PIRATES

Baseball just brings out the nicest people. And if our experience at PNC park doesn't prove that, you just aren't paying attention.

During batting practice, Jim got chatting with the Ray's catcher, #77 Cursi, about our trip. He seemed genuinely interested in what we thought of the various parks we had seen, and later gave Carter a ball. Robert was also tossed a ball by one of the Ray's players.

After that, during our tour of the park, we met the wonderful Michael L. in Guest Relations. After chatting with him about baseball, the park, and our trip, he generously upgraded our tickets from bleachers to 5 rows from the field!

In our travels around the park, we had the great honor of meeting Sean Gibson and Brent Stevens, the great-grandsons of two of baseball's greatest players, Josh Gibson (remember him, from our post on the Negro Leagues? Use this link to find out more about him Josh Gibson and the foundation these two have set up) and Babe Ruth (to be equal-opportunity bloggers, here is a link about him, too Babe Ruth). These two were delightful and fascinating to chat with, and both were very interested in hearing about our trip. They signed a picture for us of their great-grandfathers together, and posed for this picture. What great fortune for the Belove family to have run into them.

This is their version of a "Golden" bridge, and it can be seen both outside and inside the park. It is named for one of baseball's the the Pirate's golden players, Roberto Clemente.

This is really a beautiful park. It is set up with no real interior, with outdoor patios and walkways all around the stadium. From the field is a view of Pittsburgh's beautiful skyline. Check out these very interesting pictures by clicking on them to make them bigger.

PNC takes the pirate theme to a Disney-ish level. It is not pervasive in the park, like the Tiger theme. But it is played up during the game with animated shorts of pirates and ships between innings. The music often has a sea-shanty style, and this cute mascot is a parrot. Go figure! Between innings he and a pirate throw t-shirts and hot-dogs into the stands.

The park had a small-market, play-to-the-fans feel, much like KC did, with games and contests and activities between nearly every half-inning. But the Beloves thought the physical park was nicer here. The food in this place has yet to be rivalled. From hand-grilled Ruben sandwiches (we WISH we had taken a picture of those beauties!) to crab cakes to hot wings. Even the standard hot-dogs, french fries and pizza looked great, and had very large portions for the cost.

We give this treasure two flags up!

Robert's Sportscast

Todays game was the San Francisco Giants against the Cleveland Indians. The final score was 4 to 1 in the Giants favor. There were 2 homeruns in the game both by the Giants. The Giants threw 4 strikeouts 2 swinging and 2 caught them looking, and the Indians threw 3 and they were all swinging. 25,654 fans were astonished to see Barry Zito get his 3rd win of this season, Barry Zito had a great curveball working to night. Barry Zito only gave up 4 hits! The winning pitcher was obviously Barry Zito for the Giants and the losing pitcher was Sowers for the Indians. It was a very exciting game to watch. That's all for Robert's Sportscast.

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

Yes, we know this is a baseball trip. But we just couldn't visit Cleveland without a trip to the great Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. We even altered our itinerary slightly in order to give it the time it is due.

As it turned out, one of this summer's exhibits is a tribute to baseball's role in music. From the old standby "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" to "Did You See Jackie Robinson Hit That Ball?" to Madonna's hit " This Used to Be My Playground" from the movie A League of Their Own, many songs have been written about and for the game of baseball. How lucky for us, that a side-trip (that we certainly would have taken anyway!) turned out to fit right into our theme! You can't write stuff like this! (Oh, I guess I just did!)

Cameras aren't allowed inside the actual museum, so these are all shots of the lobby.

I'm not usually the type to buy souvenir T-shirts, but this one I just couldn't pass up!

What a shame that San Francisco turned down the opportunity to have this amazing museum. It is a must-see, and , since the exhibits are constantly changing, I know a lot of people who would gladly be members and return again and again! It's a HOME RUN

INDIANS

This is Progressive Field, home of the Cleveland Indians. But to the Belove family it is better known as the ballpark where we never actually sat in our seats!

