GAME # 30-Angel Stadium-Los Angeles Angels vs. Cincinnati Reds

WE DID IT! On Wednesday, August 23 we attended our final ballpark at Angel Stadium to complete our tour of all 30 MLB ballparks in the 2023 season. We planned our final stadium to be close to home in order for friends and family to join in our final stadium celebration and Jim’s birthday. We had 20 friends and family members join us with the farthest coming from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. We have been to Angel Stadium many times before but this was the first time in 2023. Angel Stadium is the 4th oldest stadium in MLB opening in 1966 with a current capacity of 45,517. There was a period of time when the stadium had a much larger capacity when the stadium was shared with the Los Angeles Rams from 1980-1994. After the Rams left for St. Louis the stadium returned to a baseball only facility. Angel Stadium has some features that are unique, one of those being the “Big A” which can be seen from the freeways and lights up extra bright on an Angels WIN. Also in left-center field is the “California Spectacular” which is a rock waterfall with geysers that erupt when the Angels get a home run or win the game. Additionally the Home Plate Gate is one of the most special entrances with two giant Angel hats and a full-sized brick infield complete with a regulation pitcher’s mound. See our Instagram for pictures of our Canadian cousin Ed winding up on the mound. @ourfieldofdreams2023. The Angels were founded in 1961 by Gene Autry as an expansion team. There is a statue of Gene Autry at the ballpark to honor his 36 years as the owner of the Angels. The Angels made the playoffs three times while Autry was the owner. Unfortunately, Autry who died in 1998 would never see his team win the pennant. The Los Angeles Angels won their only World Series Championship in 2002. I remember that World Series well as they were playing the San Francisco Giants. The Angels have won 7 AL West Division Titles with the last one being in 2014. Over the years the Angels have been known as the Los Angeles Angels, California Angels, Anaheim Angels and now back to the Los Angeles Angels. The Angels are one of three teams who do not have an official mascot. However, I would argue that the hundreds of rally monkeys that are waved across the stadium are certainly as close as it gets to a mascot. When the Angels are trailing by four or fewer runs in the 6th inning the Rally Monkey comes out to the song of “Jump Around.” The Rally Monkey really became a permanent fixture after Game 6 of the 2002 World Series when the Giants were close to eliminating the Angels in a 5-0 lead. The Rally Monkey came out and Angels Scott Spiezio crushed a three-run blast that sparked a come back. The Angels would then go on to score three more runs in the 8th inning to win the game. OH HOW I REMEMBER! The Angels have only six retired numbers with only half of them being players who wore the Angels uniform: #26-Gene Autry, owner; #50-Jimmie Reese, coach; #42-Jackie Robinson, retired by all MLB; #11 Jim Fregosi; #29 Rod Carew; and #30 Nolan Ryan. Here is a bit of trivia for you did you know that Nolan Ryan holds the record for NO HITTERS? Nolan Ryan has 7 no hitters with 4 of them while he wore the Angels uniform. Speaking of pitchers boy did we luck out as the pitcher for this game is the talk of MLB, Shohei Ohtani. We spent some time walking around the stadium with my good friend Cheryl while our friends and family gathered in our seating area. Thanks to Cheryl for taking so many wonderful pictures for us on this final game. Once we arrived back to our seats Jim’s longtime friend from high school Jeff, who works as a head usher now that he is retired, took us to a restricted area to see the players on the field. Since this was a day game there was not batting practice and only a short warm up. Thank you to Jeff for getting us down on the rail and for taking so many great photos for us with Ohtani in the background. Jim did his final hot dog review in the stands with our friends and family looking on. He selected a Pastrami Dog from Crafty Dog which was not only delicious but extremely large! Jim game the Angels Pastrami Dog the highest rating of our tour with a 9.0. The Angels games always begin with the song “Calling All Angels” by Train and of course the National Anthem. As the game began we all took our seats and prepared to watch a great game. In order to keep 20 people engaged in the game I organized a fun “Cup Gambling Game” to be played through the game. Everyone puts a dollar in the cup and then the cup is passed down the row with each batter. The person holding the cup pays or takes from the cup according to their batter’s outcome: Strikeout -2, Fly/groudout -1, Ejection -20, Single +1, Double +2, Triple +3 and Home Run take all the money in the cup. It was a great way to keep a large group in the game. First pitch by Shohei Ohtani was at 1:09pm in front of a crowd of 28,776. It was three up and three down for the Reds in the top on the 1st inning. The first inning for the Angels was the absolute BEST. Following a walk by Luis Rengifo, Shohei Ohtani hit his #44 homer. It was so fantastic to see Ohtani blast that homer! Score Reds 0 - Angels 2. Eric Mauldin wins the cup. The next three batters would go down in order. The 2nd inning Ohtani would walk Spencer Steer and Joey Votto would pop out before tragically Ohtani would leave the mound with arm fatigue. The crowd was not happy to see him leave the mound with over half of the fans wearing Ohtani jerseys. Unfortunately we would later learn that Ohtani is done pitching for the season. The next score would come in the bottom of the 3rd inning. Andrew Velazquez hit a double followed by Luis Rengifo’s double to score Velazquez. Score Reds 0 - Angels 3. In the top of the 4th inning Matt McLain hit a single and Spencer Steer hit a single. With runners on the corners Joey Votto hit a soft grounder to score Matt McLain. Score Reds 1 - Angels 3. The top of the 5th inning the Reds would do some damage, Will Benson and TJ Friedl both flied out with Luke Maile taking a walk. With two outs and a runner on first, Matt McLain came to the plate and would reach on a throwing error by shortstop Andrew Velazquez. With two runners on base and two outs Reds rookie Elly De La Cruz blasted a three-run homer. Score Reds 4 - Angels 3. Shannon Bray wins the cup. The 7th inning began with a pitching change by the Angels with Aaron Loup replacing Tyler Anderson who would not last long. Will Benson hit a single, Luke Maile grounded out and TJ Friedl hit a single. Another pitching change would bring in Dominic Loup. The first batter he faced Matt McLain would take a walk to load the bases up. Rookie Elly De La Cruz came to the plate and blasted a triple scoring 3 runs. Reds 7 - Angels 3. I think De La Cruz is a person to watch! Spencer Steer would hit a single scoring De La Cruz. Score Reds 8 - Angels 3. Fortunately the Angels would turn a double play to end the inning. The Angels sparked a little life in the bottom of the 7th inning with Luis Rengifo hitting a triple. Nolan Schanuel would walk followed by Brandon Drury grounding into a force out scoring Rengifo. Score Reds 8 - Angels 4. The 8th inning would go scoreless. In the top of the 9th inning Michael Siani would walk but soon would be caught stealing 2nd base. Next to the plate was Matt McLain would also walk. Then the threat Elly De La Cruz would come to the plate an thank goodness he would strikeout. Spencer Steer hit a single scoring McLain. Score Reds 9 - Angels 4. Unfortunately it was three up and three down for the Angels in the bottom of the 9th. Final Score—-Reds 9 - Angels 4. Nancy Neill was holding the cup at the end and collected her winnings. What a great day for a baseball game but unfortunately it was not the Angels day. The final score for Our Field of Dreams Tour is 13 WINS and 17 LOSSES for the HOME TEAM. This is very bittersweet writing the blog of our final game. This is not the final post of this blog, as over the next few weeks I plan to write a post recapping our trip with a list of top ballparks and a list of hot dog ratings. People have asked us what adventures we will take on next now that Our Field of Dreams Tour is over. Our answer is we will continue to travel in our RV, spend time with our most treasured gifts (our grandkids) and attend and watch baseball games. Thank you all for taking this journey with us and I look forward to sharing the recap with you soon. Until next time PLAY BALL!

