Washington D.C.

No, not on the baseball tour. But how can we be in the Nation's Capitol without doing a bit of sightseeing? We took the train into the city, and did a LOT of walking. Here are some of the highlight photos.

Robert's Sportscast

Today's game was the Kansas City Royals against the Baltimore Orioles. The final score was 7 to 5 in the Orioles' favor. There were 3 homeruns in the game, 2 by the Royals and 1 by the Orioles. There were 19,756 fans at the game today. The Orioles had 10 hits and the Royals had 7 hits. There were 9 strikouts in the game, the Orioles threw 5 out of the 9 strikeouts and the Royals threw the other 4. The Orioles broke a 12 game slump at home today. It was a very exciting game today. That's all for Robert's Sportscast.

ORIOLES

There is just something about a brick building. This old train warehouse really adds a special element to Camden Yards, the home of the Baltimore Orioles. But this 16 year old stadium is starting to show its age. The green seats are faded, and the Diamond Vision's color is so bad, you would think the team's colors are black and RED! As in the older style, you can't see the field from the concession stands. Nevertheless, we enjoyed our game.

Robert was tossed his 5th ball of the trip by Royals left-fielder, David DeJesus in batting practice.

No, it's just a mural. But we thought it made a fun picture with our little slugger in front of it! There were several things for a young fan to do while waiting for the game to start, and all were free.

For most of the game, the folks at Camden Yards let the baseball game speak for itself. There was little music, statistics, announcers, or games and contests. It seemed eerily quiet. But when a mere 19,000 Orioles fans cheer, they make quite a noise! And we never knew that The Star Spangled Banner had quite such a prominent "O!"

Their Diamond-Vision entertainment contained some items we had not seen before: "The Double Bubble Challenge" searched the stands for the fan who could blow the biggest bubble. "Name That TV Tune" had Ann guessing correctly a show she NEVER watches (Two And A Half Men), and the best was certainly "This or That". A question is posed, in this case "The Beastie Boys or the Beach Boys?" Then the team members are polled to see which one they prefer. (Beach Boys won by one vote!)

Our seats on the 3rd deck, right behind home plate were really very good. The best $8.00 tickets in all of baseball! They weren't too high up, and we had a very good view.

The 4 teachers behind us, and the family from Milwaukee in front of us with 4 kids, provided a lot of interesting conversations and kept Carter busy for nearly the whole game.

We would like to extend a special thank-you to the folks at Fan Relations who went above the call of duty at a very late hour to find the exact attendance for the night's game.

But we've got to tell you, $1.00 for a squished penny is extreme!

Video you've gotta see!

This one's destined to be one of the new greats.
Think she has an agent yet?

Robert's Sportscast

Today's game was the Washington Nationals against the Baltimore Orioles. The final score was 3 to 2 in the Nationals favor. To end the game there was a walk -off homerun in the 12th. There were 39,824 fans at the game, setting a new record for the largest Nationals crowd in National's stadium. There were 2 homeruns in the game, 1 for the Orioles and 1 for the Nationals. There were 9 hits for the Orioles and 11 hits for the Nationals. The Nationals only threw 1 walk and the Orioles threw 5 walks. The Nationals threw 6 strikeouts, 5 swinging and 1 looking. The Orioles threw 6 strikeouts, 5 swinging and 1 looking. It was a very exciting game and very intense game. That's all for Robert's sportcast.

NATIONALS

Ever look at Where's Waldo books?
Well, finding Jack in this picture is a bit of a metaphor for the Washington DC game for the Beloves. We will spare you all of the gory details. Suffice it to say that after 4 hours of being lost -involving bad directions, wrong trains, un-updated MapQuest, unmarked roads, crowded parking lots, and shuttle buses, we finally made it to the Nationals game at the end of the first inning. Given that we usually arrive at least two hours before the game and stand at the gates like the woman in the old Mervyn's commercial chanting "open...open...open..." we felt like we didn't get the full experience of this stadium. The good news is that the game went 12 innings, so we had a little extra time and we did take some time to roam around, and snap a few photos of the brand-new park.

Here is Abe. He is one of several dead-Presidents who roam the park causing trouble, high-fiving small children, and racing around the field between innings (Teddy is especially fond of raking the foul-territory). He stands about 9 feet tall, and Carter just wouldn't get close enough to get a decent picture.

You really can see the Capitol building from here, but you have to go up to the 5th (Yes, 5th!) deck to get a good look. These next two were also taken from there.

Given that they had a blank canvas to work with, and seemingly large resources, our impressions of this park were lukewarm. There was no effort made to take advantage of the monuments nearby, to create fabulous views. The feeling in the concession areas was somewhat claustrophobic. There were not enough concession stands, and lines were very long. For a stadium in a very hot climate, no effort was made to keep fans cool. (Did we mention the White Sox' "rain zones?" Just stand in a nice, cool shower if you need to!) We DID like that the press box was high up, leaving the best seats for fans. And we also liked that there was really no bad seat in the whole place. All in all, a moderate thumbs up for this brand-spanking new baseball park.

The game ended with a spectacular walk-off homerun by the Nationals, which landed nearly in our laps! Jim had ahold of it, along with a guy who was wearing a 1989 Giants/A's World Series cap, and just happens to be from Hayward. While the two of them were busy sorting out which one was going to end up with the prize, an old man walked up and wrenched it out of both their hands... go figure!

Where's Waldo? I think he's got our ball somewhere!

A much-needed day of rest ahead, then to Baltimore (we KNOW how to get to this field!) on Tuesday.

Robert's Sportscast

Today's game was the Tampa Bay Rays against the Pittsburg Pirates. The final score was 10 to 5 in the Tampa Bay Rays' favor. There were 4 homeruns in the game, 1 by the Pirates and 3 by the Rays. There were lots of substitutions in the pitchers position for both teams, but it ended up the winning pitcher was Kazmir for the Rays. The losing pitcher was Barthamier for the Pirates. There were 8 hits for the Pirates, and 15 for the Rays. The Pirates threw 5 strikeouts, 4 swinging and 1 looking. The Rays threw 7 strikeouts, 4 swinging and 3 looking. There were 19,970 fans there tonight. All I can say is that it was a fascinating game. That's all for Robert's Sportscast.

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.