Tour 2024: Cheney Stadium

All photos of Olympic National Park and Cheney Stadium available on Flickr.

Typically, the last day of our trips is a bit somber, which is normal for any vacation.  We're kind of just going through the motions by this point and sad that we've only got one day of ball left, and the anxiety about the travel home starts to build.  But it felt like each day of this year's trip was more jam-packed and exciting than the day before, and I woke up on Monday as energized as ever and pumped for our final day of activities: a day at Olympic National Park and closing out with a game at the venerable Cheney Stadium in Tacoma.  We came ashore back to America a little after noon and had to spend a few minutes washing the seagull leavings off of our rental car that we left in Port Angeles.  The main visitor center for Olympic Nat'l Park was only a few minutes from the ferry terminal, so we started there and picked up a map, and decided on Sol Duc Falls as the area of the park we would explore.  We really wanted to see the Hoh Rainforest (the largest and wettest rainforest in the US and the most visited attraction in the park), but it was a pretty long drive towards the coast that would have surely made us late to the Rainiers game that evening, and ball always takes priority.  Sol Duc was a beautiful consolation prize, if you can even call it a consolation.  The drive there was just as gorgeous as the hike itself - an hour west on US-101 that was almost entirely along the coast of Lake Crescent.  Once we arrived, it was about a three-quarter mile hike to the falls through a lush, tall, evergreen forest that looked nearly untouched by man despite thousands of people going there every summer.  I've enjoyed the hiking component we've added to our repertoire the last few years, and compared to Pilot Knob in Lake George and Papago Park in Phoenix, this was relatively easy even for somebody as out of shape as me.  Once we arrived at Sol Duc Falls, it instantly made the hour of hiking and 5+ total hours of driving worth it.  It's impossible to put the park and the falls into words, so I won't even try to describe it, but I felt so blessed we got to experience this on our trip.  I've always viewed the baseball aspect as just a way to see the country, and I'm grateful that I have a friend in Erik that feels the same.

We were back in the car by 3:00, and we rolled into the parking lot at Cheney Stadium just as gates were opening, a little after 6:00.  It was admittedly not a great start to our Tacoma experience.  We were tired from a long day of travel - by 3 modes of transportation! - and it was for some reason $10 to park in this lot.  Then we were forced to circumnavigate all the way to the opposite side of the stadium from which we parked to purchase tickets, even though there was a ticket window right by the gate we parked at, but for some reason it was fenced off.  However, once we got to the main gate and got inside, our moods instantly changed, and we had an awesome time.  Cheney Stadium was famously built in just 3 months and is locally referred to as the "100-Day Wonder" in tribute to that feat.  The San Francisco Giants were looking to relocate their top farm team from Phoenix in 1959, and promised Tacoma that they would move there if they could get a stadium built before the start of the 1960 season, and they delivered.  As you can imagine, the haste in which it was built meant this was never a stadium that was meant to survive a long time, and by the turn of the century, it was starting to fall into disrepair, and there were ownership changes and threats to move the team.  The community and local leaders never waivered in their support, and a massive renovation was approved and completed in time for the 2011 season.  

I hesitate to even use the word "renovation" as that implies some of the original structure was kept; it was really more like a complete reconstruction.  I looked at some photos of the former stadium before I started writing this post, and it is almost unrecognizable compared to what stands today.  Wooden grandstands and concrete structures were replaced with steel and wood.  The signature element is a 4-story tall entry building constructed of wood and faux wood as an homage to the forested region.  This building also faces the field on the back side, and contains luxurious suites, team offices, and the press box.  The press box is actually off-center which allows a suite/club area to be directly behind home plate where the press would normally be, and I thought that was a subtle but really unique gesture that provides a fan experience and viewing angle you can't really get many other places.  The Rainiers' concessions game inside was on point and a major aspect of the reconstruction.  You can get everything from fish & chips, to BBQ, to wagyu beef burgers, to the Ivar's chowder that seems to be a Pacific Northwest ballpark staple.  I went with a brisket sandwich and Erik went with the burger, and both were finger-licking good, particularly since neither of us had eaten all day.  As is also customary at ballparks of this region, there are no shortage of beer options here, particularly West Coast IPA's.  My favorite part of the park was the "R Bar" in left field.  We had seats right behind the 1st base dugout, but we moved over to the bar just before last call.  It's a super cool all-fan space that was kind of a cross between the Nashville Sounds bar and the Hohokam Stadium bar/fan area.  Besides being able to belly up to the bar and co-mingle in an open setting, the allure of going up there is that on a clear day, Mount Rainier is visible in the distance.  At over 14,000 feet tall, it towers over the Tacoma skyline and is obviously the team's namesake.  Sadly, we could not see it despite it not being very cloudy (and from what I'm reading it's only visible about half the time), but I did get a very clear view of the mountain on both my arrival and return flights.  We could overhear the local phrase of disappointment from folks at the bar - "mountain's not out tonight."  Despite this, Cheney Stadium was my favorite non-MLB park of the trip, and it's in my top 5 in all the minor leagues.  I loved the vertical scale of the park particularly the entry, I loved the energy and that it felt compact despite its tall sections of seats, and it had an above average variety of food and beer compared to most MiLB facilities.  The R Bar and the setting put it over the top and it's amazing how much those simple things make a difference in one's experience.  If this ballpark was in the middle of a cornfield and had no social spaces, it would have been a dud even if nothing else about it was different.  I can't emphasize enough that there is just an unquantifiable feeling at ballparks in this region of the country that you have to experience to believe.

