Oakland Athletics - Stadium #5

 

I know we showed up early to be there when the gates opened, but the number of cars in the parking lot was surprisingly low.  I guess I had forgotten the images of how many people actually show up to games.  Oakland Coliseum is…exactly as described by people on the internet.  If the team stays, they definitely need a new stadium.  It had major Kingdome vibes, down to the trough urinal in the men’s bathroom (according to Jeremy). The concourse was very crowded considering the number of fans in the stadium or perhaps it was just smaller than I’m used to.  It was dimly lit and not very inviting.  One very noticeable thing on the concourse is how many of the concession stands were not open and how hard it was to find the souvenir cup.  I counted all but one stand selling bottled drinks (also, not a variety of soda choices which was sad).  I guess one plus of not having the same number of fans as the other stadiums is that the lines were almost non-existent.  Our seats were really far away from the “action” and having walked around the stadium to get to our seats, it seemed like there wasn’t a “close” seat in the whole park.  It was strange.  In our section there was one other family of 4 and then the next closest people were 3 sections over.  There were more seagulls sitting and watching from the roofline, than there were fans near us.  Perhaps these seagulls came over from San Francisco to watch the game and that’s why I didn’t see them at Oracle.  The seats themselves were surprisingly comfortable considering they were stadium seats.  For a stadium that desperately needs updating, none of the seats were broken.  I did enjoy some of the things they did in between innings to keep the “crowd” engaged.  As far as various sound effects during the game play, the chanting of “sell the team” was the most I heard. This hotdog was a thicc boi.  It had a really good, meaty flavor and the bun was just soft enough, but it was so big that neither Jeremy or I could finish ours and this was to be our dinner.  However, it’s still not as good as the hotdog from Petco Park, but I’d still rank it high. The Athletics played the Rangers on August 8, 2023 at 6:40 pm and we sat in section 310, row 2.  The price I paid for the tickets to this game was $15 and it seemed dirt cheap.  Though, if I ever found myself at another Athletics game, I would spring for better tickets on a lower level to be “closer” to the field. If you want to see the box score, here’s a link

San Diego Padres - Stadium #4

 

The Padres sold parking in multiple garages next to the stadium.  Considering the ballpark has a city block built into it, the Padres seem like they own the entire city.  To get across the street to the stadium, there was a cool sky bridge to take.  The concourse was really crowded and kind of confusing to walk through since you went from the inside, to the outside in a city (essentially) and back inside.  I found it difficult to find the team store coming in from where we did.  I’m pretty sure they fit everything in a standard team store into a phone booth.  It was so cramped in the store, it was hard to move around, let alone, get by people who were stopped. If I thought the Giants game was hot, boy was I in for a surprise.  Jake even tried hiding under his seat to get away from the sun.  We ended up leaving our seats fairly early to get back to the shaded concourse.  There was a light breeze so it made it tolerable.  The seats themselves were fairly far away from the action and obviously in direct sun the entire game.  It was pretty cool to see an actual city building incorporated into the ballpark.  As far as keeping the fans engaged, they did an ok job.  Though, we did leave the game much earlier than we wanted to because it was so hot.  Jeremy and I had also been to a game there before, so I didn’t feel like we were missing out too much.   As for the hotdog, I cannot say enough good things about it.  It was just the right thickness, the bun was soft and the dog itself had a good meat flavor.  I contemplated buying a second one.  As I write this, I do regret not buying the second one, even if I did only eat it during our hour drive back to the hotel.  The only thing I will downgrade the food experience is they no longer have the slushies they had when Jeremy and I first went to a game there in 2008.  With the heat, a slushie would have made the heat more tolerable.  This marks a tick in the unhappy column. The Padres played the Dodgers on August 6, 2023 at 4:10 pm and we sat in section 311, row 15.  The price I paid for the tickets to this game was $54 and it seemed a bit high.  Again, if they use dynamic pricing, I’m sure I’m paying for the Dodgers and not the baseball experience. If you want to see the box score, here’s a link

Anaheim Angels - Stadium #3

 

