It's not that I want it...it's that I expect it. Yankee fans brought it a couple of weeks back. I respect them for that, even if most of them couldn't point out New York on a map. We went back and forth yelling at each other. It was fun. So when it doesn't happen....when I wear a 'stros hat to an NL Central team's stadium and NO ONE mentions it...it just makes me think they don't care. I promise you if you show up in a Cubs or Cards hat at MMP, I'm going to say something. It's all in fun...all good-natured.
I think you and I have discussed this before. I may have doomed my experience by sitting in center field where, if I sat in...okay, wedged myself into my seat and looked directly straight ahead, I had a marvelous view of Pesky's Pole. Concessions SUCKED. The staff was beyond rude...and the "fans"...I know folks get rowdy at a ball game, but alot of that crap was uncalled for, just lowest common denominator garbage. I know Boston's not known as the most racially tolerant city, but it was just blatant. And, while I enjoy a "Yankees Suck!" chant as much as the next guy, starting one up during the late innings of a blowout loss to the Texas freakin' Rangers just higlights their inferiority complex. We weren't allowed into any other area of the ballpark and we paid $60 for, at the time, $28 tickets. As we left, my buddy (a life-long Sox fan) said "Now you know why I don't come here". He hates the place. I've thought about giving it another try, but it's just not worth the effort. Had a chance last month on a trip to Cape Cod. Declined. I don't tell people, "Don't go.", but I ain't recommending it either. Just an awful, awful experience.
Thanks! I'm eagerly anticipating a move back to Texas and closer proximity to the parks in the midwest and west I've missed out on. Even with all my complaints about Fenway (and don't get me started on the old Vet in Philly) I always say that the worst day at the ballpark is better than the best day at work.
awww..you're right...had I heard some racist crap, I would have felt the same way you do. i went by myself while in boston for a deposition. so..i had a good seat (easy to buy one ticket) sitting next to two old guys who were die-hards. they were friendly and fun to talk to. i was there to see the 'stros play, and had left my astros cap at home. there was a chant of "astros suck" as i left the ballpark and made my way out onto Yawkey Way. i hated it but was ok with it. of course, there was some love from red sox fans for the 'stros because of Bagwell and because they had just thrown a no-hitter vs. the Yankees!
I've been there a couple of times. There is nothing that special about it. I'd rate it last among the baseball stadiums I've been to(Astrodome, Minute Maid, Turner Field).
Wow. That is disappointing to hear (not that it'll keep me from going at some point). Worse than Turner Field, huh? That's pretty damning.
Why is Minute Maid up there? I think the short wall, Tal's hill, and the train are stupid. It's new, modern, and nice looking. But to me a Top 10 ballpark should be more than that.
I always think it's funny when people complain about the short wall at MMP. It's short...but the wall is high. It's certainly not shorter nor an easier shot than to right at Yankee stadium. Or around Pesky's Pole at Fenway. And it has the deepest CF in all of baseball. It absolutely is a fair ballpark for hitters and pitchers. As for the hill...it's been done. Ballparks have had hills. I don't care if it's there or not...but there are worse gimmicks in ballparks than that hill in terms of their effect on the game. Like the dense ivy at Wrigley, for instance. Or Pesky's Pole. Or even the Green Monster which is a little bit like playing arena baseball. I understand not liking the train. Personally, I have no problem with it. In 50 years, the train will be tradition. My kids will identify that with the 'stros in a big way, because it's all they've known. Ultimately, I think the game experience at MMP is fantastic. I think that's why people keep showing up in droves at the gate. I think it's helped bulid the Astros fan base big time.
Couldn't agree more. I'm sure there was plenty of b****ing about the "green monster" back in the 30s and about the ivy back in the 20s (or whenever it was; I'm too busy to look it up).