GAME # 29 - Petco Park - San Diego Padres vs. Los Angeles Dodgers

It is hard to believe we are nearing the end of Our Field of Dreams Tour 2023 by attending ballpark number 29 of 30. We set out for San Diego on the morning of August 7, 2023 for a day game at Petco Park where the San Diego Padres take on the Los Angeles Dodgers. We selected a day game during the week because we thought it would be less crowded but we were dead wrong! We arrived 2 1/2 hours early and were very surprised by the number of people already lined up outside the gates. While we waited for the gates to open which would be 90 minutes prior to first pitch we chatted with others waiting in line. As per usual our shirts are always a topic of discussion. With questions about how many more to go and which one has been our favorite. Time and time again we hear people say visiting all the MLB ballparks is on their bucket list. We met a man who wants to visit all 30 ballparks in 30 days and what we told him was GOOD LUCK! There are so many factors that play into setting up a schedule just to visit all 30 ballparks in a season let alone 30 days and sometimes a rainout will foil your plans. Additionally, there is always another element that gets the attention of others when we wait in line and that is the HOT DOG HAT. We get asked where did we get the hat and who wears it. We always share that our talented son-in-law Steven made the hat for a family hat contest we had in Lake Tahoe. Then we go on to say Jim wears the hat for his hot dog reviews and I am just the lucky one who gets to carry it into the games. I am not sure who has it worse! We were told by a gentleman who appeared to be the expert on hot dogs at the park to get the “Big Slugger Dog” at the Randy Jones Grill stand. Randy Jones was a former Padres player who has ventured into other ventures since retirement, one of which is the Randy Jones All American Grill. As time drew near for the gates to open we noticed it was “Straw Hat Giveaway Day.” That is always a bonus when there are giveaways and today was a very warm day so a straw hat would be very much appreciated. We entered the Home Plate Gate which has a beautiful water feature. See our Instagram for pictures @ourfieldofdreams2023. Petco Park opened in 2004 and replaced Qualcomm Stadium. Petco Park is home to the San Diego Padres who joined the MLB in 1969 as one of four new expansion teams. The Padres struggled in their early years often finishing last in their division. It wasn’t until 1984 and 1998 that the Padres would win their first National League titles. That was the era of hall of fame Tony Gwynn, who won eight league batting titles. One of our good friends Pat Aitro played baseball with Tony Gwynn in college and had lots of great things to say about him. I highly recommend googling Tony Gwynn to learn more about this amazing man. The Padres have won 5 West Division titles and earned 2 Wild Card berths but have never won the World Series. In fact the San Diego Padres are one of six ball clubs without a World Series title. As we walked around the ballpark we saw the mural that displays their Major League Titles as well as the Breitbard Hall of Fame that recognizes significant athletic achievements in San Diego. One of those we saw on the wall was Dave Roberts which was interesting as we did not know about his athletic roots beginning in San Diego at Rancho Buena Vista High School. The San Diego Padres Hall of Fame opened in 2016 and unfortunately we waited until after the game to visit and it was closed. However, there were many things to see in the Padres Hall of Fame Plaza. Padres in Cooperstown wall has 19 plaques honoring San Diego Padres players who went on to be inducted to Cooperstown Major League Baseball Hall of Fame. Jim and I were both surprised by a few of the plaques we saw namely; Rollie Fingers, Willie McCovey, and Gaylord Perry. Neither of us knew that these players had been on the Padres team. Dave Winfield, Tony Gwynn and Trevor Hoffman each have special pedestals as they were inducted to the MLB Hall of Fame as San Diego Padres. Additionally, in this area are two large statues of Trevor Hoffman and Tony Gwynn. The San Diego Padres have six retired numbers: #6 Steve Garvey, #19 Tony Gwynn, #31 Dave Winfield, #35 Randy Jones, #51 Trevor Hoffman and #42 Jackie Robinson. While we were walking the stadium before the game started we went to the Western Metal Supply Co. building, which is a hundred-year-old brick structure incorporated into the design of the ballpark with a corner of the building serving as the left field foul pole. This building has a team store, private suites, restaurant and roof top seating. Inside the building bar area they have several game areas with shuffleboards, pool tables, foosball and other activities. This is a great area to spend pregame if you arrive early enough. Petco Park has a wide range of seating areas and if you want you can check out the area called “The Beach” located behind center field. This area is modeled after Southern California’s beach piers and complete with sand. If you want very inexpensive seats you can sit on the elevated grass area called “Park at the Park.” We selected seats for today’s game on the Field Level third base side in the shade with a beautiful view of the San Diego skyline. After all the walking around Jim was ready to find the Randy Jones Grill stand. Once we located the stand Jim ordered the “Big Slugger Dog” with everything on it. Jim gave the hot dog a 7.5 rating. After the review we walked to our seats and boy was it crowded! There were just as many Dodger fans as Padre fans. Petco Park has a 40,222 capacity but today’s game was beyond a sellout with 44,455 in attendance! First pitch was at 1:10pm with Seth Lugo on the mound for San Diego and Tony Gonsolin for the Dodgers. The first few innings went fast with three up and three down that is until the bottom of the 3rd inning. The Padres would blow the scoreboard up beginning with a walk by Ji Man Choi and a homer by Luis Campusano. Every time the Padres hit a home run a ship’s whistle is sounded. Not only was the whistle sounded but the crowd began to shout BEAT LA. Score Dodgers 0 - Padres 2. Trent Grisham and Ha-Seong Kim hit singles followed by Fernando Tatis Jr. hitting a double and scoring two runs. Score Dodgers 0 - Padres 4. Manny Machado would hit a sacrifice fly to score Fernando Tatis Jr making the score Dodgers 0 - Padres 5. That 5 run inning must have put some heat in the Dodgers bats because the top of the 4th inning became a nightmare for the Padres. Freddie Freeman led off with a single and Max Muncy walked. When David Peralta hit a double it would score the Dodgers first run of the game. Score Dodgers 1 - Padres 5. Next up Jason Heyward who would double and bring in two runs. Score Dodgers 3 - Padres 5. Kike Hernandez walked bringing up James Atman who hit a single followed by Miguel Rojas single to score a run. Score Dodgers 4 - Padres 5. The Dodger fans were on their feet and the Padres fans were quiet as Mookie Betts came to the plate with the bases loaded and one out. Mookie Betts did something he would not normally do, he swung on a 3-0 count and he had every right because that ball was GONE! It was a GRAND SLAM and the Dodger fans went wild and Jim Bray was leading the crowd with high fives and cheers. Score Dodgers 8 - Padres 5. It was time for Seth Lugo to take a walk back to the dugout and bring in Steven Wilson to pitch for the Padres. Steven Wilson did a great job keeping the Dodgers from scoring so I don’t know why they elected to pull Wilson in the top of the 6th inning and replace him with Scott Barlow. The first batter Barlow faced was Kike Hernandez who homered Score Dodgers 9 - Padres 5. James Outman would walk followed by a double by Miguel Rojas. The Padres decided to intentionally walk Freddie Freeman. With the bases loaded and one out Will Smith hit a single to score a run. Score Dodgers 10 - Padres 5. The Dodgers bats were not done yet when Max Muncy came to the plate and hit a double scoring two more runs. Score Dodgers 12 - Padres 5. As if that was not injury enough David Peralta hit a sacrifice fly to score another run. Score Dodgers 13 - Padres 5. The bottom of the 6th inning the Padres gave it their best shot to come back from that disastrous inning. Jake Cronenworth hit a double and Luis Campusano hit a single to score a run. Score Dodgers 13 - Padres 6. That was all the Padres could put on the board that inning. In my research I had read that Petco Park was an “extreme pitcher’s park” but that is definitely not the case today! The score board would remain the same until the bottom of the 9th inning. The Padres had their rally hats on when with two outs Luis Campusano hit a homer. Trent Grisham hit a single and then Ha-Seong Kim put the final nail in the coffin with a pop out to end the game. It was a little too late for the Padres with a final score Dodgers 13 - Padres 7. Jim was thrilled with the outcome and well let’s just say I was doing my best to stick to our agreement. It was pretty fantastic to see another GRAND SLAM on our Field of Dreams Tour. This makes two GRAND SLAMS. The first one was hit by Texas Ranger Adolis Garcia in Globe Life Park. This brings our Field of Dreams Tour to 13 WINS for the Home Team and 16 LOSSES for the Home Team. We will be joined by a group of friends and family for our final ballpark on Wednesday, August 23 (Jim’s Birthday) at Angel Stadium for a day game. There should be loads of celebrating on this day and we hope that includes a win for the Angels. Until next time I leave you with a quote from Babe Ruth, “Baseball was, is, and always will be the best game in the world to me.” Very much agreed Babe Ruth…….PLAY BALL!

