Marlins Park

Back in September when the 2012 MLB schedule was released I was thrilled to see the Astros would be playing the first ever weekend series at Marlins Park on April 13-15^th.  With no new parks opening last year, I was really looking forward to booking my 2012 baseball trip and returning to South Florida after my first Marlins baseball trip 8 years ago (2004) to what was then called Pro Player Stadium.  The Marlins were the defending World Champs, but you wouldn’t know it from the small crowds in their aging, spacious football stadium…didn’t really bother me as you could score cheap tickets and sit wherever you like as I did, but the atmosphere and overall baseball experience was lacking as the “stadium” ranked near the bottom of any ballpark chaser’s rankings of ballparks.

Marlins Park is #41 on my list of ballparks attended, and it gets me back on track in attending games at all 30 active MLB ballparks.  Marlins Park is the 6^th MLB ballpark to have a retractable roof, and in listening to the Marlins broadcast yesterday, the announcers expect the roof to be closed for much of the season as the team is primarily seeking to provide “comfort” to their fans after 19 years of battling the heat and frequent rain delays. 

First impressions:  from the outside, the ballpark is an impressive sight – it looks really huge, all white domed structure, as it sits on the former site of the historic Orange Bowl.  As a nice tribute, on the outer plaza there are huge orange letters which appear to have been taken from the original stadium and are scattered around in the ground like statues -- depending on your vantage point, the letters could spell out Orange or Game.  Located in Little Havana, it’s a bit too far to walk to from downtown, and the surrounding neighborhood isn’t desirable.  Traffic, parking and lack of public transit to ballpark seem to be a problem, and I spent most of my money on cabs this weekend.   

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.  It’s a shame they plan to keep it closed more often than not, especially when you consider it only take 13-15 minutes to open and close the roof.  I was looking forward to watching the Sunday matinee under the sun in the pleasant low 80 degree temps but was disappointed to discover the roof closed.

One of the most unique features of the ballpark is the bobblehead museum.  It features over 700 baseball bobbleheads in a glass display case; the players are grouped together by team, so it’s easy to locate your favorite team/players.  There were about 25 Astros including Nolan Ryan, Roger Clemens, Jose Cruz, and of course Biggio and Bagwell.

Another unique feature is the two aquariums (450 gallons each) behind home plate.  The only problem with these is that they are not very noticeable in the park (they look good on TV and if you are lucky enough to seat those premium sets!)  Another distinguishable feature is The Clevelander bar/club in the outfield next to the bullpen.  It includes a swimming pool, dancers (some adorned in Vegas-style costumes others covered in body paint) and open bench seating and barstools on the field level behind a chain link fence in LF.  The music is loud and the drinks are flowing throughout the game and into the night with the feeling of being in South Beach.

The ballpark’s signature HR sculpture symbolizes the beaches of South Florida along with the tropical colors of Miami.  When activated by a Marlins homer, the sculpture illuminates and water fountains go off as the marlin leaps in the air.  It wasn’t until Sunday (4^th home game of season) before Omar Infante drove a ball out of the park and the expected celebration was pretty cool, but not spectacular.  As for HR celebrations, nothing beats the old Astrodome scoreboard.  Astrodome HR celebration (scroll to :40 second mark) Nonetheless, this Marlins celebration will surely become a highlight and much anticipated moment during games for the fans.  

One thing that was surprisingly missing from the ballpark was any evidence of the Marlins 2 World Series pennants ('97 and '03).  I was looking for any sign of history, and it wasn't until Saturday with the roof open and breeze coming through that I did notice 2 small flags hanging from the rear scoreboard, behind the LF foul pole which signified their championships.  On the days the roof was closed they were not visible at all.  Another disappointing sight was the number of empty seats for this series.  The Marlins didn't price/sell their premium seats effectively as there were large pockets of empty seats in scattered sections throughout the park.  The park has a cozy feel to it and only seats 37,000, and the majority of these seats are close to the field (the upper section was not very large, and there was not a lot of wasted space in the park); I like this aspect of the park.

