Category / Baseball

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Ballpark Tour: Miller Park

Stadium Name: Miller Park

Location: Milwaukee

Home Team: Brewers, Indians, Astros

Years in Service: 2001 – Present

Visits: 4

After spending the first 26 years of their existence in Milwaukee’s County Stadium, the Brewers broke ground on a new stadium on November 9, 1996, in a parking lot behind County Stadium, with plans to open the park for the 2000 season.  Construction was delayed in 1999 after a crane collapsed while lifting a 400-ton roof section, killing three workers.  This caused the opening to be delayed for a year, and the new Miller Park did not open until April 6, 2001.  In 2007, the stadium hosted an Indians series against the Angels after snow storms in Cleveland forced the cancellation of the previous series against the Mariners.  The Astros called Miller Park home for two games in 2008 when Hurricane Ike stormed through Houston.

I made the first of my four visits to Miller Park during the inaugural season of 2001.  That May 7th contest had the Cubs squeaking out a 7-6 victory against the hosting Brewers.  This was my first experience with a retractable roof stadium and I enjoyed it.  Miller Park was a vastly superior replacement over County Stadium, and I’ve enjoyed each of my subsequent trips up to Milwaukee.

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#280 – Jaime Quirk

1989 Fleer #290 Jamie Quirk

Name: Jamie Quirk

Rank: 280

Position: 3B

Year With White Sox: 1984

Jamie Quirk joined the White Sox organization as a free agent on May 23, 1984.  The veteran, who had last played in the minor leagues in 1978, spent the majority of the season in Triple A playing for the Denver Zephyrs.  He did manage to get in to 3 games for the big league club, garnering 2 at bats, before being sold to the Indians on September 24.

Quirk’s numbers in a White Sox uniform were: Continue reading →

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#281 – Ken Hill

Ken Hill White Sox2Name: Ken Hill

Rank: 281

Position: P

Year With White Sox: 2000

The White Sox had a 9 game lead in the AL Central on August 18 when the signed Ken Hill to step in as their fifth starter for the stretch run.  11 days and 2 appearances later, he was released.  “If I can’t perform and do the things I know I can do, I’m not helping,” said Hill at the time.

Hill’s numbers in a White Sox uniform were:

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Ballpark Tour: PETCO Park

PETCO

Stadium Name: PETCO Park

Location: San Diego

Home Team: Padres

Years in Service: 2004 – Present

Visits: 3

After 35 seasons at Jack Murphy Stadium (or Qualcomm Stadium), the Padres moved downtown in 2004 with the opening of PETCO Park.  The new stadium was initially supposed to open for the 2002 season, but legal battles and political tomfoolery delayed the project for two years.  The first event held at PETCO Park was an NCAA invitational tournament hosted by San Diego State University, whose head coach was former Padres great Tony Gwynn.  The Padres themselves christened the stadium on April 8 with a 10 inning victory over the Giants.

With the Cubs, coming off their surprising run towards the NL title in 2003, scheduled for a weekend series at the newly opened PETCO Park in the middle of May in 2004, a trip out to the coast was in order.  The Cubs swept the three game series against the Padres, and a tremendous weekend was had.  The new park was a vast improvement over the old Jack Murphy.  One of these days, I’ll need to take a return trip.

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#282 – Bob Melvin

melvin12Name: Bob Melvin

Rank: 282

Position: C

Year With White Sox: 1994

Veteran catcher Bob Melvin joined the White Sox via trade from the Angels for Jeff Schwarz on July 22, 1994.  He managed to appear in 11 games in the 21 days before the strike wiped out the remainder of the season and ended Melvin’s career.

Melvin’s next career, as a major league manager, had him crossing paths once again with his former team as his first opponent while helming the A’s was the White Sox.

Melvin’s numbers in a White Sox uniform were:

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Looking To Next Year Too

MLB: Cincinnati Reds at Los Angeles DodgersWith the 2013 season limping to the finish line, it became time to look forward to next year on Tuesday when the Cubs released their 2014 schedule. The north siders begin the 2014 campaign on the road against the Pirates on March 31.  Their home schedule kicks off against the Phillies that weekend.

