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!