19. Busch Stadium - July 16, 2019

This is likely the only baseball trip I'd be doing this year. With the stadiums I have left, it's hard to find the time and money to do them. But, at least I got two more down and now I have 10 remaining.

I planned this trip about two months before I actually left. It might be the quickest plan-to-trip I've done. I flew into Kansas City and then drove about four and a half hours to St. Louis. It was actually a lot cheaper than landing in St. Louis directly.

Between the two cities is Columbia but that's about it. There are a lot of farms and open land but not much else. It actually makes the ride feel longer than it actually is.

For my nights in both STL and KC, I stayed in AirBnBs instead of hotels. They were much cheaper and not that far of a drive to the stadiums. If you're visiting any stadium, I'd look to go that route first.

Busch Stadium from the top of The Arch

Anyway, this is a stadium blog, not a travel blog. I was in St. Louis for two full days. It rained for one and a half of them. Unlike the next stadium on this list, there is plenty to do around Busch Stadium.

The stadium sits in the middle of downtown St. Louis. There are many restaurants and bars within walking distance. There are a few breweries a bit further away but worth checking out.

The obvious tourist attraction is the Arch, which is a few blocks away. There is a museum and a bunch of other things underneath the actual Arch.

They have a few different packages. The cheapest was $14, which includes a video about the Arch and a ticket to go up to the top. You take a small cable car almost to the top and then walk the rest of the way. The views are amazing. I recommend it.

Getting to the stadium is very easy. There are a bunch of highways that lead directly downtown. Public transportation is also an option. I had my rental car, so I drove to the park. I parked in a lot near the Arch and walked. It was $7 for pretty much all day. As I walked closer to the stadium, some lots were charging up to $30. Park further away and enjoy the walk.

Busch Stadium is a great park. Each entrance gate has its own features, a tribute to former stars. The inside of the stadium is pretty open, especially the field-level concourse. As I was making my way to my seat, I was scouting the concession stands. Some of the prices for food were ridiculous. They had a double cheeseburger for $22. Yeah, no thanks. I'll stick to my hot dog.

The view from my seat

I got to my usual seat, upper levels behind home plate, and took in the view. There was some construction going on in left-center but seeing the Arch in center field was a great sight. I could see the whole field and then some.

The game I saw was the Cardinals taking on division rival Pittsburgh Pirates. The Cardinals lost 3-1. Jack Flaherty started for St. Louis and Dario Agrazal started for Pittsburgh.

Over the first four innings, there were a combined six base runners. It wasn't until the fifth inning when a run was scored.

Corey Dickerson hit a one-out double and Kevin Newman drove him home. The Cardinals tied up in the bottom of the fifth with a Harrison Bader double, a steal of third and Flaherty singling him home.

The score would remain tied until the top of the ninth inning. Closer Carlos Martinez came into the game to give his offense a chance to win. He got the first out with ease. Then, things fell apart.

He hit Starling Marte. Josh Bell hit a single, advancing Marte to third. Colin Moran hit an RBI single. Dickerson walked, loading the bases. Newman grounded out but drove in another run. Martinez then forced Elias Diaz to fly out.

In the bottom of the ninth against Felipe Vazquez, the Cardinals went down 1-2-3 with two strikeouts to lose the game. It was an exciting game, for me at least; probably not for a Cardinals fan.

Overall, this was a great experience at a great stadium. Being able to walk around downtime to kill time before a game is nice. Because of the history, the view and environment, I highly recommend visiting Busch Stadium.

18. Wrigley Field - August 10, 2018

Wrigley Field is a bit more difficult to get to. Regardless of the time of day, there will always be traffic heading up to the north side of Chicago. We ended up driving because we wanted to drink and eat before the game.

You can still do that, but I recommend either taking the train or catching an Uber. The city is crowded and parking, especially on game days, is expensive. We parked in some third-party corner lot that cost $40 and closed about 30 minutes after the game ends. The lot looked like Tetris the way the cars were parked. Of course, we parked first so we had to wait until everyone else arrived. Not ideal.

We went to a great sandwich place called Lucky's Sandwich Company. The game was at 1pm, so we had time to eat something beforehand and not spend money inside. Well, except for a hot dog of course. This place was amazing.

The classic front of Wrigley Field

On their menu, it says "All sandwiches come with tomatoes, fries and seasoned cole slaw served on them." My friends and I didn't see the "served on them" part, so when we got our sandwiches, we were a bit surprised. Regardless, one of the best sandwiches I've ever eaten. I recommend this place if you're ever in Wrigleyville.

Walking into the stadium, I had the same feeling I did when I walked into Fenway Park - nostalgia. You can just feel the history of this stadium, the joy, the heartbreak and everything in between. Yes, the stadium has seen upgrades over the years but the heart is still there.

It's got a great look and it's no wonder why it took them so long to implement night games. Being here for an afternoon game was wonderful. The green ivy across the outfield wall. The old school scoreboard in center field. Even the structure was cool to look at.

