16. Miller Park - August 7, 2018

The next part of the trip was heading to Milwaukee. It was about a five-and-a-half hour drive. There is nothing in Wisconsin, outside of the major cities. I don't get how people live out here.

We finally made it to Milwaukee. Driving by the park the day before, the stadium is huge. The roof itself is big. Walking up to it, it looks like a football stadium. If you're visiting it for the first time, it's hard to miss.

The three of us stayed in this motel not too far from the stadium, right off the highway. The only good thing about this place was that there was a bar attached. One of us had a few too many drinks the first night we were there.

A view of the stadium and field

On game day, the gates opened 90 minutes before the game, a little late compared to other stadiums. I don't mind. I really don't need to see batting practice.

Getting to the stadium was fine, some traffic though. But that's too be expected when there's only one highway leading to the stadium.

Parking was cheap for the official stadium lots. $12 for a weekday game. They had a walkway from each parking lot leading to the stadium, making it easier to walk between lots.

There was no skyline because of the back wall being high for the retractable roof. While I didn't have seats in my usual section, I went up to the upper section behind the plate. It's a nice view but nothing to look at outside of the stadium.

The stadium is a little behind on travel between levels. There were few escalators, no elevators for the public and just long ramps. It was a terror walking down. Thank God I was able to sit for three hours to rest up.

There is a lot to do around the park for both kids and adults. They had speed pitch and running the bases for kids. There were a lot of different food choices compared to just the boring concession stands. Like Cleveland, I give Milwaukee credit for having unique food options.

My friends aren't fans of the seats I want to sit in. They want to sit as close to the field as possible. I appeased them here and we sat in the first row in right field. Well, technically not the first row because there's like an exclusive club of people sitting at ground level behind the fence, but we're right behind them.

A view of the field from center field

It was actually a cool view. Because of how many fly balls the Brewers hit, we ended up on TV a couple of times. We never caught a home run, though we were close.

The game featured two of the league's worst starting pitchers in Clayton Richard (SD) and Chase Anderson (MIL).

Richard pitched five innings and allowed five runs on seven hits and two walks while striking out three. Anderson gave up four runs on four walks and five hits and struck out four over 4.2 innings.

The game started off hot with two two-run home runs in the first inning from Jesus Aguilar and Mike Moustakas. The San Diego Padres scored two in the top of the third inning off of a Manuel Margot single. Moustakas had a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the inning. Those would be the only runs the Brewers score all game.

The Padres piled on for the rest of the game. Franmil Reyes hit a solo home run in the fourth. Margot hit his own solo homer in the fifth. He then hit a sac fly in the sixth. Reyes drove in two more runs with a double in the seventh. Hunter Renfroe hit a two-run home run in the eighth. Margot hit a triple in the ninth that brought home two more runs.

The Brewers went down in order in the bottom of the ninth. We did not stay for the final inning. We left after the bottom of the eighth. This is one of the few times I left a game before the last out was recorded. I didn't mind, the game was a blowout anyway.

Hot Dog Review: They had brown mustard and chopped onions at the condiments table. The hot dog itself was a little too juicy, no crunch but the toppings helped. Second-best hot dog of the trip.

There wasn't much to do in Milwaukee but the stadium was worth the trip.

15. Target Field - August 5, 2018

This was the start to the one and only baseball trip I made this year. I was joined by my friends Damian and Evan. Our other friend Chris couldn't make it.

We started by flying into Minnesota, driving down to Milwaukee and then over to Chicago before going home. Minnesota has a decent downtown but it's not a major city like a Los Angeles or New York.

We stayed in an inn just outside the city, in Roseville. Wasn't the best area but it was cheap, which is all I care about. The stadium was easy to get to. Just a couple of turns and onto the highway. There wasn't a lot of traffic for a gameday. Then again, the game was on a Sunday afternoon.

There were a lot of parking garages and for cheap, considering how close we were to the stadium. The garage we parked at was, I believe, $13 for 10 hours. Not that bad. It was also connected to the SkyWalk.

The Minnesota skyline

The SkyWalk is a cross-city elevated walkway that allows you to get to most of the major attractions without having to be outside. And, for it being August, this was a welcome treat to us. You could walk to US Bank Stadium, home to the Vikings, or Target Field and Target Center, where the Timberwolves (NBA) and Wild (NHL) play.

The negative about the area was that there weren't a lot of places to eat. Again, it could be because it was early Sunday, but we had to settle for Starbucks before the game. If you go see a night game, there are a few pubs and restaurants to eat at beforehand.

As for the stadium, I was very surprised. I was expecting a basic stadium, like Nationals Park. However, this was my second favorite of the trip.

There is a huge team store in the stadium. A nice open area near the right-field gate with benches and a bar to watch the game. An interactive area for kids.

I took my obligatory picture of the skyline from the upper levels behind home plate. It was a decent skyline with the downtown in the background. The seats were a little steeper compared to the other parks I've visited. There was a big scoreboard in left field and an extra level of bleachers in right.

The view from my actual seat was good. We sat down the third base line, a few sections after the away team's dugout. Seats weren't angled so you had to turn your body to see the infield. MLB did a good job keeping fans protected as the nets extended past the dugouts.

