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Shea and Dodger Stadiums
Reading comments on the previous blog sure made me wish I'd been born just a little bit earlier. I've read books about Ebbets Field and seen plenty of pictures of Ebbets Field and the Polo Grounds, but never had the opportunity to be there. By the time I visited Brooklyn as an adult, there were apartment buildings on the Ebbets Field site.
But there are two other major league stadiums that I've enjoyed. In 1991 I took my son Erik to Shea Stadium. He had officially become a New York Mets fan in 1986 at the age of eight, when the exciting Mets stole the World Series from the Boston Red Sox. Or, maybe the Red Sox gave that one away.
Nevertheless, a friend worked in the front office for the Mets that season and he offered some complimentary tickets. I was also lucky enough to be issued a media pass so that I could be on the field prior to the game. I had an opportunity to take some great souvenir photos while on the field, and briefly chatted with Mets' star second baseman Gregg Jefferies.
We were given excellent seats on the first base side and enjoyed the Mets victory that day. Erik broke into his piggy bank and bought some Mets memorabilia. Shea was a fun place to watch a game, especially when a Met homers and the Big Apple rises out of the Mets top hat in center field.
Shea Stadium will see its last major league game this season. The Mets will move into new Citi Field for the 2009 season. Chalk this stadium up as another victim of baseball's big business.
As much as I loved Jarry Park during the Expos' early years, my all-time favorite stadium would, of course, be Dodger Stadium. I have visited Los Angeles twice: 1998 and 2000. Each time I took in two games at Dodger Stadium, and with Foxy Gagnon in attendance, my team has four wins and no losses.
Joe Torre, take note! If a big game comes along this season, one that you need to win, give me a call, send me your private plane, and I'm there! Hopefully in my lifetime I will return to this site. Watching a game at Dodger Stadium is the closest I'll ever get to heaven. The palm trees over the outfield wall and the hills behind them are a view that no other big league stadium offers.
And then there's the Dodger Dogs, the finest hot dog baseball offers. And the Krispy Kreme doughnut stand. And the LA Dodgers souvenirs. I bought so many souvenirs that I had to ship three boxes home to Plattsburgh before we left California.
I'm ready for the 2008 baseball season. I think it'll be a good one for my Dodgers. Every baseball fan in New York should make an effort to get to one final game at Shea and at Yankee Stadium, as baseball history marches on.
Comments
I've been to some great ballparks over the years including Shea, Yankee and Dodger Stadiums. I must say though, as a Phillies fan, I was never quite comfortable at Shea and although I felt OK inside Yankee Stadium, it's when I left to get my car that I was always uncomfortable. I think my two favorite ball parks were old Connie Mack Stadium and Fenway Park. Connie Mack had that big centerfield scoreboard with the big clock on top, and of course Fenway has the legendary Green Monster. Just Awesome!! In Philly the ball park hot dog is a Phillies Phrank, corny name, but a great hot dog. Now Philadelphia has a great new ball park that is like the old time ball parks. Citizen Bank Park (I hate these corporate names for ball parks) is beautiful and reminds me of old Connie Mack Stadium.
I'm not just a baseball fan, rather I'm a fan of baseball. I don't care who's playing, I just love to go to the ball park and see a great defensive play, a towering home run, or a close play at the plate. It's funny, you mentioned Krispy Kremes; get this for ball park fare. I was in Granite City, IL last year which is just outside of St. Louis. Unfortunately for me the Cards were on the road, but there was an Independent League Team in the Frontier League playing nearby called the Gateway Grizzlies. They say they were AA level, but you'd never know that by the pitching. But it was a beautiful brand new ball park and their food speciality was the "Grizzly Burger"; a hamburger between two Krispy Kreme donuts insead of a roll. Whew, heart attack City! I could literally feel my arteries clogging with every bite. But it sure was good!
Living here in Tucson is almost like being in baseball heaven. We have Cactus League Spring Training with the Diamondbacks, Rockies and White Sox home fields here in Tucson. I love Spring Training as you can't get any closer to the players than you can at Spring Training games. It's great! Best Spring Training game to go to is the White Sox vs. the Cubs. It's like little Chicago here when those two teams play each other. And Foxy, next year the Dodgers will be in Phoenix. I can bet that DBack/Dodger or Rockie /Dodger games will be a tough tickets to get. Once the season starts we have the Sidewinders, which is the DBacks AAA affililate in the Pacific Coast League. Matter of fact we have tickets to their home opener on Thursday night against the Colorado Sky Sox. Chase Field is an hour and a half up the road, so we always take in some DBack games during the season. Last year we went to see the DBacks play the Red Sox and we had a great time as It was sold out. But I swear, there were more Red Sox fans than DBack fans. It was like a Red Sox home game.
Well, I just saw the scores from today's games and in typical fashion, my Phillies dropped their home opener to the Nationals! Thank goodness it's a long season!
See you this summer. Dorothy and I will be back in Plattsburgh for just about the whole month of July.
(Foxy's note: Let's get together in July and trade more baseball stories, Tim!)
Posted by: Tim Horn | April 1, 2008 1:36 AM