14 down, 16 to go. (Progressive Field-Cleveland)

Well hello there!

The last park I went to see was Cleveland. It was a pretty cool park, the fans were into it, the scoreboard was nice. The food was just ok. They have a cool Indians hall of fame where you definitely get a sense of the long and distinguished Indians history. If I sound a little ho-hum, it's because I strongly dislike Ohio. That comes from my ex being from Ohio, and me graduating from the University of Miami and being in the marching band and being in the stands in the 2003 Fiesta Bowl and watching a national championship being stolen from us.

But I digress...

Progressive Field was pretty nice.

(I still have Cincinnati to go, so I have to venture into Ohio one more time...)

This may be the last one of the year, I'm playing with the idea of making one more trip before the season ends, we'll see. If it is, I'll still try to post some fun things here in the winter.

Adios for now!

13 down, 17 to go. (PNC Park-Pittsburgh)

I had a great time in Pittsburgh and at PNC Park. It's a beautiful park, one of my favorites so far. It's right next to the Roberto Clemente bridge and there's a statue of its namesake right outside the stadium. Upon arriving at the stadium I promptly ordered a pulled pork and pierogi stacker, as is shown in loving detail above. Sounds like a weird combo, but it was one of the best sandwiches I've ever had.

The crowd was lively, especially with the Pirates in contention this year. Definitely swing by if you're in town.

12 down, 18 to go. (Rogers Centre-Toronto)

Why hello! Welcome to the latest installment of my northern ballpark tour, this time north of the border at Rogers Centre. I saw a pretty spicy game here, there were ejections, suspensions, things being thrown from the stands, lots of drama in a Blue Jays vs. Phillies game. It was also Doc Halladay's first return to Toronto and he got a couple of nice ovations in a Phillies win.

The ballpark was unexpectedly nice, a lot better than it looks on TV. The CN tower is right there, and the hotel in the outfield is a unique feature. The ballpark food is pretty standard but good nonetheless. There are ton of things to do and places to eat in the neighborhood, overall it was a pretty nice experience.

See you next time!

11 down, 19 to go. (Comerica Park-Detroit)

Welcome to Comerica Park in Detroit! This was a really nice park. It matches the personality of the city it's in. Detroit isn't fancy, just proud and hard-working. This park doesn't have the huge video boards or detailed scoreboards that other parks do, but it makes up for it in history and feel. There are cool statues of all of the Tigers hall of famers in the outfield, and as you would expect from the Motor City, a prominent Chevrolet fountain in center.

The food was also pretty good. :) I really enjoyed my time in this park and Detroit. If you're in town, definitely see a game and swing by Greektown after the game. Happy baseballing!

10 down, 20 to go. (Kauffman Stadium-Kansas City)

Welcome to Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City. I really enjoyed my visit here. Before the game I went to the Royals Hall of Fame at the stadium, which was a really cool (but admittedly short) experience. They had a nice tribute to Paul Splittorff and Memorial Day festivities at the park. The Royals Hall of Fame blended in nicely with my previous day's visit to the Negro Leagues Museum in KC, which I definitely recommend to anyone in town.

So the city, its museums, and its stadiums are all recommended. I can't speak for the stadium food, I didn't have any (a shocker, I know). However that turned out to be a good decision from the saving money standpoint considering I got a speeding ticket in Kansas. So just as a tip, any baseball lovers, keep the speedometer on the dial while in Kansas.

Happy traveling.

9 down, 21 to go. (Coors Field-Denver)

Welcome to Coors Field in Denver. Everyone knows it as being a launching pad for baseballs, but ever since the humidor has come onto the scene it hasn't been, so much. The park is in a cool part of town, Blake Street has tons to do as far as pre or post game activity. The sight lines in the park are good, and it even has that cheesy purple row of seats a mile high.

What food I did try wasn't that great, maybe the Mexican fare was better but I'm not much for spicy food. The crowd was knowledgeable and really into the game. The brick facade really gives a homey ambiance to the place. Definitely a recommended place to visit when you're in Denver. I didn't see any Denver omelets on the menu, maybe another time.

Adios for now!

Holman Stadium, a.k.a. Dodgertown. (Vero Beach)

Hello all-

On my way back from Space Coast Stadium I stopped off in Vero Beach and went to Holman Stadium, the old Dodgertown. It was definitely an awesome experience, I'll just let the pictures tell the story, since there's definitely no longer any food being served here. I wish I could have made it to a game, it seems like an awesome place to see a game.

Space Coast Stadium. (Viera)

Hello all!

After a long, hard 5 months or so without baseball I started counting down the days until camp started, and I had a little internal celebration when pitchers and catchers reported, even though it's glorified pitch and catch, hey, it means baseball is coming again. So, you can imagine that I was pretty excited when Spring Training started. I've been to Roger Dean Stadium more times than I can count, (I wrote up one trip here) so I wanted to branch out. So, I went to a Marlins vs. Nationals game at Space Coast Stadium in Viera, FL. (As an aside on that link, I can't decide if "fear the sea cow" is the best or worst team slogan I've ever heard. I'm leaning towards worst.)

If you've never heard of Viera, FL, don't worry, no one else has either. It's a small planned community just north of Melbourne and south of Cape Canaveral. It was about a 2 hour drive for me, which is part of the reason that the Cactus League in Arizona is flourishing and the Grapefruit League is withering. The Nationals may move out of here soon, because of drive time due to the fact that this is one of the few Spring Training sites still going here on the east coast of Florida. So, all the better to catch it before it's gone.

The stadium is easy to get to, looks really nice, and the experience is everything you could ask for from Spring Training, from the ushers, to the seats, to the people. (The food is your average stuff, I tried the hot dog when I probably should have gone for the bacon cheeseburger.)

I had quite a nice moment during the anthem, this girl who couldn't have been any older than like 8 or 9 went up and totally belted it out. I stood there thinking, as you could feel the electricity build...yeah, this is what it's all about. This is why I love baseball, because there's always another chance. Had a bad year last year? That's ok, in the Spring you start 0-0, and you get another chance. I thought to myself, this is what's good in the world, right here, and I think I wasn't the only one, judging by the thunderous applause that erupted at the end of the song.

"If you woke up breathing, Congratulations! You have another chance."
— Andrea Boydston