Alex's Baseball Across America: Turner Field Review

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T U R N E R F I E L D

September 18, 2011

New York Mets v. Atlanta Braves

1:35pm

New York 7, Atlanta 5

WP: Byrdak (2-0, 2.89 ERA)

LP: Venters (6-2, 2.71 ERA)

S: Acosta (2)

Attendance: 39,862

Time: 3:18

71 degrees, sunny

Turner Field was built as Centennial Olympic Stadium in 1996. After the Olympics, it went from an 85,000 seat stadium to the 50,000 seat baseball stadium it is today. The Braves first season here was 1997. The Braves have been compared to the Cowboys in terms of their nationwide popularity, and in the past, has been known as “America’s Team”. However, their streak of division winners ended in 2005, and TBS stopped carrying the team in 2007 so their exposure is much less now, not only across the country but across the South.

The Braves are in the NL Wild Card lead. They’ve stumbled lately and allowed both the Cardinals and the Giants to get back in the game. I was all about the Mets today! The Mets broke out to a 4-1 lead but gave it up pretty quick. The Braves eventually took the lead, but Venters produced the best blown save of the trip and the Mets held on for a 7-5 victory. The Braves now have the Cardinals 3-1/2 games behind them and the Giants 4 games back.

The Atmosphere: It’s okay here. This was my second time here, and there was not a big buzz around the place either time. I’ve commented on poor attendance figures for the Braves despite their playoff push. They did manage almost 40,000 today and had over 46,000 present on Saturday. I guess you just have to be a Braves fan to get into it here. I just don’t get that feeling when I come here, whatever that feeling is. The “it” that Fenway has, that Busch has, that Target surprisingly had.

The Scorecard: They have program stands all around, but they are empty! You have to go to a souvenir kiosk and give them $1 for a pseudoscorecard. They literally tear it off like a sheet of notebook paper. It has minimal thickness. No diamonds, which is good, but the boxes are small. Single page format. If you’re gonna make a scorecard, go ahead and make a real one. It’s really just one big Coke ad.

The Hot Dog: Hebrew National is the brand here, so you know they are good. There are some stands where you can get different toppings, but I wanted the basic. I got the “Jumbo Hot Dog”, although technically I don’t think it’s a “Jumbo”. I’d call it a “Foot Long”. A “Jumbo” is a fat hot dog, not a skinny one. The regular dog is essentially just a shorter version of the “Jumbo”. Hebrew National taste and spice which is good. They are all grilled.

The Broadcasters: They call it on 680AM...the same as the Giants, so I didn’t even have to change my radio station. Not classic radio voices. They did call the game just fine, though. They had an odd discussion about how no one throws the curve anymore because umps won’t call it for a strike. Not sure I was following them real well, but they talked about it for a long time. It almost bordered on the Indians’ broadcaster’s obsession with the game starting with the threat of rain.

Entertainment: Routine see-yourself-on-the-scoreboard-and-wave stuff. They shoot t-shirts out of several loud canons. They have a “Tool Race” where tools race along the outfield track. I assume it is sponsored by the Home Depot. It was actually kind of funny. The mascot is essentially the same as Mr. Met, except he’s in a Braves uniform and is named “Homer”.

What you get when you ask the person next to you for an extra piece of paper.

Did not see any game-used items, but I honestly didn’t look hard since I had caught my souvenir.

Other Views:

Other words: I’ll be keeping a close eye on the Braves the next few days. After reading this, you may think I hate this place and hate the Braves, but I really don’t. I was all about the Braves in the early to mid-90s, just like everyone else. I remember watching Sid slide into home as Barry Bonds tried to throw him out. Was he really safe?

Gripes: Get a real scorecard. Oh, and fans...show up! You just might make the postseason...get out there and enjoy it while you can...

T U R N E R F I E L D

A T L A N T A , G E O R G I A

H O M E O F T H E B R A V E S

The outfield gate opens 2-1/2 hours prior to game time, and you can hangout in the outfield to take in batting practice. At 2 hours prior, you can go anywhere. All teams should do this, but only a few do (Philadelphia, Atlanta, San Diego...there might be someone else). It allows you to see most of the home team’s BP, as oppose to the very end of it or none of it. I was their right at the time the gates opened and went and stood in left field (Section 140, Row 17, Seat 1 to be exact). I stood there with my glove and didn’t move. Some balls came within 10 feet or so but not close enough to really go after. Just as the Braves were about to finish, #36 Mike Minor randomly threw one into the stands. It went through at least four pairs of hands and landed in my glove. #5! Not to mention, 2 parks in a row! [Note: The side trip to San Francisco does not count.]

The Crowd: 39,000+, which is decent, but why not a sell out? You’re only a number of wins from getting back into the postseason. Moderate noise. When the music plays, they do the chop. When the music stops, they stop. Back in the day, all you could hear on TV was that chant. I just haven’t been impressed with the Turner Field faithful over their last few postseason runs...they don’t show up! I’d have no problem placing a bet stating they will not sell out their Division Series games (if they make it), which is sad...it’s postseason baseball. On the radio, they said they are even waiving the “Print At Home” ticket fee for the rest of the season and postseason. As a side note, all teams should get rid of that stupid fee...you pay $2.75 to print your own ticket at home. The ticket you already bought. The ticket they don’t have to print.