Getting to our seats wasn't bad. People knew where they were going and getting up to the high level wasn't as bad as other stadiums. I didn't get to sit where I normally do behind home plate, but I did get a picture. We ended up sitting down the first base side a bit. Still a great view.

The craziest part was seeing the bleachers atop the apartments across from the stadium. They are run by a third-party company and span across the whole outfield. They come with access to a lounge, beverages, food and big-screen TVs. If you don't want to be in the stadium, this is a good alternative.

Besides the Yankees winning, this may have been the best game we saw on the trip. The Cubs defeated the Nationals 3-2 and it came down to the final at-bat. Every fan was on their feet when the final out was recorded.

Jeremy Hellickson started for Washington while the Cubs rolled out Kyle Hendricks. Neither pitcher lasted too long. Hellickson was pulled after 5.2 innings, giving up two runs on four walks with three strikeouts. Hendricks went six innings with two runs, eight hits and five strikeouts.

A field-level view

After that, it was a bullpen matchup. Both teams used a combined nine relievers for the final three innings. This is what the MLB is referencing when talking about the pace of play. I don't mind it as much but I get where they are coming from.

Nationals rookie Juan Soto drove in Trea Turner for the first run of the game in the first inning. They added their second run in the second when Adam Eaton drove in Daniel Murphy on a single. The Nationals would be held scoreless for the rest of the game.

Hellickson did a good job shutting down the Cubs. They had just one base runner after five innings. It wasn't until the sixth inning where the Cubs offense woke up.

After three straight walks, Jason Heyward hit a 2-RBI single. Anthony Rizzo walked in the game-winning run in the seventh inning as the bases were loaded.

After two outs, Pedro Strop had an error when covering first base, allowing Eaton to get on base. The crowd was electric. Everyone was on their feet, waiting for the third out. And they got it when Turner struck out swinging. If only I could have been here when they won the World Series.

Hot dog review: Nice crunch, yellow mustard, and grilled onions. Good stadium dog.

Wrigley Field is one of the most historic stadiums in the league. I don't care if you skip the other Chicago stadium, this is one you have to see.

17. Guaranteed Rate Field - August 8, 2018

Getting to Chicago was pretty easy. It's just a 90-minute ride between Milwaukee and Chicago. We could have stayed in Milwaukee if we wanted to. We actually stayed just outside of the city, a bit cheaper.

Guaranteed Rate Field was easy to get to. Right off the main highway. We could have taken the train but leaving our car in part of Chicago was not a good idea. We spent the extra time and gas to drive up to the stadium. Parking was annoying. There weren't many lots and the side street parking situation wasn't ideal. We paid $20 for parking. Not bad, I've paid worse.

The skyline, or lack thereof

Since we had plenty of time before the game, we went to this bar and grill right across from the stadium. It's called ChiSox Bar & Grill. They had a lot of beer on tap and their sandwiches were excellent.

If you don't have tickets for a game, you could spend all game in this bar. Highly recommended.

The outside of the stadium was nice. There were some statues of former players and a nice plaque display at one of the entrances.

We got into the stadium and there wasn't much to look at beyond the field. While there weren't three levels of seats in the outfield, there were LCD screens wrapping around the whole outfield. Guaranteed Rate Field does not have a skyline like the rest of these stadiums have.

The main LCD screen in center field is a nice display. It's not too big but provides enough information for both teams. There are these weird lollipop-looking things above the scoreboard. Not sure what those are about.

We got to our seats down the right-field line, near the foul pole. Like with Miller Park, my friends want to be as close to the action as possible. Not my choice. We had a good few of the action without having to turn our necks too much. The seats were angled a little bit towards home plate. But, with owners want to pack as many fans as possible, this is the compromise they made.

I don't remember what there was to do around the concourse. It's either because it wasn't memorable or because I'm writing this seven months after I visited this stadium. I'm going to go with the latter.

Giancarlo Stanton settling in the batter's box

What I do remember, though, is the Yankees winning 7-3. Luis Severino and Lucas Giolito served as each team's starting pitchers. Severino pitched seven innings and allowed three runs on seven hits and eight strikeouts.

Giolito, on the other hand, went just five innings and gave up seven runs on six hits and three walks while striking out seven batters.

The White Sox got out to a 2-0 lead after the first inning. Jose Abreu had an RBI double and Daniel Palka drove him home with a single. The Yankees quickly answered back as Austin Romine and Shane Robinson each had RBI singles. Two batters later, Giancarlo Stanton hit a line-drive grand slam.

It was smooth sailing for the next couple of innings. Aaron Hicks added the seventh run with a solo home run in the fifth inning. Tim Anderson hit his own home run in the bottom of the fifth and that would be the last run to score for the game.

This game we did stay until the final out. We had to celebrate the Yankees winning.

We got lucky this game. It was dollar hot dog night. Not the best quality hot dogs. Multiple condiment tables ran out of diced onions. I had to walk around half of the concourse to find some. The things I do for onions.

The south side of Chicago is not a place you want to hang out. You'd be better off staying either north or just outside of Chicago and traveling to the stadium. It's a basic park but is open enough that you don't feel cramped or closed in.