13. Great American Ballpark - August 23, 2017

For the next two cities, I didn't stay at a hotel/motel. I stayed in two Airbnb's. If you're not familiar, people list a room on the app. If you like it, you request it and if they accept, you're all set. Pretty much just staying in someone's house.

Now that that's over, let's get to Great American Ballpark. Getting to the park was easy, but tedious. Ohio drivers don't seem like they're in a rush to get anywhere. For a 7.5 mile drive to the park, it took about 20 minutes.

Cincinnati has more of a city feel than the previous two. It was very crowded and cars all over the place. Yet, it was still not as busy as New York. I don't think anything will. Granted, it was a Wednesday so that may have played a factor. The one thing that bothered me while driving around was how narrow the lanes are. They were a little wider than a car.

The view of the field and backdrop

I parked in front of Paul Brown Stadium in a third-party lot for $10. I didn't feel like driving so I took the first thing I saw. As I walked towards GAB, I saw other lots for the same price. I should have waited. Oh well. The walk was nice. There was a nice park with swings, benches and a great view of the Ohio River and Kentucky on the other side.

Around the stadium were high-end bars and eateries. Cincinnati is fancy as fuck. I waited until I got into the stadium, but I could see myself grabbing a beer or two before the game at one of these players. Once inside, it feels like an actual park. It was very open with fields, benches and great landscaping. There was even a kid's area with a play place and ball pit.

As I walked to my seat, the concourse was wide open. Like, semi-truck wide. It was great. I hate having to squeeze past people to and from the concession stands.

While my ticket said I was in the 500s, it felt just a little higher than the 300s in the previous two stadiums. Yes, I was a little higher but the view was just as good. I didn't feel too far away from the game. The steps were a little steep but I'd rather that than being a mile away from home plate.

The one thing I did notice was that there were cobwebs all over the seats in my section, and I assume in others as well. It was a bad season for the Reds, so they probably didn't have many fans going to the games let alone sitting that high up.

The view was great. The Ohio River wraps around the outfield with the Kentucky woods on the other side of the river. There is a center-field bar called The Pilot House. I never made my way over there. I was relegated to watching them on the opposite of the field.

A view of the mound visit during the game

The video board in left field extended the length of the bleachers. The right field side had fewer bleachers. There was a smaller video board over them but nothing too distracting from the backdrop.

The main thing Cincy is known for is the chili. Unfortunately, I didn't have any. I, of course, had a hot dog. They had Nathan's for a dollar more. No Thanks. Still no chopped onions. Do they not know what onions are in this part of the country?

After seeing the Chicago Cubs win the World Series last season, I was excited to see the young stars on this team like Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo, Kyle Schwarber and others. The Reds, on the other hand, have some talent. Guys like Billy Hamilton, Joey Votto and Eugenio Suarez come to mind.

The starting pitchers were Mike Montgomery (CHC) and Asher Wojciechowski (CIN). Not the best matchup of the four games. Montgomery pitched six shutout innings while Wojciechowski left in the fourth after allowing eight runs on eight hits and three walks.

The Cubs quickly got on the board with three runs in the first inning. Jason Heyward drove in another in the third. Schwarber hit a three-run homer and Tommy La Stella hit a two-run homer in the fourth.

I moved down to field level seats in the eighth inning. At this point, the crowd was mostly Cubs fans, which was weird. The Reds hit into a double play in the first and the place erupted with cheers.

The Reds were being shutout until the ninth inning. Votto, Suarez and Scott Schebler all hit solo home runs in the bottom of the inning. While everyone knew they weren't coming back from 9-0, seeing some of the Reds fans have hope was nice.

The field seats are angled towards home plate, which helps the neck during a three-hour game. But with the nice backdrop and fewer seats, I don't mind sitting up top.

I like the atmosphere of Cincinnati and there's a lot to do around the stadium. I don't think it's in my top 50 percent but it's definitely close. I have one more stadium to cover to end my 2017 trips.

12. Comerica Park - August 22, 2017

Getting to Comerica Park from Pittsburgh was a trek. Luckily, the distance between my hotel and the ballpark was very short, like 5 minutes. I could have walked but let's just say Detroit has a certain reputation.

As soon as I got to the hotel, again shout out to Comfort Inn, very deceiving, it started downpouring. I thought, "If I had to spend the day in Detroit and not go to a game, I'm going to be pissed." Luckily, it didn't come down to that. It cleared up a couple of hours before the game.

