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.