In Everett, we were excited to see some of the rising stars for the Mariners organization, but here at the AAA level, we took note of the number of fallen ones.  There were certainly a few top prospects that were shuttling back and forth to Seattle - Jonathan Clase and Tyler Locklear to name a couple - but by and large, both rosters were littered with guys that had us saying "I didn't know he was still playing."  Jake Marisnick led off for the visiting Salt Lake Bees, and I legitimately thought he was out of baseball.  Once a promising young player with the Astros, he is now with his 8th organization in the last 5 years since leaving Houston.  Former Brewer Luis Urias has found his way to the Mariners organization via Boston, and was recently outrighted to Tacoma after hitting below .200 the last two years.  But the player I was most excited to see was another former Brewer, Keston Hiura.  He was possibly the most heralded hitting prospect to come through our system since Ryan Braun, and after a stellar rookie campaign in 2019, his complex swing could no longer keep up with major league pitching.  He was eventually outrighted in 2022 before electing free agency this past fall, and he was released from the Tigers AAA team last month.  He was quickly scooped up by the Angels and has been raking in Salt Lake, hitting 12 HRs in his first 19 games there, and he had an infield single on this night.  I'm really rooting for him to figure it out - mostly because I still have his jersey.  If the Angels of all teams don't have a spot for him, then I think his career might be over.  The Rainiers hung on for a 7-3 victory on Pride Night, in a rare Monday minor league game.  I could not believe how much the ball carried in Tacoma and I'm amazed the score wasn't higher.  Every outfielder seemed to be playing a couple steps in front of the track the whole night.  The Bees starter, Ryan Langford, must be on a strict innings limit because he was pulled after 2, and that's when the wheels fell off.  The Rainiers smashed 3 long balls off the Bees' bullpen, including a homer by Jake Slaughter that easily cleared the 29' tall wall in dead center marked at 425' from home plate.  He is only the 3rd player to ever accomplish that feat in the 65-year history of the stadium, and just goes to show that you never know what you'll see at the ballpark on any given day.  Salt Lake made it interesting with 2 runs in the 9th off of Carlos Vargas, but otherwise the game was in hand for Tacoma from the very first inning.

After our final game, we then decided it would be a good idea to return our rental car that night, and then take a shuttle to a shady hotel near the airport.  We thought this would afford us some more sleep by not having to worry about returning the car the next morning before our early flights, but we had to wait so long for the shuttle at 11pm on a Monday that I don't really think it did us any favors.  Oh well, lesson learned.  Another year and another great trip!  Next year is looking like we'll watching the A's play in a minor league stadium in Sacramento, and I'm already anxious for the 2025 schedules to be released.

park rankings and statistics: 
aesthetics - 8
views from park – 8 (wooded area and Mt Rainier)
view to field - 5 (good where we sat, but grandstand is very tall)
surrounding area – 2
food variety - 10
nachos - n/a
beer - 8
vendor price - 5
ticket price - 7
atmosphere - 9 (Pride Night)
walk to park – 2 (not sure why we couldn't use the gate closest to parking lot?)
parking price/proximity - 3 (adjacent lot for $10)
concourses - 7 (bonus points for intermediate concourse within grandstand)
team shop - 7
kids area - 5

best food – fish & chips
most unique stadium feature – main entry structure
best jumbotron feature – Pride Night tunes
best between-inning feature – Lucky Dice game

field dimensions – 325/425/325

starters – Ryan Langford (SL) v. Blas Castano (TAC)
opponent – Salt Lake Bees
time of game – 2:35
attendance – 3355
score – 7-3 W
Brewers score that day – 8-7 L

STANDINGS AND UPCOMING SERIES AS OF 7/5/24:

Brewers 52-36, +6.0; 3 @ Dodgers, 3 v. Pirates, 3 v. Nationals

Twins 49-38, -6.0; 3 v. Astros, 3 @ White Sox, 3 @ Giants

Orioles 55-32, +2.0; 3 @ Athletics, 3 v. Cubs, 3 v. Yankees

2024 GAMES ATTENDED:

Erik - 7

Peter - 20

Goodbye Oakland, Hello Sacramento

(unofficial probably not real but maybe logo courtesy of Reddit)

We're already at the calendar midpoint of the season, and this is amazingly the first week I don't have a ballpark visit or baseball travel to report on.  So instead, I thought I'd write about a different sort of travel, and an all-too-familiar topic - the never-ending relocation saga of the A's.  Way back in early April, the Athletics officially answered the question of where they would be playing for the next 3+ years while their new stadium in Las Vegas is supposedly getting built, by announcing a move to their temporary home 90 miles up I-80 to Sacramento.  They will be taking up residency in Sutter Health Park, a minor league park that will be shared with the Sacramento River Cats of the Pacific Coast League, who are ironically a Giants affiliate but were formerly an A's affiliate for many years.  The stadium opened in 2000 and seats about 14,000 people.  The A's will play there through at least 2027 with an option for the 2028 season if (and when) the Vegas park has a delayed opening.  During that time, they've chosen to essentially be homeless, by having no mention of Sacramento anywhere on their uniforms or team logos, which is both horrible and completely on brand for the Athletics franchise.

