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!

Game #23--T-Mobile Park- Seattle Mariners vs. Miami Marlins

After a week of family fun in Colorado, Jackson Hole and Yellowstone we are back on the road to Our Field of Dreams 2023 Tour. We really enjoyed our time with our kids Steven, Brittany, Chris and Kayla along with our grandloves Makenna, Ella, Maddox and Bennett, but now it is back to pounding the pavement in our RV with a first stop in Seattle. We arrived in Seattle after a very long drive through three states on Tuesday, June 13th. Jim is the pilot and I am merely the co-pilot in charge of navigation. After a much needed rest, we were ready to put our game faces on for the Wednesday evening Mariners game on June 14th. We decided to get some walking in before the game so we journeyed down to Pike Place Market. We enjoyed the market which was full of a variety of food, flowers and shopping. We found a cute little restaurant just a few blocks from the market and had some delicious seafood. We had oysters, clam chowder, calamari, shrimp and cod. Thank goodness we split a plate because it was so much food. After our bellies were stuffed we decided it was best for us to walk to the stadium in order to burn off some of our lunch calories. We had a nice walk to the stadium stopping at a few places along the way. One of our stops was to The Tasting Room, which serves local Washington wines. I mean when you are in Washington aren't you supposed to take in all commodities they are known for? Our host Ellen was extremely helpful and knowledgable about the local wines. We did a tasting of some very good wines she selected based upon what we told her were our likes. She hit it spot on! Now back to the street to walk off the food and WINE! We arrived at the stadium way too early but it worked out just fine as our great friends Jim and Kathy Cook from San Clemente were meeting us for the game. We met outside the Home Plate entrance where the statues of Ken Griffey, Jr. and Edgar Martinez are located. We found out the Center Field gate opened first which is two hours prior to the first pitch. We lined up at the gate and soon we were entering with only a minimal amount of effort through security....that hot dog hat gets us every time! It was promotional night for the Mariners in honor of National Cancer Survivors Month they gave away t-shirts for Life Beyond Cancer. This was very meaningful to us as Jim's sister, Cyndi is currently in a battle with breast cancer. Once inside we were only allowed to stay in "The Pen" area until all gates opened 90-minutes prior to game time. We enjoyed watching batting practice from "The Pen" area and had hoped to catch a fly ball but some people just don't know how to take turns and share the fence. The bullpens are right in that area hence the name "The Pen." We watched pitchers warm up, and all I can say is I would run if a pitch came at me like that. Amazingly talented individuals! After they opened the rest of the park, our friends Jim and Kathy walked with us around the various parts of the stadium to take it all in. We journeyed up to the Trident Deck which is positioned above the left field foul pole. It is like a modern rooftop bar with the feel of a cozy backyard. The view from the Trident Deck is breathtakingly beautiful in all directions. We decided to stay a little longer and order a drink and just take it all in. Of course Jim was stopping anyone who looked official along the way to ask for hot dog/sausage recommendations. Several people recommended the Mariners Dog, which is actually a sausage with grilled peppers and onions. We went to the location of the hot dog/sausage recommendation and happened upon the Mariners Hall of Fame. The Mariners Hall of Fame is small due to their short history, beginning in 1977 as an expansion team. There were some interesting artifacts and nine bronze plaques honoring the inducted members. Inductees include Alvin Davis, Dave Niehaus, Jay Buhner, Edgar Martínez, Randy Johnson, Dan Wilson, Lou Piniella, Ken Griffey Jr., Jamie Moyer and Ichiro Suzuki. See our Instagram for photos @ourfieldofdreams2023. The Mariners only have two players that have had their numbers retired even though they have nine inducted members in the Mariners Hall of Fame. Ken Griffey, Jr. and Edgar Martinez are the only two to have their numbers retired. The