Park #8

August 14, Los Angeles, California:Oh me, oh mun, Dodger Stadium sucks a big one. Now, I know that Dodger stadium was the first big park on the west coast, and that it's over forty years old, but I'd like to introduce the city of Los Angeles to the word "RENOVATION". Now, i'm sure the park was cool in the 60s, but its just a load of poop now. First of all, there is nothing outside of the stadium but a parking lot. As you drive up to the stadium, there is no sign whatsoever that you are in one of baseball's most frequented places. No Dodger memorabilia, no signs of baseball life whatsoever. As you arrive to the stadium, you would think you are entering the Disney World parking lot. You see the stadium on one side, the Los Angeles hills on the other, and nothing my parking lot everywhere in between. I could not believe how boring this place looked. As I approached the stadium gates, I had to remind myself a few times that I was entering a baseball park, it looked like a slaughterhouse with overhead lights; nothing but blue and grey all over the place.
Now, get this crap: the upper deck seats, called the “Reserved seating” can only enter through the reserved seating entrance, nowhere else. Now, I thought this was just for the sake of efficiency, I was wrong. If you are in the reserved seating area, you are FORBIDDEN from going to any of the lower sections of the stadium. I got this information from an usher who made it sound like you could be drawn and quartered for being in a “unauthorized area”. Then I asked her if us plebians who were confined to the reserved seating were blessed with any amenities worth viewing. She said no and then gave a Jabba the Hutt laugh has if it was somehow funny that my $20 ticket only got me restricted access to the stadium. That is clownshoes. I couldn’t believe the social stratification. Now, I’ve always known that class warfare has existed in baseball, most notably between the salaries of the teams, and in some of the seating situations for the fans, but this utter segregation by class makes me want to take off my pants and start the revolution. However, I doubt any of these snooty Californians would join me in my proletariat strike on Dodger Stadium.
As you get to your seat, I noticed something very striking, there is nothing but seats and field. Zero, nothing to look at whatsoever. I mean, there’s a scoreboard, but there are open areas (like picnic or eating areas), no places to view Dodger history or anything. It was very disappointing. For a team with as much history as the Dodgers do, it is sad to see that there is no dedication to them. If I were Don Drysdale, I would put on my sparring gloves and whoop a little ass.
As for the food, that is one thing that Dodger stadium actually takes pride in. I could not believe the number of chains that existed in the stadium. They had a Subway, a Carl’s (which I guess is a burger place), a Starbucks, some ice cream franchises, and a Panda Express. I decided to live dangerously and get some Chinese food at Panda Express. It was nothing special, but it hit the spot for the time being. I also got a Dodger Dog, which is just a footlong hot dog, unfortuanetly the only thing that did any dodging was the taste. This was a tasteless piece of crap. I was not happy after I scarfed it down in 22 seconds.
As the game started, I felt a little let down and that Dodger stadium had not been good to me in any way. However, the game itself changed that. Pitching was Brad Penny against the Mets’ Pedro Martinez. I knew I was in for a good game, two really solid pitchers. This was the quintessential national league game. Pedro pitched 7 1/3 hitless innings, only giving up one walk in that time. He was unbelievably in the first 7 innings, I think he only threw 76 pitches and his change-up was a thing of beauty. Brad Penny was great too; giving up only one run in the whole game. It was very interesting because the in the beginning of the 8th inning, the 48,000 Dodger fans, who had been giving crap to Pedro all game began to cheer FOR him. It was like Rocky IV, where the Russians begin cheering for Rocky. Everyone just wanted to see a no-hitter. However, in the bottom of the 8th, the score was 1-0 Mets, and with one out, the Dodgers’ 2nd basemen Antonio Perez hit a double off Pedro to break up the no-hitter. Well, those Dodger fans turned on Pedro faster than a girl after I ask for her phone number. Everyone was a Dodger fan again. And the very next pitch, Pedro gave up a 2 run homer for Jayson Werth: score 2-1, dodgers. Well, the Dodgers manager (Jim Tracy I think), left Penny in for the 9th, which I would not have done, and managed to get out of it unscathed thanks to Antonio Perez. Someone on the Mets hit a triple with one out, and the next better hit a grounder to second, and Perez made a great play to get out the runner trying to score. It was a thing of beauty and the Dodgers won.
Well, overall, even though the game was fantastic, the stadium was garbage, plain and simple. I’m giving it a D. I don’t know what else to say.
Next stop Anaheim, 8 down, 12 to go.
LAZ