The parking lot was a bit confusing to find the actual entrance.  We parked on the 3rd base side even though we walked up to the front of the stadium to get my customary picture.  Two very large, yet proportionally correct, hats greeted you at the entrance to the stadium.  The concourse wasn’t open to the field like T-Mobile’s, but it didn’t feel cramped even though there were a lot of people there.  I got in line later in the game to get some ice cream and water and none of the lines I saw were more than 5 people deep.  It was strange. I opted to sit in better seats than I would normally pick because they were playing the Mariners.  We had a good view of the field, but I didn’t realize the home team is on the opposite side of the field than at T-Mobile, so I sat us on the home team side.  I was hoping my Ryan Rowland-Smith jersey would have landed me a ball from a player during batting practice if someone was walking towards the dugout.  I did really like how the batter’s eye was basically a large water feature.  And you know I love a good water feature.  The team store was busy!  It was smaller than I thought it should have been and it was so busy that you actually queued up in zig-zag line outside like a ride at Disneyland. The overall fan experience was good and the whole place gave me T-Mobile vibes.  However, the Angels’ fans love doing the wave and they had a pretty strong wave go around 5(ish) times.  Though, the ushers were very strict about who could be down in what rows, but otherwise incredibly friendly. The hotdog at Angels Stadium was pretty good.  It had a nice meaty flavor and a soft bun.  I wouldn’t rank it as a favorite, but it was a solid choice. The Angels played the Mariners on August 5, 2023 at 6:07 pm and we sat in section 108, row V.  The price I paid for the tickets to this game was $65 and it seemed very reasonable and worth it.  The best part is that the Mariners won! If you want to see the box score, here’s a link

LA Dodgers - Stadium #2

 

After a slight mishap on my part, I ended up paying for parking twice, but I did pick two different lots.  Navigating the lot was a bit tricky and definitely required the help of all of the workers to guide us.  We ended up parking about 3 stalls from the entrance of the stadium which was really nice.  Looking 180 degrees from the front of the stadium is a view of Los Angeles and at night it was gorgeous! Right when you enter the stadium, you’re on the 3rd level and can see the whole field from the concourse.  The concourse itself seemed fairly large in terms of not feeling crowded.  Going down a level, there was a kid’s area…a small kid’s area.  There wasn’t a lot to do so Jake seemed to get bored of it quickly. Our seats weren’t that bad view wise, however, out of our 3 seats, 2 of them were definitely broken which made it difficult to sit.  The view out of the back of the stadium as the sun went down was splendid.  Even though the view was just a hill, it made you feel like you were away from the busy city and just there to enjoy baseball. On my quest for a hot dog, we found ourselves at a grab and go style stand.  Dogs, fries and prefilled souvenir cups were all set out to just grab and take to a cashier.  It was pretty handy.  So ‘Dodger Dogs’ are supposed to be a pretty big deal, my son even got a plush of the Dodger Dog.  Don’t come for me, but the hot dog wasn’t all that great.  I liked how it seemed like it was grilled vs just steamed, but that’s about it.  It was on the thinner side and much longer than the bun.  The flavor was rather bland and I couldn’t tell what type of “meat” they put in it.  I prefer Oscar Mayer over this one. The Dodgers played the Athletics on August 2, 2023 at 7:10 pm and we sat in section 8 RS, row R.  The price I paid for the tickets to this game was $43 and it seemed pretty inexpensive from what I was assuming it would be.  I’m unsure if they have dynamic pricing, but if they do, I assume the Athletics wouldn’t draw much of a crowd so that’s why they were so cheap. If you want to see the box score, here’s a link

San Francisco Giants - Stadium #1

 

