Monday Monday 4.15.2009 Part I

Hi Everyone

And so it begins. . .

Major League Baseball started last week, so I devote this entire email to my Week 1 Experiences. There are 30 teams in Major League Baseball, and Maggie and I have vowed to witness a game at each team’s home stadium. This goal has given us direction and reason to visit all the major cities in the United States. In week 1 of the seven month and162 regular game season, I visited three major league parks to witness four regular season games.

Although I don’t pledge allegiance to any one team, I always find it easiest to follow the New York Yankees as they usually get the most press from the media, my colleagues, my friends, and my family. When I heard that a group of guys were considering an afternoon trip to Camden Yard to witness the Baltimore Orioles home opener against the Yankees, I jumped at my first opportunity to watch some good baseball. In 2008, the Yankees missed the playoffs for the first time in 14 years, so with the acquisition of some big name and high dollar talent most Yankee fans expected them to bust through the saloon doors with guns blazing this year. Unfortunately, my eagerness to see the new Yankee Ace, CC Sabathia, pitch in game one of the three game series on opening day made for one big disappointment. Lucky for Sabathia, he has the reputation and somehow validated excuse of being a slow starter. When you get a new job paying you more than any former AIG employee ever dreamed of, you make sure you have your shit together for your first day on the job. Sabathia gave Baltimore three runs in the third inning and three more in the fifth before he was removed from the game. The Yankees scored six runs that day and lost 6-10.

On Wednesday, I went back to Camden Yard for game 2 between the Yankees and the O’s. Chien-Ming Wang spent a lot of 2008 on the injured lists. As the number one pitcher for the Yankees, his injuries were believed to be a contributing factor in missing the playoffs. After watching Wang let in seven runs in less than four innings, I’ll question that line of reasoning too. So I saw two big Yankee defeats in the first week of the regular season, but it did give me a chance to park my butt in one of baseball’s great stadiums. Oriole Park at Camden Yards is what baseball should look like: great seats for under $30, great concessions inside, and cheap vendors outside that appeal to your always thinning wallet. Throw a winning team in here and you might just find baseball heaven.

Following Wednesday’s game, I drove back to Annapolis and spent a couple of hours in my hotel room before driving 1 hour and 20 minutes to Dulles International Airport where I hopped an early morning flight to San Francisco. Maggie and I made it to San Francisco for the final game in the Giants’ series against the Milwaukee Brewers. I hoped to see Randy Johnson pitch, but unfortunately he is the number two guy for the Giants and we were watching game three of the season. I won’t say too much about the game as the Giants led the entire time, but the stadium itself was a think of beauty. Maggie and I walked the San Francisco coastline passing Pier after Pier after Pier on our way to AT&T Park, so the park is as close to the water as both Cincinnati and Pittsburgh. I’m not sure what it is about water, but whenever you put a building near H2O; it seems to improve the experience and beauty. San Francisco is no exception, but the water is only the beginning. The stadium is adorned by red brick, which is nice because it certainly isn’t adorned with championship jerseys or banners. Again, throw a winning team in the mix and we’ve got ourselves baseball heaven. Maggie and I took note of the generous sampling of food selections ranging from Churros to Ghirardelli Hot Chocolate to Garlic Fries and of course Hot Dogs. I haven’t been this pleased with stadium grub since I went to Petco Park and found dollar dogs and dollar sodas.

My four game mini baseball tour came to an ironic end when I witnessed the best and most evenly matched ballgame in a place where baseball should never exist. Across the bay from San Francisco on the east side sits another small city: Oakland. The Oakland Athletics share a stadium with Oakland’s other famous sports team: the Oakland Raiders. The arrangement although cheaper for the city, does not lend itself well to the avid baseball follower. Maggie and I enjoyed the game, but were appalled by the team’s choice to not sell two of baseballs most sacred items: scorecards and hot dogs. Apparently scorecards didn’t sell that well last year, so management decided to forego them in 2009. They extended this practice to their stadium postcards – something Maggie and I collect from every park we visit. As bad as this seems, I find it hard to believe that the A’s used the same reasoning to justify not selling hot dogs.

Here’s the Tale of the Tape:

Best Concessions: San Francisco for their Garlic Fries, Hot Chocolate, and actually having hot dogs
Most Avid Fans: Oakland for making me scared to be wearing anything but Green and Yellow
Best Activities Outside the Stadium: Baltimore for their two sodas and two hot dogs for $5 deal
Best Game: Oakland for making it close.
Best Stadium: San Francisco for its beauty and Baltimore for its ambiance

Ryan’s Recommendation
If you’re going to visit just one of these stadiums in your life, I recommend Oakland – just kidding. Either stadium in Baltimore or San Francisco make for an excellent choice, but I lean toward Baltimore because the cheap outfield seats compare to the experience of sitting behind home plate. The O’s label them bleachers, but the chairs are as good as any other in the stadium and you have terrific concessions in relatively close proximity. If you want to go out to celebrate after the game, Camden Yard is only a short walk to the Inner Harbor which is the Main Strip in Baltimore (made beautiful by its location on the water). If you make a weekend trip out of stadium hopping like Maggie and I do, you might get a chance at seeing the concrete structure down the street in Washington DC called Nationals Park. Although the team sucks, I enjoy how spacious the builders made the stadium. As a tourist, you’ll pay a premium for food in our nation’s capital, but most of the attractions are free (monuments and Smithsonian museums). I say visit Oriole Park when a good team is in town and you want to see a particular player strut his stuff.

Have A Good Day


Ryan