Alex's Baseball Across America: Kauffman Stadium Review

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K A U F F M A N

S T A D I U M

August 6, 2011

Detroit Tigers v. Kansas City Royals

6:10pm

Detroit 4, Kansas City 3

WP: Verlander (16-5, 2.30 ERA)

LP: Duffy (3-5, 5.08 ERA)

S: Valverde (32)

Attendance: 25,818

Time: 2:58

92 degrees, clear

Kauffmann Stadium sits off I-70 adjacent to Arrowhead Stadium. It played host to Game 6 of the 1985 World Series. There were other games, but that was “the” game. There is nothing around the stadium but a parking lot. Kansas City will host the All-Star Game in 2012. Thus, quite a few renovations have taken place to spiffy the stadium up. It really looks good. New seats. New scoreboard. New “premium areas” to watch the game from.

The website said the gates open 1-1/2 hours prior to game time. I was there about 1:50 prior and they were open. Good day to not get there too early and sit outside because it was hot. You can go wherever you want for BP...you just have to bake in the sun if you want to try for a ball. Parking is easy and $10.

The Atmosphere: It was better than I thought it would be. KC has been in the cellar for years now. Maybe it was my seat, maybe it’s the All-Star Game coming up, or maybe some people like a little baseball here. It won’t crack the top 5, though.

The Scorecard: $1. Single sheet but it is a card. Has a diamond in it...urggg. All on a single page so it’s almost to small to write on...even for me! You have to ask for it at one of the souvenir kiosks. Last year, they had guys selling them. They aren’t advertised AT ALL now. Neither are programs...I assume they have those.

The Hot Dog: I had eaten at Arthur Bryant’s prior to the game. Couple that with the 90+ degree heat and I wasn’t in the mood for more fat, but I managed one anyway. Just not a jumbo. Farmland is the brand. $4.75. I went to a cart. They grill it, then stow it away...just keep it on the grill! They had onions, but I passed because they were mixed in with bell peppers and other items. The dog really had no taste. No spice. Downer. The only plus is that they actually call them “Hot Dogs” here. They do have a couple carts called “Dugout Dog” where you can get them dressed in various ways.

The Broadcasters: Good call. Good radio voices. Allowed you to easily follow the game. I didn’t make any notes on them, so they must not have messed up too much.

Entertainment: Farmland hot dog launch, where they throw out free dogs. Not worth sacrificing your body for if you ask me. They have a hot dog race on the field. There’s really only one place where processed meats should race, and that’s Milwaukee. Their mascot is a lion with a crown. I get the crown, but not the lion. Oh, and they have a St. Louis equivalent to “That One Guy”. Except his name reads “Lion Tamer”. Not sure how these people get these jobs.

Of note, I was listening to “Handel on the Law” during my drive today, and he talked about the Kansas City Royals getting sued. They got sued because during the hot dog launch, Sluggerrr the mascot flinged a dog behind his back, and it hit a man in the eye and lead to a detached retina. Handel thought “it’s a damn good case”. He goes on to say, “And why would you want to go to a Kansas City Royals game anyway? I hear they’re a pretty crappy team. Not that I like sports.” I just got a kick out of it. For anyone interested, it’s from the February 12, 2011, show entitled “Lucky It Wasn’t A Cool-A-Coo”.

Dick Howser, former manager.

They do have some authentic items. I’ll call back and see if I can get a ball from this game. I did get one from a game I went to last year.

Views from Around the Park:

Other words: Go Cards!

Gripes: Bad location. That’s really it.

S T A T I S T I C S U P D A T E

MLB Games Seen

12 of 31

Days

36 of 86

Driving Miles

8,852.2 of an estimated 18,735

Estimated Gallons of Gas

466 of an estimated 1,102

Hot Dogs Eaten

11 of 30

States

Border Crossings

0 of 2

P R E D I C T I O N S U P D A T E

(AFTER 11 OF 30 GAMES)

Runs

103 of 249

Hits

190 of 512

Errors

15 of 36

Home Runs

24 of 65

Doubles

37 of 101

13 doubles in the last 2 games!

