A Change in Plans - 7/10

We are having so much fun, we can't possibly head home just yet.
We have decided to come to Phoenix to catch one more game.
Read the report tomorrow.

Fanfest! - 7/9

Those of you who have been following our adventure since New York will remember Fanfest!  This year we shared this baseball lovers' extravaganza with Jack and Brandy.  Here are a few highlights...

Photo ops and autographs.

Mascots everywhere!

 Face painting (and Big League Chew!)

 Games to play.

 And don't forget all the loot!!!!

Robert's Sportscast - 7/8

Tonight's game was the Chicago Cubs against the Los Angeles Dodgers. 43,640 watched the Dodgers win. Boooooo! Wells for the Cubs got the loss For the Dodgers Broxten got the save and Kershaw got the win. The Cubs got 6 singles, 1 double, no triples, and 1 home run. The Dodgers got 3 singles, 1 double, no triples, and 1 home run. The Cubs pitched 8 strike outs, all were swinging. The Dodgers pitched 11 strikeouts, all were swinging except 1.  The final score was 3-2.

Dodgers - 7/8

Dodger Stadium was opened in 1962, and is currently the 3rd oldest ballpark in Major League Baseball behind Fenway and Wrigley, but has little of their charm.  And, unlike Angles Stadium, has not had any recent facelifts.  She doesn't just look old, this one is closer to deceased! The first deck must have been nice years ago.  It has a bright, airy feeling, with the field side completely open.  Everywhere has a good view of the field.  But the upper levels seem more like a dungeon.  Low hanging ceilings, closed in spaces, and years of overuse had us running for the escalators.

The park has the feel of a small, intimate park.  But surprisingly, Dodger Stadium has the largest seating capacity in MLB, holding 56,000 fans!  Due to a conditional use permit, they may not add capacity, so every time seats are added, an equal number must be removed.

One of our least favorite aspects of this park is the caste system feel of segregated areas.  Entrance to the park is based on the seating section listed on your ticket, and upper level ticket holders cannot visit levels below them.  Of course you can always travel up, but some areas we couldn't even find access to with our field level tickets!

Guest Services is an unmanned kiosk.  A security guard had to summon someone to assist us.  The rep was friendly enough, and suggested some things to see, but didn't provide any of the treatment to which we have become accustomed.  Yes, we're definitely spoiled... but when we are comparing various parks, we can't discount the effect of the schwag on the Belove's overall opinion!

During batting practice, the Dodgers do something we have not seen in any other park.  They invite fans down into the dugout to check things out and get autographs.  Pretty cool, huh?  Well, it took us so long to figure out where guest services are, that we arrived 10 min too late to take advantage of this feature.  Bummer!  How many strikes are we up to?  I think the Dodgers might be out! 

One thing we can say, Dodger fans know how to have a good time.  They are a lively bunch,  always up to something. Whether it's The Wave, a song, or beach balls (which they are allowed to do!), they play along with gusto.  The Diamond Vision provided lots of between-inning entertainment, and some of it things we had not seen before:  A concentration game, This or That, a Jeopardy! take-off, and Andre Ethier "Captain Crunch" comic book animated adventure (it was Andre Ethier action figure night.)

And, our seats were terrific!!  Field level, down the right field line.  Prime foul ball territory, but no such luck!

All in all, seeing Dodger Stadium made the Beloves pretty blue...

Fanfest tomorrow!!

Robert's Sportscast - 7/3

Today's game was the Angels against the Royals. 39,112 fans watched the Angels lose 4 to 2. Bruce Chen for the Royals pitched 7.1 innings and got the win.  Joakim Soria for the Royals pitched 1 inning and got the save. Ervin Santanna for the Angels pitched 8.1 innings and got the loss. There were 9 strikeouts. 5 were pitched by the Royals the other 4 by the Angels, 8 were swinging and 1 looking. There were 6 walks, 3 thrown by each team. The Royals hit 7 singles, no doubles, no triples and no home runs. The Angels hit 3 singles, no doubles, no triples and 1 home run.  There were no errors in this game. Go Royals!

Angels – 7/3

Like an aging old woman, neither careful application of paint and dressing nor several facelifts can hide the old bones of Angels Stadium. Opening in 1962, the stadium was designed in an era when what mattered was the action on the field, not the ambiance of the venue. Many of the concession areas were hidden in back hallways away from views of the field, and little attempt was made to disguise ductwork and plumbing. She doesn’t have the charm of a classic old park like Wrigley or Fenway, and her closest peer in our travels, Shea Stadium, was recently replaced. Although the game itself provided some good entertainment, the highlight of the experience for us had more to do with the company… Brandy and Jack have joined us here in LA for a week of fun and baseball.


Many fans showed up early for batting practice, so each of our boys was only able to get one ball apiece (how spoiled are we??) but Carter got his autographed by Royals #54, pitcher Anthony Lerew. Strangely, it was the Royals players out there chatting up the crowd, tossing balls and signing autographs. Typical KC fan-friendly style!





A few minutes at guest services and we were fast friends with the 4 previously unoccupied workers. We discussed ballparks, vacations and kids, as well as things to see at their park. We walked out with first timer stickers, tattoos, an Angels’ calendar (year beginning in April!), and a video of the 2002 Angels vs. Giants World Series.

A couple of activities are available for the smaller kids, at no extra charge. Carter won a pair of “boppers” at ringtoss, and can pitch 34 mph!!

Our seats were on the 4th deck on the 1st base side. We had a fairly unobstructed view of the game, as well as the LA freeway system. Highlights included the Disney-inspired waterfall, fireworks for hometown homeruns, and t-shirt cannons (no, we didn’t catch one.) The Angels are very attached to their “Rally Monkey” and they put a lot of time and effort into inserting their furry friend into famous movie clips –it is LA, after all! But even the Rally Monkey couldn’t save the day for the Angels.




All in all an this was an unremarkable experience, rating it in the bottom fourth of parks we’ve seen. Beloves’ recommendation: save your money and drive the extra 90 minutes to Petco!



A couple of days of beach and Disneyland play ahead before our next stadium – Dodgers!