Out of Town Ballparks

[Natsinpwc]

thansk for sharing natsinpwc. I've flown by that stadium a number of times but have never had the chance to attend a game there. How was Seattle overall?

Seattle was beautiful this time of year. Sunny and temperature was low 80s daytime. Cool in the mornings. You can tell the locals early in the day as they already wearing shorts and sleeveless shirts.

We went Pike Place market in January when we went. I think that’s a place you go once and never again. Also saw Snoqualmie Falls at that time. This time we took the ferry to Bainbridge Island and walked around there. Nice place. Son lives about a third of a mile from the Space Needle. We didn’t go up in that as his old apartment had a similar view from the top floor. Probably worthwhile if visiting. Walked down to the Sculpture Park one day which is near the waterfront. Nice walk down and hellish walk back. Streep hill.

It’s a nice town. Lots of homeless folks in the city which is sad. But that seems true of every big city now.

[English Natsie]

Streep hill.

Named after Meryl?...     

[Natsinpwc]

Named after Meryl?...     

You got me. Fat fingers.

[Senatorswin]

Going to the Braves games this weekend. That boys and girls is how you build 81 events a year. Man that's a happening place. Tons of bars, restaurants and all kinds of things going on around the stadium. The stadium itself is nice. There's a huge scoreboard in center and a smaller one in left. There's an even smaller one that tells you what pitch it was, what kind it was and if it's hit the exit velocity. There's a pitch count on the smaller scoreboard. Nothing happens in the stadium that's not on one of the scoreboards. The only thing that's not as good as Nats Park is it's only open in a section of left field. The rest of the stadium if you walk around the stadium you can't see the game because it's not open. They have a version of the Red Loft in right field. Overall very impressive.

[JCA-CrystalCity]

The Battery is outside the gates, right? You can't drift between inside the park and the Battery bars and restaurants?

I wonder if a fully developed Navy yard will be competitive.

[Elvir Ovcina]

The Battery is outside the gates, right? You can't drift between inside the park and the Battery bars and restaurants?

I wonder if a fully developed Navy yard will be competitive.

That whole area has the advantage of isolation.  You're well up 75 from downtown but the traffic sucks both there and on the bypass so you need to go early, and once you're there you're there.  And yeah, there are some local big businesses there (RaceTrac's HQ, stuff like that).  Navy Yard has most of that but really isn't really a comp because of Metro. 

[Senatorswin]

The Red Sox, Cubs, Nats and others have a nice game day experience but I can't imagine anything being close to the Braves Battery. I got to the game 3.5 hours before the game Saturday and it was an all-out party in the Battery. People walk around with beers in their hands. They have some stands where you can just walk up and purchase a beer or mixed drink and walk around. After the game Friday night was crazy too as people were party on dude. There are stores you can buy Brave gear, ice cream stores, tons of restaurants and bars. There's an area where a band plays and a large area where kids can play. No, you can't walk between the battery and the stadium. The stadium connects to the Battery but once you're in the stadium you're in.


- They have the southern hospitality thing going on so everybody is super nice.

- The Nats faithful definitely don't represent. Friday I saw 1 guy with a Soto Jersey. Saturday I saw 1 Strasburg jersey and 1 Nats T-shirt besides me both nights.

- The traffic around Atlanta has to be the worse in the country. The battery is away from downtown but it's still terrible. The parking is garages so harder to get out. I stayed at the Renaissance  Hotel which is across the street from the stadium. Once you leave the hotel you just have to walk across a walk bridge and you're at the stadium. If you go definitely stay within walking distance of the stadium.

- The Braves do a great job of entertaining. It was Braves alumni weekend. Before the Friday game they had a parade with former Braves then they announced them on the field with fireworks and such. Before every game they put a flag in center field and they get three guys to chip a golf ball from foul territory along the right field line. The closest to the flag gets a prize. Before Saturday's game they put barriers around mid point in the outfield. Then they had 6 former Braves do a home run contest using what looked like softballs. They had 2 teams with three guys on each team. Team Uggla won. It was a lot of fun.

This was the 17th MLB park I've been to a by far the most impressive.

[JCA-CrystalCity]

I take it MARTA doesn't serve the Battery. Any talk of extending MARTA? It's seem like it may help with congestion as the area expands.

I know at one time there may have been a desire to keep "them" away from the folks who moved out there when designing the system, but I'd take a smooth ride on public transit to / from over dealing with traffic both for work and to go to a game.

[Senatorswin]

I take it MARTA doesn't serve the Battery. Any talk of extending MARTA? It's seem like it may help with congestion as the area expands.

I know at one time there may have been a desire to keep "them" away from the folks who moved out there when designing the system, but I'd take a smooth ride on public transit to / from over dealing with traffic both for work and to go to a game.

I didn't see any public transportation. Even leaving the Atlanta area at 11:00 PM after the game Saturday night there was a huge backup on the highway.

One more thing. On Friday afternoon I was listening to Atlanta talk radio. They had a guest on their that was supposed to be their Atlanta baseball expert. They were talking about the upcoming series against the Nats. The "expert" said "I think their top prospect James Wood might of been called up since the last time we saw the Nats". I was like ya think?

[JCA-CrystalCity]

I didn't see any public transportation. Even leaving the Atlanta area at 11:00 PM after the game Saturday night there was a huge backup on the highway.