Inter-league matchups against the AL East include home dates against the Yankees, Rays, and Orioles. The Cubs will travel to Boston, Toronto, and will also make their first ever trip to new Yankess Stadium to face the Yankees. The team will also split a 4 game series against the White Sox, similar to this season, with the first 2 games at Wrigley Field and the last 2 at US Cellular Field.

Should the team find themselves in contention, they finish the year with games mostly against their Central division foes, with only 7 September games coming outside the division.

by jim

Looking To Next Year

MLB: Cincinnati Reds at Los Angeles DodgersWith the 2013 season limping to the finish line, it became time to look forward to next year on Tuesday when the White Sox released their 2014 schedule.  The south siders begin the 2014 campaign at home against the Twins on March 31.

Inter-league matchups against the NL West include home dates against the Diamondbacks, Giants, and Padres.  The White Sox will travel to Los Angeles for yet another tilt with their opponent from the 1959 World Series and will also make their first ever trip to Colorado to face the Rockies.  The team will also split a 4 game series against the Cubs, similar to this season, with the first 2 games at Wrigley Field and the last 2 at US Cellular Field.

Should the team find themselves in contention, they finish the year with games mostly against their Central division foes, with only 7 September games coming outside the division.

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Ballpark Tour: Comerica Park

Comerica

Stadium Name: Comerica Park

Location: Detroit

Home Team: Tigers

Years in Service: 2000 – Present

Visits: 2

After 87 seasons at Tiger Stadium, the Tigers opened their new stadium in 2000 on a snowy afternoon against the Mariners.  In contrast to Tiger Stadium, which had been considered one of the most hitter-friendly parks in baseball, Comerica Park is considered to be extremely friendly to pitchers.  After years of irrelevance, the new stadium was one step leading the Tigers back to contention, which they achieved in 2006, making the World Series and being in the hunt every year since.

The White Sox were 3.5 games behind the Twins for the AL Central lead heading into a Labor Day holiday series against the Tigers in 2010.  After they split the first 2 games of the series, I decided to head up to Detroit to take in the final two games, my first trip to Comerica Park.  I had booked a room at the Caesars hotel and casino in Windsor, so I drove up to Canada and checked in prior to the night’s game back in Detroit.  I booked a round trip on a bus back to the US which dropped me off near the park, where I took in the Tigers 5-1 victory.  The next afternoon, I drove back to Detroit and stopped for the afternoon’s series finale, which the Tigers once again won.

The stadium itself was a vast improvement over Tiger Stadium.  For the first game, I sat in the upper deck behind home plate and had a good view of the entire field.  For the second game, I was right behind the White Sox dugout, which, while a bit pricey, did provide another nice view.  The only disappointment, besides the play of the south siders, was the food.  Since the Tigers owner also owns Little Caesars pizza, that is the food that is available.  I remember making it through a few bites before leaving the pizza underneath my seat for whoever wanted it.

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#284 – Nick Masset

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Name: Nick Masset

Rank: 284

Position: P

Years With White Sox: 2007-2008

Nick Masset came to the White Sox, along with fellow pitcher John Danks, on December 23, 2006 in a trade with the Rangers for Brandon McCarthy.  He broke camp with the big league club in 2007, but like the rest of the bullpen, struggled mightily.  On July 16, he was sent back to Triple A Charlotte after allowing 78 base runners in his 39 1/3 innings.

Masset returned to the White Sox in 2008, making the team despite a 7.06 ERA during spring training.  He was improved over the previous year, but his ERA was still north of 4.50.  However, the White Sox themselves were much improved and found themselves fighting for a division title.  At the trade deadline, GM Kenny Williams looked to improve his post season chances and packaged Masset along with Danny Richar to the Reds in exchange for future Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr.

Masset’s numbers in a White Sox uniform, both for games I attended and overall, were:

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