I took about a 10-minute drive to the downtown area and noticed a couple of things. One, they have like a monorail/tram service above the streets outside of the metro area and then is street level once you get downtown. I thought one of the cars was going to tip over.

I found a simple parking lot that cost $10. It wasn't too far away from the stadium. Most of the parking lots had different levels. I guess it's for the time of day. If you're there early it costs more to spend all day in Detroit than if you got there by 6:00 PM, it would only be $5 or $6. Lots closer to the field or Tigers' official lots were closer to $20 for parking.

The view of the field and skyline from my seat.

I had some time to kill, so I decided to walk around. The second thing I noticed about the city was how clean it was. It was modern, too, with the train system and businesses all around. I was expecting something completely different. I actually enjoyed walking around.

There were a lot of places to eat before the game. I was hungry beforehand so I caved and had a slice of pizza. That doesn't mean I skipped out on a hot dog. I couldn't go two games in a row without one.

Ford Field is right next to Comerica Park. That stadium looks huge from the outside. Back to baseball, I entered from center field again. I gotta stop entering from the complete opposite side of where I need to go.

There was a cool car display in center. The backdrop was pretty cool, too. The Detroit skyline was nice. I sat in section 329, off-center. The dirt around home plate was shaped like home plate. Not sure if I've seen that before. Most of the other stadiums have a dirt circle around the plate.

The left field video board wasn't as big as some of the other stadiums I've seen. I appreciate them not wanting to block the backdrop with a huge board but they could have made this one bigger.

The cool thing about this game was that I was seeing my team, the Yankees. I haven't been to a Yankees game in a couple of seasons and this team was fun to watch on TV. The offense was young and exciting and the bullpen was electric, especially after the trade deadline.

The small video board in left field.

This game was over before it even started. The starting pitchers were Matt Boyd (DET) and Masahiro Tanaka (NYY). Boyd lasted just 2.1 innings while Tanaka pitched a full seven innings. The Yankees won 13-4 in three hours and 14 minutes.

The Yankees got on the board early with a two-run home run by Gary Sanchez and then a sacrifice fly from Aaron Hicks in the first inning. They scored four more runs in the third and two more in the fifth. Hicks hit a solo homer in the seventh and Sanchez homered again in the ninth.

The Tigers scored on an RBI double in the third, two-run homer in the seventh by Nick Castellanos and inside-the-park home run from Castellanos two innings later. The Yankees pitchers prevented the Tigers from getting on base and scoring.

The next morning, I took a drive north to 8 Mile Rd. Yes, as cliché as it is, I had to. Now that is the part of Detroit I was expecting. Two completely different parts of the city. I then made my way down south to Cincinnati. Another four-and-a-half-hour drive. Fun.

Overall, it was a great visit. Comerica Park and Detroit as a whole surprised me. It could sneakily move into my top seven parks after I talk about the next two. I liked the stadium. Great views from the top and the seats in the lower deck didn't seem to be obstructed by the overhang. Definitely a park not to wait until the end of your trip to visit.

11. PNC Park - August 21, 2017

Wow. This trip. I spent more time driving to each city than I did sitting in a seat watching games. Though, the first game going 12 innings made it closer.

The genesis of this 4-game swing was to cross off as many stadiums as possible in the shortest amount of time. Pittsburgh and Cleveland aren't a far drive from me, but only two stadiums wouldn't be worth that driving. Detroit and Cincinnati were just a couple of hours away from each other, so I did some planning and found the best route and schedule to visit those four in four days (not counting driving there and back).

The trip to Pitt wasn't bad. It took me about six hours, stopping for gas and food included. I arrived on Sunday, so I had an extra day in Pitt. I didn't want to get there and then have to leave for the game right away. The hotel I stayed at was about 15 minutes away from the ballpark, took two highways and next thing I know, I'm driving along the Allegheny River. Shout out to the Comfort Inn, excellent quality.

I found a nice $9 lot off of 9th Street. There were plenty of garages to park in and for cheap considering it was game day. I walked around for a few before heading to the stadium. I like the feel of downtown Pittsburgh. It's obviously a city but I got this small-town feel from it. I can't explain it but it just felt "home-y." It was very clean, too.

The Pittsburgh skyline from my seat

There is a lot to do before the game, so you can definitely make a day out of visiting Pittsburgh. Plenty of places to eat. I was very hungry so I couldn't wait for the game. I grabbed a pulled pork sandwich and a beer. No hot dog review for this park.

