Citi Field is huge and steep. I can more or less follow the game play from my cheap seat, and I like the mostly open main concourse. The condiments are decent but not amazing; I enjoyed a ton of sauerkraut on my vegan slice of pizza.
But it's not a park I'll go out of my way to return to.
Jesus, no wonder the Rays attendance is dismal, despite their awesome performance. What a shithole.
Unfortunately I lost a bunch of draft text for Minute Maid Park in Houston. So some quick notes:
From the outside, it's without a doubt the ugliest stadium in major league baseball. It looks like a tornado ripped 2/3 of the roof off. Who knows what it looks like when the roof closed. I've seen better looking Little League fields.
Inside, the fan experience is one of the best in baseball. A wide open concourse with great field views all over the place. Nice people, good food, and positively the best condiment stations I've seen: pickle spears, pickle slices, onions, jalapenos, and the usual stuff.
The airport "express" bus, #102, between downtown Houston and IAH, is a miserable hour and a half long milk run, but only $1.25.
Compare Busch Stadium, which has dismal offerings: just Heinz brand pumps of ketchup, mustard, relish, ranch, honey mustard, and bbq sauce. Busch also has basically zero views from the main concourse, is huge, and features Mike's of walking to get to the upper levels. It is very well served by the Metrolink light rail, right across the street.
Tomorrow to Kansas City!
I think the ignorant moralistic asshat means syphilis. And lifetime (which, no, it doesn't last. Either.)
Day two of Stadiumpalooza!
The Rangers game last night was fine, if a bit slow.
Globe Life Park is horrible: probably the second or third worst fan experience park I've been to, after US Cellular Field, home of the Chicago White Sox. Both are concrete monoliths, though at least Globe Life Park is (deceptively) attractive from the outside. Both are steep and huge - even with a front row seat in the cheap seats, I literally couldn't follow the action - I had to watch the fielders move to figure out where the ball had been hit. The railing and cables obstructed the view, the seats were small and uncomfortable, the concessions suck, and it's in Arlington, a soulless, charmless suburb convenient to nothing.
Since I could barely see the game, I walked the entire stadium, including the long, hard, tall, cold concrete ramps that are angled rather than circular, but otherwise very reminiscent of US Cellular Field. According to Wikipedia, the upper deck is one of the highest in baseball. They also note that it's one of the so-called "retro" parks; if so, it's the worst example of one I've been in.
With the good retro parks, and even some old-school parks, the main level concourse has great, close views to the field. Not so in Arlington: only the outfield concourse, conveniently located in the next zip code, looks onto the field. And they allow smoking throughout the outer edges of the concourse, so it smells like a nasty bar, even outside.
Oh, and, I'm sitting at DFW, one of my least favorite airports on the planet. Getting through the security checkpoint, with exactly four people in front of me, took a full ten minutes. Sure, not that long on balance, but c'mon: there were only four people in front of me. (And the slowness was all TSA, not the passengers.) At least the people are pleasant.
But enough complaining: I'm on an eleven day tour of ballparks in nine different cities: life is GREAT!
But a Globe Life Park, home of the Texas Rangers, is... underwhelming. Still, it's a gorgeous night to see a ballgame!
This season, that is. I'll be back sometime.
I'll drive by the lake tomorrow on my way too drop off keys with the property management company, which will keep my streak intact.
Bye, Tahoe. It's been a good season.
Narrator: Soon it was commonplace for entire teams to change cities in search of greater profits. The Minneapolis Lakers moved to Los Angeles where there are no lakes. The Oilers moved to Tennessee where there is no oil. The Jazz moved to Salt Lake City where they don't allow music. The Raiders moved from Oakland to LA back to Oakland... no one seemed to notice.
Really pleasant stadium: feels cozy, and empty.
Giants already up 2-0 after one half inning.
I'm in Pittsburgh. I just heard some brodude scumbag explaining to his British colleague that where it all went wrong in the United States was that originally only landowners could vote, but then we changed that.
Jackass.
What's more, from their conversation, I think they work in fracking.
As my brother said, why the hell did I come all the way to Pittsburgh to see a Giants game?
