Dodger Stadium

On July 5th we went to the Dodgers vs Rockies game. This was my first time at Dodger Stadium. Never having been before I wanted to get there early to walk around. The game started at 7:10 pm and we left our hotel around 4:45 pm and got to the stadium around 5:30 pm. I bought a parking pass ahead of time, so we parked fairly close to the centerfield entrance, which I think is the main entrance. 

It happened to be Chris Taylor bobblehead night, so it was busy. When I told my boys it was Chris Taylor bobblehead night, my middle son mentioned that he liked Chris Taylor because he plays with him on The Show video game. There were 5 of us and we all got one. Almost immediately we were approached about selling our bobbleheads. During the night we were asked 5 different times about selling our bobbleheads. We ended up selling 3. We kept one for my middle son and then I kept one for a friend of mine the is a big Dodgers fan.

We got to the Stadium about an hour and a half before the game started, but I wish we would have gotten there earlier. Never having been there before I wanted to explore.

Here is the Jackie Robinson statue.

The Sandy Koufax statue was unveiled just last month.

We had to get a picture with the giant Tommy Lasorda bobblehead, even though my kids didn't know who he was.

With the All-Star game at Dodger Stadium later this month, there was a lot of signage up throughout the park.

I've heard about Dodger Dogs for decades. I was excited to try one.

There were some Topps baseball cards pictured throughout the park.

There was a display of Gold Gloves. Not sure if it was every one won by a Dodger, but there was a lot. Here is a picture of one of them won by first baseman Wes Parker. I've written several posts about Wes Parker and how great a fielder he was.

Here are some more of the Gold Gloves.

This Jackie Robinson display was massive.  

There was a room with a ton of amazing artwork; much of it signed, for sale.

Next we went up to the second level right behind home plate and headed towards right field. My point being, we only saw half. I wonder what we missed.

These are original lockers from Dodger Stadium.

I took a close up of the Exhibit Postcard dispenser. I had never seen one before.

The home plate on the left is the home plate from Ebbets Field that was removed after he final game there in 1957.

Next we went up to the third level where our seats were.

This was the view from our seats. We watched for a few innings and then went and got some food.

We got Dodger Dogs, BBQ beef nachos in helmets, tacos, and later we got twisted taters. I have to say that I was severely underwhelmed by all of the food. There really wasn't anything different or special about the Dodger Dogs. The BBQ sauce on the nachos wasn't horrible, but it made something already messy, incredibly messy. My wife got the tacos and she couldn't even finish them. She said the tortilla and the contents were cold. The twisted taters were okay, but dry.

I was impressed by the attention to detail throughout the stadium, including the stools.

After eating we went back and finished watching the game. The Rockies took an early 1-0 lead and later Kris Bryant hit his first homer as a Rockies player, but Max Muncy and Mookie Betts homered for the home team and the Dodgers ended up beating the Rockies 5-2. 

Dodger Stadium was massive! I could have spent several more hours there, just roaming around and exploring. I'll have to go back. Have you been to Dodger Stadium? What did I miss seeing?

March 9th - Name Tag Day

Today is Name Tag Day.

Check out this 1993 SP card of Colorado Rockie catcher Joe Girardi wearing a name dag during the Rockies inaugural spring training.

If you turn the card over you will discover that "Bryn Smith jokingly distributed badges such as the one Girardi is wearing to all the Rockies in spring training."

Crap! It's a "badge", not a name tag. Not sure this counts for Name Tag Day. 

Any other cards out there featuring name tags or badges?

Coors Field (Rockies vs. Pirates 7/25 and Coors Field Tour)

When my wife and I were in Denver last week we went to a Rockies game at Coors Field. We went to the Rockies vs. Pirates game on Friday, July 25th. We went to the National Ballpark Museum and then walked over by the stadium on the way to lunch and I took a few pictures.

We went to Ian's Pizza by the Slice for lunch. It's on Blake Street just a couple blocks down from Coors Field. Ian's started in Wisconsin and has the one location in Denver. My wife got a salad pizza (in the background). I got a slice of mac n' cheese (on the right) and a slice of chipotle sweet potato (on the left). It was delicious!

After lunch we went back to our hotel and took a nap before heading back to Coors Field for batting practice. The game stared at 6:40 pm, so the gates for batting practice opened up at 4:30 pm.  Here's a shot from the left field bleachers. It was sprinkling on and off throughout the day. That's why this photo turned out a little fuzzy.

I didn't have any luck getting any baseballs so I moved down the left field line to try to get some autographs. I didn't have much luck with that either. There were only a couple of Pirates players that signed autographs and all but Jared Hughes only signed for a few people. Hughes on the other hand signed for just about everyone. I didn't have his card, but I did have this Pirates team card that he's on, so I had him sign it. 

I used StubHub! to get our tickets and got a good deal. We sat 15 rows behind home plate. Here is a hot from our seats. 

The Rockies nearly turned a triple play in the 5th. They got the runners out at 3rd and 1st, but the runner was called safe at 2nd because the throw from 3rd base pulled the shortstop off the bag. The Rockies challenged the play and I think the runner should have been out, but what are you going to do. You can see the play here. 

I wanted to try a food item unique to Coors Field so I went with the Rockie Dog. It's a foot long dog with grilled peppers, sauteed onions and sauerkraut. It was good, but if I had to do it again, I'd have it without the sauerkraut. 

Walking around the stadium I came across a kiosk that sold various game-used items. They had balls, bats, jerseys, etc. They even had balls from the current game, but at $35 I wasn't interested. They did however have some locker nameplates on display. One of them was of Arizona Diamondback Martin Prado. I asked how much it was and the lady told me she thought it was $75. I asked if they had any other Diamondbacks and she found a stack of about 15 for me to look through. It was mostly pitchers and coaches. I asked about the prices and she said they were $35 each. I ended up talking them down to $25 and I picked up this Wade Miley nameplate from the Rockies 2014 Opening Day series. It has the MLB Authentication sticker. 

I enjoyed getting a D-Backs souvenir from my trip to Coors Field. 

On Saturday the 26th we took a tour of Coors Field.

The Rockies recently removed 3,000 seats from the right field baseline on the upper deck and created what they call The Rooftop. It's a standing room only area with a few cabanas with some couches. Apparently it's a pretty popular club like atmosphere. This picture was taken from The Rooftop looking out at a section in center field called the Rockpile. These are the only seats that have not increased in price since Coors Field opened in 1995. Children 12 and under and Seniors 55+ are only a $1 and everyone else is $4.

Here's a view from the press box. 

Here's a display from inside the stadium. The 3 bats on the left are from Andres Galaraga (1st Rockie to 100 HR's), Vinny Castilla (1st Rockie to 200 HR's), and Todd Helton (1st Rockie to 300 HR's). On the Right are bats signed by all of the Rockies managers. 

Here is Dinger, the Rockies mascot. We learned on the tour that they have a dinosaur as their mascot because when they were building Coors Field they discovered a dinosaur bone. 

Here's a display of Rockies Bobbleheads.

We got to go on the field and in the dugout.

After the tour we went to the Team Shop and I picked up a ball. I want to get something from each MLB Stadium I visit. Since this is my first, other than Chase Field, I had to figure out what to get. The ball isn't my favorite, but it was the only one that represented Coors Field.

They had one of those machines that you put 2 quarters and a penny in and it flattens and stamps the penny, so I got a couple of those. 

I had been wanting to get a picture of Blake St. and took this one as we were leaving. I had an amazing time at Coors Field and can't wait to go more stadiums!