Billy the Marlin Can Wait…

This morning I woke up to find Yahoo Sports baseball writer Jeff Passan’s article on how Marlins Owner Jeffrey Loria and President David Samson have ‘swindled’ 2.4 billion dollars out of the taxpayers in Miami-Dade County. While I’m not a huge fan of Passan’s writing*, I have to admit this is an eye-opening article, and to be honest, as a man who loves the game of baseball, the level of greed exhibited here is sickening. This is not to say the other owners in MLB have not exhibited greed. I can definitely think of a few, but the Marlins’ Jeffrey Loria has been a primary example of it. As the owner of the Expos, he was almost single-handedly responsible for the wreckage of that franchise, and now here he is deceiving the fans of his new club in Miami.

Loria and Samson have run off good managers (Joe Girardi and Fredi Gonzalez), refused to pay high profile players (Miguel Cabrera), and have done everything thing they could to not raise payroll while reaping in luxury tax money. This is not acceptable. This treatment of their fans and players (these players want to win, and if your ownership is cheap, you’re hamstrung) is uncalled for and an unnecessary burden on the fans/taxpayers in South Florida. MLB should be held responsible as well. They are currently looking for who leaked the financial documents on the Marlins, Rays, and other clubs, but they knew the Marlins were misleading their fans, and yet did nothing.

Now, every year, I make it a goal to hit two MLB ballparks. Eventually I’ll get to every ballpark in the country. However, I will not visit this new Marlins ballpark until a new owner is in place there. Since Tampa Bay and Florida are in the same state and we’d likely have done both at the same time, that means we won’t be heading there either. Perhaps it is not coincidence that Tampa was also mentioned in the article for not being honest with their supporters. As for MLB, I love the sport, so I just can’t give up on it, but I will not invest funds like I used to in a sport that is cheating its fans. If news leaks out on any other teams doing this, I will make the same decision as I did for Florida. As far as I’m concerned, Billy the Marlin can wait.

*In the article, Passan claims that the if-you-build-it-they-will-come philosophy for baseball does not work, using Cincinnati, Washington, and Pittsburgh for his examples. He fails to note that these franchises have not won in years. Cincinnati is having a great year and attendance is starting to come up. Fans fill ballparks when teams win. Fans filled Progressive Field in Cleveland until ownership stopped investing in the club. Passan also compares this situation with the situation in Washington when the Nationals were able to get ballpark funding for Nationals Ballpark. I disagree with Passan on this point. The city council in Washington made a conscious and informed decision to build the ballpark in DC. There was no other place for MLB to put a ballpark at the time (Las Vegas was mentioned as an option but they certainly did not have an MLB park ready nor did they have any funding ready), so Washington’s city council should have known better. In the case of the Marlins, Loria and Samson knowingly lied and withheld information from Miami-Dade County.

Nationals Park – June 8, 2010

Following our trip to South Carolina, where Jenn’s friends Beth and Brian took us in for a week, we made our way up to the Washington, D.C. area. We decided to leave a day earlier than originally planned so that we could visit Shenandoah National Park on the way. We camped out there on a Sunday night, which meant there was something like only five campsites being used. We virtually had the campground to ourselves! It provided a much needed peace after a rather stressful day.

The next morning, we continued on to the D.C. metro area, where we got to hang out with my old military friends, the McClures and the Greens. They gave us place to stay, they fed us, and most importantly, they spent some time with us. It was great to catch up with them; however, the brunt of our time in Washington was spent touring. We walked from monument to monument taking in as much as possible.

We were also sure to spend time going through the National Air & Space Museum and a couple other Smithsonian museums. Another activity that we did was stop in the town where I used to live, which gave Jenn an idea of where I’ve been, something that was important for me.

On June 8^th, we made our way to Nationals Park to see the Washington Nationals host the Pittsburgh Pirates. This ballpark opened on March 30, 2008, after the Nationals played their first three seasons in RFK Stadium. The ballpark itself is built differently from the more recent ballparks opened across the country: there is no red brick in this ballpark like the more recent retro-look that ballparks like Busch Stadium went for. Rather, Nationals Park is built out of steel, glass, and pre-cast concrete that was meant to reflect the architecture of Washington’s many buildings and monuments (specifically the East Wing of the National Gallery of Art).

It has plenty for fans to do, including numerous restaurants and an arcade. Another positive for the ballpark is that it’s easy for fans to get around. Jenn and I entered at the centerfield gate, went up one escalator to our level and walked right to our seats. There was no confusion, no double escalators, and no asking ushers where we needed to go.

