Tag / Guaranteed Rate Field

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Mets All Time Leaders – Through 2025

21st-CENTURY-METS_01To paraphrase from a famous movie, the one constant through all the years has been baseball.  Now that 2026 is here, we continue our look at the all-time leaders in both offensive and defensive categories for all 30 teams. Today, we take a deeper dive into the New York Mets.

The Mets began life in 1962, joining the National League following the abandonment of the New York market by both the Dodgers and Giants in 1957.  I’ve seen 174 players don the Mets uniforms in the 19 games of theirs that I’ve attended live, including Opening Day at Shea Stadium in 2003, Tom Glavine’s 300th career victory, their pennant clinching victory in the 2015 NLCS, and, most recently, in August of 2024 at Guaranteed Rate Field.

Home Runs

Name Total
Pete Alonso 3
Cliff Floyd 2
Daniel Murphy 2

Hits

Name Total
David Wright 7
Pete Alonso 7
Daniel Murphy 6

Runs

Name Total
David Wright 7
Pete Alonso 5
Daniel Murphy 4
Carlos Beltran 4

RBI

Name Total
Pete Alonso 7
Lucas Duda 6
Cliff Floyd 5

Doubles

Name Total
Carlos Delgado 3
Lucas Duda 2
David Wright 2
Jeromy Burnitz 2
Pete Alonso 2

Triples Continue reading →

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iTunes Top 200: #8

Music.  It is a powerful thing that brings people together, creates memories, and evokes emotions.  It is the universal language that speaks to the soul.  It forms the soundtrack of our lives.

It has now been five years since we last counted down the Top 200 songs in my iTunes library, featuring he songs I have listened to the most since 2007.  It is time to do so again, seeing which older songs still resonate and if any newer ones have joined the fray.  So, without further ado, here are my most listened to songs, based on number of plays as of January 1, 2025.

Today, we continue with our in-depth look into each song in the top ten.  Two songs have tied for the eighth most listened to song in my library, with 144 plays since my stats began in late 2007.  Both have ties to the baseball team on the south side of Chicago and the various playlists I have made for them over the years.

#8: Journey – Don’t Stop Believin’
iTunes stats: 144 plays, most recently on 8/27/2024
Previous ranking: #8

Originally released in October of 1981 as the second single off the band’s Escape album, the song peaked at #9 on the Hot 100 and quickly became one of the band’s signature hits.  The song got a second life in the 2000s, starting locally after it became the rallying cry for the 2005 White Sox when A.J. Pierzynski and teammates heard it being sung in a bar in Baltimore.  Steve Perry, who was the band’s lead singer when the song was recorded, was on the field following Game 4 celebrating with the team and sang the song at the rally back in Chicago two days later.  It finally dropped off my White Sox victory playlist starting with the 2015 season.

In 2007, it appeared in the final episode of The Sopranos, which led to a surge in digital downloads of the song.  In 2012, it became the best-selling digital track from the 20th century, and it surpassed 7,000,000 downloads by 2017.  In 2021, the song inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

#8: Icona Pop – I Love It (Feat. Charli XCX)
iTunes stats: 144 plays, most recently on 9/28/2024
Previous ranking: #14

Featuring vocals from British singer Charli XCX, the song by the Swedish synth-pop duo became their first US hit, peaking at #7 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2013 following an appearance of the HBO show Girls.  The song was written by Charli XCX after the group’s producer sent her two of the duo’s beats, but she knew she couldn’t release it on her own due to the difference in sound.

Over the last decade, the song has been played often at the former Guaranteed Rate Field both to pump up the crowd and for between inning highlight packages.  It’s inclusion on recent entries of my White Sox victory playlist has led to its rising total.

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Position Players Pitching

In the mid-2010s, putting in a position player to pitch in an effort to save overworked bullpens became more popular than ever before in the history of Major League Baseball.  Starting in 2023, rules changes restricted position players from pitching unless their team is leading by ten or more runs in the 9th inning, their team is losing by eight or more runs at any time, or the game is in extra innings.  This weekend, i saw my tenth eighth position player pitch, so it seemed like a good time to review.

5/6/2017
With a depleted bullpen and down by five against the Yankees, Joe Maddon turned to catcher Miguel Montero to pitch the final inning.  Montero’s inning could generously be called effectively wild, as he walked two and sailed one pitch over Chris Carter’s head but managed to escape without giving up a run.  Maddon’s notion to avoid going back to his bullpen proved prescient, as the following night the two teams went 18 innings, with the Cubs losing by one.