As for the series, Astros LF JD Martinez had quite the homecoming.  A Miami native, he hit the first HR in Marlins Park history on Friday night and drove in several runs in the series.  The Marlins took the series 2 games to 1, but interestingly the final score in each game was 5-4 and each game was tied 4-4 at one point in the 9th inning with both Marlins wins coming in 11 innings.  Great series, and I nearly came away with a foul ball.  My seats on Fri and Sat night were down the LF line, really close to the field, in what I would call "Bartman seats" as I could easily reach over the field of play and possibly interfere with a player on a ball hit in foul territory.  The first batter on Friday night drove a deep liner toward my section; as fans were scattering I reached out my palm to try to barehand it, unfortunately it bounced off and another fan secured it.  In all my years of going to baseball games I have yet to catch a foul ball; however, I do have quite a collection of balls caught during BP.   

Nolan Ryan

Clemens and Cruz

Aquariums

Clevelander

Clevelander

View from Clevelander

Dancers in Clevelander

Billy Marlin

Orange Bowl letters

Miami skyline

Biggio and Bagwell

Mike Scott and Jose Valverde

skyline 

WS Pennants

Scoreboard

View from my seats

Getting dressed with paint

Marlins broadcast 

View from Sunday's seats 

HR sculpture going off

I enjoyed my visit to Marlins Park and look forward to returning one day, and I would definitely recommend scheduling a visit in April with the chance you might get an open roof game before the summer heat sets in. 

Opening Night!

The countdown has ended and baseball is finally here, stateside I should say, after last week's uneventful Opening Series in Japan.  The Marlins open their new ballpark tonight vs. the Cardinals as the lone game on the schedule tonight on ESPN for all to see.  I'm looking forward to visiting Marlins Park in just 9 short days as the Marlins will hit the road after tonight's game and then return to welcome my beloved Astros for the first weekend series in their ballpark on 4/13-15.  I'm excited to get back on the road to visiting ballparks after missing out last year on my annual summer baseball trip(s).  (Settling into a new job with limited vacation time was my excuse, but I hope to make up for it this summer! And besides, there wasn't a new ballpark to visit last year.) 

My feat of visiting all MLB ballparks pales in comparison to what fellow ballpark chaser Chuch Booth is attmpting to do this year.  Already the world record holder of attending a ballgame in all 30 ballparks in 24 days, Chuck will be attempting to visit all 30 in 20 days this year.  His quest gets underway this week and you can follow his journey at The Fastest 30 ballgames  His schedule includes doubleheaders the first 5 days of trip, but as you can see from his schedule he has built in some contingencies if weather or travel delays bog him down.  Good luck Chuck, I'll be rooting you on!

Lastly, it's time to go on record with some predictions for the season.  My only hope for the Astros is improvement on last year with the promise of development for some of these youngsters as they gear up for the move to the AL West next year.  A good return of prospects for Wandy Rodriguez, and hopefully a taker for Carlos Lee, at the trade deadline would be nice too.  In looking at the expert predictions on ESPN.com, the Angels are the overwhelming favorite to win the WS with 18 (37%) of their 49 analysts picking them, followed by 7 for the Rangers and Rays, and 6 for the Tigers.  I like the Angels, Tigers, Rays to win their division with the Yankees and Rangers as WCs.  In the NL I like the Giants, Phillies, Brewers as divsion winners and Marlins and Nationals as the WCs.  And I'll go with the Phillies over the Angels in the WS.  Now, let's Play Ball!

March Madness

Filled out my bracket tonight, even though I must admit I know nothing about what has happened this college basketball season.  Sure, I've heard all about Kentucky with freshmen and soon-to-be NBA lottery picks Anthony Davis and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist.  I can honestly say I didn't watch one single Longhorn game this year (haven't missed much apparently).  However, I have spent the past week catching up on the season reading bracketology columns and watching some of the bracket analysis on Sunday night.  In glancing at the cover of my SI college basketball preview issue, I see that a number of projected top 20 teams are not dancing this year - Pitt, UCLA, and AZ.