Game #28-Dodgers Stadium - Dodgers vs. Athletics

It was a beautiful Southern California day on Wednesday, August 2, 2023 when we set out for Dodgers Stadium our 28th ballpark in our “Field of Dreams Tour.” That is until traffic! We scheduled a Dodgers Stadium ballpark tour at 4:00pm and barely made it even though we planned an extra hour for traffic. Suffice it to say it was a stressful drive! Once we got to the stadium we did not have the extra time we thought we would have to take photos around the exterior of the ballpark because we were late for our tour. I have to admit this is probably my most difficult blog to write and the most difficult stadium for me to attend because my blood runs Giants orange. Let’s just say I do it in the name of LOVE for my Dodger fan husband. Fortunately we had a wonderful tour guide named Cat that quickly helped to evaporate the stress of our dreadful drive. Cat gave us loads of information about the Dodgers and Dodgers Stadium as she took us through the stadium. Several places we were able to visit are not open to the general public which made the tour really special. The Los Angeles Dodgers began in Brooklyn in 1883 therefore they have a rich history with many accomplishments. Back when they were the Brooklyn Dodgers they had a fierce crosstown rivalry with the New York Yankees. The two clubs faced each other in the World Series seven times, with the Dodgers losing the first five matchups before defeating them to win the franchise's first title in 1955. It was also during this period that the Dodgers made history by breaking the baseball color line in 1947 with the addition of Jackie Robinson, the first African American to play in Major League Baseball. The Dodgers left Brooklyn and moved to Los Angeles in 1958 playing their first four seasons at the Los Angeles Coliseum with one of those seasons, 1959 leading to another World Series Championship. Dodger Stadium opened in 1962 where I remember some of the players from the 1960s as a child when I attended Giants vs. Dodgers games at Candlestick Park. Who doesn’t remember ace pitchers Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale? These amazing baseball players were instrumental in two more World Series titles for the Dodgers in 1963 and 1965. Boy is this hard to write about! Then a drought of titles would endure for the Dodgers until the 1980’s. Jim fondly remembers this decade and especially Fernando Valenzuela the pitching sensation for the Dodgers leading to two more World Series titles in 1981 and 1988. If fact the Dodgers are retiring Valenzuela’s number 34 on Friday, August 11, 2023. Current Dodgers retired numbers are: #1 Pee Wee Reese, #2 Tommy Lasorda, #4 Duke Snider, #14 Gil Hodges, #19 Jim Gilliam, #20 Don Sutton, #24 Walter Alston, #32 Sandy Koufax, #39 Roy, Campanella, #42 Jackie Robinson, #53 Don Drysdale. After a 32-year drought, which included 12 postseason appearances and 8 consecutive division titles the Dodgers won the 2020 World Series Championship. Some would say it should have an asterisk next to it because of the 60 game season due to the COVID pandemic. Let’s just say in my household according to my wedding vows and to keep the peace there is no talk of an asterisk. The Dodgers maintain a fierce rivalry with the San Francisco Giants dating way back to when they were both in New York. If anyone wants evidence of this just be within one mile of the Bray’s house when the Giants play the Dodgers. It’s rough! Dodger Stadium is the 3rd oldest ballpark in MLB, after Fenway Park (1912) and Wrigley Field (1914). It is also the largest baseball stadium in the world by seat capacity. I can vouch for that as we put on about 10,000 steps at the stadium according to our Apple watches. The stadium features statues of Jackie Robinson and Sandy Koufax as well as a Tommy Lasorda bobblehead. See our pictures on Instagram @ourfieldofdreams2023. Dodger Stadium is the only stadium in MLB with an officially accredited botanic garden. I must say the gardens are very beautiful and the pictures I put on Instagram do not do it justice. Along our tour we were taken to section that houses an amazing display of Awards by the Dodgers. I had to swallow a big gulp of my Giants pride as I surveyed the hundreds of trophies and awards over the years won by the Dodgers. I have to say they way this memorabilia was showcased was very impressive. Awards include: National League MVP, World Series Trophies, Cy Young Awards, Golden Gloves, Rookie of the Year, Silver Slugger Awards and Manager of the Year. I think I should mention that Jim’s stature and mine were remarkably different as we walked through this area. One thing we found fascinating were the copies of the player and manager contracts displayed from years ago. Sandy Koufax in 1959 paid $15,000; Don Drysdale in 1958 paid $12,500; Manager Walter Alston in 1969 paid $60,000; and Tommy Lasorda in 1978 paid $75,000. Things have changed dramatically! One of the most heart touching moments even for me a Giants fan was the area that is dedicated to Vin Scully. We saw the press box area dedicated to Vin Scully and several pieces of memorabilia showcased. It just so happens that the date of our visit to the ballpark marks the one year anniversary of Vin Scully’s death. Another interesting fact we also learned is there are only three MLB teams without official mascots; Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees and the Los Angeles Angels. I always love the spirit that a mascot brings to the crowd. As we finished our tour we were able to take in some of the batting practice and warmup by the Dodgers and Oakland A’s. One sweet moment was seeing Clayton Kershaw on the field with I am assuming one of his four children. See picture on Instagram. After watching batting practice we asked our tour guide Cat for hot dog recommendations. Cat of course recommended the Dodger Dog and told us previously they had a variety of hot dogs they sold according to the team they were playing but that has since been discontinued. We ended up getting the traditional Dodger Dog which Jim Bray the Hot Dog Man gave an 8.0. I must say this rating surprised many of our friends and family, but perhaps it was that Jim was a little under the weather due to laryngitis. Since I am not a hot dog fan I set out to find something other than a hot dog to eat. This proved to be very difficult as 80% of the stands sold Dodger Dogs. When I found the area with other options like Shake Shack or Taqueria the lines were way too long to wait in so I left that area and found a secret gem in the Loge level first base side, King’s Hawaiian. I got a pulled pork slider that was very tasty and yes I shared with Jim who agreed it was delicious. As the first pitch drew near we took our seats in time for the National Anthem. Tonight the Dodgers are celebrating Filipino Heritage Night so they sang the National Anthem of the Philippines and the American National Anthem. First pitch with a crowd of 47,711 in a 56,000 