The park is beautiful, and designed so that you are always looking out, either at the field, or the neighborhood surrounding the park, giving it an open and airy feeling.

You could tell during warm-ups that Barry Zito had his stuff in this warm, humid air. One of his throws was missed by the catcher and nailed a woman sitting very close to where we were standing.
When warm-ups ended, we just never got up to go to our seats and ended up like stow-aways on an incredible baseball cruise ship. We didn't even venture to the bathroom, for fear of being thrown overboard, and spent our time dodging foul balls and chatting with the local ball-boy (who, incidentally, gave Robert a ball at the end of the game.)

The fans were thrilled to see the return of their former player, Omar Vizquel, now playing with the Giants, and came out in droves to both honor him and mourn his loss. They are a loyal bunch, who enjoy their baseball and know how to have a good time. There were many games, contests, and give-aways. And the Beloves noticed that in this park, the selected fans are often in the cheap seats, rather than people who could easily have afforded to buy the prize.

Onion won the wiener race, which made us all cry.

This was a fun park in so many ways, and was given very high ratings for the overall experience by the Belove family.

Robert's Sportscast

Today's game was the Detroit Tigers against the St. Louis Cardinals. Today's final score was 8 to 4, in the Cardinals' favor. There were 4 homeruns in the game, 1 by the Cardinals and 3 by the Detroit Tigers. There were 44,446 fans in the game today. It was an exciting game for the 44,446 fans that were there. 44,446 was the 3rd largest crowd in Comerica Park history. There were 8 hits for the Tigers and 14 for the Cardinals. There was 1 walk in the game, and that was on the Cardinals side. The Tigers threw 4 walks, and the Cardinals threw 3. It was an exciting game today. So that's all for Robert's Sportcast.

TIGERS

Driving through a city that is long-past its hey-day -with tumbling down bricks, art-deco buildings which were once things of beauty, over streets being reclaimed by mother nature, and past the skeletal remains of the old Tiger Stadium lies a hidden jewel - Comerica Park.


Old Tiger Stadium




Comerica Park is a beautiful park with an almost over-the-top theme. The image of the tiger is omnipresent, from the gigantic statues standing sentry at the gates, to light sconces, scoreboard tigers with light-up eyes... you couldn't look anywhere in the park without the watchful eyes of a tiger upon you.










The atmosphere at Comerica Park is almost carnival-like. There are rides for the kids, a beer pavilion, and so much to see and do that you could easily get distracted and miss the game. The night we were there, they were celebrating the 1968 Tigers' World Series win. Former players were on-hand to sign autographs, and they were giving away 1968 replica jerseys to the first 10,000 fans. They must not have much to do here in Detroit, because this brought out the largest crowd we have seen so far, and the third largest in Comerica Park's history. A sea of people, to be sure.

Unfortunately, this park had some of the worst seats we have ever seen in any park. They are literally behind the score-board, with so many obstructions that people sitting there couldn't see the field of play. And guess where our seats were? You guessed it! But, as BelovesAmazingBaseballAdventure stories tend to go, there is a happy ending. As Jim was going to Guest Services to try and fix the problem, he met another unhappy fan who was happy to unload his (first-deck) seats on us.



This is a picture of Pudge from our new-and-improved seats. I love how it looks like he is looking directly into the camera!





This was an enjoyable stadium, and a fun ballgame. Carter was thrilled that "his" team won, and he managed to stay awake until we returned home. Next stop: Cleveland.