As usual, I am excited about the tournament.  There's just something about it that brings excitement every year along with the arrival of Spring Break.  I remember my first interest in college basketball was when I was 15 following the UH "Phi Slama Jama" Cougars.  I remember crying when they lost that game to NC St at the buzzer.  I was a big fan of Akeem (pre-Hakeem) Olajuwon as he led them back to the Final 4 the following year (lost to G'town), and then went on to play for the Rockets.

I remember filling out my first bracket 25 years ago (in '87) while on Spring Break in Destin during my freshmen year in college.  I remember filling out my first "office pool" bracket in '94 at ALSAC and discovering the bracket organizer was married to a fellow Longhorn here in Memphis.  I remember picking Texas as a sleeper pick in many brackets before they became a regular top tier seed, including their run to the final game in 2003 losing to Syracuse, and losing in the Elite 8 to LSU in '06 and Memphis in '08.  I also remember 25 years of filling out brackets and never winning the big prize, but there's always a next year.

So, this year I'm going with Kentucky, Missouri, Ohio St, and UNC as my Final 4.  No surprises there as Kentucky appears to be the most popular pick to win it all, but I'm taking UNC to win it.  My upset picks (8th seed or higher) for the sweet 16 are Belmont, Cal and K-State, but I have none of them advancing to the Elite 8.  It's easy to forget that 8th seeded Butler and 11th seeded VCU made it to the Final 4 last year...who's this year's surprise team(s)?

Childlike faith

Our sermon series during Lent this year is called Mosaic.  Shane is leading us through this study on how God uses broken pieces of our lives to reframe our lives and our purpose, turning our faults into something beautiful and useful -- a mosaic in which God uses all of the pieces.

Last Sunday (Ch.2 of the book pictured), we looked at how God uses our regret.  One of the points he brought up was how regret steals our joy, and he shared examples of how some people can't see past their mistakes.  This week our family experienced a good example of this, and it turned out to be a good life lesson for Taylor.

On Wed night at church, Taylor left her sweater (with ipod in pocket) in the bathroom.  This, after Cindy had told her to leave the ipod in the car.  However, she didn't listen and took it with her.  When she realized she left it in the bathroom, we retrieved her sweater but there was no ipod to be found.  This immediately brought tears and feelings of regret as we searched for it while tracking down the maintenance crew and the lost and found but to no avail.  Taylor cried the whole way home, knowing that she had made a mistake, and we counseled her on the importance of keeping up with your valuables, and we encouraged her that it may still be found and returned to her.

When we got home, Taylor prayed a heart-felt prayer to God that it would be returned, but first she acknowledged that there were more important things in her life that she was thankful for.  To our surprise on Thursday morning, we received a call from church that the ipod was found!  Taylor was so happy, and Cindy and I were so relieved, but the ipod is ours for a couple of weeks as punishment for not listening.  Lesson learned indeed.

But more importantly, I believe Taylor's faith was strengthened, and I'm continually awed by both Taylor and Nicole's childlike faith.  Taylor's prayer the last 2 nights have been ones of thanks to God for hearing her prayers.  Must be why we named her Taylor Faith.

When is Opening Day?

"People ask me what I do in winter when there's no baseball.  I'll tell you what I do.  I stare out the window and wait for spring." ~ Rogers Hornsby

This is one of my favorite baseball quotes, and with the spring-like weather this week, it got me thinking about Opening Day which is about a month away.  But when exactly is the official Opening Day this year, and why isn't more celebrated?

This year MLB is opening the season in Japan with a 2 game series between the A's-Mariners on Wed 3/28 at 5am CST.  Huh?  Why Japan?  Isn't it America's pastime?  I remember MLB did this 4 years ago as well and I never understood why.

Then, we have to wait one full week for what seems should be Opening Day as the newly named Miami Marlins open Marlins Park vs. the defending World Champion Cardinals on Wed 4/4.

