19. Busch Stadium III
After the runaway success of my 2012 baseball road trip, I definitely wanted to repeat the experience. Missouri is a relatively easy drive from Cleveland, so for the 2013 edition I decided to visit both St. Louis and Kansas City, as well as assorted other baseball attractions.
St. Louis was the first park on my trip. I never set foot in Busch Memorial Stadium, but I did walk outside of it in my original trip to St. Louis.
I arrived on Thursday afternoon and crashed at the downtown apartment of my friend and former co-worker Eric. He and I had a few drinks at the Irish pub that was under his apartment (convenient, that). Then we grabbed inner at a nearby restaurant. I ordered a beer... and it came out in one of those giant wine sized bottles. Needless to say, by the time we actually took the short walk to Busch Stadium I was more than a little inebriated. As such, we didn't wander around the park too much, but instead focused on the game.
Unfortunately the game was a bit dull. The Dodgers handily slapped down the Cardinals 5-1. Most of the excitement was provided by Dodgers rookie Yasiel Puig, who went 3 for 5 with a triple. I seem to recall that he did some impressive things in the outfield as well, but that may just be in my head.
The park itself is another in the series of generic ballparks from the early 2000s. However, I feel that it was better than, say, Nationals Park or Citizens Bank Park because of two main details:
1. You can see the Arch looming over the outfield walls. We were sitting on the third base line and even the bare glimpse we could get from our seats was pretty damn impressive. If I go again (and I certainly would), I'll sit in the upper deck behind home plate and be able to see the whole thing.
2. The Cardinals have won more World Series titles than any team outside the Yankees. As you'd expect, they have a ridiculous number of Hall of Famers. This translates to a really large number of statues outside the park. Stan the Man has place of pride, of course, with the famous "Here stands baseball's perfect warrior. Here stands baseball's perfect knight" quote at the base, but another ten statues are near the team store. Put them altogether and you'd have a starting nine that would stack up well against pretty much any team. It's really cool walking among this virtual forest of statues.
Cardinals fans are widely claimed to be some of the best in baseball, and the house was nearly full for the game Eric & I attended. Of course, they were bound for the playoffs, were just two years off a World Series title, and the dynamic Puig was in the park, so maybe it's not surprising that the stands were full. I will say that the Cardinals fans did not seem to be any more knowledgeable than your average Cleveland fan. Or maybe they were just as lacking in sobriety as I was!
Park Rankings
RankParkTeamFirst Visit# Visits
1 Wrigley FieldChicago CubsApril 23, 20042
2 PNC ParkPittsburgh PiratesSeptember 25, 20042
3 Jacobs FieldCleveland IndiansApril 17, 199963
4 Miller ParkMilwaukee BrewersApril 24, 20041
5 Camden YardsBaltimore OriolesJune 22, 20121
6 Yankee Stadium (original)New York YankeesJuly 28, 20061
7 Comerica ParkDetroit TigersJuly 31, 20041
8 Turner FieldAtlanta BravesMay 5, 20071
9Busch Stadium IIISt. Louis CardinalsAugust 8, 20131
10 Nationals ParkWashington NationalsJune 21, 20121
11 Citizens Bank ParkPhiladelphia PhilliesJune 23, 20121
12 Citi FieldNew York MetsJune 24, 20121
13 Rogers CentreToronto Blue JaysMay 21, 20051
14 Cinergy FieldCincinnati RedsAugust 8, 19984
15 Yankee Stadium (sequel)New York YankeesJune 25, 20121
16 The MetrodomeMinnesota TwinsJune 22, 19923
17 Shea StadiumNew York MetsJuly 24, 20061
18 Great American Ball ParkCincinnati RedsMay 9, 20041
19 U.S. Cellular FieldChicago White SoxApril 25, 20041
Background: Prologue Memory Interlude
St. Louis was the first park on my trip. I never set foot in Busch Memorial Stadium, but I did walk outside of it in my original trip to St. Louis.
I arrived on Thursday afternoon and crashed at the downtown apartment of my friend and former co-worker Eric. He and I had a few drinks at the Irish pub that was under his apartment (convenient, that). Then we grabbed inner at a nearby restaurant. I ordered a beer... and it came out in one of those giant wine sized bottles. Needless to say, by the time we actually took the short walk to Busch Stadium I was more than a little inebriated. As such, we didn't wander around the park too much, but instead focused on the game.
Unfortunately the game was a bit dull. The Dodgers handily slapped down the Cardinals 5-1. Most of the excitement was provided by Dodgers rookie Yasiel Puig, who went 3 for 5 with a triple. I seem to recall that he did some impressive things in the outfield as well, but that may just be in my head.
The park itself is another in the series of generic ballparks from the early 2000s. However, I feel that it was better than, say, Nationals Park or Citizens Bank Park because of two main details:
1. You can see the Arch looming over the outfield walls. We were sitting on the third base line and even the bare glimpse we could get from our seats was pretty damn impressive. If I go again (and I certainly would), I'll sit in the upper deck behind home plate and be able to see the whole thing.
2. The Cardinals have won more World Series titles than any team outside the Yankees. As you'd expect, they have a ridiculous number of Hall of Famers. This translates to a really large number of statues outside the park. Stan the Man has place of pride, of course, with the famous "Here stands baseball's perfect warrior. Here stands baseball's perfect knight" quote at the base, but another ten statues are near the team store. Put them altogether and you'd have a starting nine that would stack up well against pretty much any team. It's really cool walking among this virtual forest of statues.
Cardinals fans are widely claimed to be some of the best in baseball, and the house was nearly full for the game Eric & I attended. Of course, they were bound for the playoffs, were just two years off a World Series title, and the dynamic Puig was in the park, so maybe it's not surprising that the stands were full. I will say that the Cardinals fans did not seem to be any more knowledgeable than your average Cleveland fan. Or maybe they were just as lacking in sobriety as I was!
Park Rankings
RankParkTeamFirst Visit# Visits
1 Wrigley FieldChicago CubsApril 23, 20042
2 PNC ParkPittsburgh PiratesSeptember 25, 20042
3 Jacobs FieldCleveland IndiansApril 17, 199963
4 Miller ParkMilwaukee BrewersApril 24, 20041
5 Camden YardsBaltimore OriolesJune 22, 20121
6 Yankee Stadium (original)New York YankeesJuly 28, 20061
7 Comerica ParkDetroit TigersJuly 31, 20041
8 Turner FieldAtlanta BravesMay 5, 20071
9Busch Stadium IIISt. Louis CardinalsAugust 8, 20131
10 Nationals ParkWashington NationalsJune 21, 20121
11 Citizens Bank ParkPhiladelphia PhilliesJune 23, 20121
12 Citi FieldNew York MetsJune 24, 20121
13 Rogers CentreToronto Blue JaysMay 21, 20051
14 Cinergy FieldCincinnati RedsAugust 8, 19984
15 Yankee Stadium (sequel)New York YankeesJune 25, 20121
16 The MetrodomeMinnesota TwinsJune 22, 19923
17 Shea StadiumNew York MetsJuly 24, 20061
18 Great American Ball ParkCincinnati RedsMay 9, 20041
19 U.S. Cellular FieldChicago White SoxApril 25, 20041
Background: Prologue Memory Interlude