capacity stadium was at 7:10pm. Tonight the Dodgers play the Oakland A’s who have the worst record in baseball this season with only 30 wins and 80 losses. You have to feel kind of bad for them. The 1st inning set the stage for what would be the game with the Dodgers dominating. Bottom of the 1st Mookie Betts hits a double followed by Freddie Freeman’s single to score Mookie Betts. Score A’s 0 - Dodgers 1. Then Will Smith and Max Muncy walked with Chris Taylor following with a single to score Freddie Freeman. Score A’s 0 - Dodgers 2. Then James Outman would ground into a force out scoring Will Smith. Score A’s 0 - Dodgers 3. The 2nd inning would continue the dominance by the Dodgers. In the top of the 2nd inning the A’s would go three up and three down. The bottom of the 2nd inning Mookie Betts hit homer number 29 and the crowd went wild! The new LED lights installed this season create some really cool effects after a home run. Next to the plate Freddie Freeman who hit a double followed by Will Smith who hit a double. Score A’s 0 - Dodgers 5. Next to the plate recent acquisition, Amed Rosario who would go yard. Score A’s 0 - Dodgers 7. The game was starting off very lopsided and even though in “Our Field of Dreams” rules we cheer for the home team unless the visiting team is the Dodgers or Giants, silently (very silently) I was cheering just a little for the A’s. The top fo the 3rd inning the A’s would show just a little life, in fact the only life they would show the entire game. Shea Langeliers first to the plate would hit a homer for the A’s. Score A’s 1 - Dodgers 7. In the bottom of the 3rd inning Dodgers Miguel Rojas would hit a hard hit homer into the left center field seats. Score A’s 1 - Dodgers 8. By this time the Dodgers were pulling out some of their key starters like Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman. The next score would come in the bottom of the 6th inning when Jason Heyward hit a homer to center field. Those new Dodger LED lights were getting a workout!. Score A’s 1 - Dodgers 9. In the bottom of the 7th inning the Dodgers were not done putting numbers on the board. James Outman hit a double followed by Enrique “Kike” Hernandez, who just returned to the Dodgers, hitting a single scoring Outman. Score A’s 1 - Dodgers 10. The 8th and 9th innings would go scoreless with the final score A’s 1 - Dodgers 10. That brings our Field of Dreams Tour to 13 WINS for the Home Team and 15 LOSSES for the Home Team. On Monday, August 7 we will travel to San Diego to Petco Park to see the Padres vs. Dodgers game. You know what that means as per our agreement…..we will both be cheering for the Dodgers. Oh how painful this is for me as a Giants fan, but I will do it seeing as I subjected Jim to five games where he had to cheer for the Giants on Our Field of Dreams Tour. Until next time PLAY BALL!

Game #27-Nationals Park-Washington Nationals vs. San Francisco Giants

We made it to Washington DC a day later than expected due to a flight cancellation. Flying this summer has had many challenges for us with delays and cancellations. Thankfully only two of our “Field of Dreams Tour” games required flights. This is an exciting game for both Jim and I as we will have both been to all 30 parks in our lifetime after this game, not all in the same year that will come in August. There was much anticipation leading up to this game as the Nationals will be playing the Giants who are coming off of two losses. We stayed in a hotel right next to the ballpark which worked out very well. We had a view of the ballpark from our room window and a fantastic view of the ballpark from the rooftop bar at the hotel. We walked the few short steps to the gate when the park opened at 5:30pm. We were amazed at the number of Giants fans in attendance. Nationals Park is very beautiful and sits along the Anacostia River in the Navy Yard neighborhood of Washington DC. The stadium opened in 2008 to the Washington Nationals who moved to Washington DC in 2005. The team was established in 1969 as the Montreal Expos until their move to Washington DC when they changed their name to the Washington Nationals. Once the Nationals moved to Washington they had a slow start to earning titles but that changed in 2012 when they won their first NL East title and then again in 2014, 2016 and 2017. In 2019 the Nationals became National Champions winning the World Series as a Wild Card team. The Nationals have only retired one number which is #11-Ryan Zimmerman in 2022. All MLB teams have retired #42-Jackie Robinson. When the team was the Montreal Expos, they retired #8-Gary Carter, #10-Andre Dawson and Rusty Staub, and #30 Tim Raines. Interestingly, the Nationals have put the Expos retired numbers back into circulation. We noticed several names on the stadium near the press box with a G or a W in front of their names and asked the usher why the names were there. He at first did not have the answers but was kind enough to research it and let us know that these players were inducted into the “Ring of Honor”. In 2010 amid much controversy, the Nationals put up a “Ring of Honor” celebrating players from the Washington Senators, Negro League Washington Homestead Grays and the Montreal Expos. The big controversy comes from players being recognized who never played in Washington DC. Most National fans would like to keep it just players they grew up with like the Washington Senators. I say you can’t make everyone happy so they should recognize the Expo players, otherwise they would be baseball orphans with no place to be recognized for their contributions to baseball. While we were on our walk of the stadium we experienced many great patio areas in the upper decks that overlook the ballpark. These areas do not have the very fancy seating like some baseball parks have but they have great views. While we were at the top of the stadium we took several pictures to showcase the parks beauty. We had a very kind usher Jill, in the upper deck take our picture. If fact, it is the picture shown in this blog. From the right field upper deck you can see the Washington Monument and US Capitol. If you are looking for a discount price to attend a Nationals game you can wait until 2 1/2 hours before the first pitch and purchase tickets in the left field upper deck for $5.00 each. Now that’s a bargain! As game time drew near we retreated to the lower deck towards our seats. Don’t tell Jim but these seats I bought were NO bargain. I wanted to be as close as possible to the Giants dugout so I bought seats just 16 rows back….NOT $5.00 each! It’s only money right? Along our path to our seats I noticed a sign that read “Sensory Room.” I asked the gentleman standing outside the front door if I could go in and see the room. As an educator I know first hand how important it is to have spaces for children with unique needs. This room provides a safe and quiet room where guests can decompress if they are feeling overwhelmed or overstimulated. The room has several