Triples

5 of 10

Sacrifices (Hits & Flies)

10 of 31

Strikeouts

172 of 415

Walks

72 of 189

Home Team Wins

7 of 17

Complete Games

0 of 1

Shutouts

1 of 2

Saves

6 of 15

Blown Saves

0 of 7

Balks

1 of 2

Wild Pitches

4 of 19

Hit Batters

3 of 18

Walk-offs

0 of 2

Stolen Bases

13 of 40

Caught Stealing

5 of 15

Ejections

1 of 4

Smallest Crowd

18,640

The Coliseum, Oakland

July 27th, Tampa Bay v. Oakland

Largest Crowd

44,111

Angel Stadium of Anaheim, Anaheim

July 9th, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim v. Seattle

B A L L P A R K R A N K I N G S

The Stadium

1. PETCO Park, San Diego

2. AT&T Park, San Francisco

3. Safeco Field, Seattle

4. Minute Maid Park, Houston

5. Chase Field, Phoenix

6. Coors Field, Denver

7. Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, Arlington

8. Kauffman Stadium, Kansas City

9. Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles

10. Angel Stadium of Anaheim, Anaheim

11. The Coliseum, Oakland

The Atmosphere

1. AT&T Park, San Francisco

2. PETCO Park, San Diego

3. Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, Arlington

4. Safeco Field, Seattle

5. Angel Stadium of Anaheim, Anaheim

The Crowd

1. AT&T Park, San Francisco

2. Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, Arlington

3. Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles

4. Angel Stadium of Anaheim, Anaheim

5. PETCO Park, San Diego

The Scorecard

1. AT&T Park, San Francisco

2. Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, Arlington

3. Minute Maid Park, Houston

4. Safeco Field, Seattle

5. Coors Field, Denver

The Hot Dog

1. Coors Field, Denver

2. AT&T Park, San Francisco

3. Safeco Field, Seattle

4. Minute Maid Park, Houston

5. Chase Field, Phoenix

The Broadcasters

1. Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles

2. AT&T Park, San Francisco

3. The Coliseum, Oakland

4. Safeco Field, Seattle

5. Kauffman Stadium, Kansas City

K A U F F M A N S T A D I U M

K A N S A S C I T Y , M I S S O U R I

H O M E O F T H E R O Y A L S

Not a bad game. The first-place Tigers and the last-place Royals gave us a 4-3 game, with the Royals in the loss column. Verlander won it for the Tigers, boasting his 16th win and a 2.30 ERA. I had the second best seat I’ve ever had at a MLB game tonight. I was in the fifth row behind home plate, the first row of the non-exclusive seats. Hard to beat for less than 50 bucks.

The Crowd: I thought there was more than the 25,000 posted. Just a typical crowd for the most part. No scorekeepers. No radios. The guy next to me asked, “What does ‘IP’ stand for on the pitcher stats in left field?” You’re at the fifth row of a Major League Baseball game...study before you come. I did answer the question. There was an obvious error that was ruled a hit. We then had a good discussion on that play, and the guy was right...it was an error! The “official” scorekeeper was wrong.

The Stadium: It’s a unique stadium in terms of its style. It has a unique scoreboard in center. I mentioned some of the changes they made above, and it looks a lot better than it did in the past. I wouldn’t consider this a “great” place to watch baseball, but “good”. There is nothing around it at all. How will they do all the other All-Star festivities next year? I assume those will be downtown somewhere, so you’ll be stuck driving back-and-forth.

All-Star ads are everyone, as is the merchandise.

The cardinal feature of the stadium is the scoreboard. It was Armed Forces Day and that’s Gen. Richard B. Myers talking. KC did a good job with this.

George.

Frank White.