In many ways, this move is completely an A's move - sticking it to Oakland seemingly out of spite, and somehow making a bad situation even worse for its players and staff.  But in many other ways, it's shocking and seems like a logistical nightmare that could have been avoided.  One of the few good things that came out of the hostile takeover of the minor leagues by MLB in 2021 was that it geographically aligned the leagues more sensibly and reduced travel by creating 6-game series with almost every Monday off.  That might be great for the River Cats, but that will make scheduling very challenging when trying to fold in the A's.  There may now be scenarios where one or both teams could have road trips spanning multiple weeks.  Another obvious deficiency is the capacity of the park and just the general facilities being less than or smaller than MLB standards.  One could argue that the park still has a capacity twice the size of a normal Athletics crowd in Oakland, and that I'm sure the team will be forced to pour in millions to upgrade the facility, but none of that replaces the stigma that these major league players now feel like they are playing in the minor leagues.  I'm sure A's players already feel embarrassed by their current playing situation, and the move to Sacramento is lateral at best.  The Blue Jays made this work admirably in Buffalo in 2020-21, but that was during the pandemic due to Canadian COVID restrictions, so it was a completely different situation.  There's also just the strain this must put on the players/employees and their families knowing this will be a temporary situation.  They'll have to find houses and schools knowing they won't be there for more than 3 or 4 years.  And what free agent would ever want to sign there?  This is going to tank the payroll and big league roster even more, and will be an awful product to watch for those dozens of Sacramento fans who are excited for a taste of the big leagues.  On the money side, I'd be curious to know what the revenue hit will be for that poor billionaire John Fisher.  Many thought the A's would work out a lease extension in Oakland merely to keep their lucrative TV contract and stay in the larger market for awhile, so there must be some sort of financial incentive for this move that we're not aware of.  As we've seen play out in the last quarter-century, money is at the heart of every single A's front office decision.

Let's get down to what I really care about - how does this affect me?  Erik and I will now likely be obligated to make Tour 2025 a trip centered around Sacramento.  It means that at the end of the 2024 season, I'll be back down to 29 current MLB ballparks attended, which is always a sad moment for me.  And lastly, I've lost my last chance to sit in the outfield of a football stadium for $5 in a cold August mist.  Ok, so maybe that last one I won't miss at all, but I do hope the "Fuckin' A's" van makes its way up to Sacramento (see photo on left from The Tour).

UPDATE: Erik and I are heading to Seattle bright and early tomorrow for Tour 2024!  Come back next week to read all about it!

STANDINGS AND UPCOMING SERIES AS OF 6/27/24:

Brewers 48-33, +6.0; 3 v. Cubs, 4 @ Rockies

Twins 44-36, -8.0; 3 @ Mariners, 3 v. Tigers

Orioles 50-30, -1.0; 4 v. Rangers, 3 @ Mariners

2024 GAMES ATTENDED:

Erik - 3

Peter - 15

2019 Affiliate Dance

There are three new ballparks opening in the minor leagues next year - Amarillo TX, Las Vegas, and Fayetteville NC.  Normally new ballparks means parent clubs jockeying for new affiliations, and that will certainly be true in 2019:

• San Antonio Missions moving AA team to new Amarillo ballpark, name and affiliation TBD
• Colorado Springs Sky Sox moving AAA team to San Antonio, retaining the "Missions" name and its Brewers affiliation
• Helena Brewers moving Rookie League team to Colorado Springs, name TBD.  Expected to remain a Brewers affiliate but not confirmed.
• New York Mets purchase Syracuse Chiefs (AAA), moving from Las Vegas
• Oakland A's switch AAA affiliate to new Las Vegas ballpark, moving from Nashville; name TBD
• Houston Astros switch AAA affiliate to Round Rock Express, moving from Fresno
• Texas Rangers switch AAA affiliate to Nashville Sounds, moving from Round Rock
• Washington Nationals switch AAA affiliate to Fresno Grizzlies, moving from Syracuse
• Buies Creek Astros (high-A) moving into new Fayetteville NC ballpark, name TBD

This sort of thing happens every even-numbered year, as typical parent-affiliate contracts are signed in 2 and 4 year cycles.  What is notable to me and the reason I'm writing about this is the surprising signing of the Brewers with San Antonio.  The Round Rock Express are partially owned by Nolan Ryan's family, who is also a special assistant to the Astros.  So, when the Express announced they would not be renewing with the Rangers next season, it was all but a foregone conclusion that the Astros would sign with them and the Rangers would switch to San Antonio.  I don't think anybody including the Brewers were expecting to get into such a great situation in San Antonio.  It's not the best ballpark in the country - almost 25 years old and 8 miles from downtown - but it a fantastic market in one of the largest cities in the country.  It'll be easier for the team to travel, in the same time zone as Milwaukee, and certainly a better situation than the likely alternative of Fresno, which is one of the worst parks in the circuit.  Between the upgrades being made to Wolff Stadium and the talks of a new ballpark, it was enough to sway David Stearns.  It's only a 2-year deal, so if San Antonio has not broken ground on a new park in the next two years, look for the Brewers to push hard to move to the new Wichita stadium in 2020.  Either way it's great to get out of the 6000+ ft altitude of Colorado Springs, at least on the AAA-level.  I'm not too concerned about the results of our Rookie League team being affected by the move.  At that age you're looking more at raw ability than ERA and homeruns allowed.

Hopefully the Brewers can bring the same excitement to the Missions as they did the Sky Sox this year, who narrowly missed a division title by one game on the last day of the season.

STANDINGS AND UPCOMING SERIES AS OF 09.19:

Brewers 86-66, -3.5, +2.0 WC #1 (3 v. Reds, 3 @ Pirates, 3 @ Cardinals, 3 v. Tigers)

Reds 65-87, -24.5, eliminated (3 @ Brewers, 4 @ Marlins, 2 v. Royals, 3 v. Pirates)

Twins 70-81, -14.5, eliminated (3 @ Tigers, 3 @ Athletics, 3 v. Tigers, 4 v. White Sox)

2018 GAMES ATTENDED:

Erik - 15 (+17 worked)

Peter - 22

Return to Werner Park

All photos of Werner Park available on Flickr.

