Ballpark #19- Fenway Park, Boston, MA

Stadium Opened: 1912

Team: Boston Red Sox

1st Visit: 8/14/05
Last Visit: 7/10/10

# Games: 3

Food: 7/10
Stadium: 10/10
Important Games Seen:
Futures at Fenway featuring the P-Nats (7/10/10)

My strangest history with a ballpark is Fenway. I have been to 3 games there, driven over 8 hours each way twice to go there, yet I have never seen a full game at Fenway. And somehow it is one of the best ballpark experiences I have had. How's that, you say? Well, when I drove up in 2005 to pick up Staci and see a game, it started raining in the 4th inning- and never stopped. I sat in the bleachers for over an hour in the pouring rain, just waiting, praying it would stop. No such luck.

So the return trip 5 years later was to be a unique experience. The minor league team I worked for, the Potomac Nationals, was playing a minor league game at Fenway as part of a double-header dubbed "Futures at Fenway." First game was to be the Jamestown Jammers vs the Lowell Spinners, and 2nd game would be our P-Nats against the Salem Red Sox. We were going to get the full treatment, behind the scenes tour, a private suite with all you can eat food and drinks, and a chance to go on the field of baseball's oldest Major League park. Our whole front office was psyched, and we had the added benifit of Addie's 1st big league road trip.

So, what happened? The tour was fantastic, standing on top of the Green Monster, walking the field, and seeing parts of the stadium most don't get to see. The suite was awesome, great view with plenty of room to relax and enjoy the game. The game? Well, around the 6th inning of the 1st game, the rains came...and hard. We waited it out for a couple hours, having the suite to stay dry in, but eventually the game was cancelled. As upset as I should I have beeen, getting rained out again, it was hard not to enjoy such a once-in-a-lifetime experience. While I would have already forgotten the score of the game had they played, I will never forget the time we had with good friends and family.

Now for the park- it's an amazing place. Intimate and true to its 100-year old history, Fenway feels like it's the 1950's, but in a good way. Many old-timers have told me that Fenway is the closest thing to Ebbets Field still around, which endeared me from the start. My only complaint is the seats are also much like the 1950's- small for a smaller generation. If I ever go back and don't bring the rain, I won't be sitting in the bleachers like I did in '05. The food is above average too, A Fenway Frank is probably top 5 in baseball. A must-see for even the non-baseball fan- or the non-Red Sox fan like Staci (she loved it too).

Damn rain..

P-Nats Posse

We're on the board

View from the top of the Green Monster

Staci Addie & I on the field

Addie B hanging in the Red Sox Suite

Ballpark #16- Jacobs Field, Cleveland, OH

Stadium Opened: 1994
Team: Cleveland Indians
1st Visit: 7/4/05
Last Visit: 9/25/09
# Games: 2
Food: 8/10
Stadium: 9/10
Important Games Seen:
Justin Verlander's 2nd-ever MLB start (7/4/05), The 1st of Staci's & my July 4th game tradition (7/4/05)

Cleveland Rocks! That is my feeling about Jacobs Field, 7 years after our 1st visit there. So many little things can lead to a favorable impression of a place, and it's all about your personal experience. It was the 1st stop on Staci's and my 1st real baseball road trip, and it was the place that I realised how/when I was going to ask Staci to marry me (4th if July in a ballpark). The game we saw was Justin Verlander's 2nd start in the bigs, and you can see that he was going to be special. We even got a first pitch from Hall of Famer Bob Feller.

Then there was the ballpark itself- I loved it from the second I saw it. I love the outer facacde, the visiblity lines from anywhere in the park, the fantastic scoreboard. It also has a great little Hall of Fame called Heritage Park, where they celebrate over 100 years of Cleveland baseball. The Jake, as it's still affectionately called, even with the new corporate-name-that-shall-not-be-mentioned, is fan-friendly and maintains its beauty 18 years after its opening. Even outside the stadium is bustling, with bars and restaurants to go to before or after the game.

Jacobs Field remains in my top 5 MLB stadiums to this day, and I was happy to go back and see it in 2009. There may not be much else to bring you to Cleveland, but the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Jacobs Field will always be enough reason for me.

Bob Feller statue outside the stadium

The awesome double-video board

Skyline

Staci & I 2005

One of the plaques in Heritage 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 #7- Tropicana Field, Tampa, FL

Stadium Opened: 1998
Team: Tampa Bay (Devil) Rays
1st Visit: 5/27/01
Last Visit: 5/27/01
# Games: 1
Food: N/A
Stadium: 3/10
Important Games Seen:
My 1st domed stadium


When people ask me what my favorite stadiums are, it is difficult for me to say- beauty, sentimentality, amenities, etc, all play a role and make me change my mind on a regular basis. There is no such difficulty when asked about my least favorite MLB park- it is the home of the D-Rays, Tropicana Field.

What is so bad? It's not location- based right on the Atlantic Ocean, it is in one of the most picturesque areas of Tampa. But the moment you walk in, it is like standing inside a tuna can. It is drab with no personality. Which is strange, because when Tropicana was built in the early 90s, it was used as the jewel to attract unhappy teams. The Thunderdome, as it was known (even the name was awesome!), almost had the Chicago White Sox and San Francisco Giants moving to the Sunshine State. So what happened? Tampa's stadium got surpassed by the retro-stadium trend and looked 25 years old when they finally got their team (the expansion Devil Rays in '98).

My only trip to Tampa was back in 2001. My roommate Mel and I decided to take a road trip for Memorial Day down to Tampa. I was happy to go to my 4th MLB park, until I actually got there. I look forward to going back when their new ballpark opens in the next couple years- but not before then.

Ballpark #2- Yankee Stadium, Bronx, NY

Stadium Opened: 1923
Team: New York Yankees
1st Visit: 8/11/80
Last Visit: 7/22/08
# Games: 10
Food: 5/10
Stadium: 7/10
Important Games Seen:
Tom Seaver's 300th Win (8/4/85), Last game with Papa (6/5/94)


As much as I hate the Yankees, I respect the hell out of Yankee Stadium. It was a great place to see a game, and the history oozed out of every corner. The other of my grandfather's yearly bus trips, he always made the trip around a special day- we were there for Phil Rizzuto Day, Billy Martin Day, Bobby Murcer Day. But the one he didn't plan was the biggest historical moment I've seen- Tom Seaver of the White Sox winning his 300th game on 8/4/85. Mary, Jimmy, Staci and I closed out the stadium in its last season (2008) by sitting in the vicinity of the seats Papa always got.

Staci & I- 1st Yankee Stadium trip together- 2006

Papa's old seats

View from the press box- 2008

Mary & I close out 30 years at the stadium