Belle,the love of ballparks has been a consistent theme in here, from Dodger Stadium, to Fenway, to any number of minor league parks. We share your love.
I've been to Dodger Stadium so many times it's second nature, but now that you mention it, it IS huddled in the hills.
There is something special about the ballparks we love, its hard to put a finger on it.
I still to this day get goosebumps and a momentary skipped heartbeat when I walk through the tunnel at Fenway Park, catch my first glimpse of the left field wall, see the green green grass, smell the ballpark smells of hot dogs and beer, feel the electricity and buzz in the air, and get flooded with memories of the times I have been there over the last 40plus years. ...(..i sat right over there for my first game with my Dad when Mickey mantle hit 2 Homeruns to beat the Sox, and I was over there during the 6th game of the World Series when I was 12, .....me and my grandfather sat over there and he told me stories of seeing Ruth here and Lefty Grove and Ted Williams....that was the same day that Yaz went 5 for 5 and made a great throw to the plate.....etc.......) combined with the anticipation of that days game
I still remember my very first time entering it how it took my breath away, and somehow it was something very very special that I cant really relate in words
Ballparks can be like cathedrals to me, everyone has its own feel and aura, but I dont think I have ever been anyplace else you can unexpectedly leap to your feet and find yourself high fiving, and hugging complete strangers who are just as happy as you are to do it...
I love the older parks myself, the ones that are filled with history, no matter where they are, they hold a lot in them. Fenway Park opened in 1912, (the same day the Titanic sank-so it got bumped off the fromnt pages) so it holds alot of things, I guess technically its not much, its old its in a strange neighborhood, the seats are cramped but it means alot to me.
is a video someone made of a tour of the Park and neighborhood...
I'm attached to fenway(obviously) but I understand what you mean, when I travel I'll go out of my way to go see a stadium or find myself pleasantly surprised and get aminor rush to just happen to pass by one as I did a few weeks ago to seeing Alabama Crimson Tide's Stadium in Tuscaloosa unexpectedly, or as I did a few years ago driving way out of my way to go to The Field Of Dreams in Dyersville, Iowa
1.) That no longer exist -- Comiskey Park, the Astrodome, Busch stadium (the first), Candlestick Park
2.) That are around -- Minute Maid Park, Fenway Park, Wrigley Field (the one in Chicago, of course).
My favorite: Wrigley Field (but I'll never go to a night game there.) Minute Maid tries to emulate the old-time parks, and it's pretty, though whoever thought that putting a flagpole in deep centerfield (on a hill, no less!) should be shot. The games I saw in Fenway and Candlestick were both late fall night games, so it was more about survival than baseball!
1.) That no longer exist -- Comiskey Park, the Astrodome, Busch stadium (the first), Candlestick Park
2.) That are around -- Minute Maid Park, Fenway Park, Wrigley Field (the one in Chicago, of course).
My favorite: Wrigley Field (but I'll never go to a night game there.) Minute Maid tries to emulate the old-time parks, and it's pretty, though whoever thought that putting a flagpole in deep centerfield (on a hill, no less!) should be shot. The games I saw in Fenway and Candlestick were both late fall night games, so it was more about survival than baseball!
George
When I was 10 (the summer of the Worlds Fair), my dad took my brother and I to visit some other relatives in NYC... we went to a game at Shea... I think Houston beat the Mets 10-1 that day...
Went to watch the KC Royals the year the 9th corpse was first in res at Emporia.
The year before that, I was in LA... went to one game at Dodgers' Stadium.
Spent several months in San Diego one year and went to a few Padres games (at the old Jack Murphy Stadium, I think it was called then).
Drove past Jacob's Field (the Jake) while visiting Cleveland over Labor Day weekend in 1998...
Lived in Rochester NY and attended as many RedWings games (AAA -- International League, then the top farm team of the Balt. Orioles) in the 1960s as I could, sometimes with just my younger brother and myself -- at Red Wing Stadium, which was later renamed Silver Stadium. The RedWings now play in a newer stadium somewhere on the west side of Rochester, I think.
Went to several games at Phoenix Municipal Stadium during AAA Pacific Coast League games with the Phoenix Giants (later renamed the Firebirds) between 1968 (when we first moved to Phoenix) and 1997 (the last year for AAA baseball in Phoenix).
Went to an AFSCME convention in Chicago in 1996 and went to a Monday night game at which the Cubs hosted the Dodgers at the Friendly Confines of Wrigley Stadium (it was rained out... so I went back for the daytime doubleheader on Tuesday).
In 1998, had season tickets for the inaugural season of the Arizona Diamondbacks at "The BOB" (BankOne Ballpark, now called Chase Field... because Chase Bank bought the rights)... and go to a few games each season since... including game one of the 2001 World Series.
That's my ballpark experience/history.
I think I liked Wrigley and RedWing Stadium the best... RedWing Stadium was a lot like the old stadium the Detroit Tigers played in (only smaller, holding at most, probably about 15,000 fans).
Went to an AFSCME convention in Chicago in 1996 and went to a Monday night game at which the Cubs hosted the Dodgers at the Friendly Confines of Wrigley Stadium (it was rained out... so I went back for the daytime doubleheader on Tuesday).
Remember when you could actually buy a ticket for a doubleheader? Now, to increase revenue, of course, there are none scheduled. And if they have to play a doubleheader because of a rainout, they'll play a day game, empty the park out, and play a night game.
