Tag / Yankees

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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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A Change Will Do You Good

In a move that was expected after last week’s Kyle Tucker trade, the Cubs have sent Cody Bellinger, along with cash considerations, to the Yankees.  In exchange, they receive Cody Poteet, a 30-year-old relief pitcher with 24 career major league appearances.

Bellinger, a former MVP, is owed $52.5 million over the next two seasons, with the Cubs will be sending $5 million to help cover that cost. He hit .286 with 44 home runs and 175 RBIs in his two seasons on the north side.  When he suits up for the Yankees, he, and his father Clay, will become the fourth father/son duo to play for the team, joining Mark Leiter and Mark Leiter Jr., Ron and Ike Davis, and Yogi and Dale Berra.

This is a salary dump, pure and simple.  What, if anything, the Cubs do with that money will determine if this trade is a winner or a loser.

Bellinger’s numbers in a Cubs uniform, both for games I attended and overall, were: Continue reading →

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Ballpark Tour: Blue Jays

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 look at the Toronto Blue Jays, the lone team currently existing outside of the United States. So, without further ado, let’s take a deeper look at my one game history with Rogers Centre.

Stadium Name: Skydome/Rogers Centre

Years in Service: 1989 – Present

Visits: 1

Following the Grey Cup game in 1982 at Exhibition Stadium, dubbed the Rain Bowl due to a torrential rainstorm, tens of thousands of people attended a rally at Toronto’s city hall chanting “We want a dome”.  After years of studies, they got their wish on June 3, 1989 when Skydome opened as the new home of the Blue Jays, featuring the first functional retractable roof in North America.

While the stadium quickly became an albatross for the province of Ontario, due to cost overruns and a recession, the Blue Jays became a force to be reckoned with.  The Jays won the AL East crown in 1989 and 1991, losing to the eventual World Series champions both years.  In 1992, they again won their division and became the first Canadian team to capture a World Series title.  They repeated as champions in 1993, becoming the first team to win back-to-back Series since the Yankees in 1977 and 1978.

Since then, things have been relatively quiet for the Blue Jays.  In 2005, the stadium was renamed Rogers Centre, after the new owners of both the stadium and the team.

I attended my first (and, so far, only) game at the Rogers Centre in September of 2015 when I was visiting Toronto with my friend Hayley.  In addition to adding a new stadium to my resume, former White Sox ace Mark Buehrle was scheduled to start, so I was really looking forward to the game.  Sadly, Buehrle was bumped a few days due to a sore shoulder, so I ended up having to see David Price take on the Orioles.  He handled them with ease, picking up his 100th career victory.  I didn’t have the best seats in the house, sitting out in left field, but was in the shade, which was in short supply during a hot afternoon with the roof open.  I certainly hope to return one day.

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Ballpark Tour: Braves

With the offseason well underway, we continue our tour of all of the different baseball stadiums I’ve been to over the years. This week, we head to the suburbs of Atlanta to take a look at the latest home of the Atlanta Braves.  So, without further ado, let’s take a deeper look at my one game history with Truist Park.

Stadium Name: Truist Park

Years in Service: 2017 – Present

Visits: 1

In November of 2013, the Braves announced that they would be leaving their longtime home of Turner Field for a new stadium, opening in 2017.  Originally known as SunTrust Park, the stadium hosted its first regular season game on April 14, as the Braves battled the Padres.  The name changed to Truist Park in 2020 following a merger between SunTrust Banks and BB&T.

I made my first and only visit to Truist Park in 2021 while driving home from a trip to Florida.  The Braves were scheduled to battle the Yankees that night, so I decided to make an early stop on the drive home to take in another stadium.  My hotel claimed to be within walking distance of the stadium, which it was but they forgot to mention that it was all uphill.  After I managed to drag myself to the park, I headed to the upper deck, which were the only seats still available.  After snagging a couple souvenir cups, I left the game a little early for the hike back to the hotel.  Thankfully, that trip was all downhill.

Stadium Name: Braves Field

Years in Service: 1915 – 1952

Visits: 0 (or a handful, depending on your point of view)

From 1876 until 1952, the Braves made their home in Boston.  When they moved west to Milwaukee prior to the 1953 season, the stadium was purchased by Boston University.  The pavilion grandstand at the end of the right field line was retained as the seating core of a football, soccer, field hockey, and track-and-field stadium, as was the outer wall.  The stadium’s ticket office was converted into the school’s police station. The rest of the stadium structure was replaced by dormitories covering the former main grandstand; and the Case Physical Education Center, which houses Walter Brown Arena, home of the synchronized skating team.

Now known as Nickerson Field, I’ve made a few visits while in Boston to visit Angelina over the years and to see her skate at Walter Brown Arena.

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Ballpark Tour: Mets

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 look at Apu’s favorite squadron, the New York Mets. So, without further ado, let’s take a deeper look at my one game history with their former home: Shea Stadium.

Stadium Name: Shea Stadium

Years in Service: 1964 – 2008

Visits: 1

After a delay caused by labor woes and an exceptionally harsh winter, Shea Stadium, home of the expansion New York Mets, opened on April 17, 1964, with the Pittsburgh Pirates beating the Mets 4–3 before a crowd of 50,312. It continued to be the home of the Mets until September 28, 2008, when the Mets lost to the Florida Marlins. Along the way, the stadium was also the home of the Yankees for 2 seasons while Yankee Stadium was being renovated and, for the 1975 season, it served as the home of both New York MLB teams and both New York NFL teams, the first time a stadium has had that many main major tenants at one time.