That's just not true. Turner Field is a complete shiathole, and the Astrodome.....really? I know that's the homer in you talking. I was able to recently go to a game at Coors, and I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. I would rate it in the top 3 parks I've been to EASILY.....maybe even top 2. 1. MMP 2. Old Comiskey Park (simply for nostalgia....the park itself was nothing special. Of course, I was also 7 when I went so, you know.....) 3. Coors Field 4. Shea (the place is a crap-hole, but it's still better than.... 5. Turner Field 6. Ballpark at Arlington (really, an open-roofed stadium out in the middle of a field in Texas? BRILLIANT!) 7. Tropicana Field (miserable, dark, quiet, and the Rays were TERRIBLE)
I lived in Chicago for 3 years and I don't think Wrigley was all that. The bars around it however.. top notch.
okay who's going to take off the rose-colored glasses... i will. MMP is way too high on that list. it's a smorgasboard of crap. too many gimmicks, no real personality.
I agree with you the game experience is great, but that has little to do with the short wall, Tal's hill (with the freaking pole in the field of play), or the train. The location is awesome and just about every seat has a good view, and the retractable roof is sweet. As far as the short wall, I dont know, it has just annoyed me since the beginning. I wish they had made it longer in left and shorter in center, just to make it more proportional. And with the hill, it's like they were trying too hard to make it quaint. And the train...well there just isn't anything to it. It just goes a few yards forward then comes back. Big wow. I remember the first time I saw it I thought it would do more, but nope. I dont think kids are that easily pleased. Now, the Astrodome's giant scoreboard was awesome. I love that thing as a kid and it was a shame Bud Adams pulled it down. Somehow it wouldn't get boring to see that thing go off every time.
Let me throw in my 2 cents on Fenway.. I thought it was amazing. It is small, and the seats do really "wedge" you in. But you really feel like you're in a big crowd instead of among them..if that makes any sense. Like, I felt part of a group. The people were obnoxious towards the other team, but I expect nothing less. I loved it. (same experience in that sense in Philly, btw) The crazy amount of knowledge from everyone there was great. It seemed like everyone around me was a hardcore fan...and this was a meaningless mid-season game against the (at the time) crappy Rockies. And when the Sox got a big out, scored a run, got a big hit, whatever...the entire stadium was rockin. Really felt like a playoff game almost..again, for a random game of no consequence. I won't fault them for having sold everything out and ticket prices going above face value. It happens when a venue is really popular. Just the way it goes..whatever. And then I even encountered a random cop who was a baseball fan after the game (well away from there) who asked me all kinds of details since he was on duty and didn't get to watch the game. The cop asking me about Wakefield's pitch count?? a) the fact that he'd want to know that means he's hardcore b) the fact that he'd ask means he thinks i'd know...which made me think there are a ton of hardcore fans out there if he was able to make that assumption. In short, big fan.
1. It's short to left because of the plot of land it's situated in. The only way for it not to be short is to tear down Union Station. That's why ballparks all have different dimensions, historically. They're situated in urban areas and had to fit into an existing landscape. That's why proportional and baseball don't go hand-in-hand unless you're building it on some huge tract of land away from a city center. 2. My kids love the train. Especially my little one. Take down the train...leave it up...I don't care. But as years go by, I think fans that grow up with it will identify with it. It's not what it does...it's that it's there. As an adult, I just don't care, though. I'm concerned with the game experience. That's what I'm paying for. 3. Do you think your affinity for the Astrodome scoreboard might have been because you were a kid when you first encountered it? I feel the same way..I loved that thing and was sad it was torn down. But speaking objectively, there's nothing fantastic about it. It was fantastic at the time.
Thought I'd chime-in and be the sole-supporter of Wrigley. So far, I've only been to one game there, but it was just a ton of fun. The thing about Wrigley is that it's basically just a giant bar. You go to drink "Old Style", watch a little baseball, then go to the bars in Wrigleyville afterwards. I had a great time when I went there, and while the ballpark is sort of a dump, it's just a lot of fun. You're SO close to the field (we sat in the Bartman seats), and the fans are just all there to have a good time. The north side has had such bad baseball for so long that they don't really seem to care as much about the game, but rather just going to the ballpark, drinking, and having fun. Of the other stadiums I've been to, PNC is my favorite (the view is just beautiful), followed by MMP and Kaufman stadium. I grew up as a Royals fan, and whenever we'd visit KC we'd see a game or two. The fountains, the enormous scoreboard, the wide-open upper deck, it's just a really nice place to go. I wouldn't put it up there with the top 10, but it's better than some of the other parks I've been to, like Jacobs Field or U.S. Cellular.