I went to one of the last Storm Chasers games of the season, and last week I attended the 2nd home game of the 2017 season.  As my monthly work trips to Omaha have passed the one-year mark and seem to be extending into perpetuity, I am going to grow more and more familiar with Werner Park.  It was a beautiful 70° April evening when I arrived at the ballpark just before first pitch.  This time around, I discovered a free parking lot just north of the stadium completely by accident.  I realized as I turned towards the stadium that I didn't have any cash on me, so I continued past the lot towards a subdivision not far away and thought I could find a spot on the street.  On my way I saw several people exploiting the same loophole and parking in an unpaved gravel lot just north of the main lot and followed them in.  I'm not sure if the team allows this or if this is on the up-and-up, but for anybody planning on attending a Storm Chasers game in the near future - don't pay for parking.  This incident restored my faith in my personal policy to never pay full price for anything you can get cheaper or free with a little effort.

I wasn't expecting much to have changed in the park in the span of about 8 months, and the park was about as I remembered.  As far as AAA parks go it is nothing spectacular, but given its rural setting and size, it is a more than comfortable place to watch a game.  I was still miffed at the lack of beer and food options especially given it is a pretty new ballpark.  Most of the stands typically only offer a couple of Busch products and it takes some hunting to find anything else.  However I was not about to complain on 25-cent hot dog night.  Despite eating dinner before my arrival, I felt obligated to scarf one down (to go along with an obscene $4 bottle of water - mostly because I did not want to charge only a Quarter to my debit card).  I sat on the 1st base side for this game and even despite the nice weather and being the first homestand of the year, the stadium was maybe 1/4th full if that.  The poor staff had to practically beg the crowd just to stand up for the 7th inning stretch.  What this park lacks in pizzazz and atmosphere it makes up for in just damn good baseball.  The Storm Chasers have been to the playoffs each of the last 4 years and won back-to-back championships in 2013-14, back when their parent Royals club was good.

Omaha won on this night 6-3 behind a solid starting performance by Eric Skoglund.  He pitched 5 shutout innings with 4 strikeouts and only 73 pitches.  Ryan O'Hearn was the offensive star of the day for the Chasers.  He went 2-4 with a booming homerun and a rope double, knocking in a run on each hit.  He looks poised to be the Royals first baseman of a future, were it not for a multiple gold-glover named Eric Hosmer blocking his path.  Former Royal Jorge Bonifacio mashed a homer as well.  O'Hearn and Bonifacio actually hit back-to-back jobs in the 2nd that caused the opposing pitcher to be tossed.  He plunked the next guy up right in the back and that was a quick end to his night.  Two former Red Sox top prospects and 2016 Brewers 3rd Base farmhands also got the start in this game.  Garin Cecchini has an unimpressive night for the Chasers, with only a meager infield hit to show for his effort.  He is only hitting .143 on the season and it's probably a good thing we cut him.  Conversely, Will Middlebrooks hit 3rd in the lineup for the visiting Express (Rangers) and went 3-4 with 2 doubles.  Perhaps we gave up too early on Middlebrooks but with The Mayor of Ding Dong City now locking down third for the Crew, we probably don't need either of these guys anymore.

I'm sure many more Storm Chasers will await me this summer and beyond, and I'm hoping I can make it back to the College World Series again this year as well.

park rankings and statistics
(see original post from 8/26/16):

starters – Allen Webster (RR) v. Eric Skoglund (OMA)
opponent – Round Rock Express
time of game – 2:57
attendance – 2347
score – 6-3 W
Brewers score that day – 2-0 W

STANDINGS AS OF 04.19:

Brewers 8-7 (4 v. Cardinals, 3 v. Reds)
Reds 9-5 (3 v. Cubs, 3 @ Brewers)
Twins 7-7 (3 v. Tigers, 3 @ Rangers)

2017 GAMES ATTENDED:
Erik - 3 (+1 worked)
Peter - 4

Zephyr Field

All photos of New Orleans and Zephyr Field available on Flickr.

Two of the many things my wife and I have in common is that we are incessant planners and we love to travel.  Even before we left for our honeymoon in June, we were already booking our next adventure - New Orleans!  Luckily for me, a third thing we have in common is that we also both love going to ballgames.  So it came as no surprise to Megan when I alerted her that the New Orleans minor league team - the Zephyrs - was home while we were in town.  We found a break in the weather to attend Sunday night's ballgame - but first, we had some sightseeing to do.

Our extended Labor Day weekend started out Saturday with a fanboat swamp tour in the morning and a walking cemetery tour booked late afternoon, so it was an aggressive first day.  The fanboat took us around Lake Salvador, Lake Cataouatche, and the various protected swamplands in between.  We saw many, many alligators during our trip, most of which were lured right up to the boat by our fearless driver (and Megan's white shirt).  There was also lots of other flora and fauna on the trip, including bay leaf plants, Spanish moss trees, herons, owls, turtles, and spiders about as big as your palm.  There were lots of interesting things we learned on the tour, but the most fascinating to me was the fragility and ever-changing nature of the area.  A combination of weather patterns, sea level rise, and coastal erosion causes the outline of the lake and swamp to constantly move.  We were told that it is not uncommon for the entire swamp to be blown by several hundred yards after a hurricane, which understandably makes owning property in the area extremely difficult.

