Ballparking It

Busch Stadium: It’s Nice to #StayHome

Social Distancing Day 30 (written mostly on Day 29) …

I’ve now gone almost an entire month without human interaction (with the exception of a brief exchange about ketchup with the Schnucks cashier on Day 17).

I’m watching a thunderstorm out my apartment window and thinking back to another stormy day – my trip to Busch Stadium, Ballpark No. 6.

And in the context of a stay-at-home order, when some people feel trapped at home and others miss wherever they consider home to be, this already multilayered homecoming tale takes on extra meaning.

No Place Like Home

I spent a good chunk of the first day of summer 2019 indoors at Ballpark Village waiting out a rainstorm. I didn’t mind. After five straight away games in 2018, I needed home-field advantage, even if it meant a long day of sitting and waiting.

It was my return to the place where I watched my team win a World Series, where I tasted my first ballpark hot dog, the gravesite of where I saw my first MLB game (old Busch) and where I fell in love with baseball.

This particular Friday (June 21) not only marked the return of summer and the return of me to my beloved ballpark but also the return of a Cardinals legend, a hero-turned-villain-turned-hero-again, to the place he once called home.

Albert Pujols spent 11 years in St. Louis, where he won two World Series, played in three, made nine All-Star Game rosters and was named National League MVP three times.

Then he left.

Going into this game, he had played seven and a half seasons for the Angels and hadn’t faced the Cardinals in St. Louis over that span … until June 21, 2019.

It was a series I (like most Cardinals fans) had anticipated for nearly eight years – first out of anger and a desire for revenge, then out of respect and a need for closure.

Ballpark #6

The game itself, a Friday-night matchup with the Los Angeles Angels, was a bit overshadowed by the magnitude of what it meant – a game with such a draw that it brought my brother back on a nearly four-hour, red-eye flight after moving to Oregon.

It was a hot ticket that drew a big crowd with even bigger ovations. And before the game, I had intended to have a big day in St. Louis. The weather said otherwise, so I skipped the Arch and sheltered in place with my family at Ballpark Village for nearly five hours.

While waiting out the thunderstorm, we ate at the Cardinals Nation restaurant and explored the Cardinals Hall of Fame and Museum, where I noticed this quote among an entire wall of quotes at the start of the museum.

“We’ve got the best fans in St. Louis. A lot of people want to come and play in St. Louis because of the way the fans treat us.”
Albert Pujols

The quote from a man who chose to leave provided the perfect backdrop for his own reunion with those fans years later.

After a deep dive into Cardinals history, we ate more food (snacks) at the Budweiser Brew House (but I also had to save room for a hot dog in the ballpark).

After much eating, standing, sitting, waiting and eating again, we bought ponchos, walked to the the stadium and made our way to our seats (section 447, row 9) for what was about to be a magical night.

Roller Coaster of Big Moments

The rain let up about an hour before game time as if it knew we had an important engagement that couldn’t be postponed.

The first time Pujols came out of the dugout to stretch, I didn’t notice him on the field. Neither team had taken batting practice, and the tarp had been removed only minutes earlier. But I heard the roar of the crowd and caught on as it grew louder (or maybe because my brother told me).

It’s one of those snapshots in time I wish I could relive, screaming along with thousands of people who once felt betrayed by their one-time hero who was now simply stretching before a game. The second booming ovation came when the starting lineup was announced.

But the third ovation was the loudest … and brought a roller coaster of emotions.

Unfortunately, Cardinals starting pitcher Michael Wacha had already given up a run and had a man on third when Pujols came up in the first inning.

Despite the less-than-optimal game situation, we (all 48,423 of us) went from annoyed to ecstatic, greeting Pujols with an ovation that was as long as it was loud and resulted in the most touching moment of the game – a hug with Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina.

Pujols flew out to deep center. (I was relieved. If he was going to get a hit, I wanted it to be with no one on.)

Minutes later, Matt Carpenter led off the bottom of the first. Like Pujols’ extended at-bat, spurred by a crowd that wouldn’t stop cheering, Carpenter’s plate appearance was also interrupted. But this time, it wasn’t the crowd.

An ominous message played over the loudspeakers telling everyone to head to the concourse in a monotone (borderline eerie) voice similar to the National Weather Service messages that play on the radio during severe storm warnings.

But it didn’t say what kind of emergency was happening, and we knew it wasn’t weather-related.

Fans started filing toward the concourse in orderly fashion, impressive for how panic-inducing the situation felt. (Unspeakable thoughts like bombs and shootings raced through my head.) Luckily, before it was my row’s turn to leave, the public address announcer told us it was a false alarm, so everyone sat back down.

Game on.

In a matter of minutes, nearly 50,000 people went from frustration with a starting pitcher to pure adoration of a former superstar to thinking our lives might be in danger and back to wanting to win a ballgame again.

Game Highlights

The Cardinals ultimately ended up winning 5-1, but the box score took a back seat to the moments that made up the game. (And no, I wouldn’t look back on this game as fondly if the Cardinals had lost.)