7/6/2017
Exactly two months later, Maddon again turned to his bench rather than his bullpen as the Brewers held a nine-run lead heading into the 9th inning.  This time he turned to veteran outfielder Jon Jay, who gave up just one hit while retiring the Brewers on just 16 pitches.

6/22/2019
Wrigley Field was again the stage for our next installment of position players pitching, as catcher Victor Caratini took the mound for the 9th inning with the Cubs down 10-1 to the Mets.  He did his part, throwing a 1-2-3 inning and giving the Cubs a chance to mount a comeback in the bottom of the 9th.  The rally fell short, however, as the Cubs lost 10-2.

8/17/2021
We move to the South Side for our next occurrence, this time for an opponent.  With the White Sox leading the A’s 9-0, first baseman Mitch Moreland came out to face the White Sox in the bottom of the 8th.  Facing the bottom of the batting order, Moreland gave up a single to Danny Mendick en route to a scoreless outing.

9/16/2021
Nearly a month later, the shoe was on the other foot as the White Sox were losing 9-3 to the Angels at Guaranteed Rate Field.  With two outs in the top of the 9th, Rick Renteria picks Romy Gonzalez to nail down the final out.  With Shohei Ohtani on first base, Gonzalez strikes out Max Stassi on four pitches to end the inning.

7/9/2022
With pitching in his genes, Kody Clemens took the mound for the bottom of the 8th with his Tigers trailing the White Sox 8-0.  Clemens did what none of his fellow Tigers could accomplish that day, giving up no hits and retiring the side on only fourteen pitches.

4/3/2023
The Giants had a big 7-3 lead against the White Sox heading into the 9th inning when Jose Ruiz took the mound looking to hold the line.  Instead, he faced six batters, giving up five runs on two home runs while only getting a single out.  Down by nine, rookie manager Pedro Grifol brought in infielder Hanser Alberto to mop up.  He gave up two hits but wrapped up the inning without giving up a run.

5/1/2025
With the White Sox holding a surprising 8-0 lead over the Brewers, Jake Bauers, who started the game in left field, came in to pitch the bottom of the 8th.  He quickly put down the White Sox, getting a 1-2-3 inning on just ten pitches.

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Ballpark Tour: White Sox

With Opening Day in the books, it is time to wrap up our tour of all of the baseball stadiums I’ve been to over the years with the ones I’ve been to the most: the homes of the Chicago White Sox.  Between the two stadiums that have been located at the corners of 35th and Shields, I’ve seen at least 668 games, all but one of which have involved the White Sox.  So, without further ado, let’s take a deeper look at my history with Comiskey Park and the facility currently known as Rate Field.

Stadium Name: Comiskey Park

Years in Service: 1910 – 1990

Visits: 13 (that I’m aware of)

Comiskey Park, the so-called Baseball Palace of the World, was the home of the White Sox from 1910 through the 1990 season.  Built on a former city dump at the corner of 35th Street and Shields Avenue, the stadium opened on July 1, 1910, as the White Sox lost to the St. Louis Browns 2-0.  The final game for the old ballyard occurred on September 30, 1990, a 2-1 victory over the Mariners.

Comiskey Park was the host for four World Series, including three in a row from 1917-1919.  The White Sox won the World Series in 1917 against the New York Giants.  The Cubs, looking for a larger seating capacity, moved their home games in the 1918 series against the Red Sox to Comiskey Park.  The 1919 World Series, of course, was the Black Sox scandal, where the White Sox threw the series against the Reds.  The White Sox returned to the World Series 40 years later in 1959 but fell to the Dodgers.  The final post-season games to be played in Comiskey Park were games 3 and 4 of the 1983 ALCS, which the White Sox lost to the Baltimore Orioles.

Comiskey Park was also the host to three All-Star games.  The first All-Star game, in 1933, was held in conjunction with Century of Progress Exposition being held on Chicago’s lakefront.  The event returned to Chicago’s south side in 1950 and the final All-Star game at Comiskey Park was in 1983, the 50th anniversary of the first game.  Comiskey Park was also the frequent home of the Negro League East-West All-Star Game from 1933 to 1960.

Looking back, I’ve now been able to piece together evidence of 13 games that I attended at Comiskey Park, either from pictures, stadium giveaways, or specific memories.  I know there are more, but I have not been able to pinpoint exact games as of yet.  The most memorable game I can remember would be the final night game, on September 29, 1990, where, after the game, the lights were symbolically turned off for the final time.