After watching half of the UW Badger football game (who were coincidentally playing LSU), the second part of our day was a cemetery tour.  New Orleans has burial customs unlike anywhere else in the country, tracing their roots back to its days as a French and Spanish port city.  Families are often buried together in large above-ground crypts and the most recently deceased are just placed on top of the old bones.  The reason for this is twofold: it is a traditional European method of burial, but also because most of New Orleans is actually below sea level.  Walking through cemeteries is not a scary or sad thing in New Orleans, but rather a way to get in tune with the spirits, and simply part of the circle of life.  Following the tour, Megan and I grabbed a to-go beverage at a bar oddly located a block from the cemetery and headed back downtown.  Oh yeah, the to-go beverage thing.  So, New Orleans has an open container law that allows you to drink pretty much anywhere you want at any time, even as a passenger in a car.  There are even drive-thru daiquiri shops throughout the city.  We made the rookie mistake the first day of having a drink in our hands almost at all times, simply because we could.  So unfortunately I don't remember much of the rest of our night on Bourbon Street, other than it smelled like (and pretty much is) an open sewer.

Our second day in the Crescent City was the day we made it out to Zephyr Field.  We started our day with two more quintessential NOLA stops - Jackson Square and Café du Monde.  If you go to New Orleans and don't see the nation's oldest cathedral and eat a sack of beignets across the street, you are doing it wrong.  Around 5pm we headed out to the ballpark.  The park itself is not actually in the city but in the suburb of Metairie, which is about a half-hour west near the airport.  Zephyr Field opened in 1997 and seats about 10,000 people.  We were actually at the second to last game in franchise history with the moniker "Zephyrs."  The franchise was relocated from Denver following their award of the expansion Rockies and has maintained the Zephyr name ever since, but following the season, the name will be changed to something more locally significant.  This is not surprising, as the owner is the same owner who changed the NBA Hornets to the Pelicans.  For us, it meant that the team store was practically giving stuff away.  It was tempting not to buy a 50% off cap, but I did get a Zephyrs program for only $1.

For being 20 years old, the park was actually in decent shape and not horribly outdated.  It's sad that 20 years is considered "old" in ballpark years these days, but that's a tangent I don't need to go on.  I sort of liked the masonry "fortress" type look that it has on the outside because it played well with the tall palm trees around the park, but the entry stair left something to be desired as it felt like you were coming in in a back hallway.  The park has 2 decks and a concourse with full view to the field, wrapping from pole to pole.  As is customary in minor league parks, there was a party deck added in both the left field and right field corners.  The one in left field was little more than a shed roof and some lawn chairs and looked to be in pretty bad shape.  The one in right field featured a legit swimming pool and a bar.  Having the bar not be a swim-up bar seemed like a missed opportunity.  I really couldn't investigate these areas too well as they were below the concourse level and had separate entrances, which also seemed like a poor idea.  Excluding those glitches, the team has tried in a few areas to make the best of the bones it has been given and make small improvements.  There was an area that looked like it used to be a storage room of some kind that was opened up and appropriately turned into a daiquiri bar.  There was also a fish fry stand with local varieties of fish.  However, in a city with a culture as unique as New Orleans, I had high expectations for things like concessions, marketing, entertainment, etc, but in most areas the team fell short in this regard.  I think that the Zephyrs are just one of those teams that doesn't draw big crowds and has kind of a middle-of-the-road stadium, and so they just kind of quit spending any more money than they had to.  With that being said, the stadium is certainly a timeless architecture that should stand the test of time.  While it is not flashy, I can see this park being around for easily another 50 years and becoming a gem of the community, assuming they are able to keep the team.  There is enough land and space to continue with renovations as the times change.

With 32oz pina coladas in hand, $12 front row seats behind home plate, and a late-inning rally by the home team, it was a minor league experience I won't soon forget.  The Zephyrs beat the Nashville Sounds by scoring 3 runs in the 8th inning and holding down the fort in the 9th to secure the 4-3 victory.  Former Brewer draft pick Cole Gillespie had the game-winning 2-run double.  Other notable players were Colin Walsh, Matt Olson, and Dylan Axelrod.  Walsh saw time for the Brewers this year, where he was infamous for having a .400 OBP despite never hitting the ball.  He picked up his customary walk but also decided to swing the bat once and got a hit.  Olson is one of the A's top prospects and went 1-4 out of the cleanup spot.  Axelrod was a former White Sox closer and got the start for NOLA, giving up only 1 run in 6 innings of work.  And speaking of NOLA, the Zephyrs actually had a guy on the team with the last name Nola who is also coincidentally from Louisiana.  He obviously drew the loudest cheers of the evening and gave the fans even more reason to cheer with an RBI single.

We spent the last day of our vacation riding the vintage streetcar around to different parts of town, eating a disgusting amount of seafood, and seeing some live funk and jazz music on Frenchmen Street.  The main purpose of our trip may not have been to see baseball as my trips with Erik are, but I was glad I got to sneak in one more new ballpark before the end of the season and cross another great city off of my travel bucket list.

park rankings and statistics:
aesthetics - 6
views from park – 2
view to field - 9
surrounding area – 2 (Saints and Pelicans training facilities, airport)
food variety - 6
nachos - 7 (BBQ pulled pork and cheese)
beer - 6 (only 1 craft beer stand, but good price)
vendor price - 8
ticket price - 8 ($12 entire lower deck)
atmosphere - 3
walk to park – 2
parking price/proximity - 6 (adjacent lot, we took an Uber)
concourses - 5 (entry sequence, hard to access outfield)
team shop - 7 (bonus points for everything being on sale)

best food – nachos
most unique stadium feature – pool in right field
best jumbotron feature – different item on sale every inning
best between-inning feature – post-game all fans run the bases

field dimensions – 330/400/330
starters – Daniel Gossett (NAS) v. Dylan Axelrod (NOLA)
opponent – Nashville Sounds v. New Orleans Zephyrs
time of game – 2:18 (0:35 delay)
attendance – 5070
score – 4-3 W
Brewers score that day – 10-0 W

