Previews – Ballparking It

Quick Turnaround for Ballpark #3, Miller Park

After knocking off Target Field a little over a week ago, I’m back at it, headed to Miller Park for my third of 30, a Memorial Day showdown between the St. Louis Cardinals and NL Central-leading Milwaukee Brewers.

Watching the Cardinals make up some ground on their red-hot division rivals tops my to-do list, but that’s mostly out of my control, mostly … and a little outside the scope of this blog. What else am I looking forward to doing or seeing on my Milwaukee road trip? You’re about to find out, but first, here is a quick history lesson on the Brewers.

The history of baseball in Milwaukee is complicated. The city has been home to professional baseball as far back as the 1880s and has had multiple teams called the Brewers. Today’s Brewers are an expansion team that started as the Seattle Pilots (for one season) and moved to Milwaukee in 1970 as an American League team. They switched to the National League in 1998, and Miller Park opened in 2001.

One Miller Park moment that stands out to me is the 2002 All-Star Game that ended in a tie and led to the “this time it counts” campaign for more than the next decade’s worth of Midsummer Classics (as in, the winner of the game decided home-field advantage for the World Series from 2003 to 2016.)

Milwaukee To-Do List (not comprehensive and in no particular order)

1. Sausage race

This one is a given. What started as a goofy, animated race on the video board has transformed into … a goofy, live-action race in the ballpark. The bratwurst, Polish sausage and Italian sausage are the originals. The hot dog and chorizo were added later.

What’s not to love? It’s even had its own drama (when then-Pirate Randall Simon took out the Italian Sausage in 2003).

My gut tells me to choose the hot dog, mostly because, of the five, I only like hot dogs (and I tried to execute this terrible pun … get it?), but I’m waiting to see them in person before committing to my pick.

2. Retractable roof

I’ve never seen a retractable roof and want to see it in action. I’ve also never seen baseball played indoors (unless you count P.E. wiffle ball).

3. Brewers Walk of Fame

I want to see every team’s hall of fame (or equivalent). The Brewers don’t have a hall of fame. Instead, they have their Walk of Fame, so maybe it’ll feel like I’m in Hollywood.

4. Any mention of the 1982 World Series

Unlike my trip to Minnesota, which involved a team that has defeated the Cardinals in a World Series (1987), this trip takes me to Milwaukee to watch a team that has lost to the Cardinals in a World Series (1982). It’s the only World Series the Brewers have played in, so I’m guessing it will be featured somewhere in the stadium.

5. Cheese curds

It’s Dollar Dog Day at the ballpark, so I will eat a hot dog at some point, but I regret missing out on cheese curds at Target Field (and cheese curds are even more closely associated with Wisconsin than Minnesota), so I feel like cheese curds will be a good investment here.

6. Memorial Day celebrations

I’m excited to celebrate all those who have died protecting our freedom. Will there be a bald eagle? I hope so.

7. Jelly Belly Warehouse

We’re stopping at the Jelly Belly Warehouse in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin, on our way to Milwaukee. I’m at least equally as excited for this as I am the game. I LOVE jelly beans (as in, I’m addicted and obsessed), and I’m about to be surrounded by them. I’m hoping it’s Willy Wonka-esque in all the weirdest and sugariest ways.

We’ll also visit a few other places in Milwaukee, and I’ll write all about them on this blog.

Game Preview
Cardinals vs. Brewers
Miller Park
Monday, May 28, 2018
1:10 p.m. CT
Probable starting pitchers: STL Luke Weaver (RHP) vs. MIL Brent Suter (LHP)

Basically, all you need to know is the Cardinals (27-22 as I write this) are struggling, and the Brewers … not so much. As of now, they have the best record in the National League (33-20).

This is my first game in the Ballparking It era that will feature a Cardinals starting pitcher not named Miles Mikolas, so I’m in uncharted territory in that respect. However, it also marks my second straight dollar hot dog day of the season, and the Cardinals are 1-0 when I pay exactly $1 for a hot dog.

Next Up, Target Field

For my second of 30 MLB ballparks, I’m headed to Minneapolis for a midweek day game between the Twins and Cardinals.

I admittedly don’t know a lot about the Minnesota Twins or their ballpark, Target Field. I do know the Twins play that other brand of baseball where the pitcher doesn’t get to bat, but I also know I end up at Target multiple times per week … so I’m keeping an open mind. (Plus, I believe Torii Hunter was my go-to American League center fielder when it came time for All-Star voting in the 2000s.)

Unlike the Reds, whose ballpark I just visited and who have been around in some form since professional baseball began, the Twins got their start in 1901 as one of the multiple iterations of the Washington Senators. They didn’t move to Minneapolis and become the Twins until 1961.

The Twins were apparently all the rage right before I made my grand appearance on this planet, winning the World Series in 1987 against my would-be favorite franchise, the St. Louis Cardinals. (Side note, back then, the Twins weren’t playing at Target Field, which opened in 2010. They were playing in the Metrodome, which I remember most for its roof collapse.)

I forced myself to watch highlights from the seven-game ’87 World Series to get a better feel for the history between the teams I’ll be watching on the field this week. They were shockingly less depressing than expected. (And now I know what I’ll be humming throughout the game on Wednesday.)

