22. Marlins Park
After our trip to Tampa Bay, my family drove down from our free house in Orlando to Miami. Our destination was Marlins Park, which had opened a scant two years earlier and was still as of our visit (and as of this writing) the newest park in Major League Baseball. It is a long drive from Orlando to Miami, so our plan was to make the trip do double-duty by visiting two of my father's aunts in the Fort Lauderdale area on the way back.
First though, was Miami. I had never been there previously, but I liked what I saw in our brief visit. Unfortunately, the abbreviated time span of the trip did not let us explore the city much beyond the our hotel and the ballpark. As we came into the city we saw the Marlins old park, Joe Robbie Stadium (or one of another dozen names its had, you pick) off the interstate. That one had been a 1980s multipurpose stadium without a roof that housed the expansion Marlins from 1993 to 2011, including both World Series titles. Among the lessons the Marlins learned in the intervening years was that Miami's hot and humid conditions made a roof advisable. They'd also seen the wave of new baseball-stadiums built in the intervening years and of course wanted those amenities.
Marlins Park delivered the goods. Depending which source you read, the money was raised in ways that hosed the taxpayers, but it must be admitted that while the financing may have been ugly, the park itself is absolutely gorgeous. Instead of following the retro style so popular for the last many years, Marlins Park is the first park built in a new style dubbed contemporary, and it is indeed unlike any other park I have ever been in.
The contemporary style manifests in a vaguely organic feel, with lots of rounded edges. The colors and shapes invoke Miami's art deco, while still feeling modern. Most parks have two or maybe there colors. Miami mixes several of them interesting ways, supposedly inspired by Marlins owner Jeff Loria's background as an art dealer and his love for Joan Miró. Walkways outside the stadium were designed by Carlos Cruz-Diaz, a noted artist. Apparently there's also a lot of sculpture around the park, although I don't recall seeing any.
Like several other parks, it has one of the big retractable roofs that roll off and on. This allows them to air condition the park prior to games. As if the roof isn't enough, there are also large retractable windows along the top to allow views of the city when the weather is good. You can see the field perfectly from basically every step of the main concourse. If there's any complaint about the overall look of the park it is that it almost feels like an alien spaceship landed in the Little Havana neighborhood. It is surrounded by small homes; we ourselves paid a small fee to park in somebody's driveway a scant block and a half away from the park, which is on the site of the old Orange Bowl.
From our seats near the junction of the third base line and the left field fence we could not see the aquariums behind home plate, but we could see the giant ridiculously awesome statue in the outfield that moves whenever the Marlins hit a home run. My hope was that we'd get to see that at least once, but we were in luck. That night the Marlins put on a power show with four separate home runs providing most of the Marlins offense. Rising star (and future highest paid MLB player in history) Giancarlo Stanton hit two home runs, and his less heralded teammate Garret Jones hit two more. They even went back to back in the seventh inning. The home run feature went nuts, with animatronic fish and fountains going everywhere.
Sadly for the Marlins, all that power wasn't enough as they fell to the Brewers in a 9-5. The Brewers had three homers of their own, two by Mark Reynolds. It was the first MLB game in three years to feature three players hitting two home runs apiece, and it was the most home runs hit in the brief history of Marlins Park.
In other interesting notes, the Marlins have an NBA style dance team that would perform along the baseline between innings. That is not something I've ever seen at a MLB game before, and it being Miami every man and woman in the dance squad was ridiculously attractive. I'm not sure anyone really noticed though. Whether it is lingering local dismay over the payroll cuts the Marlins put in place after the park opened, or anger over the way the park was funded, or something else, the place felt very empty for a Friday night game. Even the fancy nightclub (including a pool) in the outfield seemed to be empty. We scalped our tickets from a guy outside, and if we didn't pay a measly four bucks, we certainly paid far, far less than face for some very good seats. I can certainly appreciate why someone might not want to support the team if they felt betrayed, but they can at least be assured that the money spent on the park helped create one of the very best parks in baseball. For baseball fans, it is absolutely worth taking a trip to Miami just to see it.
This article was pre-recorded; I am on vacation.
Park Rankings
RankParkTeamFirst Visit# Visits
1Marlins ParkMiami MarlinsMay 23, 20141
2 Wrigley FieldChicago CubsApril 23, 20042
3 PNC ParkPittsburgh PiratesSeptember 25, 20042
4 Jacobs FieldCleveland IndiansApril 17, 199963
5 Miller ParkMilwaukee BrewersApril 24, 20041
6 Camden YardsBaltimore OriolesJune 22, 20121
7 Kauffman StadiumKansas City RoyalsJune 9, 20131
8 Yankee Stadium (original)New York YankeesJuly 28, 20061
9 Comerica ParkDetroit TigersJuly 31, 20041
10 Turner FieldAtlanta BravesMay 5, 20071
11 Busch Stadium IIISt. Louis CardinalsAugust 8, 20131
12 Nationals ParkWashington NationalsJune 21, 20121
13 Citizens Bank ParkPhiladelphia PhilliesJune 23, 20121
14 Citi FieldNew York MetsJune 24, 20121
15 Rogers CentreToronto Blue JaysMay 21, 20051
16 Cinergy FieldCincinnati RedsAugust 8, 19984
17 Yankee Stadium (sequel)New York YankeesJune 25, 20121
18 The MetrodomeMinnesota TwinsJune 22, 19923
19 Shea StadiumNew York MetsJuly 24, 20061
20 Great American Ball ParkCincinnati RedsMay 9, 20041
21 U.S. Cellular FieldChicago White SoxApril 25, 20041
22 Tropicana FieldTampa Bay RaysMay 21, 20141
Background: Prologue Memory Interlude
First though, was Miami. I had never been there previously, but I liked what I saw in our brief visit. Unfortunately, the abbreviated time span of the trip did not let us explore the city much beyond the our hotel and the ballpark. As we came into the city we saw the Marlins old park, Joe Robbie Stadium (or one of another dozen names its had, you pick) off the interstate. That one had been a 1980s multipurpose stadium without a roof that housed the expansion Marlins from 1993 to 2011, including both World Series titles. Among the lessons the Marlins learned in the intervening years was that Miami's hot and humid conditions made a roof advisable. They'd also seen the wave of new baseball-stadiums built in the intervening years and of course wanted those amenities.
