MINUTE MAID PARK (Houston, visited 4/20/2017)

THE BALLPARK -  In 2000, Minute Maid Park replaced the famous but cavernous Houston Astrodome - the first-ever air-conditioned domed stadium, which was dubbed the 8th Wonder of the World. (Side Note: While the Astrodome was long gone when we got to Houston in 2017, we did celebrate it with a stop for some brews at the 8th Wonder Brewery.)

8th Wonder Brewery

I was pleasantly surprised to find Minute Maid Park (originally known as Enron Field) to be a favorite venue of mine. This park has personality. Its most prominent feature is a retractable roof, which thankfully was closed because of heat and humidity on the day of our visit. The ballpark fits snuggly into downtown Houston, and its main entrance incorporates the restored lobby of Houston's historic Union Station. In a nod to the city's history as a railroad hub, a working locomotive and coal tender run on 800 feet of track above left field as a home run feature. Because of the building site's shape, there's virtually no space for seating beyond left field. Instead, a wall of windows beyond left field gives the park a bright, open feeling - even with the roof closed. 

Retractable roof closed over Minute Maid Park

The place is a bit of a bandbox. The left field wall is only 315 feet from home plate. The Phillips 66 Home Run Pump beyond the center field wall keeps track of the resulting dingers. At the start of our game, the total stood at 1,590. Fun Fact: Scott Rolen of the Philadelphia Phillies hit the very first home run at Minute Maid Park on April 7, 2000. And in the same game, the Phillies' Randy Wolf notched the first win for a pitcher at Minute Maid Park.

Phillips 66 Home Run Pump

If anything at Minute Maid Park is worthy of criticism, it's the mascot. Orbit is a lame Phillie Phanatic knock-off ... right down to his green fuzzy fur, bulbous body-shape, and missing pants. What Orbit can't steal, however, is the Phanatic's outsized persona and knack for making mischief. Orbit is no threat to the Phanatic's well-recognized status as Best Mascot in Baseball.

Orbit underwhelms as the Astros mascot

The Game - We saw the Houston Astros top the L.A. Angles in a 2-1 squeaker. The home team jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first inning thanks to a solo home run by Carlos Beltran. Mike Trout smacked a ninth inning homer that pulled the the Angels within one run, and two more singles followed to put the tying and winning runs on base. But Houston's Chris Devenski struck out the next two batters to kill the rally and save the game for the Astros.

Some Astros History

The Astros would go on to make some baseball history in 2017, not all of it good. They had a fantastic 2017 season (101 wins, 61 losses) and ultimately won the World Series that year - beating the other team from Los Angeles, 4 games to 3. Little did most people know at the time, the Astros had more than the usual home field advantage in 2017. An investigation by Major League Baseball in 2019 found that the Astros illegally used video equipment at Minute Maid Park to steal the opposing team's signs and relay them to Astros hitters. Houston, we have a problem. But we can't hold that against this awesome ballpark.

Overall Score - ⚾⚾⚾ 

PROGRESSIVE FIELD (Cleveland, visited 7/30/2016)

The Ballpark - Progressive Field (originally named Jacobs Field) opened in 1994. It replaced Cleveland Municipal Stadium, which had been home to both the Cleveland Indians and the NFL's Cleveland Browns. "The Jake" - as it became known - was an early example of a trend away from huge multi-purpose stadiums and toward more intimate baseball-only ballparks. It was designed by the folks at HOK Sport (now known as Populous), the same architects who designed Camden Yards in Baltimore.

Progressive Field

The Jake seats a little over 35,000 fans. One of its most distinctive features is its tall, vertical light standards, which are meant to call to mind the smokestacks of Cleveland's industry. The ballpark is situated to give you a view of the city's skyline. Like other ballparks by HOK, the Jake features outfield walls of varying heights, irregular outfield dimensions, and bullpens that allow fans a close look at relievers as they warm up. 

Left Field Wall - "The Little Green Monster" 

If Progressive Field had been the first of the newer retro-style ballparks I visited, I would have been wowed for sure. It's a vast improvement over the multi-purpose concrete-donut stadiums of my youth. But the things that made it special in 1994 are commonplace now. By 2016 when I got there, Progressive Field had less going for it than newer parks that came along in the 2000's. 

Bullpen View

The Game - We watched the Cleveland Indians, managed by former Phillies skipper Terry Francona, make easy work of the Oakland A's, 6-3. The Goodyear Blimp made an appearance, hovering above for a couple early innings.