Mariners set the bar high to make it an ultimate honor to have your number retired. Their criteria set by the Mariners' Board of Directors for retiring a number is the player must be elected to the National Hall of Fame and played at least five years for the Mariners, or come close to being elected to the National Hall of Fame and have spent a substantial portion of their career with the Mariners. As with all MLB Teams, Jackie Robinson's number 42 is also retired. Next up food and boy do the Mariners have options. I appreciated the signs posted around the stadium listing food options and locations. This is the first stadium that I have found that has this signage. Jim got his recommended hot dog/sausage and our friends Jim and Kathy and myself opted for a Poke Bowl. Great choices! Since I am a good sport and I know Jim must be getting tired of hot dogs I shared my Poke Bowl with him. Jim decided to do his hot dog review in the stadium area where we purchased the hot dog as our seats were on a different level and nothing is worse that a cold hot dog. He gave the Mariners Dog a 8.0. I gave my Poke Bowl a 10! Next we found our seats on the Club Level first base side of the field. We had a beautiful view of the skyline from our seats and a spectacular view of the sky as the sun set. Before the game began the National Anthem was sung by a cute children's choir. I always love to see children being highlighted, I guess that is the educator in me. Next up was the first pitch. It was thrown out by Chris Laneeuville a cancer survivor who just celebrate 21 years as a survivor of cancer. All throughout the stadium cancer survivors held up signs with the number of years they have been a cancer survivor. It was a very nice way to honor those who have won the battle of this terrible disease. First pitch left the mound at 6:40 with a crowd of 20,498 in attendance in a stadium that has a 47,929 capacity. Not too bad for a Wednesday evening. The Mariners came into the game with two wins in this series against the Marlins and were hoping for a sweep. Well the Marlins rookie pitcher Eury Perez had a different plan for those brooms. Perez pitched into the 6th inning holding the Marlins to two hits, struck out six and walked only one. It was a pitchers battle with the first score hitting the board in the top of the 3rd inning. Jonathan Davis hit a single followed by a walk by Jorge Soler, then a force out when Bryan De La Cruz grounded into second base. A wild pitch by Mariners Luis Castillo would bring in Davis to score. Score Marlins 1 - Mariners 0. The next two innings would be successful for both pitchers with no score. The innings were flying by as it was mostly 3 up and 3 down. Then in the top of the 6th inning the Marlins first at bat, Jorge Soler hit a four-banger. Score Marlins 2 - Mariners 0. After Mariners pitcher Luis Castillo walked Garrett Cooper and Jean Segura the manager pulled out the hook. Matt Brash came in and got the job done to get out of the inning. The rookie Eury Perez would continue to show his muscle at the plate in the bottom of the 6th and keep the Mariners off the board. In the top of the 7th inning with Brash still on the bump, Jon Berti hit a single and Luis Arraez was hit by a pitch. After seeing the pitchers warm up so close and personal, all I could say was OUCH! The walk back to the dugout for Brash brought in Andres Munoz who was able to get the job done. In the top of the 7th inning the rookie Perez was replaced by Dylan Floro who got the memo as it was three up and three down. The Marlins brought in Justin Topa in the 8th inning to replace Andres Munoz. It was a tough out for Topa as the Marlins first batter, Jesus Sanchez hit a line drive single. Next up Jean Sequra who also hit a single putting runners on first and second bases. Nick Fortes had a hard hit double to right field bringing home Sanchez. Score Marlins 3 - Mariners 0. Jon Berti would strike out making in one out with runners at second and third. Next up Jonathan Davis who hit a sacrifice fly scoring Segura. Topa would get the final out with a ground out by Luis Arraez. The damage could have been worse but the Mariners kept their defense in check. Score Marlins 4 - Mariners 0. The bottom of the 8th the energy for the Mariners grew strong in the stands and on the field. The Marlins brought in Tanner Scott to face the Mariners still