sensory activities, soothing lights and soft bean bags. This definitely is an asset to some who would not be able to go to a game if they did not have this outlet. Well done Nationals! Additionally, for those kids who need to get some energy out they have a children’s playground that was full of active children before the game. Now on to the food, as we skipped lunch to prepare for the extra calories and our bellies were empty. Through our research and questioning of other fans we found the hot dog for Jim’s review should be the Nats Dog from Haute DOGS & Fries. The Nets Dog is topped with chili, mambo slaw and mustard. Once we had the goods we found a spot that would highlight the stadium in the background. A very nice usher Taylor let us stroll down to a section that would be fitting. Jim gave the Nats Dog a 7.0. He said it was good but not he was not a big fan of the Mambo slaw. I tasted it too and felt it was good but very messy! I probably would not order it again but then again I probably would not order a hot dog unless forced to do so. In our walk around the park I noticed the taco stand and boy I love me some tacos! I had two street chicken tacos from Bullpen Tacos. The tacos had chicken, onions, cilantro, pico de Gallo, feta cheese and lime sauce. YUMMY! Now on to those pricey seats. Our seats were wonderful and we were surrounded by Giants fans. We had many conversations with those around us as to their ties to the Giants. One fan said he was making it his lifelong goal to see the Giants play in every ballpark and he has about 10 left to go. Sitting right in front of us was a young 20 something year old girl and her father. She bought tickets for him for his birthday. It so reminded me of my very special times attending the Giants games with my father who passed away just one year ago this month. Sigh! It’s so interesting to learn everyone’s stories. The National Anthem was sung by a military group which was spectacular. One thing is for sure the Nationals celebrate our military. It was great to have “God Bless America” and “Take Me Out To The Ballgame” both being sung in the 7th inning stretch. As the first pitch grew closer all of a sudden they began to play Tony Bennett’s “I Left My Heart in San Francisco”. Jim and I thought that was odd that they would play such an iconic song for the opposing team. It was not until the next morning we would realize they did that to honor Tony Bennett as he passed away that very day. What an incredible man he was and what a very nice gesture given by the Nationals. The entertainment at the ballpark was very good with the President’s Race being the highlight. The President’s Race features the likeness of former Presidents: George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson and Theodore Roosevelt. They have very large foam caricature heads and have a race at every Nationals home game in the 4th inning. They were hysterical as they pushed and shoved their way to win the race. The mascot Screech is a bald eagle who was hatched in 2005. A 9 year old fourth grade student won the contest on designing the mascot. She said the eagle was a great mascot because it was “strong and eats almost everything.” The first pitch was delivered at 7:05pm with a crowd of 26,062 in attendance in a 41,376 capacity stadium. I was so hopeful for the Giants but clearly it was not their night as Alex Wood was out pitched by Nats rookie Jake Irvin. The Giants struck out 12 times and just could not get it done at the plate. The first inning started off great with JD Davis hitting a homer. Score Giants 1 - Nats 0. Very quickly the Nats answered back in the 1st inning with Lane Thomas hitting a homer. Oh I was hoping we would not hear that submarine horn that celebrates Nats home runs and wins. The Nets use the submarine horn as a tribute to their relationship with the military and the stadium’s proximity to the Navy Yard. Score Giants 1 - Nats 1. Then Wood would walk two batters bringing up Keibert Ruiz who hit a double and drove in a run. Score Giants 1 - Nats 2. As if I had not heard enough of that submarine horn in the bottom of the 2nd inning CJ Abrams would go yard. Score Giants 1 - Nats 3. The top of the 3rd Giants Brett Wisely walked with Casey Schmitt coming up to ground into a double play. With two outs LaMonte Wade Jr. hit a single before Joc Pederson smashed a homer. Just before Joc came to the plate I was complaining about his performance as of late when Jim announced stop your crying he is going to hit a homer and he did! Score Giants 3 - Nats 3. In the 4th inning poor Alex Wood continued to struggle hitting Stone Garrett with a pitch. Next up was Micael Chavis who hit a line drive for a double scoring Garrett. Score Giants 3 - Nats 4. The best defensive play came when Patrick Bailey picked off Michael Chavis on a throw to third base for the third out. I might have been standing up screaming and cheering by that point. The 5th inning came and after CJ Abrams hit a single Gabe Kapler made the call to pull Alex Wood and replace him with Ryan Walker. Walker was able to manage the next two batters when Joey Meneses came to the plate with two outs and a runner on 3rd. Joey Meneses had Ryan Walker’s number as he sent a ball sailing on a sharp line drive scoring the runner. Score Giants 3 - Nats 5. I thought the 7th inning there might be some magic about to happen for the Giants. Michael Conforto hit a single, then Mike Yastrzemski lined out, and one of my new favorites Patrick Bailey struck out swinging. Hey at least he swung! With two outs Blake Sabol came to the plate and hit a single moving Conforto to third base. The Nets thought it was time to sit the rookie Jake Irvin down and brought in a new pitcher, Jordan Weems. Wilmer Flores came to the plate with two outs and runners on first and third. Weems walked him and I flew out of my seat with the bases loaded and the possibility of scoring so close. Casey Schmitt who was playing shortstop in place of Brandon Crawford who is on the injured list with left knee inflammation came to the plate. Unfortunately the rookie Casey Schmitt would strike out on a foul tip. I don’t know who was more disappointed Casey or myself. It just hurts to leave the bases loaded. The 8th and 9th innings would be three up and three down making the final score Giants 3 - Nats 5. I’m not crying no I’m not, as there is NO CRYING IN BASEBALL! Well the Field of Dreams Tour record now is 12 WINS for the Home Team and 15 LOSSES for the Home Team. We will head back to California to finish our Field of Dreams 2023 Tour we will be seeing the Dodgers vs. A’s at Dodgers Stadium on August 2, Padres vs. Dodgers at Petco Park on August 7 and our finale on Jim’s birthday August 23 at Angel Stadium where the Los Angeles Angels will play the Cincinnati Reds. We have many friends and family that will be joining us on that special day as we celebrate 30 in 2023! Until next tine PLAY BALL!

Game # 26-Toronto Blue Jays vs. San Diego Padres.....WE ARE BACK!

