Padres. Cindy, Taylor and I sat in row 18 directly behind home plate in a game Roger Clemens pitched. The following day, I toured this fine park and then picked up a scalped ticket just 3 rows behind 1st base. On the 3rd night, I attended the game with Greg Clay (Barclay’s friend) in the Omni Premier Club level. Petco Park offers a great view of downtown and “the Park at the Park” – a grassy field with a hill, which stretches across the entire back of the stadium. Unfortunately, the Astros dropped 2 of the 3 to the Padres.
#2: Second trip to Petco was 9 years later, 6/14/13, on the backend of our family mission trip to Ensenada Mexico. We drove back into the states on a Friday afternoon and stayed downtown at the Hilton across from the ballpark so I walked over just in time to catch the Padres-D’Backs game. I almost had to buy another Padres windbreaker as the temps were surprisingly cool for a mid-June night.
35. 6/11-12/05 Washington, DC RFK Stadium
In Dec 2004, the Expos officially moved to DC and were renamed the Nationals so my 2005 summer baseball trip was planned for games in DC then up the road for the Astros series against Baltimore. On Sat night, I caught their inter-league series game vs. the Mariners in the Senators (and Redskins) old stadium. Washington is back in MLB after a 34 year absence (last game played in ’71). On Sunday afternoon, I sat in the Diamond Box section right behind home plate thanks to tickets from WJLA. These $90 tickets included free food and drinks (not beer) delivered to your seat.
36. 5/29-31/06 St. Louis, MO New Busch Stadium
Memorial Day weekend, drove up to St. L for the Astros first series at the new Busch in its inaugural season. In the first game, Pujols homered off Qualls for a walk-off HR. Astros came back to win game 2 but dropped the 3rd game in extra innings. Nice ballpark, though not great. It doesn’t really have any distinguishing features or anything special about it like some of the other new parks. Some of the exterior features of the stadium were still being worked on, and the seating in the LF outfield had just opened for this series so they had record crowds for all 3 games. Great baseball atmosphere in the stadium, but I didn’t like the closed off concourses (couldn’t see the game from the concessions)
#2: Second trip to new Busch was 2 years later, 4/25-26/08 for 2 Astros games. Friday night’s game, after a 2-hour rain delay, was highlighted by a 3 run comeback in the 9th inning to win 3-2 shortly after midnight. Saturday’s matinee on a perfect day for baseball saw the Astros losing 4-3. Great seats for both games -- on Sat, sat directly behind home plate about 15 rows up (StubHub); and Fri. about 16 rows up from 3rd base (KMOV tix).
#3: Third trip to new Busch was the following year, 4/10-11/09, nearly a repeat of last year’s trip -- drove up to St. L for 2 Astros games…Friday night’s game got under way in 47-degree weather as the rainy skies cleared up just in time for the game. Saturday’s matinee was a much better day, weather-wise; however, the Astros dropped both games.
#4: Fourth trip was two months later, 6/6/09, with the family as we were in town for Cissy’s wedding. She held her reception at Busch in Homer’s Landing, a reserved party section located beyond the outfield.
#5: Ten years later finally made a return trip for the Astros’ first weekend series here as an AL team on 7/26-28/19. Drove up with my girls on Friday AM; had lunch at Ballpark Village (which hadn’t opened yet last time I was here), then we toured Busch stadium. Many Astros fans made the trip as I was surrounded by orange jerseys on the 3rd base side. In fact, Jim Crane (Astros owner), sat just about 7 rows in front of me on Friday night in a section between 3rd base and LF Friday night. The Astros lost leads in the 7th and the 8th inning on Friday night, but came back with big wins Sat (8-2) and Sun afternoon (6-2). Perfect weather for all games, including a pleasant 87 degrees for first pitch on Sun, with near sellouts for each game with giveaways (jersey, ring, bobblehead) as the Cardinals were honoring the ’04 NL Championship team, which ironically beat the Astros in the NLCS in a great 7 game series.
#6: Drove up with Cindy in new Acadia for mid-week Astros series on 6/27-28/23; saw first 2 games of a series win. Enjoyed perfect weather for games and morning riverfront runs at Arch/Gateway National Park; stayed at nearby Hyatt; enjoyed seeing Tom Schaff’s baseball museum and pregaming in Ballpark Village and great BBQ at Salt + Smoke.
