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.)
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| 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.
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| 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.
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Phillips 66 Home Run Pump
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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.
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| 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.
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| 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 - ⚾⚾⚾