Along with probably 30 minutes worth of Pujols ovations and a game-stopping emergency alarm, a couple other notable things happened (as in I literally made note of them on my phone).

First baseman Paul Goldschmidt hit a foul ball out of the stadium during his second plate appearance. (Think about that … out of the stadium.) He pulled the ball down the third base line and over the upper deck, making him the only player known to have accomplished this feat in the stadium’s 14 seasons.

And Wacha (a career .093 hitter) got a rare single to right field to add to a solid night on the mound, giving up just one run on five hits over six innings of work.

Left fielder Marcell Ozuna was the hero of the night (aside from Pujols obviously) with three hits and three RBIs, including a solo home run.

We showed our appreciation every time Pujols came to the plate, especially after his infield single in his last at-bat of the night and when he subsequently came out for a pinch runner.

That moment may have been the final time I ever see Albert Pujols play in person. And if it is, this time, he left on good terms.

Busch Stadium’s Where My Heart Is

Away games are fun, colorful and new, but after watching the Cardinals exclusively on the road for five straight games, it felt nice to click my Keds together and end up back at Busch Stadium.

There’s something refreshing about cheering along with your own family and 48,000 fans all wearing the same colors, wanting the same thing.

I’m still going to follow that yellow brick road that leads to the other 29 stadiums, but home will always be my happy place.

Inside Yankees’ Minor League Quarantine

Social Distancing Day 20 …

On my 16th day of self-isolation (and what would’ve been Opening Day of Major League Baseball), I talked to a friend who works in the Yankees’ minor league system about his two-week quarantine in Tampa.

(This is the closest thing I have to baseball right now, and the miniature Reese’s I bought on my only grocery store run in the last 20 days aren’t numbing the pain.)

Quarantine Experience

Jon arrived at the Yankees’ spring training complex in Tampa, Florida, on Jan. 27. In his fourth year as an athletic trainer in the Yankees farm system, he was looking forward to kicking off another season.

He has spent the last three summers with the Staten Island Yankees, the Class A short-season affiliate and namesake of the big-league squad.

Official team workouts start in March, but Jon wanted to be there early to help with individual workouts as players trickled in.

Fast forward two months, and the season is in jeopardy. All sporting events have been canceled or postponed, and he just wrapped up a two-week quarantine with the players he was looking forward to helping.

“Once we had the meeting and shut everything down, everybody didn’t know what to do with themselves,” Jon said. “Baseball players are such creatures of habit, so they have their routine. It was like, ‘Can I still throw?’ ‘What can I do?'”

Both the MLB and MiLB shut down spring training and postponed their seasons on March 12. Three days later, baseball had its first confirmed case of COVID-19. That player was a minor leaguer in the Yankees farm system.

“It was weird being the first organization with a confirmed case,” Jon said. “I wouldn’t say there was panic, but it was just uncertain.”

Jon and the rest of the staff and minor league players were told to stay in their hotel rooms (or alternative housing) and leave as infrequently as possible, only when essential.

As part of the medical staff, Jon was there to check on players and help if anyone experienced symptoms. He also helped deliver the meals he was so appreciative of receiving.

“The (Yankees) organization was great. They took great care of our guys and provided everybody with meals during the quarantine period.”

But this new role didn’t take up as much time as the role he typically plays.

“We don’t usually have any days off in March,” he said. “Once we hit the first workout, it’s 6:30 (a.m.) to 5 in the evening. If I wanted to lift, I’d have to lift after work. And then it’s go home, eat and go to bed, and get up and do it again the next day.”

Luckily, the athletic trainer with newfound (forced) free time bought a PlayStation just before the quarantine.

“That was a great investment,” he said. “I’ve absolutely dominated some NHL. I started a career and stuff, although I got drafted by the Red Wings, so that kind of sucks. But we’ll work our way out of that.”

He’s also doing a Bible-in-a-year study and says he has enough space in his room to refine his putting skills and play around with his golf clubs.

“I’ve been doing some hotel workouts, too,” he said. “It’s tough with just doing body-weight stuff. I had been on a really good lifting routine before this all started, so (I’m) just trying to stay in that.”

Jon says players were also given body-weight workouts and other programs to help with their mobility.

Players were released from quarantine on March 26, but international players who were unable to return to their home countries stayed in Tampa.

Jon and a lot of the staff are still around as well.

Although (like many Americans and people around the world) he and the team are trying to make the best of a less-than-ideal situation, he says the waiting game is tough.

“I’m down here to work,” he said. “It’s weird to not be in the complex with these guys and building relationships and hanging out in the dugout. This is just so different than anything I’ve experienced in baseball.”

Thank you to Jon for giving us an inside look. He also shared his recommendations for all of us to stay in shape during this time of staying home.

“Get up and move. Body-weight workouts can be great for overall fitness, and if you’ve got stairs or weight equipment, that is even better. Blocking out 30-45 minutes a day to move and get your heart pumping is a great start to any day.”

So Jon, where do my miniature Reese’s factor in to the equation?