My one trip to Shea Stadium was for opening day in 2003 to see the Chicago Cub take on the Mets. The last day of March was Tom Glavine’s first appearance with the Mets after coming over from the Braves via free agency. His grace period with the Mets faithful did not last long, as he was booed after throwing a ball on the second pitch. The baseball gods were not on the Mets side that day, as the Cubs, behind two Corey Patterson home runs, routed the Mets 15-2. I remember the stadium itself being pretty decent, though we did have some of the best seats in the house, which may have tainted my impression somewhat.

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Ballpark Tour: Red Sox

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 look at the Boston Red Sox, owners of the oldest stadium in Major League Baseball. So, without further ado, let’s take a deeper look at my one game history with Fenway Park.

Stadium Name: Fenway Park

Years in Service: 1912 – Present

Visits: 1

In 1911, Red Sox owner John I. Taylor purchased the land bordered by Brookline Avenue, Jersey Street, Van Ness Street and Lansdowne Street and developed it into a larger baseball stadium, which he named after the Fenway neighborhood where it was located.  The first game was played April 20, 1912, as the Red Sox defeated the New York Highlanders, who would become the Yankees the following year, 7-6 in 11 innings.

I attended my first (and, so far, only) game at Fenway Park in August of 2017, cashing in my birthday gift from the year before.  The hope was that Angelina would be moving into Boston University around that time, but her gap year put a kibosh on that.  The ballpark was… a little underwhelming.  From the outside, you could barely tell that it was a stadium.  Michael even asked where it was as we were standing outside it.

The game went about as you would expect.  With James Shields on the mound, the White Sox did not put up much of a fight.  We were sitting down the left field line, with a good view of the Green Monster.  The seats, which may or may not date back to the stadium’s opening in 1912, were not really designed for people well over 6 feet tall, so there was a lot of uncomfortable shifting as Danny and my knees were smooshed into the seats in front of us.

I would have added an additional game or two in 2020, as the plan was to take Michael to Boston for his birthday and enjoy the monster seats, but a little global pandemic got in that way of that.  Now that Angelina is done with school and working full time in Boston, there is still an opportunity to increase my number of visits in the years to come.

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2024 Predictions Revisited

Six months ago, I made my annual predictions as to who would win what.  With the Wild Card round in full swing, it is time to revisit those predictions and see what, if anything, I got right.

American League

East: Rays

Well, after missing the postseason for the first time since 2016, the Yankees stormed back to take the AL East crown.  Meanwhile, the Rays struggled early and never really found their groove.

Central: Guardians

Would you look at that?  I got one right, as the Guardians led a resurgent AL Central for most of the season.

West: Mariners

The Mariners did lead the division for a while, but, at the end of the day, the Astros managed to win the division for the fourth straight year and the seventh year out of the last eight.

Wild Cards: Astros, Blue Jays, Yankees

I guess I can take solace in the fact that two of these choices are headed to the post-season, though as division champions.  A surprisingly strong AL Central, thanks to getting to face the putrid White Sox many times, landed two Wild Card spots with the Royals and the Tigers.  The Orioles snagged the top spot.

AL Champion: Yankees

The Yankees look to have the hardest path, having to face either the Tigers, the hottest team in baseball heading into the post-season, or the Orioles, against whom they lost eight of their thirteen contests this year.  I hate to say it, but the Astros may make another appearance in the Fall Classic.

Cy Young: Tristan McKenzie

McKenzie struggled this year and split the year between Cleveland and Triple A Columbus.  Tiger starter Tarik Skubal looks to be the front-runner.

MVP: Julio Rodriguez

Another wrong guess.  Aaron Judge will probably take it home for the second time in three seasons.

National League

Continue reading →

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Selling Your Soul

The Cubs made their deal with the devil, Motorola in this case, on Thursday, agreeing to add an advertising patch to their jerseys as part of a multiyear deal to make the company the team’s “official smartphone.”  The patches made their on-field debut Thursday night against the Cardinals at Wrigley Field.

For the home pinstripes and road grays, the Motorola logo will have a blue background with a white M.  The alternate blue jerseys will have a white background with a blue M, while the City Connect jerseys will have a white background with a navy-blue M.  Motorola is also the jersey sponsor for the Padres in MLB and, in Chicago, the Bulls.

The Cubs become the 23rd MLB team to strike a uniform patch deal, worth an average of $7-8 million with the largest deals, believed to be with the Yankees and Blue Jays, worth over $20 million.

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Some Minor Deals

The Cubs struck first today, sending Mark Leiter Jr. to the Yankees for Ben Cowles and Jack Neely.  Leiter’s father, Mark Sr., and uncle, Al, both pitched for the Yankees during their major league careers, so this is something of a homecoming for the right-handed reliever.  Cowles, 24, is a middle infielder currently in Double A.  Neely, also 24, is a 6’8″ relief pitcher who has shone at both Double A and Triple A this season.

On the other side of town, the White Sox shipped Paul DeJong to the Royals, their opponent in tonight’s game, in exchange for Jarold Rosado.  DeJong signed with the White Sox this November and currently leads the team in home runs.  Rosado, 21, has made 27 appearances at Class A, putting up a 1.85 ERA with 4 saves and 45 strikeouts.