Alex's Baseball Across America: Wrigley Field Review

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W R I G L E Y F I E L D

1908

August 10, 2011

Washington Nationals v. Chicago Cubs

7:05pm

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Chicago 4, Washington 2

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WP: Lopez (3-3, 4.78 ERA)

LP: Detwiler (1-2, 3.20 ERA)

S: Marmol (25)

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Attendance: 38,010

Time: 2:46

70 degrees, partly cloudy

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One of two classic ballparks left in the Majors, Wrigley Field was built in 1914. Only Fenway is older (1912). It’s known as the place to see a day game, and a large proportion of games played here are day games. Lights didn’t come about until 1988. Some are of the opinion that the large number of day games puts unusual strain on the players, and thus one reason why the Cubs haven’t captured a World Series title since 1908. Wrigley Field has never seen a World Series winner.

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The gates here open 2 hours prior to game time. If it’s a big game and you have a bleacher ticket, get there early! Bleacher seats are general admission and seats are first come, first serve. You also have to have a bleacher seat to get out there for BP. I had a bleacher box seat in right...a real, designated seat...and had access to the rest of the bleachers. You can even get a hot dog for a buck in the bleachers! Of course, there is also the option of taking in BP outiside the stadium...on Waveland or Sheffield Avenues.

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The Atmosphere: It’s simply a good place to take in a game. You almost feel like you back in the golden days. It’s simple. No big scoreboard to see your face on. There’s a megaphone-sounding PA system. An organ. Gary the Organist was playing at his 2000th game. Fix the team (or get rid of them) and you got a true winner here.

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The Scorecard: $2. The scorecard is wrapped in a larger magazine-type cover. That’s kinda nice because it protects it. Not crazy about the information, though...mostly ads. Empty boxes! The scoring all takes place on a single sheet. Seemed like more room than KC’s single sheet. Good card.

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The Hot Dog: Like I mentioned above, you can get a $1 in the bleachers. I went for the $5.50 dog from a grandstand area cart because it was hot off the grill, and I could get it smothered with onions. Pretty good! Had taste and some spice. Enough for the 3rd spot. Vienna Beef brand.

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The Broadcasters: They do a pretty good job. Not classic radio voices. Good coverage of the game and other things going on. I’ll go #5 for now.

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Entertainment: There is none. It’s just baseball. No complaints here. Oh, and get this...the mascot is a cub. I get it! Finally, a mascot that makes sense. Is it bear season?

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The Scorecard.

The Dog. Complete with a poppy seed bun.

Didn’t see any authentic items.

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Views from Around the Park:

Other words: You must go for a Cards/Cubs series.

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Gripes: Just one. The Cubs! But, they aren’t hurting anyone right now.

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

MLB Games Seen

14 of 31

Days

40 of 86

Driving Miles

9,527.2 of an estimated 18,735

Estimated Gallons of Gas

501 of an estimated 1,102

Hot Dogs Eaten

Too Many

States

Border Crossings

0 of 2

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

(AFTER 13 OF 30 GAMES)

Runs

123 of 249

Hits

234 of 512

Errors

19 of 36

Home Runs

31 of 65

Doubles

47 of 101

Triples

6 of 10

Sacrifices (Hits & Flies)

12 of 31

Strikeouts

202 of 415

Walks

76 of 189

Home Team Wins

8 of 17

(Home Team broke a 3 game losing streak)

Complete Games

0 of 1

Shutouts

1 of 2

Saves

7 of 15

Blown Saves

1 of 7

Balks

1 of 2

Wild Pitches

4 of 19

Hit Batters

3 of 18

Walk-offs

0 of 2

Stolen Bases

14 of 40

Caught Stealing

7 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. Target Field, Minneapolis

4. Wrigley Field, Chicago

5. Safeco Field, Seattle

6. Minute Maid Park, Houston

7. Chase Field, Phoenix

8. Coors Field, Denver

9. Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, Arlington

10. Kauffman Stadium, Kansas City

11. Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles

12. Angel Stadium of Anaheim, Anaheim

13. The Coliseum, Oakland

The Atmosphere

1. AT&T Park, San Francisco

2. Target Field, Minneapolis

3. PETCO Park, San Diego

4. Wrigley Field, Chicago

5. Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, Arlington

The Crowd

1. AT&T Park, San Francisco

2. Target Field, Minneapolis

3. Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, Arlington

4. Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles

5. Angel Stadium of Anaheim, Anaheim

The Scorecard

1. Target Field, Minneapolis

2. AT&T Park, San Francisco

3. Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, Arlington

4. Minute Maid Park, Houston

5. Safeco Field, Seattle

The Hot Dog

1. Coors Field, Denver

2. AT&T Park, San Francisco

3. Wrigley Field, Chicago

4. Safeco Field, Seattle

5. Target Field, Minneapolis

The Broadcasters

1. Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles

2. AT&T Park, San Francisco

3. Target Field, Minneapolis

4. The Coliseum, Oakland

5. Wrigley Field, Chicago

W R I G L E Y F I E L D

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C H I C A G O , I L L I N O I S

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H O M E O F T H E C U B S

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The game featured two non-contenders, the Cubs and the Nationals. The Nationals had the early lead, so things were looking up. Eventually, the long ball took over and the Cubs managed to get the win. When the Cubs actually do pull out a win, they play the most annoying song at the end of the game (that is my completely unbiased opinion).

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The Crowd: A smaller than usual Wrigley crowd. About 10% under capacity. They root for their team. They do sing “Take Me Out To The Ballgame” with enthusiasm--it’s very traditional here. They just sing the wrong words! Or word. No scorecards. No radios.

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The Stadium: Like I said, it’s a classic. Ivy on the brick outfield walls. Huge manual scoreboard in dead center. Lots of bleacher seats. Great location! There’s a ton of places to go in Wrigleyville. You can even watch the game outside the stadium on rooftops. Personally, I think these have become over commercialized. Now, you just pay a bunch of money for a seat 500 feet or more away. Statues surround the stadium...Ernie, Harry, Billy, and now Ron (unveiled today).

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Caray’s statue.

BP from the bleachers.

Rooftop seating on Waveland.

The sign. It will soon read “AC0366103”. Love it!

Sheffield.

Ernie. Great player. Unfortunate nickname.

I chose to sit out here because I’ve been here several times and never sat out in the bleacher area. Though these were not true bleachers seats, I liked ‘em.

Into the basket gets you a homerun.

Waveland.

Waiting for a ball to fly out.

Every stadium needs one of these. In fact, every home needs one of these. I think they need to go ahead and make it bigger...only enough room for 12 games. The NL standings are the flags on top.