STANDINGS AND UPCOMING SERIES AS OF 09.09:
Brewers 63-77, -26.5, -11.0 WC (4 @ Cardinals, 3 @ Reds, 4 @ Cubs)
Reds 57-82, -32.0, -16.5 WC (4 @ Pirates, 3 v. Brewers, 4 v. Pirates)
Twins 52-88, -29.5, eliminated (3 v. Indians, 4 @ Tigers, 3 @ Mets)

2016 GAMES ATTENDED:
Erik - 13 (+24 worked)
Peter - 30

Werner Park

All photos of Werner Park available on Flickr.

Another "work" trip to Omaha for me this week meant another ballpark visit.  This time I was able to make it out to Werner Park, the home of the AAA Storm Chasers.  And when I say "make it out," I mean WAY out.  The ballpark is actually on the outskirts of Papillion, a suburb that is about a half-hour southwest of downtown Omaha.  If you are in Papillion and start driving west along Highway 370, just when you've passed enough farmland to think you couldn't possibly be going the right direction, you will see the ballpark emerge on the horizon above the corn stalks.  It wasn't until this trip that I realized just how big the Omaha area really is.  I stayed near the airport, and between visiting job sites in west Omaha and Papillion, I probably put nearly 100 miles on my rental car.  The intent with putting this park way out in the boonies was to have access to a huge swath of land to develop and invest into a "ballpark village" like so many parks are doing these days.  The tiny city of Papillion obviously jumped at this development opportunity, but so far nothing other than the stadium and some new infrastructure has panned out.  I hope that this is not a forecast for things to come because the Braves are doing the same exact thing.  From what I've read, the Storm Chasers have been doing well attendance-wise and are paying down their debt despite the lack of anything within 5 miles of the ballpark, so I'm hoping the small crowd on a gorgeous night for baseball was an anomaly.

The ballpark itself is rather unassuming from the outside.  It does not have any sort of main entry feature that draws you in other than just the signage, and the entire park is rather short compared to other contemporary parks.  Werner Park also lacks the weight that you would see with a lot of the massive masonry parks of today.  It has a little bit of stone at the base, but a lot of the exterior is exposed metal and stucco.  This is likely a cost decision primarily, but I also think it pays homage to "farm architecture."  The metal siding and the shed roofs play off a lot of the barns and sheds you might see in the area, and it helps the park to feel like it belongs as part of the landscape.  This is most obvious at the main entry where a taller piece clad in mismatched corrugated siding seems to abstractly represent an old patched-up grain silo or farmhouse.

Once inside, the park almost felt more like a spring training facility than a minor league park.  Aside from materials, it actually reminded me quite a bit of Camelback Ranch in Glendale.  The press boxes and suites on the upper level have their backs visible from the entry gate with a walkway behind them, and are detached from the buildings that surround the periphery of the stadium, just like at Camelback.  This creates a plaza in between these structures and makes a nice transition between the gate and the field.  The second level is also segmented and not one continuous roof, which adds visual interest.  I was pretty taken aback at first when I walked in because there are gobs of exposed PVC pipe under the second floor that you notice immediately, and weird areas of random rock landscaping instead of concrete, both of which were quite the eyesore.  I think both the visual elements and the lack of vendors and soft surfaces keep the plaza from being the great space that it has the potential to be.  The team store is right off of the plaza and was one of the better ones I have seen on any level even despite being about 50% Royals gear.  Concessions were a little disappointing, but the fact that I had to suffer through a plain cheeseburger and a Bud Light did not put too much of a damper on my evening.  Another disappointment was the inability to circumnavigate the outfield, which is always a sticking point for me.  Even if there is nothing out there but a berm and the scoreboard, it is always nice to get that different vantage point and walk around a little bit.  Overall it was certainly a memorable park, both because of and despite of its conscious architectural gestures.

The game got out of hand pretty quickly for Omaha, who are in the basement of the American North division of the PCL.  If this team's performance this year is any indication, the window of opportunity may be closing for the parent Royals, which I would be more than okay with.  Jason Vargas was making a rehab start for the Storm Chasers and does not look like he is ready to help the big club any time soon.  He gave up 3 ER in 3 innings of work, including Matt Chapman's 1st homerun of the year for the visiting Sounds.  Nashville broke it open with 7 more runs in the 4th, including a 3-run bomb by Jaycob Brugman.  The Chasers eventually decided they wanted to play offense and scored a few runs but ended up losing 12-3.  The only Chasers player I recognized besides Vargas was Orlando Calixte, and he went 3-5 with an RBI in the leadoff spot.

