5 baseball stadiums in 5 days


St. Louis – Cincinnati – Cleveland – Pittsburgh – Detroit

The Gateway Arch features prominently in the St. Louis skyline from Busch Stadium
The Gateway Arch features prominently in the St. Louis skyline from Busch Stadium

Planning the Trip: A Backstory

I love baseball and photographing baseball stadiums…
… every one is unique, yet fundamentally the same.

I have taken my camera to 14 Major League Baseball stadiums.
My favorite seats to shoot from = the highest ones in the upper deck.

From there, I can get the roof’s infrastructure along with a full view of the seats, field and view beyond in a wide angle or fisheye shot.

I started a photographic series: Baseball Stadiums With a Fisheye…
… which has since morphed into complete photographic walking tours of each one.

 

Progressive Field - Jacob's Field - Cleveland Indians - MLB Stadium Ballpark
There are a lot of right angles in the Progressive Field upper decks in Cleveland, Ohio

Meeks

My childhood friend Meeks and I have been to countless baseball games together. So when he moved to Cleveland – an area surrounded by stadiums neither of us had been to – something epic started brewing.

Me and Meeks at Great American Ballpark
Me and Meeks at Great American Ballpark

Our initial plan: 2,000 miles driving in 7 days…

It wound up being 1,260 in 5.

We barely prepared.
. we didn’t need to..
.. we had smartphones with GPS…
… and we knew when & where the games were.

We had no tickets until the day of…
…and got dirt-cheap field level seats from StubHub.

Everything else just figured itself out as we went…

 

Our route was A -> B -> G -> D -> G -> F -> G
While examining the entire route of our trip, Meeks and I decided that it looked like a stick figure missing a leg.
While examining the entire route of our trip, Meeks and I decided that it looked like a stick figure missing a leg.

Busch Stadium – St. Louis, MO

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Game 1: New York Mets (6) vs St. Louis Cardinals (11)

September 20, 2011
278 miles of driving

 

St Louis Cardinals fans hang out in the centerfield bleachers of Busch Stadium during batting practice
St Louis Cardinals fans hang out in the centerfield bleachers of Busch Stadium during batting practice

 

Day 1: Traveling 2,300 Miles to See Baseball

  • Woke up at 3:45am –> Flew out of San Francisco at 5:30am
  • Landed in St. Louis at 1:30pm –> Game went from 7:15 – 10:45
  • Hit the road and try to drive as close to Cincinnati as possible
  • Seriously consider driving all the way and sleeping in the car in a parking garage.
  • Finally stopped driving at 4am (damn you time change)…80 miles away from Cincinnati

 

Busch Stadium Panorama baseball ballpark MLB St Louis Cardinals
My very first parking spot in St. Louis was the top floor across the street from Busch Stadium

 

Busch Stadium baseball ballpark MLB St Louis Cardinals
Busch Stadium is full of Budweiser ads, like this one from the upper deck behind home plate

 

Busch Stadium baseball ballpark MLB St Louis Cardinals
A souvenir vendor sells Cardinals merchandise at Busch Stadium

 

Busch Stadium baseball ballpark MLB St Louis Cardinals
The front entrance to Busch Stadium in St. Louis

 

Busch Stadium baseball ballpark MLB St Louis Cardinals seats
Even the seats are red at Busch Stadium – home of the St. Louis Cardinals

 

Busch Stadium baseball ballpark MLB St Louis Cardinals Gateway Arch
The Gateway Arch, as seen from the field of Busch Stadium in St. Louis

Great American Ballpark – Cincinnati, OH

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Game 2: Houston Astros (0) vs Cincinnati Reds (2)

September 21, 2011
328 miles of driving

 

Steamboat smokestacks adorn the centerfield promenade at Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati, Ohio - home of the Reds
Steamboat smokestacks adorn the centerfield promenade at Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati, Ohio – home of the Reds

 

Day 2: Lots of Driving and a Rainy Last Game of the Baseball Season

  • Woke up at 9am
  • Drove the wrong way for 30 minutes
  • Arrived in Cincinnati just in time for the rainy 12:35pm game
  • Clocking in at just over two hours, this was the 2nd shortest baseball game I’ve ever been to
  • The game was delayed due to the stadium’s alarms going off for 20 minutes.
  • Hit the road at 5pm after scarfing down a big bowl of Skyline Chilli: a Cincinnati staple of spaghetti, chili, cheese, beans & onions
  • Returned car to Cleveland Airport and was at Meeks’ place by 9pm

 

Great American Ballpark in the rain from the centerfield bleachers - Cincinnati Reds
Great American Ballpark in the rain from the centerfield bleachers

 

Great American Ballpark - Cincinnati Reds - MLB Baseball Stadium
A fisheye view of Great American Ballpark, which includes the upper deck rafters

 

Mr. Red has been the Cincinnati Reds' mascot since 1955
Mr. Red has been the Cincinnati Reds’ mascot since 1955

 

A fisheye view of Great American Ballpark - home of the Cincinnati Reds
A fisheye view of Great American Ballpark – home of the Cincinnati Reds

 

Great American Ballpark - Cincinnati Reds - MLB Baseball Stadium
Despite 9 innings of fog, haze and rain, the game avoided a rain delay

Progressive Field – Cleveland, OH
(aka) Jacob’s Field

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Game 3: Chicago White Sox (2) vs Cleveland Indians (11)

September 22, 2011
NO driving!

