Game 21 - New York Yankees

On Monday night, a group of 11 of us headed to the Bronx to catch the Yankees play the Indians. Joining us would be my Uncle Mike, his fiance Karen, my buddies Jason, Derek and his friend Chris, and former co-workers and friends Dave, Rob and his wife Jackie. Unfortunately, we would all be sitting in different areas, but the positive was that all of our seats were incredible. Check out the seats my former boss got for my parents and Uncle mike and Karen. You can see my Mom in the middle of the picture next to the dugout. Before they settled into these great seats, they stuffed themselves with steak, crab legs, and dessert in the Legend Suite! My Mom also said she made eye contact with Derek Jeter in the dugout...I think nearly every woman in New York can make the same claim.

Derek, Chris, Jason and I sat up in the Delta Suite right behind home plate. A former business partner of mine was nice enough to give us his season tickets, and they were great. 

And we got great seats from the Yankees for Rob, Dave, and Jackie, 17 rows off the field, right behind the visitor dugout!

Rob, Dave, and I worked together for several years and they have become great friends. I couldn't have asked for better guys to work along side, and I really appreciated them taking the time to come to the game and visit with us. And it was great to meet Jackie, who recently completed her first marathon and is hooked!

From the outside, Yankee Stadium was as impressive as the new Marlins Park. Inside, I thought it was a bit bland, but the suite areas we were in were first class. Of course, my Dad had to give the stadium a great rating because he was sitting in seats usually reserved for Mayor Bloomberg. 

Pros: Great team, beautiful suites, friendly personnel, historic feel

Cons: Lack of color, or attractions in stadium. Bland feel.

I also wanted to take the time to thank my Uncle Mike and his fiance Karen for making the trip to New York for the game. I know it was a lot of work to fly out for such a quick trip, but my Dad really enjoyed getting to spend time with you and it is something he will never forget. I hope you guys feel the same.

-JJS

Game 20 - New York Mets

On Sunday, Jeanette and I toured Times Square and Central Park. It was Jeanette's first time in the city, so it was fun to show her as much of New York as we could fit into 24 hours. We had tickets to the Subway Series, Mets vs. Yankees, later that night at Citi Field, so our time spent with the Naked Cowboy in Times Square would have to be cut short.

We decided to take a cab to Flushing instead of the subway so it would be easier for my Dad and it ended up being a great decision. We arrived about an hour before game time to wait in the will call line for our tickets. We ran into Spike Lee, who was waiting in the same line, and we were nice enough to take a picture with him.

We secured our tickets, told Spike we would see him later, and headed into the park to meetup with my parents' friends, Bill and Ruth Yu. They were in town for a conference and we were going to catch up with them at Citi Field. My parents, Jeanette and I really enjoyed chatting with them for a few innings. 

As excited as we were to see Citi Field, we may have been more pumped to have our first Shake Shack experience. We waited in line for nearly an hour, but it was worth every minute of it. Burgers, fries, and black and white shakes for everybody...

We really liked Citi Field. It had arguably the best food options of all the ballparks we have visited and the center field area was great. The views from virtually every place in the park are great and Big Jim liked what he saw. The problem with Citi Field is the neighborhood surrounding the park. There isn't much to do once you leave Citi other than hop in a cab or jump in a subway. 

Pros: Food, views from all areas in the park, expansive layout

Cons: Surrounding neighborhood.

Some pictures of our day in New York.

She's a juicer!

Snakes on a plane!

Game 19 - Philadelphia Phillies

The morning following the Baltimore game, we raced towards Philadelphia to make the 4:00 game. A friend of Jason and mine, Drew Vicary, had a connection to Ben Zobrist, the second baseman for the Tampa Bay Rays and he was able to get us passes to get on the field for batting practice. Getting on the field turned out to be one of the coolest experiences we have had on the trip. Zobrist couldn't have been a nicer guy, and he chatted with us for awhile around the cages and even confessed to tracking the blog. I immediately felt terrible for ripping apart Tropicana Field in Tampa, but I only write one way, and that's with an pen guided by honest emotions my friends. Zobrist gave us a few batting practice balls and signed one for my Nephew, Sam. Joe Maddon, the coach of the Rays, was nice enough to come over and meet my Dad and spend a few minutes with him. He really was a great guy, and both he and Ben will be people I will root for going forward.

Things got a little weird once we found the press room...

Honestly, after getting on the field for BP, we were riding a high and looking to continue our string of good luck at the cheese steak stand. This is where things went a little bit south. I was expecting a proper philly cheese steak, and they couldn't deliver. Big Jim wasn't happy about this, and it cost Philly a Big Jim:

Pros: New, open ballpark, easy parking and friendly staff.
Cons: Sub par cheese steak, ballpark food wasn't great.

-JJS

Game 18 - Baltimore Orioles

After a great time in Cleveland, My Mom, Dad, Jeanette and I made the six hour drive to Baltimore to visit Camden Yards. My good buddy, and former roommate, Jason Stroud would be meeting us in Baltimore for the next several games. My former boss is from Baltimore, and he was able to get us some great seats, as well as a parking pass, so we parked the rig right next to the stadium. There was a 45 minute rain delay to start the game, so we toured the park and ordered the largest pork sandwich I had ever seen (see below).

Immediately, we knew this stadium was special. The outfield area surrounding the park was awesome, with an open, airy feel to it. The mix of old the old warehouse embedded in a new ballpark created a unique feel to the park, and I have to say it was my favorite park so far. The food choices, surrounding attractions, and ballpark views created one of the best ballpark experiences we have had. The rain tried to dampen our mood, but we wouldn't let it. I'm a bit tougher than Jason and Jeanette, so I opted to ride out the rain without a poncho. They both made a sprint for the gift shop as soon as it started spitting, and it only took them three innings to realize the ponchos had arm holes...

Big Jim had nothing but love for Camden Yards, and it had five Big Jim's written all over it:

Pros: Everything. Food, ballpark feel, warehouse attraction, surrounding attractions.

Cons: The only knock on the ballpark was that you couldn't watch the game as you walked around the 100 level concourse. This is a big pet peeve of Jim's, but it wasn't enough to move him to four Big Jim territory.

-JJS