It will be well into the fall the next time I visit Omaha, so my attention will probably have to start wandering to the University of Nebraska-Omaha hockey schedule pretty soon.  I'm hoping my projects out there are wrapped up before next season, but I'd be lying if I said a part of me didn't want to go to a Creighton Blue Jays game in April.

park rankings and statistics:
aesthetics - 6
views from park – 2
view to field - 8
surrounding area – 1 (literally nothing)
food variety - 5
nachos - 5
beer - 4 (only 1 craft beer stand, primarily Budweiser)
vendor price - 7
ticket price - 5 ($15 just outside dugouts)
atmosphere - 4
walk to park – 2
parking price/proximity - 6 (adjacent lot $5)
concourses - 6 (nice entry plaza but can't go in outfield)
team shop - 9 (point deducted for being mostly Royals gear)

best food – burger
most unique stadium feature – entry plaza / materials
best jumbotron feature – crazy cap shuffle
best between-inning feature – a plethora of mascots

field dimensions – 310/402/315
starters – Dillon Overton (NAS) v. Jason Vargas (OMA)
opponent – Nashville Sounds v. Omaha Storm Chasers
time of game – 3:11
attendance – 3465
score – 12-3 L
Brewers score that day – 4-2 W

STANDINGS AND UPCOMING SERIES AS OF 08.26:
Brewers 56-71, -25.5, -11.5 WC (4 v. Pirates, 3 v. Cardinals)
Reds 54-72, -27.0, -13.0 WC (3 @ Diamondbacks, 3 @ Angels)
Twins 49-78, -23.5, -21.0 WC (3 @ Blue Jays, 3 @ Indians)

2016 GAMES ATTENDED:
Erik - 13 (+24 worked)
Peter - 29

Tour 2015: First Tennessee Park

All photos of Nashville, Lynchburg, Jack Daniel's Distillery, and First Tennessee Park available on Flickr.

My big vacation of the year took me to the mid-South, centered around the new Nashville Sounds ballpark.  The origins of this trip go back many years, during the decade when Nashville hosted the Brewers' top affiliate.  Really all I was waiting for was the team to move out of Greer Stadium, which was widely considered the worst ballpark in the Pacific Coast League.  An announcement of a new stadium and a rave review of the city by my brother all but sealed the deal to start planning this last year.  However, with a new park and a great city comes some clout in the affiliate shuffle game, and unfortunately the Sounds booted the Brewers as their parent club in September, but that did not deter me.  It just so happened that the Brewers new AAA club in Colorado Springs was playing in Nashville over the holiday weekend, so the timing couldn't have been better.  I brought my fiancée and parents along for a nice family roadtrip.  I don't think I've been in a car with anybody that for that long since the Tour, but after 9+ hours of driving we made it to our destination in one piece a little after 4pm on Wednesday. 

We rented a charming mini-Victorian home in East Nashville near the Five Points neighborhood and couldn't have asked for a better setup.  We were surrounded by a nice bar and restaurant area where the locals go, but yet we were also only a couple miles from the downtown.  It was the best of both worlds and the first night we explored the more intimate neighborhood side of the city, which included the best meal of the trip at a place called The Local Taco.  Thursday was the day we went to the Sounds game.  We started the day off by hitting just about every establishment on Broadway downtown.  Broadway is kind of like Beale Street in Memphis - it's a dense street full of tourist bars and shops, and every one of them has live music all day every day in which the artists work for free just for the exposure (and tips of course).  Except in Nashville, it is obviously country music instead of blues.  The street is bookended by the Cumberland River to the east, and the Predators NHL arena to the west, and we spent a good 6 hours there.  The walk to the park was an additional mile just north of the state capitol.  Had we not gotten in line super early for the star-spangled sunglasses giveaway, we would have gotten absolutely soaked to the bone by rain.  There were scattered pop-up showers most of the week we were there (and most of the summer in the south from what I gather), and a large cell passed through just before gametime, delaying the start by a half-hour.  Fortunately it was also Thirsty Thursday, so this just gave us extra time to enjoy $2 beers under the protection of the concourse.

First Tennessee Park sits on arguably one of the most historic sites in all of baseball, Sulphur Dell.  It was the site of the original Nashville ballpark built in 1870 that stood for nearly a century, and even before that was home to amateur baseball played by early settlers and traders.  After 37 seasons at Herschel Greer Stadium, baseball finally returned to the site this year.  It can be reasonably estimated that baseball in some form has been played in Nashville for over 160 years, and First Tennessee Park is continuing that lineage.  Unfortunately, I did not notice that much at the ballpark in the way of celebrating and depicting this history.  There are a few references to Sulphur Dell on some signs and concessions stands, but other than that I didn't notice any sort of plaque or timeline.  Unless I just didn't notice it, this seems like a missed opportunity by the team for something truly unique in a stadium that already isn't very memorable - more on that to follow.

Because of where the stadium is situated in town and the direction it faces, most people as of right now are approaching the park from the outfield or 1st base side of the stadium, even though the main gate is behind homeplate.  This seems like a nuance that will be fixed once the area around the stadium gets built up a little bit more - as with a lot of new parks these days, a "ballpark village" of sorts seems to be in construction on adjacent blocks.  But as for now, it just meant extra walking.  You can't fault the park for being oriented a certain way because the field is required to face east, but First Tennessee Park at least seems to recognize this deficiency and puts its two really interesting elements - the bar/game area and the guitar-shaped scoreboard - in the right field corner to pique your interest right off the bat.  The scoreboard was a vestige from old Greer Stadium (albeit a newer model) and is definitely what the Sounds are famous for.  Aside from that, the park did not really have anything memorable, inside or out.  The front entry is nice, but the façade is so long it seems like more of an arena than a ballpark.  The interior was pretty bland and unassuming, and as I mentioned before, not a lot of history talking about Sulphur Dell other than a sign in left field proclaiming it to be "baseball's most historic park."  There is a fine line from a ballpark being too distracting and too unoriginal, and First Tennessee Park decided to flirt with the more conservative side of that line.  I will say that the really nice part of the park that I mentioned - the bar in right field called "The Band Box" - is almost cool enough by itself to be an identity for the ballpark.  It's so much of a node that draws people in that you almost don't need that much else in the park - so large in fact that it carves into the field substantially, making it only 310' down the line.  There is a lawn area with bags and ping pong set up, a nice couch area with TVs, a gigantic bar, picnic benches, a standing rail along the fence with a view of the field, and some tiered outfield seating.  It feels like a tavern establishment outside of the stadium that just happens to have a nice view of the field, and it is one of the best public bar areas I have experienced.  When I go to games with my family, we have been known to throw back quite a few and spend a lot of time schmoozing the bartenders, so this was an ideal spot for the Nagels.  Megan made friends quickly with a number of employees, including the head bartender who introduced us to one of the most delicious beverages I have ever had at a ballpark - a whiskey & coke slushie.  They were so good that we immediately began plotting how we would make them for a future Brewers tailgate.  Outside of the bar area, there was a fairly diverse concessions variety, but very expensive - the regular price of beer was even more expensive here than Miller Park.  And only one hot chicken stand in Nashville would be like having only one cheesesteak stand in Philadelphia.