We have arrived in Toronto to visit ballpark #26 on Wednesday, July 19 after a month long break from our Field of Dreams Tour. Let’s just say it was not an easy or restful break as we bid farewell to Jim’s mom who passed away in Houston and then we spent a busy but glorious week in Lake Tahoe with 6 of our 10 grandkids. We are happy to be continuing our baseball journey and look forward to the last few ballparks. It is a little bittersweet getting this close to the end of this adventure. In the initial planning of this trip as we worked all the teams schedules we just could not make it work to visit Toronto in our RV because while we were in that vicinity the Blue Jays were on the road. Jim’s first thoughts and words were, “Oh well we will just skip it.” Very quickly he saw the look on my face and knew that was not in the plan. So from early on we planned a flight back to Toronto after we parked our RV back at home. As I always do I planned for every moment of our baseball trip with a few side adventures along the way. We took public transportation to the downtown area of Toronto to visit the CN Tower prior to the game. The CN Tower held the record as the tallest free-standing structure for 32 years until 2007. Currently it is the tenth tallest structure in the world with 147 stories. You can view pictures of our visit to the tower on our Instagram @ourfieldofdreams2023. Let’s just say Jim is NOT fond of heights and I must say it was a bit frightening venturing out onto the glass floor 147 stories up. After a very thrilling experience to the top of the CN Tower Jim and I took a long walk around the exterior of the ballpark. Rogers Centre does not have very much to see on the exterior other than the commissioned artwork above the northeast and northwest entrances called “The Audience.” It is a collection of depictions of larger-than-life fans in various acts of celebration. Please see our Instagram for pics. As we were walking around the stadium we noticed Blue Jays fans were already lining up at various gates with three hours until gates opened. They are professionals as they all came with small pop up seats or blankets to sit upon while they waited the three hours for the gates to open. The Blue Jays fans are passionate and go to great lengths to support their team which we discovered when we saw the Blue Jays play at three other ballparks. Once in the ballpark and through security (that darn hot dog hat!) we spent about an hour walking the inside of the ballpark. At the very top of the stadium we asked a very nice usher to take our picture…..in fact the one on this post. Rogers Centre has a retractable roof which was closed when we arrived to the park. It takes 20 minutes to open the roof so we assumed as it got closer to game time it would remain closed. We were wrong in our assumptions as during the third inning the roof began to open. We could not believe they did that during the game! We visited the Corona Rooftop Patio, Park Social and WestJet Flight Deck. These are all very nice venues with unique seating areas that overlook the outfield. While we were in Park Social we sat in one of the swings they have and listened to a guitar player for a short time. Really a great concept to have these areas for social gatherings at ballparks. Another unique feature of this ballpark is that the Toronto Marriott City Centre Hotel is connected to the outfield with 70 of its rooms windows a backdrop to the field. These windows are two-way windows which in some instances have given fans a little more than baseball to watch leading to nicknames for the ballpark of “SexDome” and “Exhibitionist Stadium”. If you are interested you should Google some of the shenanigans that have taken place. Now the hotel has guests sign a contract that they will not perform any lewd acts within view of the stadium. Switching gears, I will move on to the history of this ball club. The Toronto Blue Jays came in as an expansion team in 1977 so their history is relatively short in baseball terms. The Blue Jays have been playing at Rogers Centre formerly the SkyDome since 1989. While looking for the Blue Jays display of retired numbers I only saw two, one was #32-Roy Halladay and #42-Jackie Robinson. I wondered where #12-Roberto Alomar’s banner was and then I looked it up and found out he was banned from baseball following allegations of sexual misconduct in 2021. It is so sad a player with his accomplishments choose to take this path. The Blue Jays removed Alomar from their Level of Excellence and his retired number banner. Unfortunately he is not the first professional ballplayer nor the last who will do something so ignorant to ruin their legacy. It has been 30 years since the Blue Jays have won a World Series and the fans are hungry for another title. The Blue Jays were back-to-back World Champions in 1992 and 1993. They have won 6 AL East Division titles and 3 Wild Card berths with the last one in 2022. All of the banners are displayed proudly between the Canadian and American flags. The next thing we notice was a huge sign that indicated it was National Hot Dog Day. Can you believe Jim the Hot Dog Man did not even have that marked on his calendar? We originally wanted to attend a Tuesday game because they have “Loonie Dog” night where all hot dogs are a loonie/dollar. The record for number of Loonie Dogs was broke the day before our arrival on Tuesday, July 18 with 75,173 Loonie Dogs sold! With 42,680 fans in attendance that is 1.7 dogs per person! All this talk of hot dogs sent us quickly to the hot dog stand where Jim selected a Poutine Hot Dog. It is a classic Schneiders hot dog topped with hash brown potatoes, cheese curds, and gravy. Jim gave that dog a rating of 8.5. I tasted it too and it was really good! As game time approached we went to our seats to be present for the opening festivities and both National Anthems. With the stadium roof closed and our seats located right near a large overhead speaker the sound was almost unbearable. The Blue Jays have great entertainment throughout the game with a female DJ and Blue Jays cheerleaders or “J FORCE.” The J FORCE made their way all over the stadium dancing and entertaining the fans. Another great dancer is their mascot Ace who really got the crowd going and was very entertaining. The game began at 7:07pm with 42,948 in attendance of a 49,282 capacity stadium. That is a pretty full house for a Wednesday evening game. It was a pitching battle the first several innings of the game with Jose Berrios on the mound for the Blue Jays and Yu Darvish on the mound for the Padres. Both pitchers were putting them down in order or close to it. Then in the 5th inning Berrios struggled to find the plate walking Trent Grisham and hitting Ha-Seong Kim with a pitch. With runners on first and second Fernando Tatis Jr. came to the plate luckily Berrios would strike him out but not before both runners would advance by stolen bases. With runners on second and third Berrios intentionally walked Juan Soto to load the bases in the hopes of a double play. Manny Machado was next to the plate and hit a two-run single with a broken bat that nearly took out Blue Jays shortstop Bo Bichette. Score Padres 2 - Blue Jays 0. That would be the only score of the night as this game had some outstanding pitching and fantastic defense. Unfortunately it did not go the Home Team’s way tonight and this makes it 11 wins for the Home Team and 15 losses for the Home Team. Next up we fly to Washington DC to make up the rainout we had for the Nationals back on April 28. Lucky for me the Nationals will be playing the San Francisco Giants! So I will NOT be routing for the Home Team. Here is hoping for a W for the Giants. Until next time PLAY BALL!

Game #25-Oracle Park-San Francisco Giants vs. San Diego Padres