If you park on the other side of the river, you'll have plenty of ways to cross to get to the park. The most famous is the Roberto Clemente Bridge. That's the way I took. Along the bridge was hundreds of padlocks on both sides of the bridge, couldn't find the meaning to this. At the end of the bridge is a statue of Roberto Clemente. You could also take the 7th and 9th Street bridges, but they are a little further away.

The cool thing I noticed is that people docked their boats on the water and went to the game. That's awesome.

Enough already. It's time to talk about the stadium.

I entered from center field. Considering my seat was behind home plate, I had two ways to go. I went left, heading towards right field. I think I made the right choice. This area was called the Riverwalk, as it's along the river. There are restaurants and tables to relax at before getting into the actual stadium.

I sat in Section 319, slightly to the left of home plate. It was the perfect view. In previous games, I was getting seats as close as I could but not get a full view of the stadium. Just look at my pictures from Baltimore, Los Angeles and some others.

Sitting that high up did not take away from my view of the field and game. I also got the best view possible of the bridge and Pittsburgh skyline. That was the focus for all four ballparks, get the full scope of the field and backdrop. Pittsburgh definitely had the best of both.

The view of the field from my seat (zoomed in on by camera)

As for the game, the Pittsburgh Pirates welcomed the Los Angeles Dodgers. The starting pitchers were Alex Wood (LAD) and Gerrit Cole (PIT). They lasted 6.0 and 6.1 innings, respectively. It was then a bullpen game as the two teams combined to use 12 relief pitchers.

The Pirates started off the bottom of the second with back-to-back home runs from Jose Osuna and Sean Rodriguez. They added a third run from a Josh Harrison solo shot in the 3rd.

The Dodgers took a 5-3 lead in the 7th. Corey Seager hit an RBI single. Two batters later, the recently acquired Curtis Granderson hit a grand slam. The Pirates tied it up in the bottom of the 8th.

Neither team would score again until the top of the 12th when Yasiel Puig hit a home run. Ross Stripling recorded the save to end the game.

The home runs were fun and the Pirates tying the game was exciting but staying in my seat for 4 hours and 35 minutes wasn't fun. After all the driving the day before and the driving I had to do the next day, this was not favorable.

Overall, just walking over the bridge and entering the stadium immediately put this in my top 5. With the view from my seat, it'll be tough to keep it outside of my top 3. If you get the chance, visit this ballpark as soon as you can. There's history mixed with modern features to make this a great ball park.

10. Minute Maid Park - June 9, 2017

The second stadium of this "Texas Two-Step" was Minute Maid Park. Driving from Dallas to Houston was a simple, but long trip. It took a little over three hours to get to our hotel.

Getting to the stadium, though, wasn't bad. We found an all-day parking garage for just $10. For it being a game day, we could not pass that up. The garage was just a couple of blocks from the stadium and the downtown area.

Around the stadium was a little sketchy. There were a lot of homeless people hanging out by the gates. So, if you do head down there, just be careful. We didn't have an issue but you never know.

The view of our seats. My apologies for the glare.

Before the game, we walked around the city for a bit. There is a cool trolley system that a lot of people use for their transit but everything seems to be within walking distance. It looks like a clean city with enough to do before the game.

There were some bars and restaurants just a few blocks away. We grabbed a couple of drinks at one place and then ate at this BBQ place right across from the center field gate. It was so good! Texas BBQ is no joke.

Unlike for the Rangers, we splurged a bit for our seats here. We were three rows behind the Astros dugout on the first base side. I spent less on the Nationals, Orioles, Dodgers and Padres tickets combined. But, my one friend is a huge Astros fan and never been to the stadium, so we appeased him for this game.

We got to the stadium a couple of hours before start time. We saw the Angels take batting practice. This was the first time I got to a game this early, not a fan. I don't see the big deal, especially since we weren't in an area to catch any BP home runs.

The stadium was great. Because of the dome, it takes this weird, rectangular shape. But seeing the train across the left field wall was cool. The video board in right field was huge. And center field had this cool party deck with drink specials.

I took a walk around the stadium and there were a lot of licensed food places. You definitely have your choice of meal here. We didn't eat at the game but we did take advantage of their "buy a large soda, get a free refill" deal. They didn't remove the sticker for the refill, so we bought like 2 cups and had like 9 servings.

Carlos Correa, Marwin Gonzalez and Jake Marisnick
(Jose Altuve is behind Correa)

Anyway, leading up to this game, my friends and I were checking the probable pitchers, seeing what the matchup would be. With injuries and skipped starts, it was all over the place. It ended up being Matt Shoemaker against Brad Peacock. Shoemaker pitched seven innings, giving up four runs. Peacock lasted just three after giving up four runs on seven hits and four walks.