The game pitted the Brewers' former AAA affiliate against its current one, and the visiting Sky Sox lineup was full of former Brewer players. Three hitters and three pitchers in the game - Logan Schafer, Elian Herrera, Matt Clark, Hiram Burgos, Rob Wooten, and David Goforth - had all seen time with the Crew in the last year and a half.  Also in the lineup were journeyman Pete Orr, recently promoted infield prospect Yadiel Rivera, and Matt Dominguez, who was a former Astros top prospect picked up off of waivers a few weeks ago.  Perhaps the most intriguing face I saw on the team was Jim Henderson.  He saved 28 games for the Brewers in 2013, but since then has been battling shoulder issues and is still attempting a comeback in the minor leagues after being outrighted off of the roster earlier this year.  He did not see any action in the game but that did not stop me from sneaking some closeup photos of his beard in the dugout from our 4th row seat.  The Sky Sox ended up hanging on for a 4-3 victory.  Burgos was adequate, giving up 3 runs over 4 innings, but just as with the big league squad this year, the bullpen bailed him out to allow the offense back in the game.  David Goforth looked particularly impressive, striking out the side in the 7th.  The only two guys I had not heard of on the team - Nevin Ashley and Robinzon Diaz - each had 3 hits for Colorado Springs.  Joey Wendle was the player of the game for the Sounds, going 2-5 with a homerun.  It was weird to root against the Sounds, but still an enjoyable game.

We spent an additional two days in Nashville after Thursday night's game.  On Friday we made the 70-mile drive south to Adult Disney World, aka Jack Daniel's Distillery.  This was clearly the best part of the trip for my mom, and I also enjoyed it immensely.  I'm more of a beer drinker and am used to brewery tours, so it was interesting to take my first distillery tour and see how whiskey was made.  It was also very neat that it was broken up into many old buildings in a secluded wooded campus.  Ironically, the most famous brand of whiskey in the world is made in Moore County, which has been dry since 1909.  Through some sort of loophole, we were still able to partake in some samples, and it made the day worth it.  On Saturday we had grand aspirations to get a good seat for the downtown fireworks, which are supposed to be largest display in the country (although Madison also claims this title).  However, much like the rest of the week, it rained most of the day and we called it an early night after drinking in a smaller area of downtown called Printers Alley, a little north of Broadway.  We did get to go on an old-time steamboat in the afternoon up and down the Cumberland which was very cool - particularly because they had a bar with souvenir cups - but the river was about 10 feet higher than normal so we did not get to go all the way downtown.

I know I can speak for Megan and my folks when I say we thoroughly enjoyed our time in the Music City.  I definitely would recommend to any potential visitors to stay, or at least spend a day in East Nashville like we did.  Not to say things like the Grand Ol' Opry are bad, but exploring the neighborhoods gives a perspective on the city as a whole.  And if you visit in the summer, do not trust the weather app on your phone and just carry an umbrella with you at all times.  This trip may be it for Tour 2015.  I am saving some vacation days to go to the Arizona Fall League with Erik, but he is going to be looking for the first full-time permanent adult job of his life this month, and he needs to get this right.

park rankings and statistics: 
aesthetics - 5
views from park – 3
view to field - 9
surrounding area – 3 (downtown 1mi south)
food variety - 7
nachos - 9
beer - 9 (would be much lower if not $2 beer night - beer very pricy!) 
vendor price - 5
ticket price - 3 (inner bowl is expensive but GA only $7)
atmosphere - 8 (right field bar is awesome)
walk to park – 6
parking price/proximity - n/a (we walked)
concourses - 6 (bland, but wide with drink rails all the way around)
team shop - 6 (no inaugural season baseballs or Sounds guitar picks!)

best food – pulled pork nachos (did not try hot chicken but that is a Nashville specialty)
most unique stadium feature – guitar-shaped scoreboard
best jumbotron feature – Coke race
best between-inning feature – Zaxby's Chicken Dance

field dimensions – 330/403/310
starters – Hiram Burgos (CS) v. Parker Frazier (NAS)
opponent – Colorado Springs Sky Sox
time of game – 2:59 (:33 delay)
attendance – 7377
score – 4-3 L
Brewers score that day – 8-7 W

STANDINGS AND UPCOMING SERIES AS OF 07.06:
Brewers 36-48, -18.5 (3 v. Braves, 4 @ Dodgers)
Reds 36-44, -16.5 (3 @ Nationals, 4 @ Marlins)
Twins 43-39, -4.5 (3 v. Orioles, 4 v. Tigers)

2015 GAMES ATTENDED:
Erik - 13 (+15 worked)
Peter - 26