We have been staying in a nice RV Resort in Petaluma just north of the Bay Area to be close to the ballparks, but not too close. On Monday, June 19 or "Juneteenth" we left early to make a stop at a favorite place of ours introduced by my dear friend Judy Zuber, Sam's Anchor Cafe. Often we would sail or motor over to Sam's on Judy's boat which is moored at South Beach Yacht Club next to Oracle Park. Sam's is a beautiful little place with breathtaking views on the waterfront of the charming city Tiburon. Jim and I enjoyed a beverage and shared a delicious calamari appetizer for our pregame festivities. As game time approached we took the beautiful drive south on 101 across the majestic Golden Gate Bridge. The drive across the bridge never gets old! I remember so many times as a child taking that drive with my family who were season ticket holders of the San Francisco Giants. My dad would always take us early before the games to explore and visit many of the historic areas of San Francisco, even Haight-Ashbury in the 1960's. FOND MEMORIES! We parked our truck and walked along McCovey Cove towards the stadium. Willie McCovey never played at Oracle Park as this was built way ofter he played. McCovey played at Candlestick Park where I watched him for years along with many other greats: Juan Marichal, Gaylord Perry, Willie Mays, Jim Davenport, Jesus Alou and Bobby Bonds to name a few. The good ol' days! Outside the stadium it was packed with fans all taking pictures of the statues around the park. Located in the front of the ballpark entrance is the Willie Mays statue surrounded by 24 palm trees in honor of his number 24 uniform. Another statue is located across McCovey Cove of Willie McCovey. On the first base side of the park is the Lefty O-Doul Gate entrance where the Juan Marichal statue is located. I so remember his high leg kick when he would pitch so fitting the statue is in this pose. On the corner of 2nd and King Street are statues of Gaylord Perry and Orlando Cepeda. On the exterior wall of the stadium is the Giants Wall of Fame which recognizes retired players whose records stand highest among their teammates on the basis of longevity and achievements. Talk about a trip down memory lane! I have posted several pictures on our Instagram @ourfieldofdreams2023. The San Francisco Giants are one of the winningest teams in baseball. The franchise began in 1883 as the New York Gothams until 1885 when they became the New York Giants. They moved to San Francisco in 1958 (my birth year). The Giants have won 23 NL Pennants and 8 World Series titles. Most of those were in New York. The Giants under manager Bruce Bochy won three World Series Championships in five years; 2010, 2012 and 2014. Those were the glory days and current manager Gabe Kapler is working hard to add another championship to the franchise. Inside the park Jim and I marveled at the World Series Trophies in our walk around the stadium. We also located the retired numbers hanging on the left field side of the stadium: NY-Christy Mathewson and John McGraw before they had numbers; #3 Bill Terry; #4 Mel Ott; #11 Carl Hubbell; #20 Monte Irvin; #22 Will Clark; #24 Willie Mays; #25 Barry Bonds; #27 Juan Marichal; #30 Orlando Cepeda; #36 Gaylord Perry; #42 Jackie Robinson (retired throughout Major League Baseball); and #44 Willie McCovey. The stadium was extremely crowded making it difficult to get around. Tonight's Monday evening crowd would be 35,376 in a 41,915 capacity stadium. We decided to get the hot dog for the review as the food and drink lines were getting terribly long. We had asked a few people about the hot dogs at the park and they recommended the bacon-wrapped hot dog at Doggie Diner. Jim got the Giants bacon-wrapped hot dog and gave it an 8.0. As for me I skipped the long lines as it was getting too close to game time a figured I would just get something from the vendors going up and down the aisles. Just before game time we had planned to meet up a Guy, a person we met along our baseball tour who was also visiting 30 ballparks in 2023. We met up with Guy, his wife Alison and their daughters and congratulated him on his completion of his dream. I believe we attended 5 games together along the way. See our photo on Instagram @ourfieldofdreams2023. We settled in our seats for the game with great anticipation as the Giants have just come off of a sweep on the Dodgers and have won their last 7 games. The San Diego Padres are a tough team with great players. First pitch was at 6:45 and Padres Fernando Tatis, Jr. wasted no time hitting a double. Tatis is a very fast and aggressive base runner. He tried to steal third and was picked off by a throw from catcher Patrick Bailey to third baseman David Villar. Good thing because next to the plate was Juan Soto who hit a homer. Score Padres 1 - Giants 0. It would go scoreless for the Giants in the bottom of the first. In the top of the 2nd inning Gabe Kapler would have to use his bullpen because the Giants are down to three starters due to injuries. Taylor Rogers came in and ended the Padres hope for another score leaving a runner stranded. The bottom of the 2nd inning it was looking hopeful for the Giants to score with a walk by Brandon Crawford and a single by Patrick Bailey to put runner on the corners. David Villar would fly out ending the inning. Score Padres 1 - Giants 0. The top of the 3rd inning Fernando Tatis Jr. would reach on a fielding error by Brandon Crawford before Gabe Kapler would make a pitching change. Jakob Junis would replace Taylor Rogers and get out of the inning. The Giants were unsuccessful in the bottom of the 3rd inning with a three up and three down. Top of the 4th inning the Padres came in hot. Jake Cronenworth hit a single and then Rougned Odor hit a double. With runners at second and third Ha-Seong Kim hit a single scoring Cronenworth and Odor. Giants pitcher Junis would get out of the inning with a flyout by Trent Grisham and a GLORIOUS strikeout of Fernando Tatis, Jr. Score Padres 3 - Giants 0. The Giants once again went three up and three down in the bottom of the 4th inning. In the top of the 5th inning another Giants pitcher, Keaton Winn would take the mound. First batter Winn faced was Juan Soto who had homered in the 1st inning. Well Soto did it again sending one soaring high in the air and over the left field wall. Score Padres 4 - Giants 0. Winn was able to get the next three batters ending the inning. At this point I must say I was feeling defeated but still believed in my Giants. Bottom of the 5th inning Brandon Crawford and Patrick Bailey would gound out. With two outs David Villar would come to the plate and smack one out to left center field. HOME RUN GIANTS! LaMonte Wade Jr. would hit a single followed by Joc Pederson flying out to end the inning. Score Padres 4 - Giants 1. The Giants pitcher Winn would keep the Padres from scoring in the 6th. In the bottom of the 6th inning with two outs Mike Yastrzemski would homer sending the fans into rally spirit. People were already flipping their hats inside out and on their feet. Score Padres 4 - Giants 2. It would be three up and three down for both ball clubs in the 7th and 8th innings. Keaton Winn would continue to stay in and face the Padres in the 9th inning. Roughned Odor hit a single putting a runner on first. The next three would go down in order with a flyout by Ha-Seong Kim, a strikeout by Trent Grisham and a GLORIOUS strikeout by Fernando Tatis Jr. By this time the entire crowd was on their feet in the hopes of a rally in the bottom of the 9th. Padres brought in a new pitcher Luis Garcia to try to close the deal. First up was Blake Sabol who walked followed by Mike Yastrzemski's single. A wild pitch would score Sabol. Score now Padres 4 - Giants 3. Luis Matos would flyout and then J.D. Davis would walk to put runners on the corners. By this time the crowd was at the peak of their rally spirit. With one out and Yastrzemski on third the prospect of tying the game was in sight. A pitching change would not work out too well for the Padres when Patrick Bailey hit a sacrifice fly to score Yastrzemski. Score Padres 4 - Giants 4. The pitcher would walk the next two batters to load the bases. Padres manager got the hook out and brought in a new pitcher to face Joc Pederson who struck out swinging to end the inning and send the game into extra innings. By this point no one is sitting down and the noise of the cheering is loud! Top on the 10th inning Giants intentionally walk Juan Soto, you know the player who has hit two homers this game. Good move! Manny Machado struck out swinging, Zander Bogaerts grounded out and Jake Cronenworth lined out sharply. Bottom of the 10th inning crowd is going crazy myself included! Padres intentionally walk Thairo Estrada then Blake Sabol hit a picture perfect sacrifice bunt to advance the runners. One out and runners at second and third. This is when the BEST PART OF THE GAME happened. Mike Yastrzemski hit a walk off 3-run SPLASH homer to win the game. The Giants 102 SPLASH HIT. Final Score Padres 4 - Giants 7. Yastrzemski was definitely the hero of the game. Our Field of Dreams Tour record is 11 wins for the Home Team and 14 losses for the Home Team. Important to note that we have seen 4 games with the Giants playing and they have won ALL of them. What a game and what a way to end the game and our RV part of our Field of Dreams. We head home on Wednesday and will finish the remaining five games out of our RV. We will be flying to Houston for Jim's mother's funeral when we return. We then will fly to Toronto for a July 19 ball game between the Blue Jays and Padres. Next we will fly on to Washington DC to make up the rainout we had there with a July 21 game between the Nationals and Giants. In August we will visit the Dodgers, Padres and Angels with our final stadium #30 being on Jim's birthday at Angels Stadium August 23. This has been the dream of a lifetime and one we will never forget. We have met so many nice people along the way and learned so much about our beloved game of baseball. Thank you for following along on "Our Field of Dreams 2023 Tour." Until next time.....PLAY BALL!

