Our last day in Atlanta was great. It's unbelievable to think that as of Friday 7/1 six weeks have passed since we left Phoenix on our trip. The nice thing about this trip for Michael and I is that we have not only seen most of the country, we have reconnected with several friends and family and even managed to meet new ones that we only knew by name. That was the great thing about our visit to Turner Field to see the Atlanta Braves play on Friday night.
Michael and I want to reiterate our thanks to our friend Steve Heinrichs, his son Tyler, and my long-time friend Matt McCarthy for coming to the game with us. Steve hooked us up with some spectacular seats right behind home plate, which came with a pass to the 755 Club in the stadium. He also was our designated transportation for the evening from my niece's house where we stayed. Steve has played in our fantasy baseball league for several years, but I had never met him in person. It was great meeting him and his son finally after all these years. It was a lot of fun hanging out with him and Matt. These guys know their baseball (except for fantasy of course) but it's always great going to a baseball game with guys who understand the subtleties of the game as it makes for great conversations.
Anyway, we had a blast. Turner Field opened in 1997. It was converted from the track stadium that was used during the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. We showed up early and walked in from center field. The outside of Turner Field is pretty nondescript. In the area right outside of the stadium, there are numerous statues devoted to Hank Aaron - as there should be. The old park where he broke Babe Ruth's HR record in 1974 is no longer there, but a replica of the old outfield wall from the stadium still exists right behind Turner Field. That's kind of cool.
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| Michael and Hank Aaron |
When we got in the stadium, Michael and his cousin Turner (no relation to the stadium) went down to the front row in left field to try and catch some batting practice balls. Michael got one tossed to him from a player and gave it to Turner, who later got it signed by one of the Braves' players. But then came the highlight of the night. A ball was hit right to Michael who stuck his glove up and would have caught it. But this older girl was near him and pushed his glove out of the way as he reached for it. The ball fell to the ground and so did Michael and this girl. They battled for the ball on the ground and apparently in the struggle she delivered an elbow to Michael's face and managed to get the ball from him. We gave Michael lots of grief over that one. The only redeeming part of it was at least she was good looking.
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| Michael (far right) about to catch his ball - but not quite |
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This chick beat Michael up to get a ball and then had the nerve to call someone and
brag about "taking it from some little boy." |
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| The view of Turner Field from left field |
We then walked around the park and took in some more sights, had dinner, and then went to our seats. And as mentioned earlier, they were NICE! The park has some nice features. Of course, the 755 Club is a plus. The food was really good too. It's hard to find a bad seat in the place and the Braves definitely emphasize their history around the park. Hank Aaron and Eddie Mathews statues, banners, and retired numbers are all over the place. The scoreboard is large and well-placed in center field. The out-of-town scoreboard does not show all of the scores all at once, but it does the job. There are places for the kids to play and the walkways are wide. Where the stadium falls short is with character. Compared to other stadiums built within the past 15 years or so, there is nothing special about the place. There are no quirky features in the park and there are no views of downtown Atlanta. The grass wasn't in the best of shape either before the game.
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| The 755 Club |
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| The view from our seats |
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| The kids area in the upper deck of left field. What's up with the cow? |
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| Turner, Michael, and Dad |
The game was outstanding. In fact, the Braves won 4-0. And Jair Jurrjens the pitcher for the Braves had a no hitter into the 7th inning and were it not for a cheap single up the middle, he would have had the no-hitter. We saw a home run and the weather cooperated considering it was July in Atlanta. There was a post-game fireworks display too. I know my friend Matt kept lobbying me to get the field higher in the rankings, but I don't think this one will crack the top 10. As mentioned before though, the seats were great and we had a great time. Overall, I would give the place a 7/10.
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| A One Hitter! |
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| Me and my main man |
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| Our crew from L to R - Turner, Michael, Lance, Matt, Steve, and Tyler |
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| The Fireworks Show |
Anyway, we are down to the final five days of the trip and we have three stadiums left to see. We take off for Tampa and will spend the weekend their before spending a night in New Orleans on the Fourth of July, travel to Houston to get a tour of Minute Maid Park, and then drive to Dallas to see our final game in Rangers Stadium. We'll also be joined by Michael's good friend Chris in Tampa. Here's Michael's take on Turner Field:
Hi folks! It's me Michael again. I thought Turner Field was good. I loved the 755 Club - very nice. The scoreboard was pretty cool too. Our seats were awesome and it was an awesome game. We almost saw a no-hitter. I also loved how they did the fireworks show after the game. But when I compare the stadium to the other ones I've seen, it was just average. I also learned a lot about Hank Aaron at the park. My dad says he watched him break Babe Ruth's record on TV when he was 7 years old. Overall, I give the park a 7/10 so me and my dad agree.
We'll have the rankings and more from Tampa. It's a long ride to there from Atlanta.
