Bill's Journal Entry #12

Bank One Ballpark

Date: July 22, 2002

Location: Phoenix, Arizona

Opponent: Colorado Rockies

Travel companion: Matt Glover, a friend

Link to my photos: http://cards.webshots.com/cp-30848358-wRRD-album/45276971RrxUxb

Game Result: I eagerly awaited my chance to see Curt Schilling in action. We had good seats in the back of the lower deck, close to being right behind home plate, and I was anxious to see his stuff. And he did well ... although not the overly dominant performance I had hoped for. Curt scattered seven hits over 7 1/3, giving up just one run. Matt Williams and Luis Gonzalez hit home runs, and the D-backs coasted, 5-1.

Stadium Summary: For several decades, the stadiums in Pittsburgh, St. Louis, Philadelphia, Cincinnati, and Atlanta were known as the “cookie-cutter” stadiums, as they looked so similar to each other, with similar positive and negative (mostly negative) features. With most of these stadiums gone or going, I’m beginning to fear that a new set of stadiums will be known as the “cookie-cutters”. Having now been to Bank One Ballpark, Enron/Astros/Minute Maid Park in Houston, and (in 2001) Miller Park in Milwaukee, I’m amazed at the similarity in the feel of these parks, particularly when their roofs are closed. They all suffer from a lack of natural light, even in the daytime, they all have air conditioning/heating systems that, while very impressive, still leave the parks feeling like a closet that no one’s been in since the other Bush was in the White House, and they all give the game a feel that seems like baseball’s version of Arena Football. But look at the options:  who wants to be outside for three hours on a summer afternoon in Arizona? On the up side, the BOB does have a very nice feel about it, with some very nice neighborhood bars and restaurants, a fun, although slightly cluttered-looking, west side entrance area, and very easy access from pretty much any direction. Like its companions, the BOB’s not great, but the new batch of “cookie-cutters” far supersedes the old ones.

Most over-publicized stadium feature: The center field swimming pool. It’s simply way too much of a gimmick for my tastes. If you want to swim, go to the Y. Surely something more “Arizonan” could be found. Maybe a giant robotic snake could pop up its head and tail, and rattle with each home run. Or a few in-play cactuses would be interesting.

Best stadium food I had never previously heard about: Garcia’s burritos. These delights came in about half a dozen varieties, with both chicken and meat variations. And they’re HUGE! I suspect that mine had around two pounds of chicken, rice, barbecue sauce, and other delicious components, all for $6.50, incredibly inexpensive by stadium standards.

Best way to sample stadium concessions on a limited travel budget: Come to the BOB, and head to their “Taste of the Majors” stand. There, they have thirteen concession items, supposedly one each from the other National League stadiums. Fish tacos from San Diego, brats from Milwaukee, Dodger Dogs, and many others. I didn’t try any (I’ll wait for the real thing, at those actual stadiums), so I can’t vouch for the authenticity of any of the fare, but it’s still a neat idea.

Most noteworthy lack of unattractive female fans: This was something that both Matt and I noticed. In any other stadium either of us had ever been to, we have seen attractive women, but we have also seen women that should take both of their teeth back home and climb back under their double-wide. However, in Phoenix, both in the stadium and out in the rest of the city, we did not see even one unattractive woman. Talk about a great incentive to return to this city! Then again, it could have been the effect of the rather potent beverages at the Hi-Tops sports bar just outside the stadium…

A new streak?: After the Dodgers became my first home team to fail to homer (@#$%ing Dodgers), Arizona belted two out.

Stadium grade: C   I’d definitely be interested in seeing what this park is like when the roof is open.

Overall grade of my experience at the game: C+   It’s always good to see a great pitcher, even when he doesn’t have one of his best games.

-- Bill Verkuilen  biggbill@hotmail.com 

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