Or, do we consider the following day, Thur 4/5, when about half of the major league teams open their season (why not all of them?), including the traditional matinee opener in Cincinnati, along with 6 other games.  The remaining teams open on Fri 4/6.

So, since the games in Japan are official games (not exhibition), Opening Day is 32 days away.  In anticipation of this, I'll begin my 30-day countdown to Opening Day on Monday by sharing one of my 30 favorite baseball quotes each day in countdown fashion via twitter (@vanduzee)

I still question why MLB doesn't try to showcase their sport with a big opening day splash, like the NFL has done in recent years.  Why not feature an East coast/West-coast DH on ESPN (like the NFL Monday Night Football opener)?  Let the defending WS champ play in one of the games and feature the opening of any new ballpark (if there is one) instead of opening in a foreign country at a time when most of America is sleeping.

I'll take it a step further -- let's petition to make Opening Day a national holiday.  This will sound un-Amercian, but let's rename the President's Day holiday and move it to the first Monday in April with a full schedule of Major League Baseball matinee games.  Let me explain my thinking:

• The President's Day holiday is too close to another holiday (just a month after MLK Jr holiday), and with it still being winter, it's hard to take advantage of this 3 day wknd with a planned fun outdoor activity.    
• On the other hand, the first weekend in April could be celebrated as the "Spring Break" for the non-student/working class folks.  Paired up with the Final 4 (on that Sat night and final game on Mon night), MLB could take advantage of this March Madness hoopla and make this proposed "Opening Day holiday/Spring Break 3 day weekend" the ultimate sports weekend by adding the MLB East-coast/West-coast game DH on ESPN on Sunday night followed by a full slate of matinee baseball games leading up the NCAA Final game Monday night.  You've got the day off, go enjoy it at a ballpark.  What's not to like about this idea?  

Maybe just wishful thinking.  But I do believe MLB needs to do a better job in marketing their Opening Day and making it an anticipated tradition for America's pastime.  

Jeremy Lin's faith and success

OK, I just finished watching Jeremy Lin lead the Knicks to another thrilling win over the Mavs.  Lin had 28 pts, 14 assists, 5 steals while logging 46 minutes, and he hit a big 3 pointer over Dirk to seal the victory.  So much has been written about him in the past 2 weeks that there's likely not much I can add that you haven't already heard, but I wanted to share my thoughts on the rise of this new star in the NBA.

My favorite part of Lin's story is his strong faith and the opportunity he has to share it on such a big stage for the world to see - playing in the world's most famous basketball arena, Madison Square Garden in NYC.  I loved Jeremy's post-game quotes the other night after the game winning shot he made in Toronto, calling his rags-to-riches story "a miracle from God":

"Anytime something like this happens, a lot of stuff has to be put into place, and a lot of it is out of my control.  If you look back at my story, doesn't mater where you look, but God's fingerprints are all over the place.  You can try to call it coincidence, but at the end of the day, there are 20, 30 things when you combine them all that had to happen at the right time in order for me to be here.  That's why I call it a miracle."

While I don't believe God favors certain sports teams and athletic achievements, I do believe God has raised Jeremy up giving him the opportunity to shine his light and highlight his basketball skills on the court.  I pray for Jeremy's continued success; that he is not overwhelmed by his new-found superstar status, and that he is not derailed by those who may try to bring him down for whatever reason.  I pray that he is able to be a bold witness for Jesus, and his story influences many others to follow Christ.  Our world needs more stories like his.

I encourage you to read this great essay detailing Lin's rise to stardom and his influence on today's culture  Denison Forum on Truth and Culture    

The closing paragraphs in the attached link talk about the influence both Lin and Tim Tebow have had in sharing their faith publicly.  We are called to be salt and light in this world, and my pastor Shane Stanford often closes his messages with a reminder that goes something like this, "Remember, God's going to angle the path of someone into your path who needs to hear the good news, and I hope that they'll find in each of us generous friends and that they'll see a difference.  Go into the world and be salt and light."