Stadium Name: Comiskey Park II/US Cellular Field/Guaranteed Rate Field/Rate Field

Years in Service: 1991 – Present

Visits: 655

On the evening of June 30, 1988, with the clock literally stopped, the Illinois legislature passed a bill that provided the financing for a new stadium for the White Sox, stopping them from moving to St. Petersburg, Florida.  Two and a half years later, on April 18, 1991, Comiskey Park II opened, the first new major facility built in Chicago since the erection of the Chicago Stadium in 1929.  Sadly, the White Sox were embarrassed by the Tigers, losing 16-0 in the opening of their new park.

Unfortunately for the White Sox, the new Comiskey Park was the last stadium to be built prior to the wave of retro ballparks that started with the opening of Camden Yards the following year.  Because of this, there have been numerous renovations to the park, starting in 2001 with the addition of nearly 2000 seats and the relocation of the bullpens.  More extensive renovations began in 2003 in preparation for that season’s All-Star Game and using the money generated from selling the naming rights to US Cellular, and continued through 2007, when the replacement of the blue seats with green seats was completed.  Less extensive renovations have occurred since, replacing the different video boards and creating premium seating areas.

The post-season came to the new Comiskey Park for the first time in 1993, as the White Sox battled the Blue Jays in the ALCS.  The stadium hosted its first World Series games in 2005, the first to be played in the city of Chicago since 1959, as the White Sox went on to sweep the Houston Astros and win their first World Series since 1917.

I attended my first game at the new Comiskey Park on April 20, 1991, the second game in the stadium’s history.  Since then, I’ve been to 654 other games at the stadium, the majority coming from 2005 on, when I became a season ticket holder.  I went to both games of the 2000 ALDS, which the White Sox lost to the Mariners, both games of the 2005 ALDS, which the White Sox won against the Red Sox, both games of the 2005 ALCS, which the White Sox split against the Angels, and game 2 of the 2005 World Series.  I attended game 163 of the 2008 season to break the tie between the White Sox and the Twins. and then the two ALDS games against the Rays, the first time I saw the White Sox actually end a post-season series, either in victory or defeat.

Notable regular season games I’ve seen at what is now known as Guaranteed Rate Field include the September 18, 2001 game against the Yankees as baseball returned following the attacks of 9/11, the April 16, 2005 game where Mark Buehrle defeated the Mariners in 1 hour and 39 minutes, the April 2, 2006 season opener against the Indians when the World Series championship banner was raised, the April 4, 2006 game where the players received their World Series rings, and the September 16, 2007 game where Jim Thome hit his 500th career home run against the Angels.  Not to mention a streak of 24 consecutive home openers.

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Ballpark Tour: Rays

With the offseason underway, we continue our tour of all of the different baseball stadiums I’ve been to over the years. This week, we head south to the Tampa Bay area for a look at the Tampa Bay Rays. So, without further ado, let’s take a deeper look at my history with the place now known as Tropicana Field.

Stadium Name: Tropicana Field

Years in Service: 1997 – Present

Visits: 2

Originally known as the Florida Suncoast Dome, the stadium now known as Tropicana Field was built in the late 1980s in the hopes of luring a baseball franchise to the Tampa/St. Pete area.  Ironically, the White Sox would have called the park home had the Illinois legislature not approved funding for what is now Guaranteed Rate Field.  The stadium opened in 1990, hosting the Davis Cup finals that fall, but was still looking for an MLB team as the primary tenant.  After National League owners blocked the sale of the Giants to Tampa-based investors who planned to move the team, the park was used for the local Arena Football team and as the initial home of the Tampa Bay Lightning.  In 1995, the area was awarded an expansion franchise, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, who would begin play in 1997.

After the long pandemic, I decided to take the long drive down to Florida in August of 2021 for a long getaway.  After arriving in town on Friday night, I made my maiden voyage to Tropicana Field the following afternoon.  The White Sox put up little fight, losing to the Rays 8-4.  I returned the following afternoon looking for a better result but instead saw a 9-0 shutout by the Rays.

Due to damage from Hurricane Milton, the Rays will be forced to play their 2025 schedule at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, the spring training home of the Yankees.  A new stadium built in the same location in St. Petersburg was planned to open in 2028, but, if the funding is still in play, may be needed sooner.

