Game #14-Great American Ball Park-Cincinnati Reds vs. New York Mets

It was certainly a beautiful day for a baseball game with bright sunny skies and temperatures perfectly set in the 70s. On Wednesday, May 10 we made our way from our RV site to the ballpark. I have been corresponding with Craig Warman, Director of Customer Service for the Cincinnati Reds since January. Thank you Craig for setting us up for a great experience at the Great American Ball Park. We were given complimentary tickets to the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame along with a few bobbleheads, four Reds baseball caps, four Reds key chains and a miniature replica of the stadium. We were blown away by the hospitality of the Cincinnati Reds! Everyone we encountered greeted us with a warm welcome and were very helpful when we had questions. We went to the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame and saw so many wonderful exhibits that showcased the Reds history. The first exhibit we saw was the Women in Baseball exhibit with over 200 artifacts. This exhibit displayed the many contributions women and girls have made to America's favorite pasttime. There were newspaper articles back from the very early days of women playing baseball. See our Instagram for photos. @ourfieldofdreams2023. A very interesting exhibit of the "Great 8" held many artifacts and 8 bronze statues of all eight legendary players. It was Johnny Bench behind the plate, Tony Perez at first base, Joe Morgan at second base, David Concepcion at shortstop, Pete Rose at third base, with outfield Ken Griffey in right, Cesar Geronimo in center and George Foster in left that made up this "Great 8." They were legendary winning two back-to-back World Championships in 1975 and 1976. Another fascinating exhibit was the Pete Rose Ball Wall. This wall has 4,256 balls which is the number of hits Pete Rose had in his career. Additionally, the Hall of Fame has a very extensive timeline of the Reds history with thousands of artifacts organized by decade. Here is a question for all the readers of this blog. Did you ever collect baseball cards? If so do you still have them or did your mom throw them out because you continually left them out laying around the house. Jim forgives his mom and wishes he would have been better at picking up after himself. We were greatly impressed with the extensive collection of Reds baseball cards in the museum, over 5,000 original Reds baseball cards from 1869 to present day! The Hall of Fame plaques are displayed beautifully in a room complete with touchscreen databases that allow you to play the honoree's film. Also on display are the World Series Championship Trophies. The amount of interactive displays and exhibits are very enjoyable. Jim and I even tried our hand at game announcing and decided we should keep our day jobs. Oh wait we are retired! I strongly recommend if you are ever in Cincinnati please take the time to visit this captivating museum! Thank you again Craig Warman! Following our visit to Reds Hall of Fame we walked around the exterior of the ballpark. At the main entrance are statues of Joe Nuxhall former pitcher and broadcaster, catcher Ernie Lombardi, first baseman Ted Kluszewski and outfielder Frank Robinson depicted playing an imaginary baseball game. Really neat concept! Once inside the gates we did our usual walk around joined by our friends Tom and Kat Gelardi. The ballpark is situated next to the Ohio River with a large walking area. The stadium has some unique features one is the lone seat in the outfield that has been placed there in honor of those MIA and POWs who served our country. Being a huge patriot I felt this was a very special tribute. The stadium also has a 35-foot break in the stands in the upper decks between home plate and third base known as "The Gap." This gap provides views from downtown into the stadium. In right center field are two smokestacks, reminiscent of old steamboats that traveled the Ohio River. These smokestacks shoot flames high in the air when the Reds strike out a batter. Apparently they also have fireworks that shoot out when the Reds hit a home run or win the game. We unfortunately never saw this spectacle. Just as you enter the park you are greeted by two very large mosaics. One of the mosaics depicts "The First Nine" the 1869 Red Stockings who were the first major league baseball team in history with a record of 57-0 in their first season. The other mosaic is of "The Great Eight" who won back-to-back World Series in 1975 and 1976. The mosaics are beautiful and very well done. See the pictures on Instagram. After our walk around the stadium we arrived at our seats greeted by our very friendly usher, Andy. He was quick to dust off our seats and welcome us to the Great American Ball Park. Then it was the time all those Instagram viewers were waiting for......Jim's hot dog review. We have good friends who are native Ohioans, Angie, Jackie and Cindy and they were waiting on pins and needles for his review and even gave some recommendations. Jim got the Cheese Coney with Skyline Chili. The first comment Jim made was this dog is so small! Maybe it was small in relationship to the foot-long dogs he has reviewed at other ballparks. Moment of truth came when he took his first bite and gave it the lowest review of a 5.0. As the lady behind the camera I was shocked and knew that our good Ohio friends would not take to kindly to the rating. Well I was right as my phone started blowing up after the Instagram post with such things as, " this is bullcrap...the Cleveland Slider Dog topped with fruit loops got a 7.0". Let's just say I hope we still have friends in Ohio! Now on to the game. In a ballpark built for 43,500 there were 14,515 in attendance this Wednesday evening. It was a fantastic night for New York Mets pitcher Justin Verlander and one that would end up placing him alongside of 20 other pitchers who have beat all 30 teams. The one and only score for the Cincinnati Reds came in the 1st inning. Jonathan India hit a single and Jake Fraley hit a double to drive in a run. Score Reds 1 - Mets 0. It didn't take long before the Mets would get on the board. In the top of the 2nd inning the first batter, Pete Alonso hit a mile-high homer to left field making it a tie game. Then in the 4th inning the Mets would score again with Luis Guillorme hitting a double and Brandon Nimmo hitting a single bringing in a run. Score at the end of 4, Mets 2 - Reds 1. That would also be the final score of the ballgame due to the excellent showing of Verlander who only allowed the Reds two hits. Once again the visitors prevailed making our Field of Dreams Tour 6 wins and 8 losses for the home team. Were are off to Michigan now where we will visit Tom and Kat's family and take in the Detroit Tigers game Friday. Let's hope the home team wins! Until next time PLAY BALL!