The Giants game was the first game on our bucket list trip (well, the first we were acknowledging as we’ve been to a bunch of Mariners games already and one Padres game).  We took the short hop ferry (free) from the ferry terminal to the park.  Not only was it amazing to just pull up right outside of the stadium via boat, but it was so much better than looking for parking and paying way too much money to walk a quarter of a mile. The first stop in the stadium is the team store for my souvenirs.  I assumed it would be somewhere around home plate, but how to actually get around the concourse took some effort.  As we wandered around, we did see a game area which was dubbed “the arcade” by the locals.  It had cornhole, skee-ball and probably something else I missed while on my mission.  The concourse ended up being one of the more crowded stadiums that we went to.  We never did actually find the real team store, we just ended up at a rogue store.  After we got done at the team store, it was time to figure out how to get to our seats.  We eventually found our way to the third level and made the appropriate stop at concessions before we headed in.  It was an afternoon game and even though it was only about 78 outside, the sun was beating down on us.  It was HOT!  But the view from our seats was pretty spectacular.  Being able to watch a baseball game and lift your head ever so slightly to see the bay right behind it was a beautiful thing.  The game went into extra innings and since we weren’t sure how to navigate back to the ferry efficiently (and did I mention it was hot?), we left at the middle of the 10th inning.   According to the book Jeremy bought me for my birthday, the 8th inning is when the seagulls were supposed to show up in droves.  I saw one seagull the entire game.  There was a definite lack of seagulls when I was told there would be seagulls.  As far as the overall fan “experience”, it seemed like it was lacking.  They’d show some players answering various questions, but I don’t really recall much other fan engagement type things or things to make the game “fun” such as sound effects.  Though, I will say I am judging the fan experience based on what I’ve seen at Mariners’ games, so take it with a grain or two of salt. I know you’ve been waiting all post to hear my opinion of their hotdog, so wait no longer.  It was mediocre.  It had a nice and soft bun and was a good ratio of thickness to length, but flavor wise was just sort of meh. The Giants played the Boston Red Sox on July 30, 2023 at 1:05 pm and we sat in section 310, row 3.  The price I paid for the tickets to this game was $60 and it seemed slightly overpriced.  The view was amazing, but I think we were paying for the team they played, which was dumb. If you want to see the box score, here’s a link

Savannah Bananas

While the Savannah Bananas were not actually on my bucket list, the entire catalyst for this trip was to go to their game.  Since they were so popular, they had a lottery to determine who was eligible to purchase tickets.  My name was not picked for the ticket lottery and I never made it off of the waitlist after they drew the names. 

Sigh, maybe another time.

The Bucket List

Shortly after Jeremy and I started dating, we decided that visiting all 30 MLB parks was on our bucket list of things to do together.  Luckily, we got married and have plans to stay together, so finishing that task is doable.  Last year, Jeremy introduced me to the Savannah Bananas and how hilariously awesome their games are (find them on YouTube if you don’t know).  In fall 2022, they announced that they would be doing a tour and playing on the road at stadiums all over the country.  They happened to be coming to Arizona and California.  The date of the Arizona game was right next to Mariners' spring training so I could make a vacation out of that!  But there were two in California and both in the summer and you know what else is in California?  5 MLB ballparks.  I put my name in the hat for the tickets, as they were done from by a lottery system, and planned an entire trip around that one date.

I found a way to hit up the Giants, Dodgers, Angels, Padres and Athletics in that order while still carving out time to visit Alcatraz, Disneyland, Universal Studios and the Jelly Belly factory.  Of course, the Bananas’ game would be the first game on our trip.  After hours upon hours working on spreadsheets for this trip, I started buying tickets to the various events and booking hotels, all the while, waiting to see if my name was picked in the lottery to see the Bananas.  Out of curiosity, I checked the Mariners’ schedule and they happened to be at home the day after I planned on returning AND it was my 11th wedding anniversary.  Perfect!  We’ll let the kid spend the night at a friend’s house, as I’m sure he’ll be sick of having mom & dad 24/7 at that point, so Jeremy and I can go to the game to not only finish off the trip with a 6th game, but also go on a date for our anniversary.  The kid isn’t into baseball like Jeremy and I are, so I knew going to 5 games would be tough (6 if you count the Bananas), but I didn’t see another way for Jeremy and I to escape for 2.5 weeks to do it ourselves.  I figured he could tolerate a few hours of baseball as long as I tempted him with Disneyland, souvenirs and a phone with WiFi.

The next 6 posts will be about my experiences at the various games.  Before going to any game, I had decided that I wanted to eat a hotdog at every park (to judge), buy the same item from each park to put in some sort of display and buy a kid’s t-shirt with the logo on it to eventually make into a quilt.  We took various forms of transportation to the parks and that’ll all be included in my trip synopsis.  One last note before I move on, since Seattle is our home stadium and we’ve been there many times over the years (every opening day, except 2, in the past 16 years with Jeremy and the All Star Game in 2023), I’m going to be judging each stadium against T-Mobile Park.  “But Jenny, shouldn’t you be objective?”  No, it’s my blog and as Cartman said, “I do what I want”.