Stadium Preview #10

Stadium: Progressive Field (formerly Jacobs Field)
Date Opened: April 4, 1994
Date of Visit: June 23
Game: San Francisco Giants vs. Cleveland Indians


Jacobs Field was one of the wave of stadiums built in the early 90s (Oriole Park, Rangers Ballpark, US Cellular Field) and is just as interesting as the rest of them. It was ranked as the best ballpark in a 2008 Sports Illustrated poll, mostly due to the atmosphere and promotions. We'll be able to experience the whole atmosphere, as we'll only be a few hours away the night before and can get there early. Also, the game we're going to has a Travis Hafner mini-bobblehead as a giveaway, so that makes it even better.

The teams haven't been doing so well this year, but it will be a good place to go see a game. It's one of the few games where we're sitting in the outfield, so there should be some colorful characters to make the game interesting. This is also one of the last stadiums we're visiting, but it's after a few days rest, so we should be energized and ready to go for the last leg of the trip.

Stadium Preview #9

Stadium: PNC Park
Date Opened: April 9, 2001
Date of Visit: June 22nd
Game: Toronto Blue Jays vs. Pittsburgh Pirates

Looking at the picture to the right, it is pretty evident that PNC Park is one of the most beautiful parks in the major leagues. The park is across the 3 rivers from Pittsburgh's downtown area which creates a stunning view from the ballpark. Our seats (which are located on the first base side thanks to Grandpa Brynsvold!) will give us a great view of the river, skyline, scoreboard and field!

Although this game will be a bit of a yawner, the park will more than make up for it. Because I am a Steelers fan, I hear about all the great stadium food in Pittsburgh, so this day will be good for us to try some nice food.

The giant scoreboard in left field is one of the biggest and best in the MLB so that is a big plus. Also, there is a concourse in the outfield that you can walk on to get a great view of the downtown area without the stadium blocking your view.

All the way around, this stadium should be one of the most picturesque and enjoyable of the whole trip.

Stadium Preview #8

Stadium: Nationals Park
Date Opened: March 30, 2008
Date of Visit: June 21th
Game: Texas Rangers vs. Washington Nationals

Nationals Park is a brand-new state of the art facility, replacing RFK Stadium as the National's home park. The stadium is simply beautiful. From the 101x47 ft HD scoreboard to the cherry blossoms behind the left field bleachers, everything in this place just screams 'awesome.' I can not wait to walk into this masterpiece of a building.

When we arrive in our nation's capital, we'll be taking in our second Rangers game of the trip, which makes this visit even more fun. That is, of course, if they win. We will be sitting right next to the Rangers bullpen, so we can talk to CJ Wilson, Eddie Guardado and the gang.

Flashy Nationals Park is just one of a slew of new ballparks that have opened or are opening in the next few years. Citi Field (Mets) and New Yankee Stadium (Yankees) are set to open next year, and the unnamed Twins Ballpark is set to open in 2010. The A's and Rays both have proposed stadiums set to open in 2012 and the 'Miami' Marlins will have a new stadium in 2011.

This game will be fun not only because the stadium is great but also because it is a Rangers game. Can't wait to get to DC!

Mailing List

As we go along on our trip, we'll be updating this blog daily. But, if you want a note in your inbox reminding you of this daily, we can add you to our mailing list! Email me at fightingengineer@gmail.com and I'll add you to the list. The daily email will likely be a link to the blog and a link to our Flickr photo album for the day as well as a short message.

So send an email to fightingengineer@gmail.com if you want to be kept updated throughout the course of our trip.

Stadium Preview #7

Stadium: Fenway Park
Date Opened: April 20, 1912
Date of Visit: June 20th
Game: St. Louis Cardinals vs. Boston Red Sox

Almost 100 years after it was constructed, Fenway Park is still going strong as one of the best and most unique stadiums in all of baseball. It has seen its share of changes, from adding seats to the famed Green Monster to adding thousands of seats around the park since its opening. This stadium is the crown jewel of Boston for good reason: it has everything you would want in a classic stadium. It has history, crazy quirks, interesting seats, and a great team to play in the stadium.

