Back at Chase Field (in less than 24 hours)

During our second day in Arizona, the group headed back to Chase Field in downtown Phoenix to watch an afternoon game of the Diamondbacks vs. the Reds. While it was a warm 100 degrees outside, the dome took the temperature down to a comfortable 75 degrees.

Our seats for this game were on the first base line just beyond the dire infield, on the concourse (level one). What was different about Chase Field than other ballparks we had been to, our seats were actually angled towards home plate. Instead of looking out at the field, you were already positioned towards the main "action" aka the batter. These were probably the best seats for the group for this particular game because earlier in the day we had agreed to all keep score. Our class requirement is that someone scores for each game in the official class scorebook and then people like myself also keep score. We wanted to know what would happen if we all kept a record, comparing them at a later point.

Our seats

While the Diamondbacks don't have the best record, we were hoping for some more offense from the home team after their lost the previous day. The Diamondbacks started off strong, their pitcher Wade Miley, striking out nine during the six innings he pitched. As the Diamondback's recap says on their MLB website, Miley threw four bad pitches, which they cite turned the momentum of the ballgame (but more on that later). 

In the second, the Diamondbacks executed a beautiful caught stealing play. Runners on first (Brayan Pena) and third (Devin Mesoraco). Pena started for second as the Diamondback's catcher (Miguel Montero) threw to second base. After a few tosses between the first and second baseman, Mesoraco decided it was his time to steal home. However, the Diamondback's first baseman noticed Mesoraco, throwing the ball to Montero in hopes of tagging Mesoraco out. Another pickle situation ensued until Montero finally tagged out Mesoraco. The Jumbotron told us the official scoring was CS (caught stealing) 2-6-4-3-2. If you're interested in seeing the play, click here to be taken to the MLB website with the thirty second video clip (it is really worth the watch).  

However, even that great play in the second wasn't enough to deter the Reds. In the third inning, Miley threw two pitches (one to Zack Cozart and another to Todd Frazier) that both resulted in solo home runs. The Reds were then able to tack on two more runs (one in the third and another in the fourth), once again off solo home runs (from Ryan Ludwick [3rd] and Chris Heisey [4th]). 

Now down four to nothing, the Diamondbacks had to really put their batting into high gear. The bottom of the fourth became the D-backs best chance at scoring. After an initial strikeout, Reds' pitcher Alfredo Simon walked Paul Goldschmidt and then gave up a double (Montero) which brought in Goldschmidt and then a single (Prado) which put runners on first and third. Chavez's sacrifice fly then brought in Montero and Peralta's single moved Prado around the bases and finally, Inciarte's single brought in Prado. The score was now 4-3 and it looked good for the Diamondbacks. In the fourth inning, they had four hits, three runs, and went through eight batters. 

Unfortunately, this offensive run was not enough to put the D-backs ahead. By the bottom of the ninth, the D-backs were relying on the bottom of the order batters to get a rally going and these batters were up against the infamous closer, Aroldis Chapman. We had seen Chapman before when the Reds played the Dodgers and his 100 mph fastball is incredible. And after those four home runs, the Reds couldn't put together any more runs, leaving up to three men on base in the ninth. 

The game lasted 2 hours and 59 minutes and the group sure had a good game to score. Lots of action, although not all concentrated in simply one inning. Our seats were ideal in the fact that we had a good view of the field and the jumbotron, which gave us the official scoring after each play.   

Back at AT&T: Giants vs. Twins Round Two

The crew headed back to AT&T Park for another game of the Giants vs. Twins. We had already discussed how different this ballpark felt from the others. Sitting in the bleachers the night before, we felt that the fans were there for the social aspect, not necessarily for the baseball. At our afternoon game, we got a much different feeling from the third tier.

It was a beautiful day in San Francisco and our seats had a gorgeous look out on the water. We were surrounded by lots of families (although they left by the seventh or eighth inning). These were some of my favorite seats simply because I had such a nice view of the field (I really like the more arial perspective). 

For another sold out crowd (supposedly 42,590 in attendance), the Giants had a strong showing. With a quick top of the first, they got the bats going in the bottom with three hits scoring two runs. While the Twins answered with a run in the second, the Giant's right fielder Hunter Pence delivered a home run in the third to increase the lead to two. From there, the Twins were unable to score again, while the Giants put five more runs on the board (one in the fourth, three more in the fifth, and one in the eighth). 

The star of the game was definitely Giant's pitcher Madison Bumgarner who pitched for seven innings, struck out 10 batters, and only allowed three hits. For the Giant's offense, Michael Morse had three doubles and four RBIs. 

What was the most interesting was the announcement of Dodger's pitcher Josh Beckett who had just pitched a no hitter at Coors Field during the middle of the game. While I clapped (because come on, a no hitter is a big deal), all the Giants fans around me booed. It was incredible to hear over 40,000 fans boo a player who most definitely deserved applause. But a little bit different spin on Giants fans (at least for me). 