The Stadium: As mentioned above, it was the Olympic Stadium for the 1996 Summer Olympics and then transformed into Turner Field. It is a baseball only stadium. The stadium to me actually looks older than its stated age. The seats are incredibly faded, and I just haven’t seen that elsewhere. When their big screen was added in center, it was the largest HD TV in the world. That’s been overtaken, and Jerry Jones can claim current ownership of that record. They have a plaza beyond centerfield with statues of Hank, Warren, and Phil. The stadium is considered to be downtown but it’s not exactly in the middle of it all. You can’t just walk across the street and find a place to hang out and grab a bite and a drink.

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

NOTE: My predictions will not include the 6 extra San Francisco games I attended. If you don’t like it, you may forward your complaints to my supervisor.

MLB Games Seen

34 of 37

Days

79 of 86

Driving Miles

14,590

Estimated Gallons of Gas

768

States / Provinces

37 + the District of Columbia + Ontario

Hot Dogs Eaten

Too Many

Border Crossings

2 of 2

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

(AFTER 27 OF 30 GAMES)

Current Stats (Predicted Total through all 30 games)

Runs

262 (249)

Hits

494 (512)

Errors

34 (36)

Home Runs

68 (65)

Doubles

109 (101)

Triples

11 (10)

Sacrifices (Hits & Flies)

27 (31)

Strikeouts

418 (415)

Walks

170 (189)

17 today! Tim McClelland...

Home Team Wins

17 (17)

Glad it didn’t go over today!

Complete Games

1 (1)

Shutouts

1 (2)

Saves

17 (15)

Blown Saves

9 (7)

I didn’t mind adding one to this one...

Balks

1 (2)

Wild Pitches

9 (19)

Hit Batters

17 (18)

Walk-offs

2 (2)

Stolen Bases

31 (40)

Caught Stealing

13 (15)

Ejections

3 (4)

Smallest Crowd

11,617

Oriole Park at Camden Yards, Baltimore

September 1st, Toronto v. Baltimore

Largest Crowd

47,744

Yankee Stadium, New York

September 3rd, Toronto v. New York

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

A quick note about my Stadium Rankings. There’s a lot of good ones out there! When good parks like the Rangers and Nationals Parks end up near the bottom, you know there is a lot of competition. Just because they are low, doesn’t mean they aren’t good. Baseball has just been stepping up the bar over the last few years.

The Stadium

1. PETCO Park, San Diego

2. AT&T Park, San Francisco

3. Fenway Park, Boston

4. Target Field, Minneapolis

5. Comerica Park, Detroit

6. Yankee Stadium, New York

7. Wrigley Field, Chicago

8. Safeco Field, Seattle

9. PNC Park, Pittsburgh

10. Oriole Park at Camden Yards, Baltimore

11. Minute Maid Park, Houston

12. Chase Field, Phoenix

13. Progressive Field, Cleveland

14. Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia

15. Citi Field, New York

16. Miller Park, Milwaukee

17. Coors Field, Denver

18. Great American Ball Park, Cincinnati

19. Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, Arlington

20. Nationals Park, Washington, D.C.

21. U.S. Cellular Field, Chicago

22. Turner Field, Atlanta

23. Kauffman Stadium, Kansas City

24. Rogers Centre, Toronto

25. Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles

26. Angel Stadium of Anaheim, Anaheim

27. The Coliseum, Oakland

The Atmosphere

1. AT&T Park, San Francisco

2. Fenway Park, Boston

3. Target Field, Minneapolis

4. PETCO Park, San Diego

5. Yankee Stadium, New York

The Crowd

1. AT&T Park, San Francisco

2. Fenway Park, Boston

3. Target Field, Minneapolis

4. Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia

5. Yankee Stadium, New York

The Scorecard

1. Target Field, Minneapolis

2. Comerica Park, Detroit

3. AT&T Park, San Francisco

4. Citizens Bank Ballpark, Philadelphia

5. Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, Arlington

The Hot Dog

1. Coors Field, Denver

2. AT&T Park, San Francisco

3. Progressive Field, Cleveland

4. Yankee Stadium, New York

5. Citi Field, New York

The Broadcasters

1. Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles

2. AT&T Park, San Francisco

3. Miller Park, Milwaukee

4. Target Field, Minneapolis

5. Oriole Park at Camden Yards, Baltimore

Jumbo Hot Dog.

Career ball #5. #3 for the trip!

My jersey is actually pretty popular here.

Banners in center. You can see part of the hotel here.

Freddie Freeman. No relation that we know of, but what the heck, with a name like Freddie he could be my long, lost brother.

The flags at the bottom represent their division, wild card, pennant, and World Series winners. Out of town scores are above. This all sits out in left-center. The cow to the left actually does the chop...if you’re into that kinda thing.

This batter actually hit a foul ball into our area. It hit about 15-20 rows up and then came down. The guy 2 seats to my right got it. He was thrilled. I really had no shot at it, and that was the closest one got to me. I wore my glove the whole game.

Their retired numbers. You can see that cow and the leg (or arm?) that does the chop. The cow is even wearing a Braves hat. Oh, and imagine that, there is a Coke bottle on the roof.