Part I
Summer is here, and for me, that means one thing—baseball. Nothing beats spending a few hours on a warm summer afternoon at a ballpark watching a game and connecting with friends over beer, peanuts, and crackerjack.
In our U.S. travels, we love visiting ballparks because they give us a chance to learn a little bit more about local sports history, food, traditions, and even get a glimpse into the city’s character. To date, we've been to 10 major league ballparks but have plans to visit all 30 one day. Today’s post is the first in our “baseball stadium” series describing the venues we visited.
1. Wrigley Field, Chicago
The only logical place to start describing our baseball travels is the place where it all began. Back in 2004, shortly after I emigrated to the U.S., I visited Wrigley Field for the first time. I didn't know the rules of the game, but was fascinated by this strange sport with bats and gloves, and wanted to learn all about it. Wrigley Field on Chicago's north side was the fitting place for that. In 1914, when it opened, one in every four Chicago residents was foreign-born, and Wrigley was that melting pot where immigrants from different countries connected and learned about the new game and the new country. Julia, who grew up in the U.S. and knew the basic rules of baseball, took me to see the Cubs one afternoon and explained the game to me. And that started many years of visiting Wrigley, rooting for the Cubs, and embarking on other baseball adventures: from cheering on minor league River Bandits in Davenport, Iowa, to perusing the exhibits at the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame in Tokyo.
Planted in the middle of a residential neighborhood, Wrigley Field is one of Chicago's best attractions. The Cubs may suck, but the stadium never disappoints. From the old-time manual scoreboard to the green ivy-covered outfield, from rooftop seating outside the stadium to the raucous crowd in bleachers waving the W flag after victories, Wrigley has it all. This is the best place to learn about the team's history, including the Billy Goat Curse, the Steve Bartman incident, and its 108-year championship drought. While it's possible to take a tour of the facility, the best way to experience Wrigley Field is to catch a game at this iconic venue. Go Cubs Go!
2. Guaranteed Rate Field, Chicago
Surprisingly, after living in the Chicagoland area for nearly 20 years, I've visited the White Sox stadium only 3 or 4 times. It's probably because watching a game at a rival’s stadium is simply undesirable on some level. A former co-worker, after finding out I was a Cubs fan, was sincerely puzzled, noting that I should support the Sox, the blue-collar team with the ballpark located where many immigrants had settled, rather than the overpriced Cubs playing in the affluent Lakeview. There is probably some truth to that, but you don’t switch alliances after committing to one team. Nor do I want to.
The White Sox's stadium that recently changed one ugly name for another (bring back Comiskey Park!) is one of the first things people see when they drive into the city from the east. The ballpark is home to a storied franchise with championships to its name and appalling scandals, including the throwing of the 1919 World Series. For those who visit Chicago and can’t find tickets to the Cubs, Guaranteed Rate presents a cheaper alternative to catch a game in Chi-Town and a chance to cheer on President Obama’s favorite team.
3. American Family Park, Milwaukee
I've been to plenty of games at American Family Park (formerly Miller Park), and most of them were Cubs-Brewers matchups. For many Chicagoans, visiting American Family Park is often a cheaper option than attending a game at Wrigley. The I-94 rivalry attracts Cubs fans who invade Milwaukee and its ballpark. Just a short time ago, when the Brewers lacked a good team, Brewers home games felt more like Cubs home games, with the stadium turning temporarily into Wrigley Field-North. Now, Milwaukee has a decent team featuring the League MVP, Christian Yelich, and has won the NL Central Division twice in the last four years. As a result, local fans show up even when the despicable Cubs are in town. On the days when the Brewers don't play the Cubs, tickets are always available, and the ballpark is a fun place to catch a game. Beer, bratwursts, and cheese curds—Wisconsin’s major league ballpark presents a one-stop shop for the best Wisconsin can offer. The fans are entertained by the team mascot Bernie Brewer, a brewer with a fluffy yellow mustache, racing sausages, and the “Roll Out the Barrel” song played during the seventh-inning stretch. The stadium’s retractable roof also comes in handy, especially early in the season during the unpredictable Wisconsin weather.
4. Busch Stadium, St. Louis
Named after the Anheuser-Busch Brewery located just two miles from the ballpark, Busch Stadium is home to one of the most successful baseball franchises—the Cardinals. The stadium is filled with history and championships. As Cubs fans, we were in the enemy’s territory, but it was still exciting to walk around the venue, read plaques about the most notable Cardinals games, and take pictures next to the statues of the Cardinals' legends. Before the game, we also browsed the gift shop, and Julia burst out laughing when, at the end of our visit, she saw me walking up to the cash register carrying a book about the Cardinals’ greatest players. She mocked me through the rest of the day, joking that I didn't deserve to wear my Cubs T-shirt.
Inside, we walked around the stadium a bit, grabbed a quick bite, and sampled local beers (not Budweiser). It was a perfect day for baseball, but unfortunately, the Cubs decided not to show up. Sitting high up in the infield terrace on a beautiful summer day, we witnessed our team getting slaughtered on the field. And when it was too painful to look at, we just gazed over the stadium, enjoying the views of St. Louis downtown and the Gateway Arch.
5. Kauffman Stadium, Kansas City
Kansas City was everything you could ask for in a baseball trip. Our first stop in the city was the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. Located at the intersection of 18th Street and Vine Street, right by the American Jazz Museum, the museum is a “must” for learning about the Jim Crow era and baseball in segregated America. It is now a part of the U.S. Civil Rights Trail and tells stories of early pioneers and unsung heroes of the game, who were not allowed to play in the majors due to the color of their skin. The museum visit revealed an additional layer of U.S. history that we were barely aware of.
Because Kansas City is one of the barbecue hotspots in the country, we tried to eat barbecue in as many places as possible. Kauffman Stadium was no exception. As the Royals and the White Sox prepared to take the field, we were in our seats, munching on delicious burnt ends (cuts from smoked brisket), a traditional part of Kansas City barbecue. The most striking feature of Kauffman Stadium was the fountain and waterfall display behind the right-field fence, beautifully lit in the evening.