Robert's Sportscast

Today's game was between two first-place teams- the Chicago White Sox against the Chicago Cubs. Today's game was really intense. I have never seen more excited fans in my life! I can't even tell you how excited they are in Chicago, especially when the game is a cross-town rivalry. The Chicago Cubs won, with the final score of 7 to 1 in the Cubs favor. The Chicago Cubs swept the White Sox in a three game series. There were 2 homeruns in the game, both by the Chicago Cubs. There were 3 stolen bases, 2 by the Chicago Cubs and 1 for the White Sox. The winning pitcher was Howry for the Cubs, and the losing pitcher was Jenks for the White Sox. It took Jenks 9 pitches to throw a strike. There were 9 hits for the White Sox and 8 hits for the Cubs. The Cubs only threw 1 walk, and the White Sox threw 8 walks. It was a very exciting game for the Beloves. Now we're headed to Detroit to see the Detroit Tigers against the St. Louis Cardinals. That's all for Robert's Sportcast.

CUBS!

Wrigley Field is for those who like their coffee black, and their liquor straight up. Just pure, raw baseball. No frills. Just baseball. The fans at Wrigley take their game very seriously. Nowhere have we heard a more enthusiastic version of Take Me Out To the Ballgame, or more yelling, cheering, jeering, and noise. It is difficult to put into words, which is why there are so many more pictures for this post.

Like a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow lies Wrigley's scoreboard. It is still operated by hand, just as it has been for the last 94 years. No Diamond Vision, no JumboTron. No contests, games, or entertainment. And you had better like the sound of an organ, because the sound system also hasn't been updated since it was installed, and sounds like a tinny Victrola. Very little has been changed or updated, except for adding a row of luxury boxes between its two decks.

But don't for a moment believe that this detracted from our experience. We LOVED this field! Nowhere else have we felt so vibrantly connected to the experience of baseball.

The carnival atmosphere.

The ghosts of great players past, as well as that of the great Harry Carey.

The intensity of the fans. Their great love of this park, the game, and their team.

The awe of a true neighborhood ballpark, with its pubs and shops and stands on top of buildings and FANS everywhere!

A true sense of history, and BASEBALL!

A beauty, isn't she?

Yes, our visit to Wrigley Field was exhausting, but we wouldn't have missed it for the world! A must-see for those who truly love the game of baseball. (That means you, Dad!)

Robert's Sportscast

Todays game was the Orioles against the Brewers. The final score was 8 to 5 in the Orioles favor. There were 4 homeruns in the game 2 by the Orioles and 2 by the Brewers. 36,526 fans watched their Brewers lose. There were 11 strike-outs in the game, the Breweres threw 8 strike-outs and the Orioles threw 3 strike-outs. It was a exciting game today. The winning pitcher was Cormier for the Orioles and the losing pitcher was Supan. Thats all for Robert's Sportcast.

BREWERS

Word to the weary baseball traveler -- Don't trust Mapquest directions. But you CAN trust Milwaukee (Veterans Affairs) Police. Thanks to the amazing Officer Kern, we were able to park just a block from the stadium!

Jack and the Beloves liked the look of the exterior of this stadium. It really is quite beautiful. The inside is a strange mixture of attractive on the main level, with good views of the field, to very maze-like and removed on the upper levels. It is very kid friendly, with lots for the youngsters to do and GREAT photo-ops...

Here is one of Carter, hanging out with his big, plastic baseball buddies!

And, don't forget the sausage races!

The roof is really cool. It was bright and sunny when we got there, with the roof wide open. By the 4th inning is subtly closed. Most of the fans didn't even notice it was happening. And then the thunder and lightning started. Guess you have to be constantly logged into weather.com to know what to do with it!

The location of your seats definitely makes a difference in the experience of a game. Unfortunately, ours gave us all an attack of claustrophobia. The action on the field was fun, but difficult to see at times. The Orioles won, but that didn't diminish the party-attitude of the crowd here in Milwaukee! Let the beer flow!

A day of much-needed rest, and then we are back in Chicago for the big Cubs-White Sox cross-town rivalry!