focused on a sweep. First to the plate was Cal Raleigh who hit a single to pitcher Tanner Scott who made a throwing error advancing Raleigh to second base. Then the Mariners brought in their secret weapon, AJ Pollock (former Dodger) the DH. You could hear the crowd get excited but unfortunately Pollock would strike out swinging. Next up Jose Caballero would pop out and then J.P. Crawford would ground out. Score Marlins 4 - Mariners 0. A few fans started to depart the stadium BUT NOT THESE FANS! Oh no, we don't leave early and there is no crying in baseball! It was a great thing many fans stayed because the BEST inning of the game was the 9th inning. The top of the 9th the Mariners brought in Paul Sewald to close it out and he and the Mariners defense did a fantastic job. Although it started with a walk by Jorge Soler (that's okay he hit a homer in the 6th) the next batter Bryan De La Cruz would strike out swinging. The Mariners defense would put an exclamation point on the inning when Garrett Cooper grounded into a double play. Great work by second baseman Jose Caballero to first baseman Ty France. The crowd was pumped up for the bottom of the 9th inning. Rally caps were in place and the fans were screaming. We had some young boys sitting near us that were shouting wildly while sporting their rally caps. It was so cute! Then the unthinkable happened.....we looked on the big screen to see a man dressed in a hot dog suit dancing. They call him "RALLY FRANK." We laughed so hard our sides hurt. Well that little dance and the fan spirit brought out the most amazing inning of the night. Marlins brought in A. J. Puk to pitch. First to the plate was Julio Rodriguez who flied out to center. Ty France would start the rally off with a single. Teoscar Hernandez would reach on a fielder's choice and France would reach second on a fielding error by second baseman Luis Arraez. With runners on first and second, Jarred Kelenic would reach on a fielder's choice and the out called at second base was overturned. BASES LOADED, thanks to two errors made by Arraez. Eugenio Suarez came to the plate and we were all praying for a GRAND SLAM to tie the game. Suarez connected with a ball and sent it sailing high in the air to right field. It looked like it was going to be long gone. The crowd was going wild, us included! That was when Marlins right fielder Jesus Sanchez did a leaping catch OVER the wall to bring the ball back into the park and in his glove. Sanchez literally stole the grand slam from Eugenio Suarez and saved the game for the Marlins. Ty France would score making it Marlins 4 - Mariners 1 with two outs. Cal Raleigh would line out sharply to right field ending the game and one heck of an exciting 9th inning. Final score Marlins 4 - Mariners 1. That makes Our Field of Dreams record 10 wins for the home team and 13 losses for the home team. Next up we are traveling back to California, specifically the bay area, to see the Oakland A's play the Philadelphia Phillies on Saturday afternoon and the San Francisco Giants play the San Diego Padres on Monday night. Until next time, PLAY BALL and Happy Father's Day to all the Dads out there!

Game #22-Coors Field-Colorado Rockies vs. San Francisco Giants

We are in beautiful Colorado staying at an RV park just west of Denver. The threat of rain loomed throughout the day which had us concerned for another rainout. The MLB weather website I watch gives up to date information on the likeliness of a rainout. All day the website showed a "possible rainout or delay." A rainout would sure put a big glitch in our plans since we have been joined by extra special guests. Our daughter Brittany, her husband Steven, and our darling grandloves Ella and Bennett have joined us. Brittany, Ella and Bennett arrived by plane and Steven arrived by Harley. The plan for months has been for them to join us for the Denver vs. Giants game because they too are Giants fans. They try to attend a Giants game on their wedding anniversary every year at a different stadium. So of course when they saw we were attending this game on June 6 just three days after their anniversary it made sense for them to join us. After the game we will travel to Jackson Hole and Yellowstone in the RV with our grandloves while Brittany and Steven travel by Harley enjoying the gorgeous countryside and yes RAIN! Also, our son Chris, his wife