week.of.b . baseball

week.of.b - baseball
i've appointed this week as the week.of.b; kicking things off is baseball.

i began to have an interest in baseball when i was 8, when my older brother got me started collecting baseball cards. my allowance wasn't enough to get the hologrammed upper deck cards, so i quickly became a donruss collector. i have almost the entire set of donruss '90. admittedly, today i don't follow baseball much on tv until the end of the season, but i will say that there's nothing like being at a ballpark with a hot dog and a beer on a sunny day watching a baseball game. i started thinking about the short list of stadiums i've been to for mlb games, and thought i'd start a formal blog list about them.

1.the metrodome - minneapolis, mn - minnesota twins
i've been to more games than i can count at this indoor stadium. i remember taking trips up to minneapolis with my family when i was young to see the twins play ball. we used to do some family bidding about what the final score of the game would be. i won two years in a row, spot on. my grandpa was convinced i was lucky. in college at the university of minnesota, wednesday nights were student nights, so admission with a college id was $3.00! incidentally, wednesdays were also dollar-dome dog nights, so you could get dinner and mlb entertainment for $5 or less. dome dogs became a form of currency for bets in one of my college apartments. (b.b.b. - i believe you still owe me 3 dome dogs.)

the metrodome is a fixture of the minneapolis skyline, built in 1982, but is sadly finishing up its service as the home of the twins for over 25 years. the new open-air 'target field' in minneapolis's downtown warehouse district, with an expected completion in 2010, will seat 40,000 fans and is estimated to cost more than $412 million. though i'll miss the metrodome, i'm sure the visiting teams won't--the ceiling made it tricky to catch fly balls. the metrodome and the twins will always be fundamental to my love of baseball.

2.rfk stadium - washington d.c. - washington nationals
the home of the new washington nationals team (formerly the montreal expos) for a few years (2005 - 2007) was rfk stadium. the first home opener for the nationals was in april of 2005. i went to dc to visit my brother a few months later, and got to see the new team play in an old stadium. (rfk was built in 1961.) the nationals played the new york mets; it was an excellent way to spend a sunny 4th of july afternoon before heading to an overlook point to watch our nation's capital's fireworks display.

the national's new home stadium, 'national park', opened in march 2008.

3.fenway park - boston, ma - boston red sox
the grandfather of all baseball stadiums...fenway. it's the oldest stadium in all of the major league. it was built in 1912, and is located in back bay between kenmore square and the fens. i've been to a handful of games here since i moved out east, and my luck hasn't been good--every game i've been to has been raining. i attempted to go to a game a few weeks ago (red sox vs. twins) but it was rained out and postponed. but i've definitely had a great time when i have been there. i've done the corporate box seats (sat just above matthew mcconaughey--see left), but frankly, i prefer the cheap seats. they have the more entertaining spectators. there are no other fans quite like boston red sox fans, believe me. bostonians are more than proud of their team. i've never seen such loyal fans in my life.

just before i moved out east, the red sox won their first world series in 86 years. it was an awesome moment. and almost as awesome was their 2007 world series win, just a few months after i moved to boston. the energy in the boston air during a sox world series is palpable. so here's to fenway, one of the greatest stadiums of all time. the fenway franks, the green monster, the heckling fans, the legends. you'll be hard-pressed to find a better place to watch a ball game.

4.safeco field - seattle, wa - seattle mariners
and rounding out my mlb stadium list, i just visited safeco field in seattle for a mariners vs. oakland a's game while on my seattle/portland trip. keeping with my baseball game weather luck, it was raining, but fortunately safeco field's cool retractable roof kept things dry. the safeco field stadium was opened in 1999, and is a great venue to watch a game at. it's the only sporting event i've been to that had specialty food stands (thai, burritos, sushi, bbq, espresso...) beyond the standard hot dog/pizza fare, which is why it's no surprise that safeco won the food network's 'best ballpark eats in america' title. and speaking of titles, the beer garden adjacent to center field at safeco was recently named the number one place to meet singles in seattle. having been there, i can see why.safeco field is located just south of downtown seattle, and will be a stop on the new light rail transit line opening this summer in seattle.