Game #24-Oakland Coliseum-Oakland Athletics vs. Philadelphia Phillies

It is a perfect afternoon for a ballgame this Saturday, June 17. We arrived at Oakland Coliseum about 11:00am for the 1:10pm game between the Oakland Athletics and Philadelphia Phillies. This game comes with a plethora of history for Jim as his family attended games here many times in the late 1960's and early 1970's. He remembers those times fondly sitting in the third deck waiting to catch a foul ball, it never happened. To this day Jim can name every player of the Athletics team and even give you their positions and some of their stats. This is where Jim's love of baseball began which makes today's visit extra special. As you are probably aware the Oakland Athletics have been trying to build a new stadium and have been unsuccessful in their efforts. To date the team is set to move to Las Vegas with a plan to vacate the Coliseum at the end of the 2024 season. The new stadium in Las Vegas is estimated to be complete by 2027. Therefore it was an important pilgrimage for Jim to visit the Coliseum before the Athletics leave. The Athletics baseball team began in 1901 in Philadelphia, fitting that today they are playing the Philadelphia Phillies. In 1955, the Athletics moved to Kansas City for 13 seasons before moving to Oakland in 1968. Since the Athletics have been in Oakland they have won four World Series titles with three of them being consecutive; 1972, 1973, 1974 and 1989. Speaking of 1989, who remembers the World Series that year between the San Francisco Giants and Oakland Athletics? It was the third game of the World Series on October 17, 1989 just before the first pitch when a 6.9 earthquake shook the Bay Area causing massive destruction and power outages. It was 10 days before the World Series would resume and the Oakland Athletics ended up the World Champions. Today we entered the stadium through the Catfish Hunter Gate as that had such meaningful significance for Jim. He remembers Catfish Hunter pitching along with Rollie Fingers, Lou Holtzman, Vida Blue and Blue Moon Odom. As we walked the hallway of the concourse area, the walls were covered in the Oakland Athletics history. Jim really enjoyed the walk down memory lane and told me story after story of "the good old days." Along the way we met a very nice man who works for the Athletics, Victor, who we truly enjoyed talking with about the history of the Athletics and baseball. He told us that he also works with the Giants and he would look for us at Oracle Park on Monday night. While on our walk of the Athletics history both of us learned a few new things we thought were interesting. Did you know "The Wave" originated at the Oakland Coliseum? A man by the name of "Krazy George" Henderson invented "The Wave" and first performed it in 1981. Check out the pictures on our Instagram @ourfieldofdreams2023. Another fact we learned was that Athletics owner, Finley, hired ball girls in the 1970's to sit on the foul lines and field balls. One of those ball girls was Debbi Fields. Debbi would bring homemade cookies to the game and give them to the umpires. It wasn't long before she began her business. Anyone heard of Mrs. Fields Cookies? We also visited the Athletics Hall of Fame which was a little disappointing with only a few banners and no real memorabilia. Retired number of the Oakland Athletics are: #34 Dave Stewart, #24 Rickey Henderson, #43 Dennis Eckersley, #9 Reggie Jackson, #34 Rollie Fingers, #27 Jim "Catfish" Hunter, and #42 Jackie Robinson. While walking around we saw in center field on the wall a light up sign that reads, "Holy Toledo." This is to pay homage to the late Athletics broadcaster Bill King who would shout this out when the Athletics got a home run. We hope to see the sign light up today. After a long walk up and down and around the stadium we located the hot dog/sausage for Jim's review. I have to say the variety of food at the stadium is dismal. Many stands are closed and the ones that were open had very little to choose from. Jim decided on the bratwurst and he gave it a 5.0. After the review he did not even finish the bratwurst stating it was pitifully dry. We ended up getting chicken strips and fries to share. I mean who can mess up chicken strip and fries? I have to say they were average and I am glad we shared them because they were $22.00. Yes $22.00! So if you go to the Coliseum we recommend you tailgate in the parking lot like we witnessed many people do. When we reached our seats we talked with our wonderful usher Bobby about our Field of Dreams Tour. Bobby was so very kind that he worked with another usher to get us better seats. We were moved just 15 rows from the field on the first base side. The usher in that section, John T was additionally very kind. Of course we thanked both of them with one of our usher gifts. We settled in our seats and enjoyed a few pregame shenanigans by the Oakland Athletics mascot Stomper, which is an elephant. As the announcer was introducing the players Stomper had many funny interactions with the players. He definitely had his caffeine this morning! The stadium has a capacity of 46,847 and today's attendance is 12,015. We were surprised by the number of Phillies fans in attendance. First pitch by James Kaprielian at 1:10pm was followed by three quick Phillies outs. When the Athletics came to the plate it was quick as well with Esteury Ruiz grounding out, Ramon Laureano called out on strikes and Ryan Noda striking out swinging. Ramon Laureano had a few choice words for the third base umpire after Ryan Noda's strike out and got ejected. The game would remain scoreless until the bottom of the 5th inning due to excellent pitching and defensive play. In the bottom of the 4th inning Phillies pitcher was hit in the pitching hand by a ball hit by Esteury Ruiz. In an injury delay it was determined he would continue to pitch that is until the 5th inning when the Phillies brought in Matt Strahm. First to the plate was Carlos Perez who hit a smashing homer to left center field. Score Phillies 0 - Athletics 1. In the top of the 6th inning it looked as though James Kaprielian had run out of gas. With a single by Trea Turner and Alec Bohm it put two runners on with only one out. Athletics manager made the walk to the mound and turned it over to Sam Mott. Mott would strike out the power hitter Bryce Harper. Important to note that Harper is getting $330 million in a 13-year contract with the Phillies. Way to go Mott! With two out and runners on 2nd and 3rd Sam Moll intentionally walks J.T. Realmuto to create the force. Bryson Scott hit a single scoring a run. Score Phillies 1 - Athletics 1. Fortunately the next batter Kody Clemens would ground out to first base to end the inning. The Phillies and Athletics would both go without scoring in subsequent innings sending the game into extra innings. During the 9th inning Jim and I had a good laugh as Phillies pitcher Craig Kimbrel was called for taking too much time. If you have ever seen Kimbrel's pitching stance he swings his arms like an ape. I told Jim, "He shouldn't be monkeying around on the mound." LOL. The 10th inning neither team would score. Then in the 11th inning Bryce Harper was the lead off hitter with Alec Bohm starting the inning at second. Harper grounds out but advances Bohm to third base. The Athletics intentionally walk J. T. Realmuto in the hopes of a double play. Bryson Stott hit a sacrifice fly and Alec Bohm scored. Score Phillies 2 - Athletics 1. The Athletics finally got out of that inning when Cristian Pache grounded out. The Athletics had their work cut out for them in the bottom of the 11th inning. Seth Brown starts the inning at second base. Tony Kemp was out on a sacrifice bunt advancing Brown to third base. Then Carlos Perez came to the plate, remember him he hit the home run in the 5th inning. Carlos Perez hit a double scoring Seth Brown. Score Phillies 2 - Athletics 2. The Athletics would receive the final two outs of the inning with a pop out by Tyler Wade and a groundout by Jace Peterson. Now on to the 12th inning. Talk about getting two games for the price of one! Phillies Cristian Pache started at second with Edmundo Sosa flying out advancing Pache to third. Next up Kyle Schwarber would hit a single to score Pache. Score Phillies 3 - Athletics 2. That would be all the damage for that inning with a strikeout by Alex Bohm and groundout by Bryce Harper. What are they paying Harper???? We held our breath as the Athletics came to the plate. Jace Peterson starts at second when Shea Langeliers hit a sacrifice bunt advancing Peterson to third. Unfortunately for the Athletics Esteury Ruiz would strike out swinging and JJ Bleday would ground out. GAME OVER. Final Score Phillies 3 - Athletics 2. Game time was 3 hours and 27 minutes. Next stop will be Oracle Park on Monday evening as my beloved San Francisco Giants play the San Diego Padres. Until next time, PLAY BALL!