Kayla and our other grandloves Makenna and Maddox will met up with us in Yellowstone. As the time for the game drew near there was only a slight indication of a game delay or rainout. We arrived at the game a few hours early to do our usual walk around the stadium with our grandloves. We were amazed by the size of Coors Fields with a capacity of 50,144 and the third largest in MLB. Tonight's game would have a crowd of 29,190 which is great for a rain-threatening Tuesday night. Coors Field opened in downtown Denver in 1995 and is known as the hitter's park due to the effect of Denver's high elevation. Speaking of high elevation, the stadium seats are all green except for the 20th row of the upper deck which are purple to mark the elevation of one mile (5,280 feet) above sea level. See our pictures on Instagram @ourfieldofdreams2023. One interesting fact is that studies found that it was not necessarily thin air that resulted in more home runs but dry air. Since those studies in 2002 the Rockies installed a room-sized humidor to have a damper place to store the baseballs prior to games. Since that time the number of home runs at Coors Field have decreased. While we were walking around I observed two ladies struggling to take a selfie that would include their identical shirts. I asked them if I could help by taking their picture to which they were grateful. After taking several photos of them I asked them about their shirts. Their shirts said, "What Goes On?....LIFE." They told me they were recent widows who are just trying to figure life out now that they had lost their husbands. It was ironic that this would happen because just a few hours earlier we had received a call that Jim's mother had passed away. We were struggling with what to do....go to the game or stay back at the RV. Jim ultimately said we are going to continue on to the game with our kids and grandkids, mom would have wanted that. It was still not easy as our minds and hearts were elsewhere. I told the women they were the message that we needed at that moment. Coincidence? I think not! Other than the amazing architecture of Coors Field, the Rockies do not have a lot to see memorabilia wise due to them being a fairly new team with only a 30 year history. They have never won a World Series nor a NL West Division title. They have been a Wild Card five times, being successful in 2007 winning the NL Pennant. The Rockies have two retired numbers, #17 Todd Helton and #33 Larry Walker. Additionally, all of MLB have the famous #42 Jackie Robinson. Walking around the concourse provided many beautiful views of the stadium. Jim and I did take a walk up to "The Rooftop" in right field during the game for the most magical view of Coors Field. When we arrived to our section of seats we chatted with our usher Terry who had the recommendation of a Rockie Dog. I had told Jim I would be his understudy for the hot dog review as he was not really in the right spirit to perform. Jim went to get the recommended hot dog while I stayed with the grandloves preparing to put on the hot dog hat and do the review. As soon as Jim returned he said he wanted to do the review but only if his grandloves were included. Ella agreed to be a part of the review and shy Bennett reluctantly agreed. Jim gave the Rockie Dog a 7.5. After the review Bennett and Ella helped grandpa eat the hot dog and Ella thought the Rockie Dog should have been given an 8.0 and Bennett agreed with grandpa. See the reel on Instagram @ourfieldofdreams2023. As we were waiting for the game to begin we saw a woman with a sign that said "I've Hit Them ALL! #30 Quest Complete!" Of course we approached her and asked about her quest. She has been on her journey for 25 years and is a Phillies fan, therefore her shirt said, "Phinally 30 for 30." It is amazing how many people we have met that have the dream of visiting all 30 ballparks. Soon Brittany and Steven joined us and we captured a few photos together at the stadium before the first pitch. First pitch came at 6:40pm and LaMonte Wade Jr. hit that first pitch for a double. The 1st inning ended with no score by either team. That all changed in the top of the 2nd inning when a two out rally began with a double by rookie Patrick Bailey. Next to the plate was Brandon Crawford who has been in a little bit of a slump. Crawford hit a double bringing home Bailey to score. Score