Twelve Ballparks and Counting

Second post, and I'm already straying off topic but continuing with the current topic in the baseball blogosphere. This started with Russ Smith's "Seventeen Ballparks and Counting" piece and continued with Shysterball and wezen-ball. I have made trips, including a day trip last summer to NYC, for the sole purpose of visiting ball parks. My count currently stands at twelve. So here we go! My list of visited ball parks (in chronological order):

Fulton County Stadium - Hey, it wasn't pretty, but after attending several spring training games in Florida, this was my first major league stadium. Plenty of memories here, my first major league game, seeing Hank Aaron hit a home run off Al Downing on the 10th anniversary of #715, 1991, and attending the city's and my first World Series game (Game 3 of the '91 Series). I was there for the final regular season game in 1996 when Expo OF Moises Alou got the final hit in the stadium. Notable because his dad, Felipe, got the first base hit in 1966. But as a stadium, I didn't know better until I visited Wrigley Field in 1993. I finally had a point of comparison and the Launching Pad was now officially a dump in my eyes.

Candlestick Park - Enjoyed upper deck seats in center field on a beautiful August Saturday afternoon in 1987. Giants vs. Dodgers. Dravecky vs. Valenzuela. Dravecky shuts out the Dodgers, and I'm happy because Dravecky is on my rotisserie team. After his tragic injury, I am glad to say that I saw him pitch in person in his home ball park.

Wrigley Field - Visited many times since that first visit in 1993. What can I say, but this is one of my favorite places on the planet. Some people think of a tropical beach as their "happy place". I think of a cold beer at Murphy's on a summer Chicago afternoon pre and post-game.

Turner Field - My home field. Major, major upgrade over Fulton County. Best memory is witnessing the All-Century team pre-game before Game 2 of the '99 Series. We had parked ourselves at the Chop House for a few adult beverages before the ceremony. We reached our seats in time for the ceremony, but midway through, I realized I had not made that critical first trip to the rest room. If my autopsy reveals kidney damage, it was caused by waiting it out through that ceremony. Runner up is attending my first All-Star Game in 2000 and seeing what I thought would be a classic pitching duel between Smoltz and Mussina turn into a 6-for-6 night for Cal Ripken, Jr.

The Kingdome - First experience with indoor baseball, and I felt like I was in a cave. Best memory was seeing Griffey throw Ripken out at third base as Cal tried to advance on a deep fly out to the center field wall. Griffey threw a one-bounce strike to third. I thought to myself at the time that I just saw two Hall of Famers in an incredible play. A few days later, a concrete chunk fell and the Kingdome was closed. The Mariners were spared having to play the rest of their season on the road by the 1994 player's strike.

Tiger Stadium - I was fortunate enough to have a good friend score dugout level seats for the next-to-last game in September, 1999. Classic ball park. I loved the tunnel-like walkways and cat-walks high above to reach the upper deck from the concourse. The seats were so close to the action, and you could not see the Tigers dugout from our first base dugout seats due to the pitch of the field. Perhaps it was that it was late September in Detroit or more likely the fact that the scoreboard located above the third base line still had lighted footballs to indicate possession, but Tiger Stadium gave me a feeling of old time football action with the chill in the air and the shadows casting over the field. As a fan of Sparky's boys in 1984, I am glad I had the opportunity to visit the Corner.

Fenway Park - I never liked the Red Sox or Celtics growing up. My trip to Boston in 2000 changed that. At Fenway, you can visualize Williams and Yastrzemski playing on that same field. Probably because your seat is a few inches narrower and pointed straight ahead rather than toward home plate. My seat behind Pesky's Pole had a great view of the bullpens in right field. You had to lean in and turn your head to the left to see the batter. Unfortunately, I was about 10-12 seats in from the aisle to my left so I practically had to have my head in my lap to look over all the other twisted heads. We eventually moved to the SRO area along the third base line. Despite all that, I would jump on the opportunity to return. I even rooted for the Sawks in the Series.

County Stadium - The tour of retiring ball parks continued the next year in Milwaukee. The stadium reminded me of bigger Al Lopez Field in Tampa. Probably because they were both built in the 1950's. The looming Miller Park in the outfield took away from my ability to visualize that Henry Aaron and Gorman Thomas played on that same field. This trip included a trip to Wrigley and Solider Field for a Bears-Browns exhibition game.