Robert's Sportscast

Todays game was the Pittsburg Pirates against the Chicago White Sox. The final score was Pirates 8 White Sox 13. There were 3 homeruns and 1 Grand Slam for Jermane Dye who was a former A's. The Pirates had 1 homerun and White Sox had 2 homeruns and 1 Grand Slam. The winning pitcher was Floyd for the White Sox and Donatrant the loosing pitcher for the Pirates. It was an exciting game for the fans. That is all for Robert's Sportcast today.

WHITE SOX (a game to Dye for!)

Here is Jack at U.S. Cellular Field, where we saw an outstanding game between the Chicago White Sox, and the Pittsburgh Pirates. The stadium is nice, and big, and set up well for fans, with the exception that you only have access to the level where you have purchased tickets... meaning, that with 3rd deck seats, we weren't going to get to see the whole thing. Thank goodness they have friendly guys working at Guest Services. After explaining our adventure, they not only gave us a pass to get to see any level of the park, but they also had hats, posters, candy, and tattoos for the kids. If we were going to rate parks on friendly staff, this one would be the hands-down winner!

We took our chance, and headed for the field. There was no batting practice, but the boys had fun watching some of the Sox players warm up. They were very friendly, waving and smiling at the fans. They threw up a few balls, and then signed a few autographs. Robert got his hat signed by Octavio Dotel, who, incidentally, used to pitch for the A's! He served as a middle-reliever during the game, and didn't give up any hits.

The game was exciting, with a score of 6-6 in the 2nd inning, and more excitement to come! The best part was watching our former A -Jermaine Dye hit two home runs, one a grand slam! We also saw Nick Swisher and A.J. Pierzynski. It felt like an A's game!

No rest for the Belove Clan. Off to Milwaukee!

Robert's Sportscast

Today the St. Louis Cardinals played the Kansas City Royals. The final score was 2 to 1 in the Royals favor. The Royals had 1 homerun and the Cardinals none. The winning pitcher was Davies for the Royals and the loosing pitcher was Villone for the Cardinals. There was 42,751 crowd at Busch stadium. They gave out replicia 1968 World Series tickets. It was Bob Gibson night,whoever he is. That's all for Robert's Sportcast.

CARDINALS

St. Louis Cardinals vs. neighboring Kansas City Royals (didn't we just see them?)

The last time Jim, Ann, and Robert were at Busch Stadium, it sat in what is now the parking lot. No, they don't get earth quakes that big in St. Louis. They have built a new stadium right next door. But we generally wondered why they bothered. The stadium is industrial looking and concessions are positioned away from the field of play. Ushers (except for Eddy!) were stern, businesslike, and unfriendly. The sound system was inferior to much older stadiums we have been in. And they didn't do much to keep the fans occupied during a slow-moving game. Overall, we gave the fan experience a C-.

Of course, Carter made the best of it. He was tossed a ball by a Royals catcher. Then, after the game, a Royals fan saw him in his Royals cap, and handed him another one! (The boys now think that between them they should wear both of the team caps, if possible, to each game.)

In the end, even the "Rally Caps" weren't enough to help the Cardinals. They lost to the Royals 2-1.

The best part was all the great people we met. Mia and her parents became Carter's new best friends. Some very sweet folks behind us gave us advice on visiting Chicago. Eddy-the-usher came up with some baseball cards for the boys. And we are hoping that Mo and her gang will follow along with us on our blog, as we continue our journey.

Negro Leagues Baseball Museum

Going to the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum here in Kansas City, the birthplace of the Negro Leagues, is a humbling experience. In addition to being a memorial to some of baseball's true greats, it is also a testament to a dark time in our country's history. It is unfathomable that players like Satchel Paige, Willie Mays, Roy Campanella, and Ernie Banks were once segregated from their white counterparts into separate leagues, and vastly inferior conditions. Today, we acknowledge what a player can do, not the color of his skin. If only some of the players memorialized in this museum could have lived to see it.

The idea for integration actually began in the late 1800's, but thanks to racists like Adrian "Cap" Anson and his teammates, a handshake agreement was reached that the Major Leagues would no longer try to integrate the leagues... so the experiment was not tried again for another 50 years!