Giants 1 - Rockies 0. LaMonte Wade walked and then Thairo Estrada hit a single to bring home Crawford. Score Giants 2 - Rockies 0. With two runners on, Joc Pederson was hit by a pitch to load up the bases. J.D. Davis was at the plate while I dreamed of seeing a grand slam, no such luck as he was called out on strikes. It was top of the 3rd inning when Mitch Haniger hit a double and then the rookie Patrick Bailey came to the plate. Bailey hit a triple to score Haniger. Patrick Bailey has been a great addition to the Giants lineup. Score Giants 3 - Rockies 0. In the bottom of the 4th inning Rockies Randal Grichuk hit a triple and then Nolan Jones came to the plate and reached on a fielder's choice, the play at home was close but Grichuk scored. Score Giants 3 - Rockies 1. The damage to the Rockies happened in the top of the 5th when the Giants broke the game open! Mike Yastremski had reached on a walk when Patrick Bailey came to the plate to hit a double. LaMonte Wade Jr. hit a double scoring Yastremski and Bailey. Score Giants 5 - Rockies 1. The Rockies brought out the hook and changed pitchers to try to mitigate the bats of the Giants. With two outs Joc Pederson came to the plate and hit a single to put LaMonte Wade Jr. on 3rd base. J.D. Davis hit a double scoring both Wade and Pederson. Score Giants 7 - Rockies 1. The Giants were not done putting numbers on the board when Michael Conforto hit a single to bring home Davis. Score Giants 8 - Rockies 1. The Rockies would add one more in the bottom of the 5th with a single by Charlie Blackman and a double by Jurickson Profar. Score Giants 8 - Rockies 2. The Rockies had their third pitching change but that did not stop the Giants hitters. LaMonte Wade Jr. hit a single and Thairo Estrada hit a double when J.D. Davis hit a sacrifice fly to score Wade. Score Giants 9 - Rockies 2. The Rockies would show a little life in the bottom of the 7th inning in a two out rally. Charlie Blackmon walked then Jurickson Profar came to the plate and ripped a triple. Score Giants 9 - Rockies 3. Next Ryan McMahon hit a double scoring Profar. Score Giants 9 - Rockies 4. The game time was well over 3 hours by the 8th inning due to pitching changes and long at bats. In the top of the 9th inning the Giants began had three walks by LaMonte Wade Jr., Thairo Estrada and Wilmer Flores. With bases loaded my hopes for a grand slam were sparked with J. D. Davis at the plate. That did not happen and the Giants had two strikeouts one by J.D. Davis and the other by Austin Slater. Then it was Mitch Haniger who would get another walk to walk in a run. That hurts when you walk in a run. Score Giants 10 - Rockies 4. The Giants were very patient at the plate drawing 11 walks from six Rockies pitchers in this game. The bottom of the 9th would see some excellent defense by the Giants. Charlie Blackmon flied out making it one out. Jurickson Profar hit a single and then Ryan McMahon grounded into a double play. Brandon Crawford did his great work getting the ball to 2nd baseman Thaito Estrada who sent it bolting to LaMonte Wade Jr. for the double play. Final Score Giants 10 - Rockies 4. The record for the home team in "Our Field of Dreams Tour" is 10 wins and 12 losses. This was a great win for us on a day that started with our hearts hurting. The fun did not end with the final pitch and we are sure there was someone already up in heaven working to make her children and grandchildren happy. We were waiting for our shuttle bus to take the six of us back to the parking area. As we were waiting in line there was a shuttle bus in the line that had great music blasting. As fate would have it we were the last six on the packed bus. The driver began with, "You have just boarded the best shuttle of all and you are going to have so much fun, and if you don't, I'm quiting tomorrow." He then cranked up Earth, Wind and Fire, "Let's Groove" complete with flashing party lights. The entire bus was dancing, singing and having a great time. Our grandloves had a blast! One thing about Jim's mom is she LOVED dancing and music! Thanks mom for sending that little blessing our way. We needed that!!!! We will be taking a break from baseball to enjoy some family time in Jackson Hole and Yellowstone. We will be back to baseball on June 14 when we are in Seattle to see the Mariners play the Marlins. Until next time, PLAY BALL!

