Day 3 – The ballpark experience that all others try to imitate.

A real throwback stadium, not a copycat

The “retro” ballpark.

It’s been all the rage in the past twenty years or so. From the time Buffalo opened up Pilot Field and Baltimore followed with Camden Yards it’s been the style that ballpark architect have been following ever since. Construct a venue with any of the following: kelly green seats, a red brick facade, wrought iron gates, quirky outfield dimensions, in general anything to give it a feel of a ballpark of generations gone by. Next, try to put the ballpark in an area where there can be some synergy created with the surrounding neighboorhood. Pubs, restaurants, shops, living spaces. Heck, create a neighborhood if there isn’t one already there if you have to.

And then you come to Wrigley Field and you realize two things. One, that this is the kind of ballpark/nieghborhood feel that so many of these other places try to imitate. Two, the previous statement cannot truly be accomplished. Try as they might, Wrigley Field and the surrounding Wrigleyville area is one of a kind. A venue and its surroundings that have taken close to a century to develop into the form that it is in now.

Walking through the concourses at Wrigley I couldn’t keep the grin off of my face. It was like I had stepped into a world of magic and was in complete awe of my surroundings. And then stepping out into the lower bowl and getting that first look at seating bowl, it was a huge “wow” factor. The ivy covered walls in perfect condition, the hand operated scoreboard, the rooftop bleachers across the street from the park. And an ultra-mega friendly game staff as well. I think they set the record for “most times asked if I wanted to have a photo taken of me” and also practically begged me to move down to get a closer look at the field (this was at least an hour before gametime). I was able to get photos from plenty of vantage points prior to gametime.

My seat location? Top of the building, first base side. But moving down here wasn’t a big chore here, as I was able to bounce down from place to place for a couple innings each without interference from gameday staff until I had reached an area in the lower level underneath the overhang directly behind the plate. Great seats, eh buddy?

Did I mention this was a night game as well? Still a rarity at the venue that was easily the last to install permanent lighting back in 1988. It did feel a little unusual, yet the rarity added to the experience(though it did wreak havoc on my plans for the week, daytime would have been much better for me).

The game itself was yet another good one as the Cubs won 4-1 with help from former Buffalo Bison Milton Bradley who homered in the fourth. Chris Coste, another former Bison drove in the lone run for the Astros.
And with that the large white flag with a blue “W” went up atop the centerfield scoreboard while the loudspeakers played “Go Cubs Go” to a jubilant stadium. And off I went to the nearest train station to begin a hellacious driving/ballgame tour of the Midwest.

Random thoughts/notes of the day.

White Castle burgers eaten: 10
Soda cans consumed:3
Total miles driven(upon hitting Skokie CTA station) 881
Nap time: about an hour somewhere in Northwest Indiana
7th inning stretch singer: Blackhawks star Jonathan Teows
God Bless America sung: no, would be almost blasphemous here.
GPS screwup: making me ride I-65 all the way into Gary, Indiana and drive city streets there before heading to the I-90.
Wrigleyville tavern that I had a couple pops in prior to gametime: Merkle’s Boner.
Highest parking cost spotted: 50$, pricey…but you are no LA Coliseum
Home teams are now 4-0 on the road trip.

Next up – a Wednesday matinee in Minneapolis for one last look at the Metrodome.

-pjf