Takeaways from Downline Summit

On Friday night and Saturday I joined 1,500 other men for the 3rd annual Downline Summit.  The theme of this year's event was Legendary - examining discipleship in the light of the Great Commission as commanded by the One True Legend, Jesus Christ.  I was inspired and encouraged by all of the speakers who God raised up to teach and lead us through the principles of biblical discipleship.  Here are a few  key takeaways I will strive to follow and live out:  

Bryan Loritts, lead pastor at Fellowship Memphis Church, led us off with a great, yet simple, definition of discipleship.  Discipleship is the process of producing reproducers of Jesus Christ.  In Matthew 10:1-4, Jesus is giving shape to his team.  Note in v.1, he called the 12 "disciples", and in v.2, he called them "apostles".  Disciples are "learners"; apostles are "ones who are sent" (doers).  Learning and doing repeated over and over is the process, and Bryan used a great illustration of how golfer Phil Mickelson (a right hander) learned how to golf by mirroring this learning and doing approach from his father, which resulted in him becoming a left-handed golfer.

Dennis Rainey, President and CEO of Family Life, called us to Step Up to Courageous Manhood, walking us through the 5 steps of a man:  boyhood, adolescence, manhood, mentor and patriarch.  Dennis recalled the 4 principles of Biblical manhood; a man is to: Reject Passivity, Accept Responsibility, Lead Courageously, and Invest Eternally, and he added a 5th, Love Sacrificially.  In the mentoring stage, every man needs to have a mentor and be a mentor.    Or in the other words, every man needs a Paul, Barnabas and a Timothy in their life!  

Ronnie Stevens kicked us off early Saturday morning.  I was looking forward to hearing him teach as I really enjoyed his teachings on Acts last year in Downline.  He taught from Luke 5:4-11 where Jesus calls his first disciples to follow him.  Reading from this passage, Ronnie illustrated 7 goals of discipleship, narrowing it down to 1 explicit goal:  catching of men.  This "catching of men" (or bringing people into the kingdom of God through a relationship with Jesus), builds on the analogy of catching fish in v.10 as these fishermen (Simon Peter, James and John) were doing when Jesus encountered them.  Ronnie clearly pointed out the message here:  Fish don't want to be caught.  That's why you have to catch them!  

Next we heard from JB Selecman and Ron Surgeon as they gave a lay perspective on disciple-making.  It's not just Christian education - transferring the truth of God into a another man, but it's also accompanied by the cultivation of a life-on-life relationship with that individual.  In short, disciple-making is truth and life transference in the context of an authentic relationship.

The conference workshops I attended had an emphasis on discipleship in the home.  Dennis Rainey shared his experiences/challenges in the raising of his 6 children.  The scripture passage he modeled comes from Ephesians 6:1-4  


Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise), “that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.” Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.


Dennis spoke on the priority of discipling your children and he communicated 5 principles of courageous parenting using examples from his own life:  Courage to repent, to connect, to protect, to correct, and to direct.  Kennon Vaughan delivered a great talk on discipleship in the home during the early stages of childhood with practical examples that he and Kathryn are using with their 3 boys (all under the age of 4!)

Kennon closed the conference looking at Jesus' final words to his disciples in Matthew 28:16-20, and implored us to live out the Great Commission as a lifestyle.  And, to catch a vision for discipleship not as a duty, but a delight; not merely a responsibility but rather a privilege.  

In closing, I'll part with a quick note on Super Bowl 46.  I'm excited about the match up, and you could make an argument for either team but I'm rooting for the Patriots to avenge their upsetting loss 4 years ago.  Besides the commercials, I'll be paying close attention to the numbers this year as I hope to score big in my SB squares contest which will payout $500 per quarter.  Although I think the game will be really close, I'm predicting (hoping) a score along the lines of NE 34 NY26, or NE 35 NY 21 would be just as good.  Enjoy the game!