Friday, July 25, 2014

There is baseball beyond St. Louis



Above: Tropicana Field has been called a doom and gloom baseball stadium because it is a dome with AstroTurf. (Click to enlarge.)

I am back in Florida and Thursday I decided to check the baseball schedule for the Tampa Bay Rays, about 90 miles from where I live. Surprise! On Friday they were not only at home and playing the Boston Red Sox, my favorite American League Team (along with Oakland), but Jon Lester was pitching against David Price -- it doesn't get much better than that. Tonight (Friday) I decided to go.

Although I would have rather been outside, I found that it wasn't doom and gloom at all. The stadium has been refurbished several times and looks to be in good shape. There are other domes for baseball, but they all have retractable roofs (Phoenix, Toronto, Houston, Minneapolis, Seattle and Miami). Attendance was about 23,000 and the Rays won 6-4.

I was surprised to see so many Red Sox fans all decked out in baseball gear -- ballcaps, jerseys, etc. They call the fans The Red Sox Nation, and they do love and support their team.

You can read what USA Today said about "The Trop," as it is called, if you click here.

Above: Up close, you don't see the dome from the outside.

Above: MOJO is up to his old tricks. It looks like he is going for a grand slam, if you know what I mean.
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18 comments:

  1. angerisagiftJuly 26, 2014 at 12:23 AM

    old st pete. SWEEEEET. i forget the open bar that is close by??? imo. pro baseball was bad 4 florida. it killed spring training bcuz baseball was a treat. a special time. going to Dodgertown( vero beach 4 the ppl that dont know)or winter park,sarasota,ft myer,blah,blah.

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    1. Memphis MOJOJuly 26, 2014 at 9:51 AM

      The ballpark food didi
      NOT include fried Twinkies, lol.

      Delete
    2. angerisagiftJuly 27, 2014 at 9:46 AM

      how about fried oreos????????? LOL.

      Delete
  2. ~CoachJuly 26, 2014 at 4:08 AM

    Always got a pretty girl on your arm MOJO... ;)

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  3. Dave-CostaRicaDailyPhoto.comJuly 26, 2014 at 7:29 AM

    Florida must be like Phoenix. So many transplants that visiting teams get a lot of fans.

    The Diamondbacks have not detracted from Spring Training in Arizona at all. The Cactus League is doing better than ever, and in the Spring there are about 7 games to choose from each day -- all within about 1 hour of each other, unlike Florida, where they are spread out around the state.

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    Replies
    1. angerisagiftJuly 27, 2014 at 9:52 AM

      i just think there is too much to do in florida and a lot of transplants too that MLB wasnt a good fit 4 florida. imo. like i said spring training was a treat to see the players and all b4 the season.

      Delete
    2. Memphis MOJOJuly 27, 2014 at 11:54 AM

      The ballpark did not offer fried twinkies. #disappointment

      Delete
    3. angerisagiftJuly 27, 2014 at 9:46 PM

      any fried oreos?????????????

      Delete
  4. KenPJuly 26, 2014 at 7:36 AM

    I think I know what they call the type of grin shown in the bottom picture. I will refrain from scatological references to protect the children present.

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  5. LowellJuly 26, 2014 at 9:33 AM

    Well, aren't you the gnarly old rascal! Glad to see you experienced baseball in Florida but even nicer is you obviously experienced something else! :)

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  6. The NeophyteJuly 26, 2014 at 3:01 PM

    Welcome back Mojo. Hope you enjoyed the game. The problem with the Trop is not the facilities I think. They redid the dome and it's a decent stadium to watch a game in. Sure it's not Miller Park or Great America Ballpark but it's ok. Unfortunately the location is a problem. In an area as spread out as this you really need a more central location. When you draw a circle around St Pete you find half of your available fans would need to live in the Gulf of Mexico. Dolphins are great and all but I have yet to see Winter attend a ball game. But at least the good guys won. You like the Red Sox Mojo?? For Shame. Fortunately the Rays beat your beloved Cards before they beat the Sox. Hope you enjoyed watching Price pitch, he might be pitching for the Cards by year end. If he goes anywhere, I hope it's to St Louis.

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  7. Pete P. PetersJuly 27, 2014 at 11:12 AM

    Sir, if I have not said it before, you are my hero! Bases and poker - keep living the dream

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  8. Memphis MOJOJuly 27, 2014 at 11:51 AM

    @Lowell: the lady was one of the cheerleaders. Before the game, they provide photo ops for fans and dirty old men.

    @KenP: For shame!

    @Neophyte: It looks like Price may not be going anywhere, but to the playoffs with the Rays, They are playing great right now.

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  9. Memphis MOJOJuly 27, 2014 at 11:56 AM

    @PP -- thanks. Retirement is working great for me. I worked until I was 67. Maybe I should have started sooner?

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  10. lightning36July 27, 2014 at 4:40 PM

    "There is baseball beyond St. Louis."

    A rare admission from a dreaded Cardinals fan.

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  11. SteveJuly 29, 2014 at 4:40 PM

    I enjoy baseball and living near Seattle it was hard to see the Kingdome go down. But now we have a pretty stadium and having the retractable roof is really nice on those non rainy days. Glad you had fun.

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  12. balt999August 6, 2014 at 11:49 PM

    On my bucket list is visiting every baseball stadium....I'm at 4 (Angels Stadium, Dodger Stadium, Petco Park, and the Oakland A's park) I'll get to Tampa someday

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