The Opening Day That Wasn’t

Social Distancing Day 16 …

The closest thing I’ve had to human interaction in the last 16 days was the delivery guy dropping off my buffalo wings tonight … so I’m now writing to baseball.

Hey baseball,

It’s been a while. When we said our goodbyes last October, I thought we’d be together again in five months. I thought it was just a pause, a break, a see you next spring.

I’m not saying I wasn’t bitter. We didn’t exactly end on good terms, did we? Ha, no, I was furious. The way we ended it … well, it wasn’t pretty.

Maybe I blamed you too much. Maybe I was too angry. Maybe I moved on a little too quickly. I guess football was right there to pick up the pieces.

But I promise, football could never replace you – not even with the most shocking upsets or improbable comebacks. And maybe you saw how hard I fell for basketball over the winter. But basketball isn’t you.

I mean, come on. We’ve ended on worse terms before, haven’t we? A four-game sweep in the NLCS is still an NLCS appearance.

Today was supposed to be something, one of those days I’d typically count down to in my head and constantly visualize and dream about. I was supposed to bounce out of bed and be distracted and overly excited all day.

There was no bouncing, just unceremoniously rolling over, picking up my laptop and propping myself up to start working from home after sleeping on the couch. (Any way to get a couple extra seconds of sleep, am I right?)

But I guess you’re sheltered in place somewhere, too.

Social isolation is weird, but maybe you’re used to it. You did just spend about a third of the year in hibernation. And I bet you hoarded all the best snacks. I can almost taste the endless nachos, hot dogs, ice cream and mini-doughnuts you’ve probably amassed.

You probably have excellent survival skills as well. You’re like what, 150 years old? You’ve seen it all – the world wars, the Great Depression, the Spanish flu, your own commissioner trying to change everything about you.

Anyway, I hope you’re doing well.

Don’t come back until it’s safe. But when it is, I’ll be waiting.

Love,

A socially isolated baseball fan

P.S. I wish I could say, “We will see you tomorrow night,” but I don’t really know when “tomorrow night” will be, so until then …

Dog Days of March: Ranking Hot Dogs by Memory

Social Distancing Day 9 …

The sports are gone. The good food is gone. I haven’t interacted with a human in nine days. So here we are.

I’ve been to eight ballparks in the past two seasons, and I ate hot dogs at six of them. I’m no food critic, but I do love ballpark hot dogs and ranking things … and I kind of remember how hot dogs taste (like I kind of remember what baseball is like … or you know, human interaction).

#7 (unofficial) Miller Park

The hot dog at the ballpark famous for sausage races may have not lived up to the hype. I was recovering from an unfortunately timed stomach bug at the time, so I didn’t get to eat one myself (thus, the “unofficial” ranking), but from what I hear, Miller Park hot dogs don’t impress.

My brother’s take? “Grossest hot dog I’ve ever eaten in my entire life.”

That seems dramatic, but some people around us shared the same sentiment. The biggest redeeming factor? It was Dollar Dog Day. At Brewers games, maybe you get what you pay for. Let’s hope the everyday dogs are better.

Miller Park’s baked potato game, however, was on point.

Verdict: I don’t know. Maybe eat a baked potato.

#6 Coors Field

In the Mile High City, I went all in on the Denver Dog. This hot dog was not bad. It just wasn’t MY kind of hot dog.

Topped with green chili sauce, jalapenos and what seemed like a mile-high pile of shredded cheddar cheese, the Denver Dog looked delicious, and on paper, it should have been. But I didn’t like all the textures mixed together, especially with the sheer amount of shredded cheese.

It was also incredibly messy to eat … and I may have forgotten what I was doing and touched my eye after eating but before washing my hands. I won’t do that again.

Verdict: Sorry, Rockies, it’s not you. It’s me.

#5 Great American Ball Park

These next two were tough. I thoroughly enjoyed all the hot dogs from here on out, and there wasn’t really anything that set Nos. 4 and 5 apart from each other (I’ve flipped them multiple times.)

It all came down to regretting my decision at Great American Ball Park. I’m not trying to penalize the Reds for offering hot dogs that sound more delicious than the one I chose, but I chose a Nathan’s all-beef frank, and in a weird turn, I wish I would’ve gone with the other basic hot dog option … which means I must’ve not completely loved the one I ate.

(In reality, I wish I would’ve chosen Skyline Chili, but again, I can’t dock Great American Ball Park for having options.)

Verdict: Pretty great American hot dog, but I would change my order next time.

#4 Busch Stadium

I love Busch Stadium hot dogs, and as a Cardinals fan, I’ve eaten a lot of them throughout my life. But the one I ate on the particular night in question wasn’t as great as I know a Busch Stadium hot dog can be.

I had also eaten a giant lunch at Ballpark Village before sitting around for hours waiting out a thunderstorm, so I probably wasn’t the hungriest. I’d still order it again if given the chance and recommend it to anyone asking.

Verdict: Great, but not greatest.