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Another Name Change

Eight years into a thirteen-year deal, Guaranteed Rate Field will now be known as Rate Field.  While the new name rolls off the tongue a little easier than the previous moniker, it is still a bit of a clunker.  Guaranteed Rate rebranded as simply Rate this past July, so the new name aligns with the corporate master.

In the time the park was known as Guaranteed Rate, I saw 203 games, including post-season play in 2021 and the worst team in modern MLB history in 2024.

All-Time Team Records

Team Name Won Loss Winning Pctg
Milwaukee Brewers 3 1 0.750
Cleveland Guardians 4 2 0.667
San Diego Padres 2 1 0.667
Arizona Diamondbacks 2 1 0.667
Chicago Cubs 7 4 0.636
Seattle Mariners 7 4 0.636
Toronto Blue Jays 5 3 0.625
Boston Red Sox 6 4 0.600
Cleveland Indians 7 5 0.583
New York Yankees 4 3 0.571
Detroit Tigers 13 10 0.565
Houston Astros 6 5 0.545
Cincinnati Reds 1 1 0.500
Los Angeles Angels 3 3 0.500
St. Louis Cardinals 2 2 0.500
Texas Rangers 3 3 0.500
Oakland Athletics 6 7 0.462
Chicago White Sox 93 110 0.458
Minnesota Twins 7 9 0.438
Kansas City Royals 8 12 0.400
Baltimore Orioles 3 5 0.375
San Francisco Giants 1 2 0.333
Tampa Bay Rays 2 5 0.286
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Which Way To Sacramento

As the 2024 baseball season draws to a close, so too does the era of Major League Baseball in Oakland.  The A’s, who first moved to Oakland prior to the 1968 season, will be spending the next three (or four) years based out of Sacramento while waiting for a stadium to be built in Las Vegas.  I’ve seen the A’s at least 35 times over the years, first at some unknown date at old Comiskey Park and most recently at Guaranteed Rate Field in mid-September.  In between, I saw them at two other ballparks, including trips to their home ballpark in 1999 and 2008.

 

Team Name Won Loss Winning Pctg
Chicago Cubs 3 0 1.000
Detroit Tigers 1 0 1.000
Chicago White Sox 16 14 0.533
Oakland Athletics 15 20 0.429
Baltimore Orioles 0 1 0.000

The A’s, who are going location-less name-wise while they are based in Sacramento, will make their first visit to Chicago in April.  They will open their stay in Sacramento against the Cubs on March 31, while the White Sox make their first visit at the end of April.

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T Minus 5

Following last night’s loss to the A’s, the White Sox now have 115 loses. just five away from the modern record set by the expansion Mets in 1962.  This was the 18th time they’ve been shut out and their 16th consecutive loss at Guaranteed Rate Field. They would have to go 10-4 over their remaining 14 games to avoid tying the record.  They have won ten games since June 29.

 

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FB10: Week 32

A small decline thanks to what may have been my first infection with COVID.  The week got off to a good start on Sunday, finishing with 5100 steps thanks to a trip to Guaranteed Rate Field.  Things fell off a bit on Monday, coming in with 4300 steps.  Despite a positive test on Tuesday night, I managed to increase my total, needing 35 more steps to reach 4400.  An inconclusive test on Wednesday morning convinced me it was ok to head out for a team lunch, but I finished with only 3000 steps and another positive test at night.  A slight improvement on Thursday pushed me up to 3600 steps.  Despite a negative test on Friday, I managed only 2700 steps.  A second negative test on Saturday led to another trip to the ballpark, gathering 5400 steps as I watched the White Sox tie their franchise record for losses in a season.

Total steps: 28,597

Daily average: 4085.3

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FB10: Week 31

A nice improvement this week thanks in part to multiple baseball games.  The week got off to a decent start on Sunday, coming only 8 steps shy of 4400.  Things fell off a bit on Monday, as I needed 21 more steps to reach 3800.  Tuesday bounced back up, surpassing 4300 steps.  A trip to Wrigley Field on Wednesday night left me a mere 7 steps away from 6400.  Another dip on Thursday dropped me back down to 2400 steps.  There was a big improvement on Friday thanks to Elvis night at Guaranteed Rate Field, which left me 17 steps short of 6500.  A slow day of recovery after on Saturday saw me needing 27 additional steps to get to 3300.

Total steps: 31,074

Daily average: 4439.1