Ballpark #12- Pfitzner Stadium, Woodbridge, VA

Stadium Opened: 1984
Teams Seen: Potomac Cannons (Reds) 2004; Nationals (Nationals) 2005-present
1st Visit: 4/8/04
Most Recent Visit: 9/4/11
# Games: 215
Food: 4/10
Team Store: 4/10
Stadium: 6/10
Future/Rehabbing Stars Seen: Pudge Rodriguez, Drew Storen, John Lannan, Jordan Zimmermann, Dmitri Young, Ian Desmond, Danny Espinoza

This may be the toughest review I have to write. How do you separate a place that has meant so much to you emotionally, but also happens to be one of the worst stadiums in baseball? I don't know, but I am going to try..

Both my gameday and professional baseball career started with Potomac. I spent the 2004 season as a cook/ beer guy for the Potomac Cannons, and 3 years later my front office career commenced with the Potomac Nationals. Those first days of 2007 were the most exhilarating of my working life. I had 3 wonderful, exhausting, exciting years (2007, 09, 10) as Assistant Director of Food Service, Director of Merchandise and Group Sales Executive with the Nationals. Great friends were met in that time, and I got to be a part of the inner workings of baseball. I even got to be a part of a championship season in 2010 and have the ring to prove it. Now that I got that out of the way...

The stadium is horrible. Plain and simple, the Pfitz, as it is commonly referred, is a concrete slab with mostly bleacher seats and no cover from the rain or sun. Until recently, it had a field that would not drain, causing rainouts to happen 12 hours after the last drop fell from the sky. The food stands are antiquated with no variety to speak of. There has been talk for 15 years of a new stadium, to no avail.

Now, does all that mean you will not have a good time seeing the Potomac Nationals? Not at all- in fact, quite the opposite. Speaking from personal experience, working in a run-down place like Pfitzner means you have to work that much harder to give fans a great experience. And this is where the P-Nats shine. And with the Washington Nationals 30 miles away, Potomac gets a ton of rehab assignments and rising stars. In my 3 years there, I saw no less than 3 dozen current and future Major Leaguers.

So if you're in the DC area, go catch a game at the Pfitz. Just don't expect much in the way of comfort or amenities.

A great view from Center Field- 7/4/09

Addie spent alot of her 1st summer visiting Daddy at the Pfitz

Staci and I at her beer stand

The '09 P-Nat Posse

2010 Champs!!!

Meeting Pudge Rodriguez

P-Nat Night at Nats Park

Ballpark #11- Camden Yards, Baltimore, MD

Stadium Opened: 1992
Team: Baltimore Orioles
1st Visit: 4/6/04
Last Visit: 6/30/10
# Games: 5
Food: 8/10
Stadium: 9/10
Important Games Seen:
Staci's & my 1st game together (9/11/04), Opening Day '04 against Red Sox, best catch I've ever seen (Coco Crisp- 6/30/10)


Camden Yards should be know as the stadium that saved baseball stadiums- every stadium for the 3 decades from 1963-1991(after Dodger Stadium, before Camden Yards) was cookie-cutter, bland, concrete, and/or domed. Camden should also be given credit for creating traveling baseball freaks like me. As much as I love seeing all these cities and parks, it is hard to envision a road trip just to see Riverfront, Three Rivers, Memorial Stadium, etc. They all looked and felt the same. Camden Yards changed all that.

Known as a retro-park, Camden was the first modern park to incorporate a large plaza (with high-end restaurants and food stands, almost separate from the ballpark). Eutaw Street is a great place to find Boog's BBQ and to see the warehouse that is a big part of the view here (and can be remembered for "2131" hanging on the windows during Cal Ripken's streak). Babe Ruth's birthplace is right around the corner as well.

The inside of the stadium is fantastic as well. A sea of dark-green seats awaits you (a part of the new trend that Camden can take credit for as well- what WAS up with all the multi-colored seating in cookie-cutters?), and there really isn't a bad seat in the place. A new video board installed in 2006 has only made the view better.

The other food here besides Boog's is very good- Crabcakes are a local staple, an above-average sandwich shop is out on Eutaw, plus all the normal ballpark food.

Camden is worth seeing, a top-10 MLB stadium for me. It will always hold a little special place for me since it was mine and Staci's first game together back in 2004.

Staci & I at our 1st game together- 9/11/04

Babe's Dream- Babe Ruth Statue

Schilling pitches Opening Day 2004 against the O's

The Knepleys and Kenneys at an '08 game

View from Left Field

P-Nat Posse Road Trip- June 2010

Addie's 1st Camden Yards game- June 2010

Ballpark #10- Holman Stadium, Vero Beach, FL

Stadium Opened: 1953
Teams Seen: Los Angeles Dodgers (Spring Training)
1st Visit: 3/9/03
Most Recent Visit: 3/4/07
# Games: 3
Food: 8/10
Team Store: 8/10
Stadium: 10/10

When it comes to Major League stadiums, one could make the argument for any number of places as "the best." Old, new, retro, location, etc, all play some sort of role in determining your favorite. Well, in spring training parks, there was virtually no argument for over 50 years- Holman Stadium in Vero Beach was the standard-bearer in every way possible.

What made Vero so special? Atmosphere is putting it lightly. From the beginning in 1953, players were as accessible as anywhere on the planet. This continued into its last days in 2008, when millionaire players and fences, closed batting-practice, and general ambivalence had overtaken MLB parks. Dodger players had to walk a dirt path to their locker room, literally walking next to fans as they did so. I had conversations with players and coaches in both visits there. Even opposing players were more open- minutes after arriving at a 2007 game, Staci had her picture taken with her favorite player Ryan Zimmerman.

Another great thing was the food- Dodger Dogs imported straight from LA, a wide variety of stands for all tastes, another rarity in spring-training complexes. A huge souvenir stand awaited you as you walk into the stadium, giving East-Coasters a chance to load up on Dodger gear.

And then there was the game itself- as you can see from the photos below, there were no dugouts, so the players were right there for you to hear every word and watch every move.

There's talk of another team filling the space the Dodgers left in '08, but it will never be the same. I look forward to seeing the Dodgers in their new Arizona spring training home someday,but nothing will ever be good old Dodgertown.

When Staci met Ryan- 3/2007

Players just hang out during the game- 3/2003

Me at Holman Stadium entrance

Players exiting the same way the fans do

There's always a Dodger legend close by- this time it's Maury Wills

Staci & I- 3/2007