Comiskey Park - Second best major league ball park in the city. I wish I had a chance to visit the old Comiskey. Anyhow, check another off the list. The Bill Veeck showers in the outfield were entertaining. I didn't jump in though it was warm enough.

Tropicana Field - Build in the 1980's in a hurry to lure the White Sox and Giants, the original Suncoast Dome is right up there with the Kingdome. Here's hoping that Tampa can follow Seattle's lead. I saw Clemens pitch, and there were more Yankee fans than Rays fans in the stands. I can't say much about that because that occurs in Atlanta on some days.

The Ballpark in Arlington - Good ball park which reminded me of Comiskey Park (now U.S. Cellular Field), but the "Tiger Stadium" overhang n right field makes it distinctive. I arrived early enough to take in the Legends of the Game Museum which was very enjoyable. The sports bar in center field came in handy as there was an hour and half rain delay and it was NFL Opening Day. On the field, the game was the A's vs. Rangers which was notable because they were the last two teams I had not seen play in a major league game in person.

Yankee Stadium - The threat of the wrecking ball finally motivated me to see "The House that Ruth Built". The runways and concourses that were not part of the mid-70's renovation reminded me of Tiger Stadium. You definitely had the feeling that you were at the place to be. My only regret is not making it in time to walk through Monument Garden. I have photos from this visit posted here.

The Boys of the Summer of Love begin!

On St. Patrick's Day, 2009, a second time through the 1967 baseball season began. The first pitch was a strike from Washington's Pete Richert, and the season was underway. You can follow all of my second time through baseball replays at each of the seasons' sites. This blog is to share interesting off or on-field items that I uncover in my research of these re-created seasons. Some items may have a new interest after 40+ years of time, and more often than not, some items just go to show that some things, more particularly the business of baseball, have not changed much over 40+ years. I may cover news items of interest and the music from that season. Starting with my 1966 replay, a jukebox is available for your listening enjoyment as you read through the box scores and team news. Music is one of the quickest way to travel your mind through time.

Each of the recreated baseball seasons were seasons that I was too young to enjoy. As my current progression from the 1965 season continues, I will at some point reach my first baseball memory, which is the 1972 World Series. That will be a few years from now so I think at that point, I will not mind retreading through childhood memories. Many of the characters of baseball of my childhood's eye make their stage debut in 1967. Johnny Bench, Tom Seaver, Reggie Jackson, just to name a few.

As spring training, 1967 kicked off in Florida and Arizona, there was not much debate that the Orioles would repeat as American League champions. The only caveat was the youth and health of their pitching staff. That caveat pretty much covers every team, not just in 1967. The Twins were the greatest threat as Minnesota had deepened its staff with the acquisition of Dean Chance. In the National League, the consensus was that the Giants or Pirates would knock the Koufax-less Dodgers off as king of the mountain. I have not come across a definitive list of predicted finish from any publication, but Sports Illustrated and Baseball Digest leaned toward the Giants while The Sporting News tabbed the Bucs. The Dodgers were picked for the second division, but that did not concern Walt Alston too much as none of the magazines picked the Dodgers in 1965 or 1966.

This is a consensus of the predicted order of finish along with a one-line comment from Baseball Digest, April, 1967 issue:

Orioles - should win again if pitching is sound
Twins - one of the top contenders
Tigers - should be a contender if pitchers click
White Sox - hitting must show real improvement
Angels- pitching must improve for fifth
A's - may finish top of second division
Red Sox - little hope of climbing much
Yankees - another second division finish
Senators - first division still out of reach


Giants - excellent chance to win pennant
Pirates - solid club which should be in race
Braves - a pitching surprise could mean flag
Phillies - should be solid contenders if White can play early
Cardinals - will need some surprises to be solid contenders
Dodgers - will be hard-pressed for first division
Cubs - improved pitching could mean club moves to sixth
Reds - pitching must improve greatly to be contender
Mets - improving but eighth place seems tops
Astros - improving, but not enough to make first division