Occasionally, you get lucky enough for someone to offer you free baseball tickets. If you get really lucky, those tickets are for seats right behind the dugout on a night your team is in town, and it just so happens, so is your alma mater.
This is the dream scenario I’m living this week at my fourth ballpark, Guaranteed Rate Field, when the Chicago White Sox host the St. Louis Cardinals and former Flyin’ Illini great Kendall Gill throws out the ceremonial first pitch.
The Tuesday evening affair will mark my first night game of the season and the second time I’ll see a DH in the lineup.
I could have used this post as a cautionary tale about the importance of naming rights (or the lack of importance of the DH). I didn’t, but I do find it worth mentioning that the state of Illinois (my home state) owns the ballpark, so the White Sox are kind of Illinois’ MLB team.
In fact, if I had to pick an American League team to follow, I might pick the White Sox, somewhat due to proximity but mostly due to the whole enemy of my enemy thing. (Side note, I’m pretty sure White Sox was the name of my team during the rookie season of my two-year T-ball career.)
Like two of the other teams whose ballparks I’ve visited this season (the Reds and Twins), the White Sox won a World Series in my lifetime before the Cardinals did.
In 2005, the year the White Sox won, the Cardinals were 100-62 in the regular season but lost (heartbreakingly) to the Houston Astros in the National League Championship Series. The Sox were 99-63 in the regular season and beat the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in the American League Championship Series.
I have a tendency to avoid any mention of baseball once the Cardinals are eliminated (I’m a baby like that), so I’m pretty confident I did not watch any of the White Sox-Astros World Series. The only thing I vaguely remember about the South Siders winning it all is their rendition of “Don’t Stop Believing” and how glad I was that the Sox made it to three rings before their North Side rivals did.
The White Sox have been around since 1901 and have three World Series titles (1906, 1917 and 2005). Guaranteed Rate Field (formerly called U.S. Cellular Field) opened in 1991 as a second Comiskey Park. The Sox played at the original Comiskey Park from 1910 t0 1990 and before that, they played at the 39th Street Grounds from 1900 to 1910.
My History with the Ballpark
I’ve been to the current ballpark before but not during the Ballparking It era and not when it was called Guaranteed Rate. (As I declared in my original post, I started back at zero.)
The first time around (Aug. 20, 2014), I also had a free ticket and great view, thanks to a friend from college. The Orioles beat the Sox that night, but he, another friend and I shared a nacho helmet, and nothing says friendship like eating nachos from a helmet.
This Time Around
I’m not a huge fan of Chicago. Is that mostly because of the Cubs? Maybe. But I cannot deny that Chicago does two things really, really well – hot dogs and pizza.
(It’s almost 1 a.m. while I’m writing this, and I really want a hot dog covered in sport peppers with a dill pickle spear right now.)
Last time I went to a White Sox game, I got a basic hot dog (in addition to the nachos). This time, I want a Chicago-style one. At Guaranteed Rate Field, it’s called a Comiskey Dog.
(If I don’t eat a Comiskey Dog, it better be because I ate deep-dish pizza instead.)
I enjoy baseball history as much as the food, so I’m excited to check out the White Sox Legends Sculpture Plaza in the outfield to learn more about the franchise.
I wish the White Sox also had a full museum at the ballpark to offer an inside look at both the good and the bad of their history, including the 1919 Black Sox Scandal. It would be fascinating to see how they approach the topic of allegedly throwing a World Series. (The Reds were on the winning side of that World Series, but I didn’t specifically look for anything about it in the Reds Hall of Fame and Museum when I was there in April.)
Illini Night
Like many teams, the White Sox host special theme nights, and the game I’m going to happens to be one of my personal favorites, Illini Night. (I didn’t realize it until a couple days ago, but I’m glad it worked out that way.)
I’ve been to one Illini Night at Busch Stadium (in 2017) and had a blast.
I had to miss Illini Night at Busch Stadium this year (because I was still in Minnesota after the Twins game). I did, however, see former Illini and current PGA golfer Steve Stricker throw out the ceremonial first pitch at the Brewers game in May, so I will have seen former Illini stars throw out first pitches in back-to-back games.
Game Preview
Cardinals vs. White Sox
Guaranteed Rate Field
Tuesday, July 10, 2018
7:10 p.m. CT
Probable starting pitchers: STL Miles Mikolas (RHP) vs. CWS Dylan Covey (RHP)
The Cardinals have struggled off and on this season and have hit a rough patch as of late. The White Sox have struggled the entire season and are in somewhat of a rebuild mode. They’re on a five-game losing skid.
Recent All-Star Game selection Miles Mikolas (9-3, 2.63 ERA) will be on the bump once again for the Cardinals, marking the third time (out of four) he has pitched in a game I’ve attended this year. (The Cardinals are 2-0 when I see a Mikolas start so far this season.)
Big thank you to my brother’s work friend, who hooked us up with these awesome tickets. Thanks, man.
Also, another thank you to my brother’s college friend, who gave me my first White Sox ticket.