Marlins Park delivered the goods. Depending which source you read, the money was raised in ways that hosed the taxpayers, but it must be admitted that while the financing may have been ugly, the park itself is absolutely gorgeous. Instead of following the retro style so popular for the last many years, Marlins Park is the first park built in a new style dubbed contemporary, and it is indeed unlike any other park I have ever been in.
The contemporary style manifests in a vaguely organic feel, with lots of rounded edges. The colors and shapes invoke Miami's art deco, while still feeling modern. Most parks have two or maybe there colors. Miami mixes several of them interesting ways, supposedly inspired by Marlins owner Jeff Loria's background as an art dealer and his love for Joan Miró. Walkways outside the stadium were designed by Carlos Cruz-Diaz, a noted artist. Apparently there's also a lot of sculpture around the park, although I don't recall seeing any.
Like several other parks, it has one of the big retractable roofs that roll off and on. This allows them to air condition the park prior to games. As if the roof isn't enough, there are also large retractable windows along the top to allow views of the city when the weather is good. You can see the field perfectly from basically every step of the main concourse. If there's any complaint about the overall look of the park it is that it almost feels like an alien spaceship landed in the Little Havana neighborhood. It is surrounded by small homes; we ourselves paid a small fee to park in somebody's driveway a scant block and a half away from the park, which is on the site of the old Orange Bowl.
From our seats near the junction of the third base line and the left field fence we could not see the aquariums behind home plate, but we could see the giant ridiculously awesome statue in the outfield that moves whenever the Marlins hit a home run. My hope was that we'd get to see that at least once, but we were in luck. That night the Marlins put on a power show with four separate home runs providing most of the Marlins offense. Rising star (and future highest paid MLB player in history) Giancarlo Stanton hit two home runs, and his less heralded teammate Garret Jones hit two more. They even went back to back in the seventh inning. The home run feature went nuts, with animatronic fish and fountains going everywhere.
Sadly for the Marlins, all that power wasn't enough as they fell to the Brewers in a 9-5. The Brewers had three homers of their own, two by Mark Reynolds. It was the first MLB game in three years to feature three players hitting two home runs apiece, and it was the most home runs hit in the brief history of Marlins Park.
In other interesting notes, the Marlins have an NBA style dance team that would perform along the baseline between innings. That is not something I've ever seen at a MLB game before, and it being Miami every man and woman in the dance squad was ridiculously attractive. I'm not sure anyone really noticed though. Whether it is lingering local dismay over the payroll cuts the Marlins put in place after the park opened, or anger over the way the park was funded, or something else, the place felt very empty for a Friday night game. Even the fancy nightclub (including a pool) in the outfield seemed to be empty. We scalped our tickets from a guy outside, and if we didn't pay a measly four bucks, we certainly paid far, far less than face for some very good seats. I can certainly appreciate why someone might not want to support the team if they felt betrayed, but they can at least be assured that the money spent on the park helped create one of the very best parks in baseball. For baseball fans, it is absolutely worth taking a trip to Miami just to see it.
This article was pre-recorded; I am on vacation.
Park Rankings
RankParkTeamFirst Visit# Visits
1Marlins ParkMiami MarlinsMay 23, 20141
2 Wrigley FieldChicago CubsApril 23, 20042
3 PNC ParkPittsburgh PiratesSeptember 25, 20042
4 Jacobs FieldCleveland IndiansApril 17, 199963
5 Miller ParkMilwaukee BrewersApril 24, 20041
6 Camden YardsBaltimore OriolesJune 22, 20121
7 Kauffman StadiumKansas City RoyalsJune 9, 20131
8 Yankee Stadium (original)New York YankeesJuly 28, 20061
9 Comerica ParkDetroit TigersJuly 31, 20041
10 Turner FieldAtlanta BravesMay 5, 20071
11 Busch Stadium IIISt. Louis CardinalsAugust 8, 20131
12 Nationals ParkWashington NationalsJune 21, 20121
13 Citizens Bank ParkPhiladelphia PhilliesJune 23, 20121
14 Citi FieldNew York MetsJune 24, 20121
15 Rogers CentreToronto Blue JaysMay 21, 20051
16 Cinergy FieldCincinnati RedsAugust 8, 19984
17 Yankee Stadium (sequel)New York YankeesJune 25, 20121
18 The MetrodomeMinnesota TwinsJune 22, 19923
19 Shea StadiumNew York MetsJuly 24, 20061
20 Great American Ball ParkCincinnati RedsMay 9, 20041
21 U.S. Cellular FieldChicago White SoxApril 25, 20041
22 Tropicana FieldTampa Bay RaysMay 21, 20141
Background: Prologue Memory Interlude