While researching, I also discovered that there may have been a few questionable calls by the umpiring crew in Game 7.

The Twins went on to win another World Series in 1991 but haven’t claimed the crown since.

I’ve been to the Minneapolis area four times in my life, twice to visit friends and twice for college sporting events (basketball and gymnastics), but never for baseball.

My first trip to Minneapolis was an Orange Krush road trip my senior year of college in 2011. For those who don’t know, the Orange Krush is the charitable student cheering section at Illini basketball games, and each year, Krush invades a Big Ten opponent’s arena.

(Maybe I’ll do a throwback blog on that at a later date. But for now, enjoy this picture of me getting back to the student union after a 25-hour bus trip, 7 a.m. on a Thursday to 8 a.m. on a Friday, from Champaign to Minneapolis and back. I basically got off the bus, brushed my teeth and went to class. Illinois won, so it was worth it.)

Original 2011 Facebook caption: Proof that I’m willing to sacrifice personal hygiene for the Illini

Now, back to baseball.

Going into this two-game series, the Cardinals (22-16) are 2-4 since sweeping the Cubs, May 4-6 at Busch Stadium. (Sorry, I HAD to put that somewhere on this blog). Two of those four losses came to Minnesota in a two-game series last week in St. Louis. The Twins (17-20) have won seven of their last 10 games.

Of note, former Cardinal Lance Lynn will be taking the mound for the Twins, looking for his second win of the season with a 1-3 record and 7.34 ERA. Also worth noting, I’ll be going to my second Miles Mikolas game of the season, which could be a good thing because he is 5-0 with a 2.51 ERA. If he wins this game, maybe I should make this a tradition.

Game Preview
Cardinals vs. Twins
Target Field
Wednesday, May 16, 2018
12:10 p.m. CT
Probable starting pitchers: STL Miles Mikolas (RHP) vs. MIN Lance Lynn (RHP)

Editor’s note: About five paragraphs in, I realized I forgot my MLB GameDay Pass-Port and pretty much spent the rest of the night freaking out about it. I was already two hours from home and didn’t want to spend four extra hours driving back home to get it, but I did want the stamp. At press time, I was still trying to decide what to do. (Hey, at least it’s not a real passport.)

First Up, Great American Ball Park

My birthday is still more than four months away, but I’m starting the party early by kicking off my 30-ballparks-for-turning-30 multiyear celebration this weekend.

My first stop? Great American Ball Park, home to professional baseball’s first team, the Cincinnati Reds. (I didn’t know that fun fact when I bought the tickets.)

I’m not a Reds baseball buff, but I remember when Ken Griffey Jr. hit his 500th home run on Father’s Day at old Busch and recognize the names of some of their Hall of Famers (or would-be Hall of Famers if not banned from baseball … looking at you, Pete Rose).

Griffey is one of my favorite non-Cardinals of all time, and weirdly enough, my favorite Cardinal of all time, Jim Edmonds, played his final major league game in a Reds uniform.

On this particular ballpark adventure, I’m hoping to learn more about the Big Red Machine at the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame and Museum and see what all the Skyline Chili hype is about.

I’ve been to Cincinnati once to go to Kings Island, probably around the year 2000, but I’ve never been to a baseball game there. (Kings Island had a strong roller coaster game, though, so I recommend going if you like that sort of thing.)

I have some fond memories of watching games at Great American Ball Park on TV (or in one case, listening on the radio), and I hope to see in person where these special moments took place.

Here are my top three Great American Ball Park moments as a Cardinals fan.

3. Cardinals’ seven-run, ninth-inning comeback on May 2, 2005

When the inning started, the Cards were down 9-3. After a couple walks and a hit, Reds closer Danny Graves was brought in to clean up the mess and instead, basically imploded.

I believe it was the Cardinals’ biggest ninth-inning comeback at the time, and I got to enjoy the whole thing from my parents’ living room. (Looking back at the box score and play-by-play still makes me pretty happy.)

2. First-inning brawl on August 10, 2010

Brandon Phillips had run his mouth the night before. Yadier Molina didn’t appreciate it. Tempers flared, and we got ourselves an old-fashioned baseball brawl.

I eventually saw the fight on TV but first heard it on the radio while driving home from college. Mike Shannon called the fight beautifully, and that’s when I decided he’d be an excellent boxing commentator.

Disclaimer: I recognize that this brawl contributed to ending then-Cardinals backup catcher (and coincidentally, former Reds catcher) Jason LaRue’s career, and that’s not OK.

1. Jim Edmonds’ home run robbery skills from July 16, 2004

Edmonds had multiple great plays at Great American Ball Park … and pretty much everywhere else, too. His reaction makes this catch one of my favorite defensive plays of all time.

Game Preview
Cardinals vs. Reds
Great American Ball Park
Saturday, April 14, 2018
1:10 p.m. ET
Probable starting pitchers: STL Miles Mikolas (RHP) vs. CIN Cody Reed (LHP)

Going into the series, the Cardinals were 5-7, and the Reds were 2-9. The Cards cruised to a 13-4 win in the first of the four-game series. Then I wrote this blog post.

I’m ready to hit the road for my first of 30 destinations. Will Great American Ball Park live up to its name? I’m about to find out.