Out of Town Ballparks

[Senatorswin]

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

 

[Ali the Baseball Cat]

 

[English Natsie]

I'd have thought they'd have asked 'how much payment do you want, to attend?...'   

[Copecwby20]

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.

That's not necessarily true as I remember. Terrapin Taphouse has a restaurant that exits directly into the ball park on one side and the battery on the other. You can go in and out through that portal if I remember correctly.

[Copecwby20]

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 will never service the Braves ballpark for the same reason that the Braves moved to Cobb County. The heat map index of season ticket holders was affluent Caucasians that have lobbied for years to keep MARTA out of West Cobb. The common saying amongst those circles was that MARTA stood for "Moving Africans Rapidly Through Atlanta". They will never get the votes to get MARTA expanded. 

[Natsinpwc]

MARTA will never service the Braves ballpark for the same reason that the Braves moved to Cobb County. The heat map index of season ticket holders was affluent Caucasians that have lobbied for years to keep MARTA out of West Cobb. The common saying amongst those circles was that MARTA stood for "Moving Africans Rapidly Through Atlanta". They will never get the votes to get MARTA expanded.

Telling it like it is.

[JCA-CrystalCity]

MARTA will never service the Braves ballpark for the same reason that the Braves moved to Cobb County. The heat map index of season ticket holders was affluent Caucasians that have lobbied for years to keep MARTA out of West Cobb. The common saying amongst those circles was that MARTA stood for "Moving Africans Rapidly Through Atlanta". They will never get the votes to get MARTA expanded. 

I heard that name for MARTA maybe 40+ years ago. Is it that old?

[Elvir Ovcina]

MARTA will never service the Braves ballpark for the same reason that the Braves moved to Cobb County. The heat map index of season ticket holders was affluent Caucasians that have lobbied for years to keep MARTA out of West Cobb. The common saying amongst those circles was that MARTA stood for "Moving Africans Rapidly Through Atlanta". They will never get the votes to get MARTA expanded.

And there's not really space.  The I-75 right of way is completely full with traffic lanes now, and the freight lines aren't close enough to really be feasible either.

[Ali the Baseball Cat]

Bless their hearts

[JCA-CrystalCity]

I heard that name for MARTA maybe 40+ years ago. Is it that old?

The first line opened in 1979, so I probably heard what the MARTA nickname in college.

[Natsinpwc]

This would have been something.

https://www.mlb.com/news/baseball-floating-stadium-san-diego?partnerID=mlbapp-iOS_article-share

[imref]

I saw that the Orioles are FINALLY upgrading the video board and sound system at Camden Yards. They are also bringing the left wall back in to it's pre-2022 location.

[Count Walewski]

I'm seeing the Nationals play in Pittsburgh in April. Given that it is Pittsburgh in April I am intrigued by the "Pittsburgh Baseball Club" seats on the 200 level that claim to include access to a climate controlled interior. Anyone have experience with these?

[imref]

went to today's Orioles-Astros game:
- Altuve got booed, which was good
- Orioles won, which was better
- Trevor Rogers is dominating
- Got to see Craig Kimbrel pitch in person for the first time (he's on the Astros now)
- No Rutschman or Holliday in the lineup today
- The stadium was maybe 30% full, the LF upper sections are closed off
- The area around the ballpark is just dead. People go to games and get out ASAP. So much different vibe than Nats park
- About half the concession stands were closed
- The video and away scoreboards are still awful but at least you can hear the PA announcer now

[wj73]

I'm seeing the Nationals play in Pittsburgh in April. Given that it is Pittsburgh in April I am intrigued by the "Pittsburgh Baseball Club" seats on the 200 level that claim to include access to a climate controlled interior. Anyone have experience with these?

Been to Pittsburgh but not those seats. My guess is that you could pick up some seats in that Club pretty cheaply on StubHub. Given the vagaries of the weather in Pittsburgh that time of year, I’d definitely go for it.


I’ve found that April is a good time to visit out of town ballparks, especially if you’re able to pick a game where the opponent won’t be a draw (like the Nats). A lot of season ticket holders aren’t interested in a game in April, and are willing to let their tickets go for below market value rather than eat the whole loss. Last year in April, we picked up Club level seats at below face value at both Mets and Yankees. Both games were quite chilly, so it was nice to be able to step inside now and then to warm up.

[welch]

Daughter took me to Yankee Stadium last night because he union, the Communication Workers, bought a block of seats around section 209. Second level, just in from the foul pole. The Yankees have made The Stadium feel like a discoteque, with deafening music when ever a pitch is not being thrown.

I'll quote myself in a reply to JCA, in which I explained why I didn't notice that Anthony Volpe had layed a late-inning at shortstop.

We were sitting so far down the RF line that I couldn't see who came in for the last uinning or two. And Yankee Stadium overwhelms the fans with loud
music-noise that nobody can tell what's going on. They have a DJ and they are proud of him. And, they don't make public address announcements. The scoreboard was hard to read, although each Yankee relief pitcher has a special video, with loud music, when he enters. I was struck by Devin Williams, a reliever with a 5-something ERA, who was "The Airbender".  It is as if the Yanikees can't depend on a crowd to make their own noise at the right moment, or needs to pump noise in between every pitch. Worst naseball park I've ever been to. Yankee Stadium was not this way...I'm not sure when it went bad, but was not like this even the year before last.

I might take my daughter to tomorrow's game, to see the Nats, but, wow, I'm not sure I want to.

[JCA-CrystalCity]

So, Fifth Third Bank is buying Comerica. Will the Tigers's stadium become Fifth Third Park? Somehow, that sounds vaguely baseballish while being complete gibberish.

[blue911]

So, Fifth Third Bank is buying Comerica. Will the Tigers's stadium become Fifth Third Park? Somehow, that sounds vaguely baseballish while being complete gibberish.

Sounds like a French underground group

[JCA-CrystalCity]

Sounds like a French underground group

When EPA was coming up with a set of regulations prohibiting the land disposal of hazardous waste, they were supposed to regulate the stuff in 3 groupings, which became known as  the first third, the second third, and the third third. Of course, after some court case losses and some additionally-identified hazardous waste, there  were more land disposal rules that had to be put out. These became known as the fourth third, the fifth third, the sixth ... etc...

[imref]

Sounds like a French underground group

[Ali the Baseball Cat]

I walked by the Trop yesterday...the new roof is almost complete. 

[Natsinpwc]

I walked by the Trop yesterday...the new roof is almost complete.

Now just to find some fans!

[Ali the Baseball Cat]

Seriously.  Marlins and Rays could share a high school field and not fill the bleachers except when the Cubs and Yankees come to town.

Now just to find some fans!