Game #21-Kauffman Stadium-Kansas City Royals vs. Colorado Rockies

Kansas City! What a spectacular city! We spent a few extra days in Kansas City to get the brakes repaired on the fifth wheel. You need brakes...right? Lucky for us we had time to venture out to see what Kansas City commonly called the "City of Fountains" is all about. One thing we discovered was the people are so very friendly and the food is delicious. We went to our brother-in-law's fraternity brothers restaurant, Chicken and Pickle in North Kansas City. It is a restaurant that combines Pickleball and food, which by the way was fantastic. What a great concept! We also toured the Plaza area which has many shops and restaurants. On game day, June 2 we went to the legendary Arthur Bryant's Barbecue for lunch prior to the evening game. Many famous guests have dined at this longtime historical restaurant, even former Presidents Truman, Carter and Obama. We ordered the ribs because that is what experts agree are the most famous. We also had a side of the potato casserole and barbecue beans. It was all finger licking good. If you are looking for fancy then this is not your place, but if your looking for mouth-watering amazing barbecue then you must eat here! With our bellies full we set out to the ballpark. We arrived at 4pm for a 7:10pm game and discovered there was a pregame Celebrity Softball Game beginning at 5:00pm. That was a pleasant surprise. We wondered why when we arrived to the parking lot it was filling up and the lines at the gates were very long. When we got to the line at the gate we chatted with a few people always asking us questions about our t-shirt and our Field of Dreams Tour. We discovered that we picked a great game to attend because of the charity event being held by Big Slick to benefit Children's Mercy Hospital. A few of the celebrities who played were: Jason Sudeikus, Patrick Mahomes, Creed Humphrey, Darius Rucker, Chris Daughtry, David Cook, Al Yankovic. It was wonderful to see people come together to unite for a cause so important...children's health. We sat in the Price Chopper Patio to watch the Celebrity Softball Game which is located in the outfield. It was great because they have very large high-definition TVs which offered better views of the celebrities than our seats. After the softball game we did our normal walk around the ballpark taking in all the special features. Kauffman Stadium is 50 years old and home to the Kansas City Royals who were an expansion team franchise in 1969. So in baseball years they are a very young team. Kauffman Stadium is currently the only American League stadium to be named after a person and not a corporate sponser. The park's best feature I believe is the fountain and waterfall display behind the outfield fence. It is 322 feet and the largest privately funded fountain in the world. The fountains are on before and after the game and in between innings and the waterfalls continuously run. Another feature of the stadium is the Buck O'Neil Legacy Seat. The Royals had a red seat placed amongst the all-blue seats behind home plate to honor Buck O'Neil. Buck O'Neil was a player and manager in the Negro American League with the Kansas City Monarchs. He was the first African American coach in Major League Baseball. In order to sit in the Buck O'Neil Legacy Seat you must be nominated and worked to make a difference in the community. It is one of the biggest honors to sit in that seat. During the third inning the individual in the seat is recognized. Kauffman Stadium also has a Hall of Fame which is in the left field concourse and is free. We visited the Hall of Fame which obviously is much smaller than others we have seen since this is a relatively new ball club. The highlight of the exhibit I felt was the bat and glove exhibit over the years. To see the equipment baseball players used years ago it is a wonder they accomplished catching a ball at all let alone hit as may home runs as the old timers did. On display were the World Series Trophies of 1985 and 2015 and the retired number jerseys of George Brett #5, Dick Howser #10 and Frank White #20. While we were in the Hall of Fame we met a lovely woman who worked there, Nancy. She found us looking at the eight Golden Gloves received by Frank White. She told us a story of the first Golden Glove received in 1977 that was sitting on the self with a few dings in it. She said that Frank White's nephew took it to a little