Me With Slider - the Indians Mascot
Me with Slider – the Indians mascot

 

Day 3: Relaxation At Last!

  • Slept in!
  • Hung out at Meeks’ apartment
  • Wandered around some industrial construction by Cleveland’s waterfront
  • Saw the Indians defeat the White Sox (Home team record now 3-0)
  • Met up with an old college friend after the game
  • Went to sleep in the same place I woke up that day

 

Jacob's Field from the very last row of the right field upper deck - with a wide angle lens
Jacob’s Field from the very last row of the right field upper deck – with a wide angle lens

 

Progressive Field - Jacob's Field - Cleveland Indians - MLB Stadium Ballpark
A fisheye view of Progressive Field from behind home plate

 

Progressive Field - Jacob's Field - Cleveland Indians - MLB Stadium Ballpark
The outside of Progressive Field in Cleveland, Ohio – home of the Indians

 

Progressive Field - Jacob's Field - Cleveland Indians - MLB Stadium Ballpark
Looking out at Progressive Field from the right field bleachers during a Cleveland Indians baseball game

 

Progressive Field - Jacob's Field - Cleveland Indians - MLB Stadium Ballpark
There are a lot of right angles in the Progressive Field upper decks in Cleveland, Ohio

 

Progressive Field - Jacob's Field - Cleveland Indians - MLB Stadium Ballpark
The outside of Progressive Field in Cleveland, Ohio – home of the Indians

 

Progressive Field - Jacob's Field - Cleveland Indians - MLB Stadium Ballpark
In 2011, Walgreens was the official sponsor of Progressive Field’s rightfield foul pole

PNC Park – Pittsburgh, PA

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Game 4: Cincinnati Reds (3) vs Pittsburgh Pirates (4)

September 23, 2011
264 miles of driving

PNC Park - home of the Pirates - is surrounded by bridges spanning the Allegheny River in Pittsburgh
PNC Park – home of the Pirates – is surrounded by bridges spanning the Allegheny River in Pittsburgh

 

Day 4: The Stadium I Was Most Excited to See

  • Slept in again. As well I should. It’s vacation.
  • Saw a weather report for Pittsburgh that had 70% chance of thunderstorms
  • Rented a new car and left Cleveland at 2:30pm
  • Watched as the last-place Pirates managed to win the game on a walkoff hit in the bottom of the 9th. (Home team record now 4-0 on this trip)
  • Got right back in the car and arrived in Cleveland at 1:30am

 

The Roberto Clemente Bridge spans the Allegheny River leading up to PNC Park - home of the Pittsburgh Pirates
The Roberto Clemente Bridge spans the Allegheny River leading up to PNC Park – home of the Pittsburgh Pirates

 

PNC Park - Home of the Pittsburgh Pirates MLB Baseball team
A fisheye view of PNC Park from the upper deck

 

The upper deck of PNC Park has painted flags commemorating the Pirates' World Series championships
The upper deck of PNC Park has painted flags commemorating the Pirates’ World Series championships

 

PNC Park - Home of the Pittsburgh Pirates MLB Baseball team
The scoreboard at PNC Park – home of the Pittsburgh Pirates

 

PNC Park - Home of the Pittsburgh Pirates MLB Baseball team
Looking out at PNC Park from above the Pirates dugout

 

The Pirate Parrot on the field of PNC Park in Pittsburgh
The Pirate Parrot on the field of PNC Park in Pittsburgh

 

Seats at PNC Park - home of the Pittsburgh Pirates
Seats at PNC Park – home of the Pittsburgh Pirates

 

PNC Park - Home of the Pittsburgh Pirates MLB Baseball team
A view of PNC Park from the upper deck behind home plate

Comerica Park – Detroit, MO

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Game 5: Baltimore Orioles (6) vs Detroit Tigers (5)

September 24, 2011
336 miles of driving

Comerica Park - home of the Detroit Tigers - at sunset
Comerica Park – home of the Detroit Tigers – at sunset

 

Day 5: Abandonment, Motown and a Postseason Atmosphere

  • Planned to get up early, head to Detroit and spend the afternoon taking photos of industrial abandonment.
  • Wound up in Detroit with just enough time to do some quick drive-by photography
  • Comerica Park was rocking! Justin Verlander was pitching for his 25th win.
  • The Tigers had already made the postseason + after the game there were going to be FIREWORKS!
  • Considering Justin Verlander will probably win the Cy Young award this year, Meeks and I were shocked that he provided us with the only home team loss of our entire trip.
  • It took around 30 minutes to get out of the parking lot
  • Another 3 hours to get back to Cleveland

 

Detroit Tigers fans cheer on their team during a late-September baseball game at Comerica Park
Detroit Tigers fans cheer on their team during a late-September baseball game at Comerica Park

 

Comerica Park Centerfield TV Camera Platform
Comerica Park Centerfield TV Camera Platform

 

The scoreboard at Comerica Park is flanked by a statue of Hal Newhouser
The scoreboard at Comerica Park is flanked by a statue of Hal Newhouser

 

Comerica Park and the Detroit skyline during a Tigers baseball game
Comerica Park and the Detroit skyline during a Tigers baseball game

 

Finally…
one good night’s sleep
one hearty brunch
one final car rental return
and one direct flight back to San Francisco.