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MLB ROAD TRIP 2001
2001.5.16 <VOL.14> Days 26-32
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*We are in Minneapolis
Index
1. Format change
2. Plans change
3. One month on the road
4. Our best day so far
5. A new stadium in Milwaukee still needs work
6. An old stadium in Minneapolis should be destroyed
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Change in format
For the first few issues, I have been writing day-by-descriptions of our trip.
But as we enter our baseball-heavy section of the trip, each day has become so
similar, (i.e we drove to <city>, saw a game between <visitor> and
<home>, did some touring at a <museum/park>, and ate some
<good/bad> food) that a continuation of this format would be severely
boring. Rather, I will just mention some of the highlights of the trip. For
those of you who want ballpark and city reviews, check the website, they are
posted about a week after we visit.
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Change in plans
For those of you who have been following our schedule,
you will notice that it has changed again. We decided to come up to Minneapolis
a couple of days early to see two games featuring Boston and Minnesota. Turns
out that both games were excellent, and we are also going to see a game in St.
Paul tomorrow. We are then hitting Appleton next Monday for an afternoon game in
the Midwest League, and then down to Wrigley for the Reds/Cubs on Tuesday. I
expect our plans will change again, as we like to see if we can get good
pitching matchups - today we saw AL wins leader Brad Radke throw a complete game
over the Bosox, which was the best performance we have seen so far.
What this means is that we will miss Seattle at Minnesota
next week, but as we are returning to Seattle in July, we will have more chances
to see Ichiro, who has just extended his hitting streak to 22 games -
unbelievable!
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One month on the road
Yesterday marked our first month of travel. In that time we have seen 17 ball games, 5 national parks or monuments, and over 5000 miles of blacktop. To answer the questions that you are all thinking: we are not sick of baseball, we are not sick of driving, but we are getting a little tired of American food.
The first month has gone by so fast, but in that time, I have made a few pointless observations that I would like to share with you:
America is really big and has some amazing scenery. But most Americans see hardly any of it.
Small-town fans seem to enjoy the game more - everyone knows everyone else, and you can afford to go a lot more often.
Every small-town ball team has the same fans: the old lady who arrives when the gates open, sits by herself, and knows everyone; the fat guy heckling from the front row; the 40-year old guy getting autographs, and of course, the morons driving to all the parks.
It is very, very difficult to cash travelers checks that are not American Express.
A lot of things don't work - it seems like "Out of Order" is the most common sign that we see - is there a shortage of qualified repairmen?
Talk radio is boring. Sports talk radio is even more boring. But it beats country music.
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Our best day
The best day of the trip so far was Saturday, May 12. First, we visited the Field of Dreams movie site in Dyersville, Iowa - it has been faithfully maintained for 12 years and is free to all. You can even play there - while we were taking pictures, a family got out the bats and balls and invited us over to join the fun. We each took a few swings and played some defense - check out the "Drives" page on the website for a link to some pictures of us playing on the field. As we visited in May, the corn has yet to grow, but it was still a great experience to play ball. If you have a chance, you should go, and make sure to bring your bats, balls, and gloves.
An interesting bit of trivia - the field is actually owned by two neighbors. One of them, Don Lansing, owns the infield and right field, and he has set up a souvenir stand to pay for upkeep. The other owner remains anonymous but he owns left and center field, and has allowed an investment bank to set up a separate souvenir stand.
After leaving the field, we drove to Beliot and upon arriving at the ballpark, were told that we would witness a doubleheader - Friday's game had been suspended. And after the games, there would be fireworks. It was a great evening relaxing and you can't complain about two games for the price of one. During the game, Aya won another t-shirt, which should complete her wardrobe for the trip.
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Miller Park needs work
We have now seen 5 major league parks, 4 of which are new and one of which should be destroyed. Miller Park is the newest, opening only one month ago, but it needs some work. During a rain storm, although the retractable roof had been closed, it was leaking in various spots, including the field level seats above the third-base dugout. Even more embarrassing was the terrible infield. It had been planted in March and the sod had not taken root. It looked awful, and as it turns out, they had to replace it. After the game on Monday ended, they began ripping up the field and when we returned the next day for the ballpark tour, the infield grass was completely gone. The Brewers are away for a week, so we'll have to see if they can get it right this time.
Other than those problems, the park is excellent, with good sight lines and a wide variety of ticket prices. They also have $1 Uecker seats (named after famed Brewers' broadcaster Bob Uecker) which are seats that are partially obstructed by the roof supports. But as ushers don't seem to check tickets, I would recommend buying those seats and moving somewhere else.
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Get rid of it
The park that needs to be destroyed is the Hubert H. Humprhey Metrodome in Minneapolis. Ugly, poor seating (it is also a football stadium), and absolutely no ballpark feel make this a terrible place to watch a game. However, the team that calls the Metrodome home, the Minnesota Twins, is for real. They are leading the AL Central by 1.5 games and we have just watched them take 2 straight over AL East leaders Boston. Timely hitting and quality pitching, as well as some sparkling defence in both games make the Twins a great team to watch. Their record is no fluke, and although Cleveland is hot on their tail, the Twins should remain in contention. Sadly, fans have to endure the dome while enjoying their team, but it seems like they are used to it: Minnesota fans were the most enthusiastic we have seen so far.
That's all for this issue. Hope you enjoyed it.
Take care,
Sean and Aya
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