#3 Target Field

I’d consider this one a sleeper. Target Field was fairly generic in my opinion, but the hot dog (even on $1 Wednesday) was anything but.

I respect a hot dog tasty enough to stand on its own without condiments, and this one did just that, packing in a ton of flavor with every bite. And at the low price of $1, it packed in even more value.

The Minnesota Twins don’t skimp when it comes to dollar dogs.

Verdict: The dollar dog at Target Field may be one of the best ways to spend a buck.

#1 (tie) Guaranteed Rate Field, Wrigley Field

Chicago-style hot dog at Guaranteed Rate Field (White Sox)

I get it. Ties are disappointing, but we all root for them when it comes to multiple teams winning a division we have no stake in, so let’s pretend this is that.

I’m putting my anti-Cubs bias aside and handing over the top trophy to both Chicago teams because let’s face it, the town knows its hot dogs.

In most cases, my favorite way to eat a hot dog is plain, on a bun and dipped in ketchup … with the exception of the Chicago dog, which is the real champion here.

(And yes, I realize it’s weird to eat a plain hot dog and dip it in ketchup.)

I can’t crown one single champion. They both exceeded my high expectations, delivering on big flavor from both a hot dog and condiment standpoint.

For those not familiar, Chicago-style hot dogs feature mustard, sport peppers, tomatoes, neon green relish, a dill pickle spear and onions, all on a poppyseed bun. Basically perfection. (I always leave off the onions, though.)

The South Side dog was slightly more beautiful than the North Side one … but only because I loaded up the Wrigley one myself.

Chicago-style hot dog at Wrigley Field (Cubs)

Verdict: As much as it hurts me to say it, Chicago is king when it comes to hot dogs.

Honorable Mention: T-Mobile Park

This one didn’t make the list only because it’s pretty much impossible to rank a fish sandwich against a hot dog. But honestly, if I could have any food right now, I might choose the Ivar Dog (brought to you by a regional fish chain in Washington.)

Maybe I’m just hungry. (I am.) But this fish sandwich is one of the best fish sandwiches I’ve ever eaten in my life. Topped with tartar sauce and coleslaw, this fried cod was also one of the best things I’ve ever eaten at a sporting event.

With a stunning view of Puget Sound just outside the ballpark, a fish dog is the perfect answer to a landlocked stadium’s hot dog. Plus, it’s Lent-friendly if that’s your thing.

Dear Mariners, I want one right now.

Verdict: Does a fried fish sandwich make a good substitute for a hot dog? No. It makes a great one.

Have a good hot dog suggestion? Let me know in the comments.

Not Ballparking It Anytime Soon

I’m usually an expert at being a loner. Some of my favorite pastimes are watching baseball by myself, watching basketball by myself, binge-watching TV shows by myself, going to Taco Bell by myself. I’m usually my favorite company.

But I’ve been working from home, and the last face-to-face conversation I had with a human was the cashier at Target telling me to have a good night … last Tuesday.

Since then, life as we knew it changed. We’re now living in what seems like a sci-fi novel, but it’s not fiction. It’s just science. And that’s the worst part.

I’ve already blown through the giant jar of trail mix I thought would last a few weeks (or at least more than the five days it lasted). I’m apparently not good at rationing … and I don’t even want to calculate how many servings and calories I ate in that short amount of time.

I’ve lost all ability to binge TV shows and now have zero attention span, and my apartment has started to look like a freshman dorm room.

So yeah, these are not exactly the circumstances I thought would bring me back from my hiatus.

In a perfect world (or at least one not in a global pandemic), we’d be in the heart of spring training right now. I would have maybe purchased baseball tickets and plane tickets. Maybe. (Let’s be honest … probably not. Being a procrastinator has its perks.)

But it hasn’t really hit me. I haven’t truly focused a moment on the thought of no baseball. One of my favorite things in the whole entire universe, and I haven’t even really thought about it.

I’m worried about a lot of things – from my grandparents to what’s going to happen if we have to fully quarantine and I run out of lime and jalapeno Ruffles.

And my little, basketball-loving heart wasn’t ready for the NCAA season to end so abruptly, which is probably why I haven’t thought about baseball at all.

My heart breaks for a whole lot of NCAA student-athletes who woke up one day and weren’t competing anymore. It breaks for all those who rely on income from working sporting events. It breaks for all the college seniors who don’t get to spend their final semester on campus. It breaks for all the high schoolers whose musicals and sporting events (and everything else) got canceled.

But I get it. Health and safety come first, and I’m going to do my part to make sure all these people didn’t sacrifice so much for nothing and do my best to help save each other. Thus, social distancing.

Whatever weird version of planet Earth we’re living on right now just offered up an excuse (more like a demand) to stay home and write.

(Plus, it took away all the sports, so maybe it’s my duty to fill the void with some overdue ballpark recaps you never knew you wanted and other random thoughts from yours truly.)

So buckle up for my COVID-19 diaries with a lot of reminiscing and probably a lot of nonsense.

Let’s spread the love and baseball together … just in spirit, though. Not like together, together.