The game featured the matchup of Danny Duffy (KC) against Ervin Santana (MIN). Duffy lasted six innings despite giving up six runs on eight hits and a walk. Santana was pulled after 4.1 innings and three runs.

The view from our seats

The Royals scored first with a two-run home run by Lucas Duda. The Twins came back and took a 4-2 lead in the bottom of the second from a Jake Cave grand slam, the first of two we saw on this trip. The Twins scored two more in the fourth.

The Royals slowly crept back and added a run in the fifth and two more in the seventh after a Whit Merrifield home run.

Fernando Rodney, the relief pitcher that always seems to find a job, came in in the ninth and gave up two hits before locking it down and recording the save. For two bad teams, this was an entertaining game.

After the game, we drove to the Mall of America. This place is HUGE! We actually went back the next day to do some things we missed. There are four Lids stores, two mini-golf courses, an indoor go-kart and arcade place and much more.

And now time for the award-winning Hot Dog review. The dog I ate had a nice crunch, a lot of chopped onions. Had to use yellow mustard instead of brown. It was really good.

Overall, I enjoyed this stadium. It's very open. The concourse is nice. Good views up top. The lower level seats are angled towards the infield, making it easier to see the action. Definitely one to check out soon.

14. Progressive Field - August 24, 2017

Like Detroit, I stayed at a house just a 10-minute drive to the ballpark. I left the neighborhood and took one road all the way down. For the price, it was in a great location.

When I made it to the downtown, it looked like a sports complex dropped in the middle of the city, with Quicken Loans Arena right next door. Maybe because it was a Thursday, but it didn't seem that crowded for a popular matchup.

Trying to find parking wasn't that hard. There were a lot of lots and garages near the stadium. The downside was that even third-party parking lots cost $20. It could have been an effect of the two teams playing. There was a parking garage attached to the stadium with its own security entrance in left field. That was pretty cool.

The one weird thing about this game was that the gates opened just one hour before the game. Most of the other stadiums I've been to open their gates 90 minutes before start time. That doesn't give a lot of time to get peanuts, souvenirs and get to your seats.

The stadium view from my seat

Walking into the stadium, I got this high-end, fancy feel to it. There were a lot of unique places to eat like a Build Your Burger stand and crazy hot dogs, including one with pierogi and one with Froot Loops. Those prices were a little outrageous, the most expensive of the four stadiums, that I ended up getting food at a standard food stand.

Of course, I got a hot dog. I put this horribly tasting stadium mustard on it. I finished it but I didn't enjoy it. The hot dog itself was good though. I got a hot chocolate and fries later in the game.

There was a huge scoreboard above the left-field bleachers and third-level bleachers in right field, which wasn't used for this game, that blocked a lot of the backdrop. The only opening was behind center field but there were seating and dining. Not much of a view of the city.

Seating looked good for most of the stadium. Not a lot of obstructed seats. The only thing I noticed was a big overhang on the first base side that blocked a lot of the view for those sitting in the back rows. My seat, again, was behind home plate in the upper 500s section. I felt a little further away from the game compared to Cincinnati but it still wasn't that bad. It was worth the $30-something I paid.

The game featured a great pitching matchup, at least on paper, between Chris Sale of the Boston Red Sox and Trevor Bauer of the Cleveland Indians. Things didn't go well for either pitcher as neither of them lasted six innings. The final score was 13-6 Indians.

The Indians were first on the scoreboard with four runs in the bottom of the second. Roberto Perez, Giovanny Urshela and Francisco Lindor had back-to-back-to-back RBIs. They scored their fourth run on an error.

Indians starting pitcher Trevor Bauer

Mitch Moreland got the Sox on the board with a solo home run in the third but the Tribe scored two more in the bottom of the inning. Boston scored three more runs off of a Xander Bogaerts triple and Moreland single.

The Indians scored six more runs between the fifth and seventh innings, including home runs from Jay Bruce and Lindor and RBI doubles from Perez and Yandy Diaz. Moreland hit his second home run in the top of the ninth but it wasn't close to enough for the Sox.

I made my down to the field-level seats towards the end of the game. With the game being a blowout, most of the fans started to make their way home early. Again, I don't see why people sit this close. While everything is at eye level, you don't get the full view of the field. Being in the upper sections allow you to see pretty much everything.

Of the four stadiums I visited on this trip, this would be my least favorite. The backdrop, or the potential of one, was blocked by the scoreboard and bleachers. The area around the stadium wasn't anything special. I didn't see a city where you can spend most of the afternoon before going to the game. This truly felt like an "arrive, see game, leave" situation.

This was the last day of a 5-day, 4-game trip. Well, six days if you count the drive home. It was a great time. I'm pretty sure that crosses off all of the ballparks I can drive to and I'm thankful for that. Eh, I could drive to Toronto if I wanted to.

I have 16 stadiums left. I plan on doing 4 a year for the next 4 years. I'll figure that out in the offseason. This is it for 2016, though. So, with 14 stadiums down, I want to go over some fun facts.

I've seen the Washington Nationals play 3 times (so far).
The home team is 5-9.
The Pirates game on August 21 was my first extra-innings game.
I've been to 8 games in August, 2 in June, 2 in July, 1 in May and 1 in October.
The collective scores have been 60 (home) and 79 (away).

Thanks for reading and following along.