“There is no crying in baseball”… nor are there indoor stadiums

Today we experienced our first, of what I hope is many, visits to major league ball parks. 

A couple years back, a father and son took a summer road trip to all 30 major league stadiums.  Since then, I have dreamt of the same trip.  When the “Where is the Red?” trip was first pitched, I saw an opportunity to do my own mini trip in our free time.  Luckily, CJ, Chris, and Kerry are all baseball fans so I have cooperative “road mates.”  I traced our path through red districts and discovered we should be able to hit 10 to 12 stadiums if the teams’ and our schedules permit.   So hopefully you’ll get a good dose of stadium critiques over the next couple months. Tropicana Stadium, home of the red hot Tampa Bay Rays, became stadium number one. 

I woke up this morning and opened the blinds to find rain.  Things were looking bleak for the game but I wasn’t discouraged.  I hoped for the rain to blow over and we trekked on to St. Petersburg.  As we entered the downtown area, we realized Tropicana Field is indoors.  I was relieved Mother Nature wouldn’t have the opportunity to foil our plans. When we entered the stadium I wasn’t so sure.

Don’t get me wrong, I am always happy to see any major league game.  I played baseball all my life, I will watch any team at any given time, but something just wasn’t right.  I was excited to see some of the Rays’ young talent: Scott Kazmir, Evan Longoria (who hit a HR in the 2^nd inning), BJ Upton, and Carl Crawford.  But baseball doesn’t belong indoors.  The stadium was awkwardly shaped with a lot of wasted seating room.  I couldn’t see fly balls; they disappeared in roofing.  The thing that bothered me the most was the ads in between innings.  The huge big screen would play a television ad and because the stadium was indoors, the volume was amplified.  It almost made it feel like I watching the game on TV.  To the Rays’ credit, they are pushing construction of a new stadium and the plans look beautiful.  The stadium will be open air; however will have a retractable roof to address the weather situation in the area.  And it’s right on the edge of the water which is awesome.  I hope I’ll get to visit the new stadium in four years because the Rays’ have too talented of a squad to not have a proper environment to play.

The Rays ended up losing the game 3-2 even though Kazmir pitched a beautiful game.  That’s baseball for you though.  Following the game, we spent some time on the beach, and then headed to Sarasota.  Tomorrow the “Where is the Red?” trip officially kicks off.  I couldn’t be more excited.  If any of you are in the area, come to the kickoff event at Bennigan’s grill and tavern at 5 o’clock!

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