October: A Love Letter from a Spoiled, Dramatic Cardinals Fan

Everything about October is my favorite, and for the last three years, I’ve had some of the most Octobery Octobers you can imagine.

Pumpkin patches, apple orchards, bonfires, football games – you name a stereotypical October activity, and I probably did that … multiple times, complete with leggings and an oversized sweatshirt.

I lived in shades of mustard, burnt orange, maroon and brown and baked batch after batch of pumpkin cookies.

And you know what all that was? A cry for help.

I’ve come to realize that no amount of candy corn, blanket scarves, corn mazes or scary movies can heal a broken, baseball-less heart.

Ghosts of Octobers Past

Pumpkin is my favorite fall scent, and Mike Shannon is my favorite fall sound. Luckily, Cardinals fans have been spoiled with plenty of postseason baseball for Shannon to call.

In my lifetime, the Cardinals have made 13 trips to the postseason (not counting 2019), 10 to the National League Championship Series and four to the World Series.

I went to my first postseason game in 2002 with my dad. The Cardinals played the Giants in the NLCS. They lost, but my fandom shot to the next level. After seeing a postseason game firsthand, I wanted nothing more than to get there again and win the next time.

Postseason baseball is all the big moments.

It’s Jeff Suppan besting Roger Clemens in Game 7 of the 2004 NLCS with the help of a Jim Edmonds diving catch.

It’s Edmonds’ walk-off homer the night before.

It’s Adam Wainwright striking out Carlos Beltran in Game 7 of the 2006 NLCS to send the Cardinals to the World Series.

It’s being at Busch Stadium with my family in 2006, when the Cardinals won the World Series for the first time in my lifetime.

It’s watching Game 6 of the 2011 World Series with a bunch of Cubs fans.

But it’s also the little things.

It’s stopping on a country road to celebrate a home run in my Mitsubishi Eclipse as I raced home from high school to watch a game.

It’s wearing a Cardinals shirt almost every single day in October during my senior year of high school in 2006.

It’s pouting around a fire after hearing a gut-wrenching Cardinals’ loss at my family’s yearly bonfire in the woods – one of my favorite days of the year under normal circumstances.

It’s crying on my college apartment balcony an hour or so after Game 6 because I still couldn’t believe the Cardinals won.

I want that back.

The Cardinals missed the playoffs the last three seasons, and in their most recent appearance, they lost to the Cubs in the NLDS. It’s time.

Road to the Postseason

On Sunday, the Cardinals locked up the National League Central title with a 9-0 win over the Cubs in St. Louis. They had clinched a playoff berth in Chicago the weekend prior with a four-game sweep against the same foe.

Sound stress-free? It wasn’t.

Much like the entire season, the series in Chicago was a wild ride.

In the first game, the Cardinals gave up a 4-1 lead in the ninth, only to kill the Cubs rally with a Matt Carpenter homer in the 10th.

That home run set the stage for three more dramatic one-run wins, each in come-from-behind fashion. The final win secured at least a wild card spot and knocked the Cubs out of the division race.

Later that week, the Cardinals, riding a six-game winning streak, found themselves in a 19-inning marathon in Arizona after scoring one run in the first and giving up one run in the ninth.

A frustrated me was glued to the TV for the nearly seven-hour affair that ended after the clock struck 3:30 CT on a Wednesday morning.

The early-morning loss in the desert sent the Redbirds on a four-game losing skid. The second-place Brewers wouldn’t go away, and the magic number was still three going into the final weekend.

That weekend, the Rockies swept the Brewers. (Thank you, Colorado.) And the Cardinals salvaged a game after dropping the first two to the Cubs, winning 9-0 on Sunday to clinch the division title.

October Baseball

It’s October, and postseason baseball is in the air on this NLDS eve as I burn a pumpkin candle with “Nightmare on Elm Street” playing in the background.

I don’t intend to miss out on the pumpkin patches, bonfires or haunted houses.

But tomorrow, the Cardinals play baseball. And that’s my favorite kind of October.

Ready to Rock(ies) in Colorado

It’s a week into September. The Cardinals have a 4.5-game lead in the NL Central, and the magic number is 16 (as of Sunday night).

I’m heading to Coors Field for my eighth of 30 ballparks on a mission to increase that lead and decrease that magic number in a Tuesday-night duel with the Colorado Rockies.

It’s been a three-season eternity since the Cardinals last made the playoffs, and I miss my baseball-centric Octobers. After a season of hairpin turns, dizzying drops and equally dizzying ascents, here we are with 19 games left.

But even this coaster enthusiast would prefer a drama-free push in the final three weeks. And that final three-week push begins Tuesday night in Denver, when the Redbirds take on the Rockies in the first of a three-game set.

Rockies History Lesson

What do I know about Rockies history and Coors Field? Not much. Expansion team, Matt Holliday, Todd Helton, altitude-induced home runs galore. That’s about it without researching. (Oh yeah, and Larry Walker.)