During that time, the Negro Leagues were thriving. Where the Major Leagues were drawing crowds of under 8,000 fans, the Negro League games were frequently attended by more than 15, 000! Night games were first played in the Negro Leagues, too. A powerful night lighting system was invented by a Negro League manager, and first used in Kansas City Monarchs game in 1930 -- 5 years before being used by the Major Leagues in a Reds vs. Cardinals game in 1935.

And you can't imagine the caliber of player you would have seen playing in the Negro Leagues! In the late 1800's, Harry Moorene (?) held a .300 batting average for 15 consecutive years! Louie "Big Bertha" Santory held a .406 lifetime batting average. It is said that, standing on home plate, he could throw a ball over the center field fence, and could hit a ball even farther. Cool Papa Bell was the fastest player ever to play the game. They say he could run the bases in 11 seconds! Josh Gibson holds records that are, to this day, unmatched by any player, black or white. He hit an average of 70 home runs per season, with the farthest being over 505 feet! One home run he hit one-handed! They say he was the greatest player ever to play the game. And, of course, you have heard of Satchel Paige, one of the best pitchers who ever lived. He claimed he could strike out the first 9 batters in any game, and usually did. Willie Mays and Hank Aaron also played first in the Negro Leagues.

Once black players were integrated into the Major Leagues, the Negro Leagues slowly declined until, in 1960, they were completely disbanded. In 1991, Buck O'Neil (who was the first black manager in the Major Leagues) created the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, here in Kansas City. If you are EVER in the area, you owe it to yourself to experience this piece of baseball history. http://www.nlbm.com/

What a show!

Last night we were treated to one of Ma Nature's best light-shows! This is just one of the thousands of lightning strikes just outside our hotel windows. Talk about your "reality show!"

Robert's Sportscast

Today the Texas Rangers played the Kansas City Royals at 1:00. The Royals beat the Rangers 6 to 5. The Kansas City Royals had two homeruns and the Rangers had two homeruns. A crowd of 15,515 fans watched the Royals win. The pitchers were Hurley for the Royals and Bannister for the Rangers. We are going to stay in Missouri until Monday and that is Robert's Sportcast for today.

ROYALS

Welcome to fan-friendly Kansas City!
What a fun experience!

To begin with, we were met at the gate by Tim and his gang. They work for Fan Relations, and are starting up a "Kids Say The Darndest Things"-style segment for their Diamond Vision between innings. They wanted to interview CARTER!!

Well, you can imagine how funny our social little-guy was, as he answered questions about Kaufman Stadium (How much do you think it holds? "Yots") and his favorite team ("The A's... we ARE A's fans!") They are going to edit his segment and show it at a future Royals game, and we got two free tickets!

Our seats were amazing! We were practically right behind home plate, up under the overhang. We were out of the weather, and could see everything.

At the start of the game we were greeted by the Navy Seal "LeapFrogs," a skydiving exhibition team. 8 divers dropped from planes above the stadium. Several performed stunts, one carried in the Royals team flag, and one brought in a huge American flag. After all were on the ground, the plane treated us to a fly-by!

Kauffman Stadium now has the largest Diamond Vision of any baseball stadium. (They actually planned it that way, waiting for Texas to complete theirs before deciding on the final dimensions.) Note the center-fielder in this picture to show scale.

In addition to having AMAZING production-value for what they show, they use this giant H-D TV to fully entertain the fans -showing a new game, contest, sing along, or fan-cam between every inning. Imagine a lawn mower race, a speed-text challenge, the "Kiss-cam", and many contestant trivia games with prizes, not only for the fan, but his/her entire row! We were also treated to a Hot-Dog cannon (Yes, flying wieners everywhere!), and T-shirts thrown into the crowd.

The Royal's mascot is called Slugrrr. He is a crown-wearing Lion, who seems to like to hang small boys upside down.