One more thing. On Friday afternoon I was listening to Atlanta talk radio. They had a guest on their that was supposed to be their Atlanta baseball expert. They were talking about the upcoming series against the Nats. The "expert" said "I think their top prospect James Wood might of been called up since the last time we saw the Nats". I was like ya think?

I hope the "I think" was about whether he was called up since they last played or before they played and not whether he has been called up.

[Senatorswin]

I hope the "I think" was about whether he was called up since they last played or before they played and not whether he has been called up.

It was whether he got called up. The expert said he can't keep up with all these prospects.

[GataNats]

I take it MARTA doesn't serve the Battery. Any talk of extending MARTA? It's seem like it may help with congestion as the area expands.

I know at one time there may have been a desire to keep "them" away from the folks who moved out there when designing the system, but I'd take a smooth ride on public transit to / from over dealing with traffic both for work and to go to a game.

MARTA is the worst public transfer system bar none

[imref]

MARTA is the worst public transfer system bar none

have you ridden Bart?

[GataNats]

have you ridden Bart?

Yes.  Not even close

[Elvir Ovcina]

have you ridden Bart?

As a veteran of both, MARTA is way more useless.  BART smells like crap and weed, and it's the only system on which I've ever seen someone pinch a log on a moving train, but the trains do move and they go useful places.

[imref]

My son rode on Philly's system yesterday and said it is the worst he's ever seen. Very limited coverage and very old rail cars.

[Ali the Baseball Cat]

Sounds like flying Delta

BART smells like crap and weed, and it's the only system on which I've ever seen someone pinch a log on a moving train

[IanRubbish]

have you ridden Bart?

BART doesn't go directly to Oracle, but yes, it is awful.

Caltrain's last stop is right near the ballpark, so far more people take that coming up from the South Bay and it's not bad.  All new electric cars have gone in and the crowd has never been like what you get on BART.

[IanRubbish]

My son rode on Philly's system yesterday and said it is the worst he's ever seen. Very limited coverage and very old rail cars.

I took it once and felt safer taking the Green Line through Anacostia.

[welch]

We went to the Nats-Mets game last night, the 10-1 loss. CitiField is a fine ballpark, with the usual food options --  plus some special food shops, if you can find them.

However, Mets ownership has turned it into the worst ballpark I've ever seen. First, and fundamental, there are almost no public address announcements. None. We sat near the rail and a little beyond third, a perfect place to see the SS and 3B play. Tena is small, so I wondered if my eyes had gone bad when I saw a thicker body playing third. When the Nats came to bat, I saw that it was, indeed, Vargas playing third and that Tena had moved to second. There had been no announcement.

When Davey went to the mound to talk with Parker, the lights went dark for the strobe stuff, same as the Nats do after a Nats home run. I could not see the mound. No idea what had happened until the lights came on and a right-hander was warming up. During the strobe stuff, the stadium sound system pumped mind-blasting music-noise. But no mention of a pitching change.

Without a PA announcer, CitiField is something like 19th Century baseball -- or even back to Elysian Fields -- played with a 200-piece brass band blaring "76-Trombones" at all times except when a pitch is thrown.

Has Nats Park gone that way with the new strobe stuff?
 

[imref]

Nats park does the strobe effect for home runs, wins, and when Finnegan takes the mound for a save.

[machpost]

I finally made it to Wrigley Field on Saturday to see the Nats beat the Cubs. What a fantastic ballpark and overall atmosphere in that neighborhood. Had an Old Style at the Cubby Bear across the street before the game. Got a pair of tickets for half of face value on SeatGeek in row 7 of section 214 which is just under the overhang behind the 3rd base dugout. There were no pillars blocking my view but the seat across the aisle from mine was directly behind one. And the seat width and legroom were pretty much exactly what you get in your average seat at Nats Park, should anyone be worried that they were still designed to fit circa-1914 Americans. Even the seats themselves appeared to be the same model that they use here.

I was expecting the ballpark to feel older than it did. Everything is so clean and freshly painted that it almost looks like a brand new replica of a hundred year old park. The near constant organ music before the game and between innings is a really welcome change from the crap that they blast you with at most ballparks these days. My section was well served by beer and hot dog vendors so I only had to get up to use the restroom. Beers were a few dollars less than they are at Nats Park, which was a welcome surprise. Everything in Chicago seemed like it was a little less expensive than in DC. The men's room offered a choice of modern urinals or stainless steel troughs, for the sake of nostalgia I suppose. They were surprisingly clean.

Our hotel was directly across the street from the Bally's Casino downtown. I would've gotten there a day earlier had I known that I might run into CJ at the roulette table.

[imref]

About two years ago I attended a corporate event at Wrigley and got to take swings in the visiting team batting cage and participate in a park tour. You are right that the inside of the stadium looks new. Glad you got to see a game (and a Nats win!)

[Senatorswin]

Such a pleasant time to go to Wrigley. You're right about the neighborhood. Really nice atmosphere. I haven't been there in about 10 years but when I went in Wrigley if felt like I had just stepped into 1920. Whole different experience when you go to the south side of Chicago to see the White Sox, not that anybody does anymore.

[imref]

Such a pleasant time to go to Wrigley. You're right about the neighborhood. Really nice atmosphere. I haven't been there in about 10 years but when I went in Wrigley if felt like I had just stepped into 1920. Whole different experience when you go to the south side of Chicago to see the White Sox, not that anybody does anymore.

i looked into going to a White Sox game on my last trip to Chicago. I called the box office and asked "what time does the game start?", the rep replied "what time can you be here?"

 

I'll be here all night, try the veal