Cleveland Indians: Go Tribe!

  Carter and I hopped in our car Friday night, and made our way to Ohio in order to cross the next ballpark off our list. Progressive Field is in Cleveland, Ohio and is home to the Indians. Upon arriving near the park, we began looking for parking. We pulled into a lot selling parking spots for $20 and realized that the attendants were parking the cars so tightly that you would not be able to leave until everyone parked around you has decided to leave. Um…no thank you. As it turns out we ended up parking in the official Progressive Field parking deck.  It was only $12 plus easy to leave when we were ready. A great find!

            The streets were packed with people dancing to a military band playing in the street and mulling around the bars and restaurants nearby. The mood felt electric! After grabbing $14 tickets, we entered the stadium. In order to get a picture of Carter near the field, we began weaving our way down to the lower deck. I pulled the employee manning one of the lower sections over and asked him to snap a picture of Carter and me. Ricardo (the employee) had a difficult time working my camera, but he was able to capture this picture of us. 

The Military Band

Ricardo's Picture

Ricardo asked us where we were from and where we were sitting. Immediately, I launched into my story about our ballpark tour. He gave me a wink and told us to see him in the second inning. Yes please!!! A seat upgrade!

Our "New" seats.

Click here for our Cleveland Ratings

How Does Progressive Field Measure Up?

Ballpark Concessions: 5

·                   Fantastic options! The Food Network  Stands offered specialty sandwiches and hotdogs. Carter and I opted for the Cleveland Dog. A hotdog topped with BBQ and Coleslaw. I read the park is famous for their I-shaped pretzels served with Cleveland’s signature Bertman’s Ballpark Mustard but alas after asking several employees and stopping at several concessions stands, I was not lucky enough to find one. I did find a cinnamon sugar soft pretzel from one of the specialty stands.  Be sure to stop at the APPetizer stand for some chicken and waffles or a deep fried snickers. Even though we did not  did not get anything from this stand the smells alone were enough to make your stomach begin to grumble. If fries are your thing check out the fry concession stand where you could literally watch your fries being cut fresh in front you.

Our Cinnamon Sugar Pretzel

One of the Food Network Speciality Carts

Food Network Hot Dog Bar

The Traditional Options

The Famous Bertman's Ball Park Mustard

The APPetizer Store 

Stadium Architecture and Views:  3 ¾

   Progressive field has a interesting open outfield that allows you to look out over the city.  In left field you can sit in $10 bleacher seats right beneath the jumbotron. They also have partnered with the local university to harness wind power for the stadium. A “green” thumbs up!

View from the Stadium 

View from the other side of stadium

The Wind Power Contraption.

Fan Participation: 3

One of the Indians players was named Shin Shoo Choo. Whenever he stepped up to bat fans would holler CHOOOOOOOOO! I looked forward to his time at bat as I quickly followed along pretending to be a local. When the Indians hit a good ball the fans went nuts but other than that the crowds were pretty low cut. In addition to that the upper deck in right field was completely void of fans even for a fireworks night.

Batter Up.

Chooooooooo! My new favorite Indians Player!

Rally Alley-A place for the fans to cheer on their Indians.

More of Rally Alley

Overall: 3.9

PNC Park: Let's Go Bucs!

We missed out on a major experience for this ballpark as we did not park our car across the river so we could walk across the Roberto Clemente Bridge to the game. However this park might be one of my favorite experiences so far.

Initially it did not seem like it was going to work so nicely. Carter and I decided that since the Pirates are perennial losers it would not be hard to get tickets at the gate. Oops…when arrived at the ticket office to inquire about seats the lady told us the game was sold out. Really? Carter did some fancy talking and we ended up with obstructed view seats in the outfield with concession money included on our ticket. (not a bad deal considering we were planning on eating in the park anyway)

Once we got inside, we headed toward the Primanti Bros. This restaurant was all we heard about from everyone. We both got the cheesesteak sandwich famous for being topped with french fries, coleslaw & tomatoes.  We are not sure this location in the park stands up to one of their neighborhood locations, but it was pretty decent.

That being said the backdrop views make you forget everything else. Between the Pittsburgh skyline, the river, and the prominent yellow bridges it was magnificent!  The people were friendly and the park was easy to get around. This park was easily accessible from downtown - we drove from the hotel where we stayed. 



And one more thing....it was at this park that my inspiration for the name of this blog came from. On the screen the announcers flashed something about a southpaw. I quickly turned to Carter with a questioning look. "A left-handed pitcher." So even though I have yet to have a cracker jack at a game I figured old school baseball terms are cute. :)

Safeco Field: The Retractable Roof Baseball Stadium

This stadium visit sort of fell into our laps and also solidified the reality of our dream of attending all the baseball parks at the same time. My grandparents surprised my family with a cruise to Alaska in the summer of 2011. Our ship was leaving from Seattle so my family decide to head to Seattle two days early to see the city before boarding the boat. My mom had a small gift card she was trying to use at Barnes and Noble and stumbled onto a cheap tourist guide for Seattle. As she began reading it she saw that one of the suggestions for Seattle was seeing a Mariner’s Game at Safeco Field. Carter practically started salivating when he heard this and the rest is history. There was no way we were leaving Seattle without that field under our belt.

It was super easy to get the stadium via public transportation and breathtakingly pristine upon arriving. Come hungry because Safeco Field has an excellent variety of food. Who needs the classics when you have choices like clam chowder, salmon sandwiches, sushi, chocolate-covered strawberries, garlic fries, wok-fried noodles, and an open pit barbecue? I just had to have the garlic fries, whose intoxicating aroma can be savored for miles.

We sat in the cheap seat in the upper deck, but I’m glad we did. The upper deck provides incredible views both inside and outside the ballpark. We could see the surrounding mountains, water and skyline.

Another significant mention about this stadium was Carter and I could walk freely all over. It was so cool because it did not matter where our seats where as we roamed all over into the nooks and plazas taking pictures and surveying the game. A huge plus! 

Wrigley Field: Home of the Cubs

On a trip with my parents and brother to Chicago my husband, Carter suggested we all make our way to Wrigley Field for a Cubs game. I believe his words were something like “it’s a classic stadium and to not attend a game while in Chicago would be sin.”

I must say going to the stadium via the red line “El” was an experience. The closer we got to the park the closer we got to the people as the trains were packed so tightly I could smell the people on either side of me. As I looked over at Carter a huge grin plastered on his face I felt as if I was truly helping Carter make a pilgrimage to “baseball fans’ heaven.”

Upon arriving at the park, it felt like the entire neighborhood of Wrigleyville flooded the streets and the excitement was infectious. As we made our way into the stadium, it was clear the stadium lacked modern amenities. The confines were friendly for example compact seats forcing your knees to jam into the row in front of you. The historic charm of ballpark made me forget any facility woe. I was in awe of the manual scoreboard and ivy-covered outfield walls. Another eye catcher was the special and unique rooftop seats on the nearby buildings.