We will be hanging with Brandy and Jack for the next few days, here in beautiful Kansas City. We plan to see the Negro League Museum, as well as taking in the Zoo, and possibly the Nelson Gallery (As well as eating our way from one side of town to the other) before heading to St. Louis on Monday.

Roberts sportscast

The San Francisco Giants played the Colorado Rockies with 28,359 people in the crowd. The Giants lost to the Rockies 10 to 5. The Rockies had 2 homeruns and the Giants had 1. The pitchers were Minch, who was the losing pitcher for the Giants, and Cook was the winning pitcher for the Rockies. It was a gorgeous night at Coors Field; 87 with a slight windchill. They started at 7:05 in Denver 6:o5 western. We're off to Kansas City.

ROCKIES

Well, we are actually here. Colorado vs. our home-town Giants! And $1.00 hot dog night in the bargain!

We took the light-rail train, which stops right by our hotel, and dropped us a couple of blocks from Coors Field. Not sure which Carter was more excited about... the game or his first ride on a train. He stood at the window most of the time!

This was, by far, the most intense bag-search I have personally gone through. Even the airport doesn't make you take everything out, so they can see all the way to the bottom. Not sure how they got all the fans in on time!

We got there to see most of batting practice. The Rockies players really played to the fans, waving and smiling, and throwing nearly every ball back into the crowd. We brought our "Give me some pine MEAT" sign, and did get Barry Zito to smile and wave at us. We did have one minor setback... We forgot to bring our gloves! Doh! What are we, amatures? Obviously we don't have the bugs worked out, yet. But it didn't really prove to be a problem. Robert got a ball, anyway. And get this! It was handed to him by Barry Zito's trainer! He may sleep with that ball under his pillow for the rest of the trip.

Our seats were on the 3rd deck. They don't call this area "Mile High" for no reason. See the purple row of seats? You've got it! Excactly one mile up! We weren't quite that high. Row 4 to be exact, on the third base side. Quite a good view of the field, actually. Once the sun went down, it was a beautiful, warm summer night. Perfect weather for a ball game.

This was the second time we have been to Coors Field, and we have to say, it is a beauty!!! Of course, the jury is still out. But I wouldn't be surprised if it turns out to be our favorite.

Of course the Giants lost. But that didn't dampen our evening. We met many former Bay Area residents, who were happy to see us in our Giants garb. And a special hello to Andy, who sat a row over. A fellow book-keeper, who we met again on the trip home. He's actually a Cubs fan, but don't hold that against him.

Carter fell asleep on the train home. I guess even another ride on the train wasn't enough to make up for a full day of excitement. Next stop, Kansas City!

Day One!

Well, we did it!
We are, amazingly, finally on the road.
I had meant to write a last countdown post yesterday, but once again had technical difficulties. Obviously they have sent a girl to do a woman's work, but I will do the best I can.

So, we set out from Petaluma this morning at 5:41 AM. It was a clear and 52 degrees. Howard and Marilyn pulled themselves out of bed on a Sunday morning to see us off. The drive was uneventful, and we landed in West Wendover (where?) this afternoon about 3:00 to rest up for another full day of driving tomorrow. Who knew that you could pitch a tent, and then boot up your laptop at the campground picnic table?

Our first baseball game is the day after tomorrow in Denver!

Tickets in hand, ready to go!

What I would have written Saturday night, if I could have:

We just wanted to show off all of our tickets!

Chicago, at last!

7 days until we leave.
Well, we have finally done it! We have purchased Chicago Cubs tickets!
We spent far more than we had hoped, but hey... you only live once!
And we may only be in Chicago once. The tickets should get here tomorrow
for the big cross-town rivalry game against the Chicago White Sox.
Seats are on the third deck, but not too far out. And we have a parking pass!

Now we are set. Hotels booked, tickets purchased, packing well on its way.
Is it time to leave, yet?????
The anticipation is thrilling!