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MLB ROAD TRIP 2003
2003.04.30 <VOL.8> Days 27-31
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Location: Detroit
Day # 31
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Calm Cincinnati
In 2001, I saw every major league stadium, 30 in all. This included Cinergy Field in Cincinnati. But this year, Cinergy was imploded as the Reds opened the newest stadium in the majors, known as the Great American Ball Park. I thought this was an excellent name, until I found out that Great American is actually an insurance company, and this is just another in the trend of corporations buying rights to the parks - can you believe that Comiskey Park is now known as U.S. Cellular Field?
Anyway, since this was a new park, I would have to make a visit in order to keep my 30 major league parks record intact. I arrived in Cincinnati on Wednesday night after watching a game in Louisville. Actually, I didn't arrive in Cincinnati, I stopped in Newport, Kentucky, a suburb just over the Ohio River. My hotel was a 10-minute walk to the stadium, over a bridge. It was a nice walk, as you can see the stadium and the skyline behind it as you make your way over the water. In fact, a lot of people park their cars in Newport and then walk across to the game.
Originally, I had only planned to spend two nights here, but the hotel had a deal where if you stayed 1 night you got the second night half-price, which meant a hotel room for $22, only 10 minutes from the GABP. As well, the ECHL's Cincinnati Cyclones had a home playoff game on Saturday night against the Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies. Since there was a day game at the GABP, it was a perfect chance for a multi-sport doubleheader. Some of you might remember that I had seen these Bullies in Trenton back on April 7th, so I couldn't pass up an opportunity to see them again 3 weeks later, in the semi-finals no less. So I stayed four nights in Newport. During that time. I did nothing other than watch games and catch up on sleep, and see many strange people (more on that later). A very relaxing time after four weeks on the road.
But this means that I have nothing of interest to report on from my time here. The ballpark is nice, but not great (perhaps it should be called the Not So Bad American Ball Park), at least compared to other new parks in Pittsburgh and San Francisco. But it is a huge improvement over Cinergy, whose remains lie next door - it has yet to be completely cleaned up. In fact, there is still a lot of development to be done around the GABP, as Cincinnati tries to turn the riverfront into an attraction in itself. Apparently this will take a year or two, so I will have to revisit in 2005 to check on the progress.
Inside the stadium, there are still a few kinks to be worked out. In one of the games I saw, the ribbon score boards (which line the facing of the second deck) were blinking on and off for an inning or two before they were shut down for good. And the video board had some problems as well. But these were minor complaints and will be fixed shortly, I am sure. I do recommend that ballpark enthusiasts make a trip to Cincinnati to check out the new digs - upper deck seats might be the best bet as they give you a view of the river. And the way Cincinnati is playing, that might be the most entertaining aspect of the game.
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Strange Hotel
Having spent hundreds of days on the road over the past few years, I have checked into and out of many hotels. I have had good hotels and bad hotels, but in my time have never gotten to know anyone who works at them. In Newport, that finally changed. When I checked in, the night clerk told me his name (Adrian) and said that if I needed anything, to give him a call. The next day, I was returning from the game and Adrian was on duty again. Amazingly, he remembered my name and so I stopped to chat. This was an excellent decision, because for the first time, I actually saw a hotel front desk in operation. Not only that, a late-night front desk in Newport, Kentucky, home of some of the strangest folks around.
As I talked to Adrian, 3 young girls who had just finished their prom were waiting for their dates to arrive so they could check in. They tried to look inconspicuous but that is hard to do where you are wearing a sparkly red dress in a dingy hotel lobby. Their southern belle accents were sweet to listen to and served as a reminder that I was still in Rebel country. Shortly thereafter, a slightly nervous gentleman came in and said he only needed a room for an hour or two. (Gee, what for?) I was trying hard not to laugh, but Adrian was obviously used to this and quoted the full rate with a straight face. The guy tried to negotiate as he only needed it "for an hour or two" (he repeated this several times to my amusement), but in this case, the hotel was in the stronger negotiating position. The guy eventually paid the full rate and disappeared to his room. Later on, two very drunk individuals came in looking for a room. They had about $20 on them and proceeded to curse when they found out the room total was slightly more (actually a lot more, over $70 with tax). Neither of them could walk, so they took a seat and continued drinking while Adrian called them a cab. The guy was chewing tobacco and spitting in on the floor. Lovely manners. But the night wasn't over yet. A woman came by to get a new key as she had locked the previous one in her room. No problem, we have all done that at one time or another. But 30 minutes later she returned again - she had locked the second key in the room as well! While waiting for her third key, she began to complain about her new husband's family and how stupid they were, completely missing the irony that she had locked not one, but two keys in her room. Who's the stupid one?
For me, listening to this all this stuff is fun, but I could tell that Adrian heard it every night, and he was pretty tired of it. So after returning from each game, I would stop by and visit Adrian to keep him company, as well as to watch the various characters coming in and out of the hotel at 1 or 2 am. It was a very enlightening experience, and one that made me realize that I am actually pretty normal, in spite of my penchant for driving around the country touring ballparks.
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Savings in South Bend
Monday I found myself in South Bend, Indiana, famous as the home of Notre Dame University. It is also home of the College Football Hall of Fame. Although I am not a big college football fan, I still had to see the Hall of Fame, and it was worth it as I spent 3 hours wandering around discovering the development of the game. The best part was the "Tryout" room, where you could pass, run, and kick footballs in an attempt to determine if you would have been a college football player. The museum was empty, and so I was able to spend as much time as I wanted practicing my passing and kicking. Lots of fun being a child again..