There was a lot of scoring early, 5-2 after four innings. The Angels ended up winning 9-4. Kole Calhoun drove in three runs and Luis Valbuena and Martin Maldonado each had two for the Angels. Alex Bregman hit a two-run home run in the seventh.

Seeing Albert Pujols in person, even if he was just the DH, was awesome. He's been an integral part of baseball for years, so seeing him before he retires was another check mark off the baseball bucket list.

It was also Star Wars night at the stadium. There was a long parade of people dressed as Star Wars characters on the field and people posing for pictures around the concourse.

Overall, this was a great stadium. However, I would not sit that close for a game, even if it's for my own team. The view was alright, but I'd rather look down at a game instead of being eye level. It was a hot day so I wish they kept the roof closed but it did cool down once the sun set behind the stadium.

Now, that I've seen 10 stadiums, I figure I would rank my top 10, in order.

1. Camden Yards
2. Yankee Stadium
3. Petco Park
4. Globe Life
5. Minute Maid Park
6. Fenway Park
7. Citizens Bank Park
8. Nationals Park
9. Dodger Stadium
10. Citi Field

I have four more stadiums coming up, putting the total at 14. Stay tuned.

9. Globe Life at Arlington - June 7, 2017

Planning this trip was a lot of fun. Unlike most of my visits, I wasn't going alone.

I've talked about my plan to visit all 30 stadiums to a lot of people. Some of my friends were interested in joining me on a trip or two. They aren't going at it the same way I am, but if they can knock a couple of ballparks off their list, why not?

So this trip included my friends Damian, Chris and Evan. I just became good friends with them over the last year so this was a big test to our friendship. And, luckily, we came back alright.

The view of the field from our seats

It took months of planning. Trying to find a week off of work for four people is crazy. We also had to buy the plane tickets, hotel rooms, game tickets and rent a car. We broke up the expenses over the course of a couple of months to make it easier on our wallets. Everything was booked by April and the countdown began.

Regardless of when you visit Texas, it's going to be hot. If you're walking around, visiting the historical stuff or bar hopping, make sure you bring lots of water.

Anyway, this is about the stadium, not Texas as a whole. Before we saw the baseball game, we took a tour of AT&T Stadium, the monster of a stadium where the Dallas Cowboys play. Even as an Eagles fan, it was impressive. Playing catch on the field was a great experience.

Oh, you want to hear about Globe Life Park? I guess I can talk about that, too.

We got stuck in a bit of traffic on our way to the stadium. Leaving for a 7:05 game at 5 is not a good idea. Rush hour exists everywhere. We took a couple of backroads and parked in a cheap side lot for like $17. The outside looked like a warehouse, similar to Fenway Park. But, this was more modern.

After hearing the news that the Rangers are looking for a new ballpark, I was expecting this place to be a dump but it wasn't. It was actually really nice. Walking around the concourse, you could see outside. Unfortunately, it didn't include much. Just a bunch of parking lots and Six Flags Over Texas.

In center field, there's this cool structure that is three levels with balaconies for people to watch the game. I have no idea how to get there but I would look into it if you ever visit the stadium.

We sat in the upper 200s, down the right field line. We didn't care exactly where we sat as long as we got into the stadium and saw a game. We splurged for the Astros game, but I'll get into that in the next post.

The center field structure I referenced

The game featured a pitching matchup between Yu Darvish and Zack Wheeler. Both pitchers went at least seven innings.

The game was tied at 3 heading into the ninth inning after Robinson Chirinos hit a two-run home run in the eighth. The Mets took a 4-3 lead after a throwing error and Matt Reynolds scores from second base. Addison Reed closed the game in a 1-2-3 inning.

Jay Bruce hit two home runs, a two-run homer in the fourth and a solo home run in the sixth. He had 75 percent of the team's RBI. I've seen the Mets three times now and this could be the worst offense this team has had in years. The Rangers were also missing Adrian Beltre, Mike Napoli and Jonathan Lucroy.

The coolest thing about the game was that it was dollar hot dog night. They weren't the best hot dogs but slap a little mustard and chopped onions on it and it's perfect. I had four. Don't judge.

Overall, Globe Life Park was a good stadium. After the game, my friends and I discussed where we would rank it and after minutes of discussion, I put it in my top five. The only negative was the lack of things to do around the stadium. You have Six Flags but that's about it. Oh, there is a WalMart down the road.

If you need to cross this off your list, get a ticket in the upper sections. I don't see a reason to spend the extra money on a field level ticket.