The Rockies played their first season in 1993, making Coors Field the first venue I’ve visited that houses a team younger than me. They played in the original Mile High Stadium for two seasons before moving to Coors in 1995.

Coors Field is over 5,000 feet above sea level and has a humidor to store baseballs in an attempt to offset the effects of altitude.

The Rockies have made the playoffs in five seasons (1995, 2007, 2009, 2017, 2018), most recently beating the Cubs in the wild card game last year before losing to the Brewers in the NLDS. (So yeah, they’re kind of a hero.)

The Rockies only World Series appearance came in 2007, when they were swept by the Red Sox. (Sound familiar?)

Notable Cardinals Connections

Former Cardinals Holliday and Walker each spent much of their stellar careers in Colorado, and the Cardinals acquired the late Darryl Kile from the Rockies in November 1999.

Current Cardinals outfielder Dexter Fowler started his career in Colorado, playing five seasons there after being called up in September 2008.

Game Preview
Cardinals vs. Rockies
Coors Field
Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2019
6:40 p.m. MT
Probable starting pitchers: STL Michael Wacha (RHP) vs. COL Chi Chi Gonzalez (RHP)

The Cardinals are 81-62 and 7-3 in their last 10 going into the series. The Rockies are 60-84 and 1-9 in their last 10. They’re currently last in the NL West.

Personal Game Notes
– The Cardinals are 5-2 when I attend games specifically for Ballparking It.
– This is my second Tuesday game, the other resulting in a win over the White Sox for Ballpark No. 4.
– This marks my first game at an NL West opponent’s stadium in the Ballparking It era.
– This ballpark is home to the youngest organization (the first younger than me) that I’ve seen the Cardinals face in the Ballparking It era.
– This is my first game as a 31-year-old.

#SpookySummer Continues

On my last trip, I tagged on two hotels famous for being tied to spooky on-screen tales – the Timberline Lodge (as seen as the Overlook Hotel in Stanley Kubrick’s adaptation of “The Shining”) and Salish Lodge (as seen as the Great Northern Hotel in “Twin Peaks”).

This time around, I’ll be taking a night tour of The Stanley Hotel, which helped inspire Stephen King’s “The Shining” … because well, all work and no play makes Nicole a dull girl.

(Spoiler alert, that line isn’t in the book, but it’s still pretty relevant.)

Ballpark #7: Bring the Fireworks

After an emotional Ballpark No. 6, I headed out west to compose myself and to experience the Pacific Northwest, including Ballpark No. 7 – T-Mobile Park, home of the Mariners.

That Pacific Northwest feeling at Yaquina Head Lighthouse

I arrived in Oregon on Friday night (more accurately, Saturday morning) and plan to drive up to Washington on Wednesday for Fireworks Night and a July 3 meeting between the St. Louis Cardinals and Seattle Mariners.

I don’t have any significant memories of the Mariners other than playing “Ken Griffey Jr.’s Slugfest” on N64.

(It was never my favorite MLB video game, but the commercial was definitely something.)

The only things I knew about Mariners history before researching it were that they boast a couple megastar alumni (Junior and Ichiro Suzuki) and strung together one phenomenal regular season at some point in my lifetime.

Mariners History Lesson

The Mariners are a 1977 expansion team that didn’t finish a season above .500 until 1991. They originally played in the Kingdome and moved to Safeco Field (renamed T-Mobile Park in 2019) in 1999.

Two years later (Ichiro’s rookie year), they posted the most-ever wins by an AL team, finishing 116-46. They went on to lose to the Yankees in the ALCS that season.

The Mariners have made three American League Championship Series appearances (1995, 2000, 2001) but haven’t made it to the postseason since.

Cardinals Connections

Three former Redbirds play for the Mariners, and one is scheduled to start on Wednesday, when Mike Leake takes the mound against former teammate Adam Wainwright.

(The other two are starting pitcher Marco Gonzales, which is how the Cardinals acquired Tyler O’Neill, and Sam Tuivailala, who is on a rehab assignment after an Achilles injury sidelined him last season.)

Game Preview
Cardinals vs. Mariners
T-Mobile Park
Wednesday, July 3, 2019
7:10 p.m. PT
Probable starting pitchers: STL Adam Wainwright (RHP) vs. SEA Mike Leake (RHP)

The Cardinals had a magical Albert Pujols weekend but have since struggled yet again. Going into the series, they are 41-41 but only three games out in the division (as of right now when I’m writing this because the Brewers already lost today).

Seattle got off to a hot 8-1 start in April but quickly crashed and burned. The Mariners now sit at a dismal 37-51 going into the series and are 18 games out of the AL West.

Personal Game Notes
– The Cardinals are 4-2 when I attend games specifically for Ballparking It.
– This marks the second time they’ve faced a former Cardinals starting pitcher when I’m in attendance. (The last resulted in a Cardinals victory over Lance Lynn and the Twins at Ballpark No. 2.)
– This is my second stadium with a retractable roof. (The last resulted in a loss to the Brewers at Ballpark No. 3.)
– The Cards are 2-0 when I’ve seen them at AL stadiums in the Ballparking It era.
– This is my second Wednesday game (the other being Ballpark No. 2) and first time repeating a specific weekday on this journey.

