Our review of Kauffman Stadium - Kansas City Royals

First of all, we have had a great time in Kansas City.  After relaxing with my close friends from college, Dallas and Lisa Eubanks at their house yesterday, Michael and I got up this morning and were treated to a visit to the National World War I museum in Kansas City.  It was very cool and surprisingly, Michael enjoyed it much.

We then bolted over to Gates' Barbeque for some ribs, which although very good, still don't compare to my dad's.  But we'll take them.  After that, we spent the afternoon at the Negro League Museum and Hall of Fame - definitely the highlight of the day.  Anyone who knows me knows I am a baseball historian and I am fascinated by the time in baseball history when some of the best players ever to play baseball played but couldn't do so in the majors.  I looked forward to being there because I really wanted Michael to know how important it was to learn about the players and the league itself.  

Michael's has worn 42 as his number on his baseball uniform for the last few years in honor of Jackie Robinson.  The kid has taste!  My favorite player from that time was Satchel Paige.  Also, if you have seen the Ken Burns Baseball documentary, it's impossible to not become a huge Buck O'Neil fan as I did.  The museum was a great place for Michael to learn about these important people in baseball history.  He had a great time.

Satchel would have loved Michael's fast ball

From one #42 to another.

On to Kauffman Stadium, the home of the Kansas City Royals.  We took the short trip over to Kauffman and arrived early for the game between the Twins and the Royals.  It was the first day we experienced hot and humid weather on the trip with the temperatures in the high 80s.  Michael lucked and got another baseball during batting practice, although this time it was tossed to him from one of the Twins' players.

The stadium opened in 1973.  It is definitely a great place to watch a baseball game.  It's one signature feature, which has been a part of the stadium since it opened, is the fountains throughout the outfield.  They run throughout the game and they are great.

The fountains at Kauffman are outstanding

The stadium was renovated about 3 years ago and it looks great.  They have a nice play area for the kids in the back along with a couple of nice restaurants.  There really isn't a bad seat in the house.  The only thing is that on a hot and humid night, it gets real muggy inside the stadium.  We had seats in the lower level just down past first base about four rows off the front.  We had a blast with my friend Dallas.  Overall, we had a great time at the stadium and in KC.  The Twins managed to beat up the Royals' starting pitcher in the 3rd inning and they won 8-2.  Watching a game between the 4th and 5th place teams in the AL Central isn't all that great, but the atmosphere at the park made it worth the trip.

Here's Michael's take:

Hi everyone.  I really liked Kauffman Stadium.  The fountains were really cool, but man was it hot!  I liked getting another ball and I really loved the Negro League Museum.  I give the stadium a 6.5 out of 10.  The big scoreboard was really cool too.  I couldn't wait to get home to eat Lisa's cookies that she made for us.

That is one gigantic scoreboard

Michael, Dallas, and I in our seats.  Gotta love our Kansas City Monarch hats!

Tomorrow morning, we head out early to St. Louis for a game tomorrow night with their arch rival the Chicago Cubs, who as anyone knows me, knows I will be enthusiastically cheering for the Cardinals.  It should be a packed house.  It's a short 4.5 hour drive and we hope to visit the Arch in downtown.  It's supposed to be another hot and humid night in the mid-90s.  We'll have our KC video up by either tomorrow or Saturday.  And then, Saturday it's on to my hometown of Chicago for four days for a tour of Wrigley Field on Sunday and a White Sox game on Monday night.  My wife and daughter will meet up with us and be with us on the next seven days of the trip, which will be great for all of us.  More tomorrow!