37. 7/11-13/08 Washington DC Nationals Park
I joined many other Astros fans for the weekend series in the inaugural season of Nationals Park. Great stadium but it was built in a part of town (near Navy Yard on banks of the Anacostia) with not much activity although plans for future development in the immediate area were evident. I stayed at the Courtyard just a few blocks from the stadium and near the Metro station. It reminded me of Citizens Bank Park in Philly with much activity beyond the outfield concourse (Red Loft and Red Porch bars and Walk Up bar behind the big scoreboard). Good view of the Capital can be seen from the upper sections beyond LF wall. Astros dropped the opener but won the next 2 to take the series.
38. 6/17/09 New York, NY New Yankee Stadium
My third 2009 baseball trip was to NYC to visit the inaugural seasons of new Yankee Stadium in the Bronx and Citi Field in Queens. I had planned 2 games at each stadium; due to rains on last year’s trip to NYC, I missed one of two planned games at the old Yankee stadium. This year, rain posed a challenge again as I missed the second game of the trip, a Thursday matinee which was delayed 5 ½ hours before they ended up playing the game later that night. I wasn't all that impressed with new Yankee stadium...has the look of the old stadium, but of course with club level suites. Field level seating (the number of seats) seemed smaller than most stadiums, and I was sitting 30 rows up, on the last possible row, under the overhang from the next deck, which I don't like. I did like the Hard Rock Cafe at the stadium. I wanted to go on a tour of the stadium to see Monument Park, and some of the other areas you wouldn't normally be able to see but the tours were sold out. The old stadium still remains next to it. The Nationals beat the Yankees in the interleague match up on Wed night.
#2: 6/23-26/22 for Astros 4 game series (Thu-Fri night/Sat-Sun day). Pre-game tour only included visits to Yankees Museum and Monument Park, then we sat in the outfield for batting practice, 30 minutes before the park opened to public. Astros were on a 9-game stretch against the NY teams who had the best records in the AL and NL; completed it by winning 7 of the 9, including winning 4 of 6 games in NYC. Astros split with Yankees but had a chance to sweep, but they blew 3 run leads in the 9th on Thu, and in the 8th inning on Sun. On Saturday, Christian Javier pitched 7 no-hit innings followed by Neris and Pressley closing out the no-hitter with a hitless 8th and 9th. On Sunday, Urquidy no-hit the Yankees for 7 1/3 innings. Yankee fans booed Altuve before every at bat; Altuve responded with a couple of homers in the series.
39. 6/19-20/09 New York, NY Citi Field
The Mets were playing the Rays in interleague games on Fri night and Sat afternoon. When I arrived in Queens on the 7 train, I didn't realize Shea had been demolished already. No sign of Shea as it was completely paved over as the new parking lot for Citi Field. Hands down, I thought the Mets built a better ballpark than the Yankees. The entrance – Jackie Robinson rotunda is impressive as escalators take you up into the park. Citi has a lot of neat features beyond the outfield...mini ball field for the kids, a dunk tank, expanded food and microbrew selections, etc. And of course the Big Apple in CF was brought over from Shea. The seating configuration was better at Citi (compared to Yankee stadium) at Citi...more field level seating and the seats in the upper promenade, particularly the promenade box (sect 400s) seem a lot closer to the field than the upper sections at most other parks. The Mets won Fri night, but the Rays came back to win Sat in a game that was nearly rained out. The skies cleared just in time to get the 4 o’clock game in.
#2: 6/28-29/22 for Astros quick 2 game series (Tue night/Wed day). Citi Field pre-game tour included a look at several of the restaurants, suites, and press room along with early access for batting practice. Astros won 9-1 on Tue night, and won the following day 2-0 on a Jason Castro homer in the 8th.
40. 6/11-13/10 Minneapolis, MN Target Field
After 28 yrs in the Metrodome, outdoor baseball returned to MN this year with the opening of Target Field. I attended the wknd interleague series vs. the Braves, which was a rematch of the great ’91 World Series. The ballpark, which rests right next to the Target Center in downtown, is a huge upgrade from the dome and one of my new favorites. With a seating capacity of around 40,000, the stadium seemed more compact, with seating (on all levels) seemingly closer to the field than most other parks, and it was full of fans for all 3 games. I was impressed with the crowd; rivals the Cardinal nation. The park featured several nice statues of past players and a large Gold Glove; however, all of these were just outside of the park – it would have been nice to have some of these features inside the park along the concourses. The highlight of the games was Liriano’s 7K’s in a row, one shy of tying the AL record.
