July 17, 2013

Ballpark #21: Dodger Stadium

Let me preface this post by saying that I hate that The Pilot couldn't come with me. If the Brooklyn Dodgers still existed (or, if he had grown up in Southern California), my boyfriend would be a diehard Dodgers fan.

His family lived in Brooklyn and his grandfather was a huge Dodgers fan. I've already promised him that we'll go back this year because it sucked being at a stadium that he has so long wanted to visit without him.

Dodger Stadium was awesome.


I was in LA visiting my mom's cousin who got a job this year as an usher at Dodger Stadium...so basically, we got the hook up.

One thing I really didn't like about the stadium is the parking lot. I'm bringing this up first, because it's the first thing I noticed.

The parking lot is huge and when we pulled in to pay for parking (only $10), they tell you what parking lot to go to based on where your seats are. This meant, that we had to go in through a gate in Right Field that honestly, could have been a service gate. So there was no walk up to the main entrance of the stadium, which is one of my must-sees when I visit a new park, so that was disappointing.

Dodger Stadium is the 3rd oldest ballpark in Major League Baseball (behind Fenway Park and Wrigley Field) but it didn't disappoint. It absolutely felt like a stadium that was built in the 1960s but it has been up kept and renovated to both maintain the integrity of the old park while keeping up with the times.

They also feature a lot of history through the stadium paying homage to their days in Brooklyn, which I very much appreciated (I didn't see that at AT&T Park where the SF Giants play).


We got to the stadium a little over an hour before game time so that we could walk around, head to the team store, etc. My cousin Bruni had been there much earlier, so she took her lunch break shortly after we got there and gave us the grand tour. We went into the Executive Suites and got to get right up behind home plate. We later found out that we could have sat there, had my cousin Luis not decided to skip out on the grand tour! Boooo!

Touring the Suites area

Mama and I behind Home Plate
Our seats were up in Left Field. Once our grand tour was over, we headed back to where our seats were to grab some food.

Grilled cheese w/tomatoes + fries and ranch.
Yum!
The game was completely sold out and it was practically impossible to find tickets online! As we were making our way to our seats, I looked around and quickly realized that my mom, cousin and I were the only people around that were NOT wearing Dodgers gear. I have never been to a stadium where 1) the game is completely sold out and 2) everyone is wearing the team's colors. Dodger Fans get an A+ in that aspect!

A sea of blue and white!
The game was so much fun, and the Dodgers absolutely crushed Colorado 6-1. Capuano (a former Met) pitched a great game with 8 strike outs and Yasiel Puig, the Dodgers (and all of baseball's) new Cuban hot shot went 2-4 before being pulled out of the game.

The view from our seats, rainbow in tow.
Dodger fans were so much fun! They cheered, they threw beach balls all over the stadium (shockingly, the balls never landed on the field) and they did the wave about every 5 minutes. EVERYONE was into the game. No one got up mid-game to get food, no one was talking about anything other than the game...it was just a great baseball environment and I loved it!

Sadly, we left after the 7th inning stretch. The Dodgers had a steady lead and I wanted to stay more than anything but my flight had gotten in super late the night before and jet lag was setting in to the point where I could barely keep my eyes open.

Either way, Dodger Stadium gets an A+ ranking in every category and I can't wait to take The Pilot back there! Hopefully later this season when the Angels are also in town!

Have you been to Dodger Stadium?

Check back tomorrow for my recap of Ballpark #22!

1 comment:

  1. Surprisingly, I've only been to one Dodgers game ever, as a kid. And I don't remember much of it. Guess I'll have to go back now that I live here again (but for the record: Go Halos!). :D

    ReplyDelete

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