Ballpark #15- Shea Stadium, New York, NY

Stadium Opened: 1964
Team: New York Mets
1st Visit: 4/24/05
Last Visit: 5/31/08
# Games: 2
Food: 5/10
Stadium: 3/10

It's hard to overstate how awful Shea Stadium was. I often wondered why, when I was a kid, my grandfather ran bus trips to the other 2 close-by MLB stadiums (Phils and Yankees), but never to the Mets' home. In 2005, I finally found out why. Shea Stadium was a non-descript concrete multi-use stadium, like many parks of the 1970's, but somehow it was worse than the others I saw in Philly and DC.

The saving grace, of course, was going to New York City. Our first trip was a spur-of-the-moment trip after a wedding in New Jersey. It can also be considered Staci's and my first baseball road trip- and the seeds of what would become a big part of our travel and relationship. But that's where the good feelings end- there was zero personality, and if you weren't lucky enough to sit in the expensive seats, you were probably going to have some of your view obstructed. We sat in the lower level and couldn't see any of left field. The scoreboard was severely outdated. The food was okay, but certainly not worth the price. I can say that the parking, while expensive, was close by the stadium, which is not always the case in the inner city ballparks.

The horror finally ended in 2009 when the Mets moved into Citi Field, a state of the art facility built right next door to Shea (more on that later). The irony was that Citi Field was built to resemble and honor the Brooklyn Dodgers' Ebbets Field. If the Dodgers had stayed in New York, there would have been no Mets, and Brooklyn would have moved to Queens, and into..Shea Stadium.

View from the 9 Train

Even from the outside..not so much

Citi Field being built beyond the Shea outfield walls

Staci & I watching the Dodgers-Mets in '08

Ballpark #4- Dunn Field, Elmira, NY

Stadium Opened: 1938
Teams Seen: Elmira Pioneers (Marlins) 1993-95
1st Visit: 7/4/95
Most Recent Visit: 7/4/95
# Games: 1
Food: N/A
Team Store: 3/10
Stadium: 7/10
Future/Rehabbing Stars Seen: None


My one and only visit to see an Elmira game was back in 1995. At the time, the Pioneers were part of the New York-Penn League. The history of Dunn Field goes back to 1938, and for better or worse, the stadium hasn't changed much since then. The walk underneath the concourse is charming, and many of the seats date back decades. So why did the NYPL pull out of Elmira in 1996? It's hard to say, other than the Pioneers were losing loads of money or not drawing fans. Which is a shame, as it boasts a bigger population than many of the current NYPL teams.

Luckily, there are still summer collegiate teams that play here. We drove up in 2010 to look through the stadium and I was happy to see that it hadn't much changed and was well-maintained by a small dedicated staff. Let's hope Dunn Field has many years left for baseball as it approaches its 75th year.

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