41. 4/13-15/12 Miami, FL Marlins Park
I attended the first ever weekend series at Marlins Park as the newly named Miami Marlins welcomed the Astros in its inaugural season as the 6th MLB ballpark to have a retractable roof. From the outside, the ballpark is an impressive sight – it looks really huge, all white domed structure, and from the moment you walk in the ballpark, there’s a lot to see that catches your eye: the view of the downtown skyline through the tall glass panels beyond left field, the large unnamed “HR sculpture” in left center, giant scoreboard and large HD screen above center field, and the lime green outfield walls stick out the most. The roof was closed on Friday night as it had been raining; however, it was open on Saturday night and the vibe within the ballpark was so much better with the roof open. One of the most unique features of the ballpark is the bobblehead museum. It features over 700 baseball bobbleheads in a glass display case; another unique feature is the two aquariums (450 gallons each) behind home plate.
42. 7/14-16/17 Atlanta, GA Truist Park
I renewed my membership in the “All 30 Club” by visiting SunTrust Park in its inaugural season for a weekend series coming out of the All-Star Break vs. the Diamondbacks. This marked my 3rd MLB stadium attended in Atlanta. After 19 years at Turner Field, the Braves ditched their not-so-old park for greener pastures (and much better surroundings) in Cobb County. I arrived on Friday afternoon for a 130p ballpark tour, which was a very short walk over from my hotel, the Doubletree Suites. One of my favorite aspects of this park is the surrounding area around the park called Battery Atlanta. Many restaurants, bars, shops (and more coming soon) provide a great pre and post game atmosphere. On Friday night I had the opportunity to sit in the Cox corporate suite, which was very nice on the lower of 2 suite levels directly behind home plate. The ballpark has a number of special seating sections (Home Depot clubhouse, Delta 360 club) which we saw up close on the tour, and I jumped on the zipline and took some swings in the batting cages before the game; also visited the Braves Monument Park which has a nice tribute to Hank Aaron.
#2: 8/19-20/22 for Astros weekend series (only went to Fri-Sat night games) in 2021 WS rematch. These sellout games with many Astros fans in attendance had a playoff atmosphere as they were both close games including extra innings on Sat, but Astros lost both. Stayed at nearby Sheraton and I enjoyed walking over early to the Battery for pre-game buzz at the many bars and restaurants. This suburban park has the feel of a downtown park with all of the activity around the park.
#3: 4/21-22/23 for Astros weekend series (only went to Fri-Sat night games) in Astros sweep. Stayed at nearby Hampton Inn and enjoyed short walk over to the Battery for pre-gaming and perfect weather both nights.
43. 5/21-22/21 Arlington, TX Globe Life Field
After COVID wiped out my planned trip in 2000 to visit this park in its inaugural season, I renewed my membership in the “All 30 Club” by visiting Globe Life Field (“F” in Field as in future) for the first Astros-Rangers series -- with fans in the stands. Some have called it “Mimic Maid Park” because it feels similar to MMP in Houston from the looks of it inside, but it looks rather different from the outside, and the retractable roof is one huge solid piece that slides off to the side of the park when it is opened. In 2020 the roof remained opened for all postseason games, but it was closed during my visit due to rain in the area over the weekend. The roof will serve Rangers fans well during the long hot Texas summers. I toured the stadium on the afternoon prior to the first game I attended, and was able to get a good “behind the scenes” look at all of the ballpark features, suites and restaurants. The ballpark sits next to the old Globe Life Park (“P” as in past) which is still being used for other functions.
My ranking of the 30 active MLB ballparks:
**I’m giving Wrigley Field and Fenway Park “classics” exemption from this list as it’s not fair and impossible to compare them against the newer parks.
1. PNC Park – Pittsburgh
2. AT&T Park – San Francisco
3. Comerica Park – Detroit
4. Minute Maid Park – Houston
5. Petco Park – San Diego
6. Oriole Park at Camden Yards - Baltimore
7. Target Field -- Minneapolis
8. Citizens Bank Park – Philadelphia.
9. Nationals Park – Washington DC
10. Coors Field – Denver
11. Truist Park - Atlanta
12. Great American Ballpark – Cincinnati
13. Kauffman Stadium – Kansas City
14. Dodger Stadium – Los Angeles
15. Progressive Field - Cleveland
16. Safeco Field – Seattle
17. Citi Field – New York
18. Busch Stadium – St. Louis
19. Globe Life Field – Arlington
20. Marlins Park - Miami
21. New Yankee Stadium – New York
22. Miller Park - Milwaukee
23 Chase Field – Phoenix
24. Angel Stadium --Anaheim
25. US Cellular Field – Chicago
26. Rogers Centre (Skydome) - Toronto
27. Tropicana Field – St. Petersburg
28. Oakland Coliseum -- Oakland