league game he was playing and took the glove off to play ball with it. His coach noticed what he was doing and kept him from using it by offering another glove. Years later that nephew was visiting the Hall of Fame and Nancy saw him staring at the Golden Glove. When she approached him he told her that Frank White was his uncle to which she replied, "Are you the one who took the Golden Glove to your baseball game?" He smiled and said, "Maybe!" Great story! Nancy also was responsible for the hot dog recommendation because Jim told her he wanted a specialty dog not just a plain old hot dog. She told us about Dugout Dog who serve specialty dogs. Just outside the Hall of Fame is an area for families. This area includes a carousel, playground equipment, batting cage and a pitching challenge area. This is the second ballpark we have been to that has a carousel, the first being Comerica Park home of the Detroit Tigers. Jim and I really liked the enormous scoreboard that is shaped like the Royals logo with a crown on top of it. We liked it because it had so much information in one place. We enjoy seeing the pitch count, pitch speed, mound visits remaining, etc. This scoreboard had it all! Next stop was Dugout Dog to get a Philly Dog from Dugout Dog. This hot dog had toppings of Philly meat, grilled peppers and onions, and cheese wiz. Jim gave it a 7.5. See his Instagram reel @ourfieldofdreams2023. I did not have any food at the ball game because I could not hold another morsel of food due to the giant lunch we had at Arthur Bryant's Barbecue. After the hot dog review, it was off to our seats in time for the National Anthem and starting line up. The Royals had a magnificent violinist play the National Anthem and it raised goose bumps on my arms. It was absolutely one of the most patriotic moments. While waiting for the game to start we chatted with those sitting around us who asked about our Field of Dreams Tour and of course asked the question everyone asks us, "What has been your favorite ballpark?" That's like asking me what's your favorite ice cream....ALL OF THEM! It is so hard to pick one as a favorite as they all are special in their own right. It was close to game time and the mascot Sluggerrr was out and about getting the crowd game ready. We were ready to watch a great game with a crowd of 23,427 fans in stadium with a capacity of 38,427. Not as big of a crowd as I expected for a Friday night but there is the fact that thundershowers are forecasted. Oh and we had some rain drops! First pitch at 7:10 by Royals Jordan Lyles who is 0-9 with a 6.89 ERA. It wasn't long before the Colorado Rockies were on the board with the third of the order, Ryan McMahon at bat. McMahon who is from Yorba Linda near our hometown, hit a homer to right field in the 1st inning. Score Rockies 1 - Royals 0. The Royals had an answer in the bottom of the 2nd inning when Edward Olivares hit a home run. Score Rockies 1 - Royals 1. Then in the bottom of the 3rd inning Drew Waters was first to the plate belting out a four-banger. Score Rockies 1 - Royals 2. It was a showing of some great defense and excellent pitching for the next four innings and the score remained the same. Then in the top of the 8th inning the Royals brought pitcher Carlos Hernandez who struggled and eventually got the hook. It began with a single by Brenton Doyle, a double by Ezequiel Tovar and a Jurickson Profar reaching on a Fielder's choice. Brenton Doyle reaches the plate score now tied at two. It still wasn't over yet for Hernandez but when the next batter Ryan McMahon hit a single bringing in a run it was over. Score Rockies 3 - Royals 2. Hernandez took that tough walk back to the dugout at Royals brought out pitcher Nick Wittgren. It wasn't pretty as the first batter Wittgren faced, Elias Diaz hit a double bringing in two runs. Score Rockies 5 - Royals 2. A single by Randal Grichuk and a double by Nolan Jones would make it Rockies 7 - Royals 2. A very tough inning for the Royals fans to watch. The game would end with a final score of Rockies 7 - Royals 2. This makes it 10 wins for the Home Team and 11 losses for the Home Team on our Field of Dreams Tour. Next up we will see the Colorado Rockies once again in their home field playing my beloved San Francisco Giants. Our daughter Brittany, husband Steven and grandkids Ella and Bennett will be joining us and we will ALL be cheering for the Giants at Coors Field, even Jim. Until next time PLAY BALL!