On Deck: #SpookySummer

I’m in the middle of Spooky Summer 2019 – Halloween all year long, so I’m making a pit stop in Snoqualmie, Washington, to channel my inner special agent Dale Cooper and celebrate Fourth of July Twin Peaks style. Who killed Laura Palmer, anyone?

I’m also planning to hit up Timberline Lodge (as seen in “The Shining”) on my way back to where I’m staying in Oregon.

Maybe I’ll even find Bigfoot. #believe

Six Is a Serious Number

And … we’re back – Season 2, Episode 1, Ballpark No. 6.

Like any good Cardinals fan, I saved the best for sixth. It’s Busch Stadium time, and it’s a very special episode.

My sixth of 30 ballparks and first as a 30-year-old takes me to St. Louis for the grand return of Albert Pujols. And after five road games, I’m ready to root, root, root for the home team.

Six is special. Stan Musial (lovingly known as Stan the Man) wore No. 6.

Stan Musial statue — “Here stands baseball’s perfect warrior. Here stands baseball’s perfect knight.”

The stadium opened in 2006. The first World Series the Cardinals won in my lifetime was in 2006, and all Redbirds fans probably know On the Run Mobil’s “six is a serious number” bop.

I’ve been to Busch Stadium many times but never as a 30-year-old on a ballparking mission.

I don’t remember my first Cardinals game. I vaguely remember going to a game at old Busch with my cousins, sitting in the shade because it was hot and eating ice cream, but I have no idea whether or not that was my first game or how old I was.

I do remember my first game at new Busch Stadium, which also happened to be its inaugural game, Opening Day 2006.

I also remember the game I truly fell in love with the new ballpark, allowing it to surpass old Busch on my list of favorite places – Game 5 of the 2006 World Series, the clincher.

I (along with all Game 4 ticket holders) ended up seeing Game 5 rather than Game 4 because of a fortunately timed rainout two days prior. But that’s a story for another time.

I’ve been a Cardinals fan my entire life, and it got serious in 2002 when I went to a playoff game between San Francisco and St. Louis at old Busch, and former Giant Kenny Lofton almost got in a fight. I’ve been a die-hard fan ever since.

New Busch Stadium may be only 13 years old, but in that time, it’s hosted three World Series (2006, 2011, 2013), five National League Championship Series (2006, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014) and has seen postseason play in two additional seasons (2009, 2015).

It’s boasted two World Series champions (2006 and 2011) and hosted an All-Star Game in 2009.

Ballpark No. 6 is the most decorated venue I will have visited thus far.

Quick Cardinals History Lesson

The soon-to-be Cardinals joined the National League in 1892, when they were known as the Browns. They changed their name to the Cardinals in 1900.

They’ve since won 11 World Series (1926, 1931, 1934, 1942, 1944, 1946, 1964, 1967, 1982, 2006, 2011), the most in the National League and second-most in all of Major League Baseball (behind the Yankees’ 27).

The Cards’ current home is the third iteration of Busch Stadium, preceded by the coliseum-style Busch Stadium II (1966-2005) and original Busch Stadium, first called Sportsman’s Park (1920-1965). The Redbirds also played at Robinson Field, League Park and Union Park.

Pujols Homecoming

This game will mark the first time Albert Pujols and the Los Angeles Angels will play in Busch Stadium since No. 5 left in 2011. The three-time MVP will get one of the longest ovations of all time. Welcome back, Pujols. You can read all about what it means in my Pujols Homecoming post.

Game Preview
Angels vs. Cardinals
Busch Stadium
Friday, June 21, 2019
7:15 p.m. CT
Probable starting pitchers: LAA Griffin Canning (RHP) vs. STL Michael Wacha (RHP)

The Cardinals had the best record in baseball (20-10) at the end of the day on May 1 with a three-game lead in the NL Central. Then, the rest of May happened. The Cardinals went 9-18 that month (including the May 1 win).

As of the wee hours of June 20 (when I wrote this), they’ve stabilized somewhat, sitting only two games back in the division (thanks to a weak NL Central) at 38-35, and they’ve won seven of their last 10 (thanks to playing the Marlins a lot in the last week and a half).

The Angels are 38-37 and are also 7-3 in their last 10.

Will the Cardinals get back to their winning April ways, or were we all just April fools? We might not know until late September.

Note: I’m 3-2 in the Ballparking It era, and this will mark my first Friday game.

Pujols Homecoming: One More Dance

I don’t remember the first time I saw Albert Pujols play. He just kind of slipped into my everyday consciousness in the early 2000s and stayed there for a decade.

Pujols was a phenom, the lead singer on the soundtrack to my summers from junior high to college. I was lucky enough to see him play at both old Busch and new Busch on many occasions.

I wore his T-shirt, once bright red, until it was faded and stained. He gave me two rings. The bobblehead version of him was my voice of reason during the 2006 World Series run.