Goodyear Blimp above Progressive Field

But the best part of the evening was what happened before the game. We arrived to find out that former Phillies first baseman Jim Thome was being honored as a new member of the Cleveland Indians' Hall of Fame. He walked onto the field to a standing ovation and gave a great acceptance speech. Then his 13 year-old daughter, Lila stepped up to the mic and belted out the national anthem like a boss! The place went wild.

Jim Thome Statue

It's an understatement to say that Jim Thome was a special player. His 612 career home runs are the 8th most in history. He was a five-time All Star, and he would go on to be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility (2018). On top of all that, he's been a class act on and off the field. It was an electric experience to witness the connection he had with the fans of the Tribe.
  

Overall Score - ⚾⚾

YANKEE STADIUM (New York, visited 7/20/2021)

The Ballpark - While this was my first time going to the "new" Yankee Stadium for a baseball game, it wasn't my first time inside this venue. I was there in 2016 with my son, Wes to see Pitt play Northwestern in the Pinstripe Bowl. Pitt lost (boooo!), but I vowed to get back for a Yankees game.

Wes at Yankee Stadium - 2016 Pinstripe Bowl

The "new" Yankee Stadium first opened in 2009, replacing "the House that Ruth Built." The original stadium, a famous cathedral of baseball, fell victim to the economics of the game. Not enough luxury seating and amenities, apparently. The site of the original Yankee Stadium (which I visited in 2004) is now a public park across the street from the newer ballpark.

The Great Hall

The current Yankee Stadium does two things particularly well. First, it does a great job celebrating the history of a franchise that's won 27 World Series championships. (I'm not the least bit jealous... cough, cough.) Dorry and I arrived early enough to visit Monument Park just beyond the center field wall. (Warning: It closes 45 minutes before game time.) There, plaques and monuments celebrate all the Yankee greats -- Ruth, Gehrig, Mantle, Maris, DiMaggio, and more. The largest plaque by far, though, is for deceased former owner George Steinbrenner. Draw your own conclusions from that tidbit.  

Monument Park

There's also a great little Yankees Museum off the second level concourse, where you can see World Series trophies, World Series rings, displays for Hall of Fame players, Thurmond Munson's locker, and a wall displaying balls signed by numerous past and present Yankees of note. There's even a guy in a suit (some would call him a docent -- Dorry called him "the Baseball Nerd") whose job was to walk around and talk Yankees history with anyone who wanted to listen.

Yankees Museum

The second thing this ballpark does well is preserving the feel of the original Yankee Stadium. The exterior mimics the design of the original ballpark from 1923, and the field's dimensions did not change noticeably from the original ballpark. There's still lots of foul ground behind home plate. The new stadium also keeps the iconic frieze that rings the top of the grandstands -- resembling a white picket fence. 

Yankee Stadium

Despite the tributes to a great franchise's history, Yankee Stadium wasn't one of my favorite ballparks. Like many things in NYC, it's YUGE, with the second largest seating capacity of all MLB parks (over 47,000).  All that seating and foul territory left me feeling a bit distant from the action. Together, the seating and massive scoreboard circle the field in a way that gives the place a cave-like feeling. And the concourses seem closed off from the action, almost like hallways. The food was okay but not memorable. Prices of everything, from parking to tickets to concessions, were what you would expect in NYC (i.e., expensive).

Strangely, in one of the world's greatest centers for performing arts, the Yankees played recordings of the Star Spangled Banner, God Bless America, and Take Me Out to the Ballgame. I wasn't expecting Lin-Manuel Miranda to rap the national anthem... but canned music in the land of Broadway?

The crowd was vocal and really into the game. More than 38,000 fans turned out on a Tuesday night. They gave a nice ovation to former Yankee Didi Gregorius when he came to the plate for the Phillies. They had a lot of hate, though, for Bryce Harper. (What did he ever do to them?) The fans around us were good about the fact that we were cheering for the opposition, and we struck up a nice conversation with a family of Yankees fans seated behind us.

The Game - We saw the Phillies fall to the Yankees 6-4. Aaron Nola started for the Phils and struggled through 5 innings, allowing four of the Yanks' six runs. The Phillies loaded the bases in the 7th inning but couldn't get anything out of it. All told, the Phils stranded 11 baserunners. Ouch. Andrew McCutchen did hit an impressive home run against Yankees flame-thrower Aroldis Chapman in the 9th inning, but it was too little, too late.

Dorry keeping score

There was some notable history made in the game: Rhys Hoskins homered in the 2nd and scored in the 4th to become the first Phillies player to reach 300 runs, walks and RBIs in his first 500 games. Only 7 other players have done this in major league history: Babe Ruth, Ted Williams, Charlie Keller, Ralph Kiner, Eddie Matthews, Frank Thomas and Aaron Judge. That's some impressive company.

Overall Score --  ⚾⚾