It's All About Perspective...

After the Rockies game tonight, our group has visited five stadiums. In each venue, we've sat in a different spot. Even in stadiums where we're watching the team twice (Kansas City, Colorado, San Francisco, etc) we will sit in two new places. I hadn't quite realized how much placement can affect how I view the game and how I interact with it.

For instance, our first game at Target Field, we sat up high, overlooking home plate:

We might have been a little high up, but we had a great view. Although I felt a little disconnected from the game, I still felt like I could keep score with confidence and stay in touch with the action on the diamond. The jumbotron was straight ahead and full of good information to give me the most current news. 

When we were at Miller Park in Milwaukee, the dome keep us closed in and we were much closer to the field than at Target Field. Our seats were on the opposite side of the diamond, looking onto the field from the viewpoint of the right fielder. 

Instead of having a bird's eye view, we were only a little higher than the field. It brought us closer to the game, yet we were still away from the plate. While I still had a good view of home plate, I missed the aerial view of Target. 

Our viewpoint at Wrigley Field was unlike the other two. We were the closest to the players and we were sitting in the bleachers behind the outfield. The only thing that separated us from the field was a yellow fence. We were higher up than at Miller and a little different angle from center field. 

When we arrived at Kauffman in Kansas City, we were greeted with nice weather and a perspective similar to Target Field. 

Just like Target Field, I enjoyed this perspective because I could see everything play out. The only thing I believe we have a poor angle of is the strike zone. I had to rely on the umpire's call as opposed to being in the position to make a judgement (like when you watch baseball on TV).

Our return trip to Kauffman brought us to the third base side.

This view was definitely another close-to-the-field perspective. We had the best chance to snag a foul ball and a better view of the infielders than the batter.  

Finally, at tonight's game at Coors Field, we were up in the second deck between the right and center fielder. 

Our section was directly above the bullpits and our view was obstructed making it unable to see any balls that hit the walls of the outfield. In order to get a little bit better view, we had to stand and even then, the view wasn't perfect. Lucky for us, it was a pretty slow game with not a lot of hits, so we didn't miss much with our view. Again, being in the outfield created a sense of disconnectedness from the game and this was by far the most distracted I had been at the game. Still, it was a nice view, different from the other seats we had been in. 

I am still not sure how I feel about this perspective. I didn't realize how much the game could shift and I still haven't fully articulated my thoughts on perspective. I know I will keep taking pictures at the games and keep writing down my ideas as they come to me. Check back for more blog posts on perspective and feel free to comment below if you have any ideas on this topic!

Hailley   

Game Time at 4:55 AM (Eden Prairie to Milwaukee)

The van left Eden Prairie bright and early Thursday morning headed to Wisconsin. As we settled into our approximately five and a half hour trip, the van fell asleep (other than Ryan A and Rachel). When I woke up, we were in Wisconsin, the sun had risen, and the heat was blowing hot air against my leg. Our pit stop was Black River Falls and as our van pulled into the local Kwik Trip, I got super excited.

Let me explain. Kwik Trip is a popular gas station chain in Wisconsin. When I'm traveling with my family, stopping at a Kwik Trip means a cappuccino. So while most of the group was stumbling around Kwik Trip in a sleepy daze, I headed straight for the cappuccino machines.

Dr. Bob filled up the van, took a quick cat nap, and then we were back on the road. While most of the group proceeded to fall asleep again, I couldn't help but stare out the window, the cold glass against my check. It was funny, I thought to myself, that I knew Interstate 90-94 East so well and no one else in the car knew this road. To them, they were sleeping through it, or if they were up, it was just a road to them. For me, this road carried enough memories to several Word document pages. This was the road my family took for all sorts of adventures: to a Boy Scout camp in Haugen, Wisconsin, snow tubing at Fort McKoy, the Wisconsin Dells, East Towne Mall in Madison, the Johnson Creek Outlet Mall, or to places in Milwaukee. Here I was, all these memories running through my head while my classmates were looking outside thinking, "Well this is Wisconsin." I found myself telling a lot of stories about my travels on that road, to anyone that would listen. Hopefully I wasn't too annoying, but it was one of those moments where you want to share; you want your stories to be heard. I wanted to make my classmates appreciate not only this road but also Wisconsin as a whole. I hope it worked.

The construction in Milwaukee was just as bad as it was about a month or so ago when my dad and I drove to the airport to fly out to Boston for a graduate school visit. But instead of making our way to the airport, Dr. Bob drove the van to Miller Park.

Game time.

Post-game (I'll let Ryan R. talk about the game), we made our way to Germantown to our hotel. We were told to eat at Brisco Country restaurant and boy was it delicious. On top of that, I think this restaurant allowed us to bond. We were psyched about the Brewers win (or maybe just the energy of Miller Park or maybe it was because we were finally getting food after a very long day). Lots of great conversation and it makes me excited for the rest of the trip.

Hailley