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hiway29
Belle,the love of ballparks has been a consistent theme in here, from Dodger Stadium, to Fenway, to any number of minor league parks. We share your love.
I've been to Dodger Stadium so many times it's second nature, but now that you mention it, it IS huddled in the hills.
l
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mstar1
There is something special about the ballparks we love, its hard to put a finger on it.
I still to this day get goosebumps and a momentary skipped heartbeat when I walk through the tunnel at Fenway Park, catch my first glimpse of the left field wall, see the green green grass, smell the ballpark smells of hot dogs and beer, feel the electricity and buzz in the air, and get flooded with memories of the times I have been there over the last 40plus years. ...(..i sat right over there for my first game with my Dad when Mickey mantle hit 2 Homeruns to beat the Sox, and I was over there during the 6th game of the World Series when I was 12, .....me and my grandfather sat over there and he told me stories of seeing Ruth here and Lefty Grove and Ted Williams....that was the same day that Yaz went 5 for 5 and made a great throw to the plate.....etc.......) combined with the anticipation of that days game
I still remember my very first time entering it how it took my breath away, and somehow it was something very very special that I cant really relate in words
Ballparks can be like cathedrals to me, everyone has its own feel and aura, but I dont think I have ever been anyplace else you can unexpectedly leap to your feet and find yourself high fiving, and hugging complete strangers who are just as happy as you are to do it...
I love the older parks myself, the ones that are filled with history, no matter where they are, they hold a lot in them. Fenway Park opened in 1912, (the same day the Titanic sank-so it got bumped off the fromnt pages) so it holds alot of things, I guess technically its not much, its old its in a strange neighborhood, the seats are cramped but it means alot to me.
I'm attached to fenway(obviously) but I understand what you mean, when I travel I'll go out of my way to go see a stadium or find myself pleasantly surprised and get aminor rush to just happen to pass by one as I did a few weeks ago to seeing Alabama Crimson Tide's Stadium in Tuscaloosa unexpectedly, or as I did a few years ago driving way out of my way to go to The Field Of Dreams in Dyersville, Iowa
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GeorgeStGeorge
Ballparks I've watched baseball in
1.) That no longer exist -- Comiskey Park, the Astrodome, Busch stadium (the first), Candlestick Park
2.) That are around -- Minute Maid Park, Fenway Park, Wrigley Field (the one in Chicago, of course).
My favorite: Wrigley Field (but I'll never go to a night game there.) Minute Maid tries to emulate the old-time parks, and it's pretty, though whoever thought that putting a flagpole in deep centerfield (on a hill, no less!) should be shot. The games I saw in Fenway and Candlestick were both late fall night games, so it was more about survival than baseball!
George
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Rocky
When I was 10 (the summer of the Worlds Fair), my dad took my brother and I to visit some other relatives in NYC... we went to a game at Shea... I think Houston beat the Mets 10-1 that day...
Went to watch the KC Royals the year the 9th corpse was first in res at Emporia.
The year before that, I was in LA... went to one game at Dodgers' Stadium.
Spent several months in San Diego one year and went to a few Padres games (at the old Jack Murphy Stadium, I think it was called then).
Drove past Jacob's Field (the Jake) while visiting Cleveland over Labor Day weekend in 1998...
Lived in Rochester NY and attended as many RedWings games (AAA -- International League, then the top farm team of the Balt. Orioles) in the 1960s as I could, sometimes with just my younger brother and myself -- at Red Wing Stadium, which was later renamed Silver Stadium. The RedWings now play in a newer stadium somewhere on the west side of Rochester, I think.
Went to several games at Phoenix Municipal Stadium during AAA Pacific Coast League games with the Phoenix Giants (later renamed the Firebirds) between 1968 (when we first moved to Phoenix) and 1997 (the last year for AAA baseball in Phoenix).
Went to an AFSCME convention in Chicago in 1996 and went to a Monday night game at which the Cubs hosted the Dodgers at the Friendly Confines of Wrigley Stadium (it was rained out... so I went back for the daytime doubleheader on Tuesday).
In 1998, had season tickets for the inaugural season of the Arizona Diamondbacks at "The BOB" (BankOne Ballpark, now called Chase Field... because Chase Bank bought the rights)... and go to a few games each season since... including game one of the 2001 World Series.
That's my ballpark experience/history.
I think I liked Wrigley and RedWing Stadium the best... RedWing Stadium was a lot like the old stadium the Detroit Tigers played in (only smaller, holding at most, probably about 15,000 fans).
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GeorgeStGeorge
Remember when you could actually buy a ticket for a doubleheader? Now, to increase revenue, of course, there are none scheduled. And if they have to play a doubleheader because of a rainout, they'll play a day game, empty the park out, and play a night game.
George
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Lifted Up
Ive been through part of this before, but here are the Big League parks Ive seen games at...
The Coliseum at LA
Wrigley Field at LA
Municipal (Cleveland) stadium at Cleveland
The Big A at Anaheim (most beautiful view in the world beyond the outfield before they closed that part)
DC/RFK stadiun at washington
Memorial Staduim at Baltimore
Fenway Park (need I say where?)
The Braves stadium at Atlanta
The Met in Minneapolis (Its last year, now mall of America is there)
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