Afterwards, I drove around town for a while. There really wasn't much else to do in South Bend besides check out Notre Dame, which held no interest for me, so I headed over to the stadium, arriving about 2 hours before the game. There was no way to sneak in like in Nashville, so I wandered around the stadium. Nothing there either. I decided to get my ticket, and went to the sales window. Prices were $7 and $5. "I need a $5 ticket", I said. But the guy told me that tonight was $1 night. "What's that mean?", I asked. "All seats for $1, all hot dogs for $1 and beer for $1". I couldn't believe it. Rather than a $5 seat, a $3 hot dog and a $3 beer, I would get all for only $3! I was thrilled - as a budget-conscious road tripper, every dollar counts. I think every team should have a promotion like this on a regular basis. Get the crowd out, and get 'em drunk!
Of course, I couldn't get drunk as I had to drive over 2 hours after the game to get to Toledo. But I did have one beer and let me tell you, I wouldn't have had another even if it was free. It was the most horrid stuff I had ever tasted. If you want to get alcoholics to stop drinking, make them drink this crap every night. I guess $1 beer means that they get the old kegs up from the 2002 season or something. Thankfully, the $1 hot dog was decent. But then again, it is not that often that you can enjoy a sporting event for only $3, so I shouldn't complain. If you go to South Bend, my advice is to do so on a Monday - all Monday home games are $1 night - just have a Pepsi instead of the beer.
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I See Another First for Jose
As I mentioned, I had to drive for about 2.5 hours from South Bend to Toledo after the game. This involved another time zone change as I returned to Eastern time. Since the game ended at 9:30 in South Bend, I arrived in Toledo at 1 am. Why would I have to drive so late? Because the game in Toledo was scheduled for 10:30 am! It was to be another Kids Day, much like the one in Nashville a week earlier. I had never seen a game so early, and when I woke up at 8:30, I was exhausted. But a look outside refreshed me instantly - it was sunny and warm, a great morning for baseball.
I drove into downtown Toledo (where the stadium is) behind several school buses, all of whom were going to the game as well. Because it was a day game, meter parking was not an option, so I took a cheap lot close to the park. I then walked over and took some pictures of the main entrance. I was about to buy my ticket when I noticed a guy looking around. Ah, the slightly lost look of someone trying to get rid of tickets! I asked him if he had an extra ticket and he said yes, handing me a freebie! Free baseball! Could it get any better? I thanked him profusely and made my way into the stadium.
After wandering around the park, making notes and taking pictures for the website, I made my way to the seat, which was perfect, only 4 rows from the field between home and third - a great place to get a suntan. With all the kids in attendance, there weren't many empty seats, so I was fortunate to be able to sit here, since I could take pictures of the game without having to move around.
Then the starting lineups were announced and things got even better. The Columbus starter was to be Jose Contreras! He is the Cuban pitcher whom the Yankees signed to a 4-year, $32 million contract in the off-season. His first few appearances in New York were disappointing, so he had been sent down to AAA to get some work. This was to be his first minor-league start - I couldn't believe how lucky I was. I had seen his first major-league appearance back in Toronto on opening day, and now I would witness his first minor-league appearance as well. I expect few people would be able to lay claim to this pointless but interesting bit of trivia.
Contreras signed with the Yankees because they offered him the most money. Now here he was pitching in the minors! The irony was that Contreras would probably be pitching in the majors had he signed with any other club. But the Yankees staff is so strong that they could afford to send him down to Columbus, where he must suffer the indignity of pitching in front of thousands of school children who cheer the dizzy bat race more than the game itself. In fact, out of the 10,300 announced crowd (a sell-out), probably only 200 people actually knew who this guy was.
Contreras pitched very well, going only 5 innings but striking out 8 and giving up no runs. He was getting up to 95 on the radar gun, so I expect him to be back in the majors shortly. Toledo lost 7-1, but it was an excellent game with the score 2-1 entering the last inning before Toledo's final pitcher gave up 5 runs to blow it open. Let's see - 10:30 start, free ticket, all-star calibre pitching, and a good game - a perfect baseball day.
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A New Mascot
Seeing Contreras wasn't the only highlight of the game in Toledo, home of the Mudhens. I also witnessed the introduction of a new mascot! Yes, Muddy the Mudhen was getting lonely, and so the Mudhen marketing geniuses came up with a female companion for him: Mudonna - ha-ha! Mudonna was introduced in the 5th inning and came out to dance a little for the fans. This was accompanied by some puns from the P.A. announcer, such as "That's a big dress, Mudonna. I guess you needed a lot of material, girl!". Get it? Oh boy, with entertainment like this, who needs baseball?
I guess Muddy was excited that he would have someone to flirt with now, although Mudonna seemed more intent on trying to please the crowd. It will be interesting to see if they have any new Mudhen mascots next season - that Mudonna is known to get around. At any rate, Mudonna collectibles are now on sale, so hurry up to Toledo to get yours now.
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Other Comments
Less than a week to go and as you could tell by this rather uneventful update, things are slowing down. Tonight I will go to an NBA playoff game in Detroit. There is also a baseball game in Detroit that I could see, but it features the woeful Tigers, and quite frankly, I would rather watch a minor league game than these guys. After that, I will see 2 more Blue Jay games in Toronto (no longer a SARS warning zone) and finally return home to Ottawa, where the NHL playoffs will again be on the schedule as Philadelphia visits on Saturday. The trip ends on May 4th with the Mudhens of Toledo visiting Ottawa. I am thinking of extending the trip by one week to see if I can visit Rochester and Syracuse, the two parks I missed due to that snowstorm about a month ago, but will decide that next week.
Anyway, I will send one more update summarizing the trip and giving my best and worst awards, I hope you all keep well until then.
See you next time,
Sean
http://www.mlbroadtrip.com/english