MLB Parks Tour #5 – Petco Park, San Diego, CA – 2008

So I haven’t written an installment on our MLB Parks Tour in over a year…and the guilt is eating me up inside. 😉 Really though, it’s terrible I haven’t gotten these caught up yet. So I’m making you a deal. In about 8 weeks, Yvette and I are headed out on a trip that will add three more parks to our list. It just so happens I’m 8 behind (not including this one) on the parks we’ve seen so far. So each week over the next eight weeks, I will post one of the parks and our experience there. That way we’ll be caught up before our trip. Sound like a good enough deal? Good…let’s get on with it then.

San Diego is simply one of the few places on Earth that you just can’t complain about anything, ever. Beautiful weather, sunshine, pristine beaches, gorgeous people. Seriously, what’s there to complain about, other than your mortgage/rent for living there? Nevertheless, the California trip was a bit of a whim. We had gotten back from New York a month earlier (where we saw the Mets and Yankees), and were still feeling restless. Disneyland was calling Yvette pretty strongly, so we hopped in the car and headed that way.

The park opened in 2004, right in downtown SD, and looked every bit the part of a Southern California laid-back venue. One of our favorites in the “new era” of ballparks for sure.

The park in San Diego is much like its city, not much to complain about. The park opened in 2004, right in downtown SD, and looked every bit the part of a Southern California laid-back venue. One of our favorites in the “new era” of ballparks for sure. This will be a great park for years to come. Our seats were amazing, all the way down on the second row along the third base side.

A few notes:

Seriously can’t say enough about this park. Nestled in downtown, it’s just about perfect. And it’s outdoor. Baseball is meant to be enjoyed outdoors.

Got to see two potential (one definitely) hall of fame closers in one game. Trevor Hoffman somehow hides beneath the shadow of Mariano Rivera (somewhat deservedly), but has to be in the conversation of best closer in history. That said, he got the loss after giving up two runs in the ninth. On the other side, Joe Nathan, who we now feel quite fond of being that he plays for our beloved Rangers, got the save for the Twinkies.

The game:

Minnesota Twins – 3
San Diego Padres – 1

Tuesday, June 24, 2008, 7:05PM
Time of Game: 2:48
Weather: 70° F, Sunny.

Attendance: 36,948

Winning Pitcher: Dennys Reyes (2-0)
Losing Pitcher: Trevor Hoffman (1-5)
Save: Joe Nathan (20)

The hot dog:

(Hot Dog ratings are for entertainment purposes only. Any resemblance to hot dogs, either real or fictional, is purely coincidental.)

San Diego’s not really known for their hot dogs (fish tacos on the other hand…), but nonetheless, they had a showing worthy of pride. Like many other parks, they’ve moved to Nathan’s, and at the risk of becoming a broken record, you can’t really complain about that.

Score: 4 Dogs

4-hotdogs