Me: Will we score this inning?

Pujols: Nods

Me: Nods back

With Pujols, the highs were oh so high. The Cardinals were perennial contenders. It was almost shocking if they weren’t in the NLCS.

During his St. Louis tenure, he brought home two World Series championships and made it to a third, won three MVPs, made nine All-Star rosters, was named Rookie of the Year … I could keep going.

He hit for power and for average, and in some ways, that feels old school now.

He was (and still is) one of the good ones, a family man, a charity guy. His Pujols Family Foundation helped (and still helps) kids with Down syndrome.

I consider Oct. 27, 2006, one of the greatest nights of my life, the first time my team won a championship in my lifetime. I was 18, a senior in high school. I wrote a 15-page paper about that World Series run, and Pujols was instrumental in making it all happen.

He was never my favorite player. That would have been like picking Michael Jordan. Too easy. No, he was my hero.

My hero gave me too many memorable moments to count – playoff runs, multi-home run games, clubhouse celebrations.

Both World Series wins and the 2004 NLCS top my list for Cardinals moments involving Pujols, but my favorite purely Pujols moment came in Game 5 of the 2005 NLCS when he broke Houston Astros closer Brad Lidge.

The Cardinals were down 3-1 in the series and trailing 4-2 in the top of the ninth. A David Eckstein single and Jim Edmonds walk set the stage for the knockout punch, one of Pujols’ most dramatic home runs of all time.

He sent the ball into orbit, Lidge’s career into a tailspin and the series back to St. Louis for Game 6, which the Cardinals ultimately lost, but that night, he was superhuman.

Six years and two World Series wins later, I was on the receiving end of the gut punch.

The Breakup

On Dec. 8, 2011, I went to my graduate assistant job as usual. Cardinals fans (including me) were on Pujols watch, waiting to see when he’d sign a contract and where he’d end up.

I knew he would stay in St. Louis, be a lifer, get a statue equal in size to Stan Musial’s, become a legend. I just knew it. No amount of money would take my hero away from Baseball Heaven.

I was wrong. I got a text from my brother sometime that morning (or maybe I texted him), and everything went downhill from there.

At some point, I realized I had been pulling all of the tape out of the tape dispenser for no reason. I spent the morning staring off into space in a haze and apparently making a mess.

I remember someone in the office saying, “It’s OK. Pujols wasn’t even the best player anyway,” in reference to 2011 World Series hero David Freese. Girl, please.

Money, dollar signs, cha-ching – my hero is a sellout. Everyone has a price. Those were the lessons I thought I learned that day.

I went through the motions of my afternoon, narrating them as I went.

“This is the first time (insert action) since I heard the news.” Again and again and again. I was a really strong mixture of sad and angry.

I threw away my overworn Pujols T-shirt, once much loved by its owner as evidenced by its stains. It was an intentional decision, not just a spur-of-the-moment reaction. I wanted to burn it but refrained.

Life moved on, and so did I. It didn’t hurt that the Cardinals also moved on quite well. The Redbirds reached the NLCS in 2012, World Series in 2013 and NLCS once again in 2014.

Over time, just as Pujols slipped into my everyday consciousness in 2001, my animosity toward him slipped right back out.

In recent years, I’ve occasionally flipped to Angels games to watch him chase milestones. He still makes me smile.

He’s no longer my hero, but he was for some of the most formative years of my life, and nothing will ever change that.

Homecoming

There have been seven full seasons of Pujols-less baseball in Busch Stadium since he left, but it’s finally time to welcome back an old friend.

(Cue whatever homecoming-themed song is your preference. Mine will always be Diddy.)

On Friday night, Yadier Molina, one of three remaining Cardinals who played with Pujols, will slowly dust off home plate while we give Pujols an hourlong standing ovation. (If there’s a rainout, he better at least give the fans a tarp slide.)

It will be a final magical chapter in the Pujols saga, but I still like to think that in a different timeline, Pujols stayed.

I keep my stained and faded T-shirt packed away for special occasions – all seven World Series titles we’ve won since then. His plantar fasciitis keeps him out of the lineup from time to time, but there is never any question of who will be playing first base each spring.

He stayed in my everyday consciousness, and his bobblehead has stood on my desk the whole time. Cardinals fans lose their minds every time he nears his next milestone. His statue is already being built, and everyone knows which hat he’ll wear when he inevitably goes into the Hall of Fame.

He still gets regular curtain calls and messes with Fredbird once in a while. He’s a St. Louis legend, always a Cardinal, the greatest of all time.

A Pujols highlight reel still runs through my head every now and then, and on Friday, I’ll be looking at the real thing for the first time in a long time.

Someday, maybe I’ll watch a game with bobblehead Pujols again, reminiscing about the old times while witnessing yet another World Series championship run.

Albert, thanks for being a big part of my summer soundtrack for all those years. Thanks for the rings, the smiles, the stories, the memories. You’ll always be my generation’s baseball hero. Let’s forget the bad times and do this thing again. One more dance?