Every way you turn in Fenway Park, something catches your eye. Whether it is Pesky's Pole, the Green Monster, the press box, or the triangle, this place is just an amazing facility dripping with history. We will be sitting in the new 'roof seats' in foul territory next to right field, which will be good because these seats are more comfortable than the original seats closer to the field. Those seats were definitely built for a 1912 American, not a 2008 one.

The fans are very much connected to the team, which will be a fun experience for us since the fans in Arlington do not have much to cheer about (although we are hovering around .500 this year!). Also, seeing Manny Ramirez in front of his home crowd will be electrifying. Too bad David Ortiz won't play in the game since he just got put on the DL.

This stadium visit will be the most memorable in my eyes not only because the stadium is just simply amazing, but also because the game will be a good one. St Louis is a premier team in the NL, and likewise, Boston in the AL. This interleague matchup should be one of the best played games of the trip.

Stadium Preview #6

Stadium: Yankee Stadium
Date Opened: April 18, 1923
Date of Visit: June 19th
Game: San Diego Padres @ New York Yankees

This visit is the whole point of the trip. It has been 85 years since Yankee Stadium has first opened, and in those 85 years, it has hosted famous boxing matches, papal visits, 26 World Series champion teams and countless Hall of Famers. And after this season, the Yankees will be moving across the street into their new stadium. So, since we have never been to Yankee Stadium, we decided to take a trip up here to see it in its final season.

The House that Ruth Built was opened in 1923, which was the first season the Yankees won the World Series. Since then, it has been renovated numerous times, to upgrade the seating, change the field dimensions and add capacity to make it the Yankee Stadium we know today. As one of the oldest parks in the league (ranking behind Wrigley and Fenway), it contains a lot of history. Monument Park is a section of the stadium dedicated to the history of the Yankees players and other members of the organization. 17 numbers have been retired and 26 people are honored with monuments or plaques. We will definitely stop by Monument Park on our way to our seats to learn more about the Yankee greats.

Another aspect of the stadium that will be fun is the fans. There is a reason that ESPN focuses a lot on the Yankees...they have a lot of passionate, die-hard fans. The "bleacher creatures" in the right-field bleachers are especially rowdy. After the first pitch in the top of the first inning, a fan in Section 39 starts the roll call, where they chant the name of each Yankee starter in order until the player acknowledges the fans. The fans are also well known for harassing members of the opposing teams as well as fans of the opposing teams. One of the schedules I had drawn up included a Rangers/Yankees game at Yankee Stadium, but I didn't feel like going there and supporting the opposing team. I figured if the Rangers won, the fans would give us crap because their team lost, and if the Rangers lost, the fans would give us crap because our team lost. So we went with a Padres/Yankees game and will be cheering whole-heartedly for the Yankees (with as much energy as a Yankee-hater as myself can muster up).

All in all, it will be a great experience and this is one of two stadiums I am really looking forward to visiting. (#2 is Fenway Park, which will be previewed next)

Stadium Preview #5

Stadium: Oriole Park at Camden Yards

Date Opened: April 6, 1992

Date of Visit: June 17th

Game: Houston Astros @ Baltimore Orioles

Regarded as one of the most beautiful parks in all of baseball, Camden Yards houses the Baltimiore Orioles. It is similar in style to our home ballpark (Rangers Ballpark in Arlington) which will be sure to make us happy.

An interesting quirk of this stadium is that over the 25 foot wall in right field, there is a huge warehouse that looks on to the field. It is the most reconizable part of the park and gives the stadium more of the "old time" feel that the designers were looking for. This park started the trend of placing ballparks with old-time feels in downtown areas.

Though the stadium has a nice feel, the scoreboard just seems a little bit too small for my liking. We are sitting in the upper deck though, so we will be able to see pretty much everything nicely. Also, the out of town scoreboard is good for us because the Rangers will be playing and we need to know the score!

The game may be an interesting one between two teams that no one really knows too much about. They are both playing well now, but are they for real or fluking?

Overall, this stadium is reviewed as one of the best in the MLB and i can't disagree. It seems like a great place to watch a baseball game and we should enjoy ourselves a lot. Let's hope the food is good!