However, the main issue that I have with the park is that it looked to me like an overgrown Minor League Park. The concrete, steel, and glass didn’t give it that special look that is reserved for a Major League ballpark. I understand what the architects were looking for, but it just didn’t work for me. It looked very sterile, and without character. It’s a nice ballpark with lots to do, but due to its lack of a signature look, it’s just a ballpark. I’m sure many fans will disagree with my assessment, but this is just my opinion. Overall it’s a nice ballpark, just not in my taste, and therefore not in my Top Ten ballparks.

This completed my ballpark trips for 2010 and possibly for 2011. I’m thankful for the friends that I got to visit and the sights I got to share with my newlywed wife. And I’m thankful that I have a woman in my life who supports me on these adventures.

Busch Stadium – May 22, 2010

This past Saturday Jenn and I made the trip to Saint Louis, Missouri to see the home team Cardinals host the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. This was my first new ballpark trip since 2006 and let me tell you it was worth the wait. We were treated to an Angels 10-7 victory while taking in a beautiful ballpark.

Busch Stadium was opened in 2006 and still carries that brand-new look to it. The entire outside of the ballpark is red-brick. It looks great. It fits the city and the team. We sat up behind home plate and took in a spectacular view of downtown St. Louis and the famous Gateway Arch. The view rivals the view found at PNC Park in Pittsburgh. The big difference here is that I recommend you catch a Pirate game at night in Pittsburgh to really take in the beauty of the city, but you definitely need to see a Cardinal day-game to enjoy the scenery in Busch Stadium.

The park is also made special by the die-hard, yet courteous fans in St. Louis. We had open conversations with the Cardinal fans in the ballpark despite Jenn and me wearing our Angels gear. The Cardinal’s staff was friendly as well. I was also blown away by how intelligent the Cardinal’s fans were. They noticed everything from a sacrifice fly to ground out that resulted in a run. They cheered for their team for performing all nuances of the game.

Busch Stadium has a party atmosphere too. The concourses are open in the upper levels which make you feel like you are at one big barbeque that just happened to have a baseball game break out. However, this comes at a cost because there is very little shade as a result. The heat was fierce on Saturday and my wife was only able to find a small area for shade. The seating in ballpark also offers very little shade early on game-days, but later in the day a large portion of the stadium did gain some shade.

Overall, Busch Stadium is one of my new favorites. It’s a beautiful ballpark with a festive atmosphere. There is not a bad seat in the house. Updated rankings are below.

1. PNC Park, Pittsburgh, PA – Beautiful park with a great view of the three rivers. Go at night…it’s one of my favorite views.

2. Busch Stadium, St. Louis, MO – See above

3. Camden Yards, Baltimore, MD – Another great looking park. This park is the starter for all the new constructions of the 1990’s and in my opinion still has the old-time baseball feel the architects were aiming for. The warehouse in background is still a cool sight.

4. Fenway Park, Boston, MA – The newer parks look better in so many ways, but nothing beats the party going on at Fenway on game day. There is so much going at Fenway the moment you get to the park. It does look old, but they keep it painted and the Monster is still an awesome sight.

5. Angels Stadium, Anaheim, CA – This is an old ballpark, but when I visited in 2004, it had been overhauled into a baseball only-facility (the Rams used to play there), and it was gorgeous. It’s especially great at night to watch with the fountains where outfield bleachers used to be. I admit with the Angels being my favorite team, I’m probably biased.

6. Comerica Park, Detroit, MI – This ballpark doesn’t get mentioned enough with other ballparks, but it is absolutely gorgeous. I love the history they put into it with the statues beyond the outfield wall. I really enjoyed visiting this park.

7. Citizen’s Bank Park, Philadelphia – This park is a nice-looking park, but what I thought was cool was the all the stuff they have for kids to do there. In the walkway section of the park there were all kinds of games and stuff to occupy the kids before, during, and after the game. Very cool.

8. Great American Ballpark, Cincinnati, OH – Very nice ballpark that captures the history of the city well with its steam boat representation and the Ohio River in the background. There isn’t a bad seat in the ballpark.

9. Progressive Field, Cleveland, OH – There was a time when I’d rank this ballpark higher, but the last time I went to see a game there, it looked as if it were not being taken care of. It’s still a decent place to catch a game, but I remember how great it looked when I first went in 1997. Last time I went, it looked like the Indians were saving money on maintenance as well as being cheap with their players.

10. Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles, CA – I have to admit that I didn’t care much for this ballpark. It was drab and there wasn’t much there to do but watch the game, which is great for me, but bad for a parents wanting to find things to do with their kids (and their limited attention spans). However, when the sun starts going down, the beauty of the ballpark changes. It’s such a pretty sight to look at the background beyond the outfield fence and it makes up for much of its shortcomings.

*Changes – Busch Stadium slides into second place. I swapped slots between Citizen’s Bank Park and Great American Ballpark. I just realize the ballpark experience in Citizen’s Bank Park is better. It’s just a better looking ballpark too.