San Diego Red Sox Trip Report
The Land of a Whale’s Vagina (see Anchorman if you don’t get it) has a lot to offer, especially in this particular weekend of baseball, beaches, and beer. I must say, it was one of the better baseball road trips I have been on in a while. San Diego has a nice small town feel similar to Boston (including the sarcasm as you will see) with warm weather and a laid back attitude. And Petco Park is awesome, incredibly spacious and a place that continuously will remind you that as cool and historic as Fenway is, a new stadium is always a more convenient time.
I grade each of the things that Petco and San Diego as a baseball town has to offer, with 1 beer being bad and 4 beers being awesome:
Stadium, 4 Beers:
I went to all 3 games, so I had a good opportunity to check out all of the nuances of Petco Park. Petco is probably the nicest ballpark I have ever been to, even eclipsing Camden. The seats are pretty cheap, with the SRO Park Pass going for 7, and bleachers going for 15. The place is incredibly spacious and can seat over 44 thousand people (and actually, the Sox/Padres series beat the previous mark for attendance for a 3 game series, as each game held 43-44 thousand each game with the total mark at about 134K). The ballpark attendants are very friendly and knowledgeable. The seats, which are plastic and are all similar in space that you only get for the very expensive loge seats at Fenway, are comfortable and all face home plate. They also each have a cup holder, even in the bleachers (great for double fisting). For Sunday’s 1pm game, each seat also had a block of sunscreen (which my Irish self definitely needed; as a fellow comedian once said to me, “Dude, you sunburn standing next to someone with a bright idea”), which impressed me because that’s the type of hospitality I like to get from a ballpark. There are also plenty of bathrooms and concessions available in each section that decrease lines and allow you to get to see as much of the game as possible. Standing room is available EVERYWHERE, with a clear view of home plate (although it also helps the place doesn’t have huge beams in your face), providing a nice view of shade for day games that won’t affect your view of the ballpark. There is even a mini-scoreboard in the standing room section behind home plate, which is very nice because it’s the only part of the standing room section that blocks the scoreboard in center field. In left-center, there is not only a nice villa of grass similar to the Little League World Series field in Williamstown, PA, but also a sand box for kids to play in as well. The only place where the standing room is a little dicey (or is it DiceK?) is on top of the left field “Western Metal Supply Co.” building, mostly because the view is very similar to the Monster seats at Fenway, making it a popular spot for people to stand.
Food, 2 Beers:
I was actually a little disappointed in the food, although the service was pretty decent (I found it funny that every time you tip, all of the attendants give out a big, “HEEEEEY, THANK YOU!”). I figured that since this was San Diego, near the Mexican border, that the standard food of choice for the stadium, the nachos would be very exotic and unique. They were actually quite bland. The hot dogs were small and sausages were OK, and I found the Pizza to be the best thing there. I didn’t get a chance to try the Southwestern Chicken Chipotle Sandwich, although it looked very good. The lemonade obviously owned, and they did have a ton of beers to choose from (I counted 13) which is nice (even Sam Adams Boston Ale), including some from local breweries made just minutes from the ballpark (the Long Stone Amber Ale is very tasty, a darker version of Newcastle; the Beach Bum Blonde is also great for warm days in the sun). The only thing is CA/San Diego rules prohibit beers being sold in the stands, and you can only get 2 at a time. I guess some things are just like home!
Atmosphere, 3 Beers:
I upped this to 3 beers I think because of the fact the Sox were in town, adding a constant buzz throughout the series, but the stadium announcer and Padre vibe itself is very corny. A coach interviews a player in between the 3rd inning and asks him silly questions like, “NASCAR or F1?”, like I care about how big of a hick Jake Peavy is. But I am an East Coast guy, so maybe I’m the only one to find 80’s Night a bit odd. They also have dancing contests and wacky promotions going on in between innings that can be distracting. Even though he has retired a while ago, this place is still ALL about Tony Gywnn; you can see his influence around the stadium. They also have a Youkilis rip-off in the form of Third Baseman Keven Kouzmanoff (the chant of, “Koooooooooouuuz”, which is actually ripped off from Bob Cousy from the Celtics’ glory days).
The one thing I did like was the Salute to the Military section on Sundays. Definitely brings chills as the whole stadium stand and applauds the folks who come to the game in uniform and stand at attention during the middle of the 4th inning. Good stuff.
Fans, 1 ½ Beers:
Now, I’m not saying ALL of the fans are naïve and don’t have a clue about baseball. The we sat next to on Sunday were cool; asked us questions about Fenway and where in MA we were from, discussed the controversial “replay” call on Saturday nights’ game, and were optimistic about their chances to win the NL West (I love this teams’ pitching, btw. Only team that has a better bullpen than the Sox is the Padres, IMO). Plus the women here ARE SMOKING.
But I was called a fag not once, but twice by unruly San Diego fans after both losses. Now, it’s not that I haven’t seen anyone called a fag at a baseball game before; I am sure some of the Fenway Fanatics who have had a few beers too many to drink in the bleachers have treated some opposing fans like crap, but I mean if you are going to try to insult me, can’t you come up with something better than chanting, “Bos-ton Fag-gots”? At least in Yankee Stadium, the fans have original material. Like instead of singing, “YMCA” in the 6th inning, they will point out to the opposing fans and chant, “Why-Are-You-Gay?” (as seen in this Youtube clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CbTXRKsly-g).
Now I understand the San Diego fans dislike Boston fans due from the Pats win last January (and the way the Pats acted after winning that game), especially since they expected to win the Super Bowl……but to ask if I was from Boston, then ask where from (I replied, “Roxbury”, one of the tougher areas of the city. It was so tough the parents always knew where the kids where; especially since we were always on the news), followed by a, “Oh so that is why you are such a fag” is weak, hack, and would of gotten his ass kicked if I didn’t remind myself that I am on vacation and don’t want to get arrested and have to spend my drinking money on a bail bondsman (the ads for these people are everywhere, by the way).
I will say not all of the fans were bad though. One of the knowledgeable ones was actually one of the TSA guys at the Airport. He saw my hat as I was leaving and said, “Aw man, you guys kicked our ass this weekend”. I then replied that he still had a good team with good pitching, which he responded, “Definitely, one or two more bats and we can get far I think (and I agree)”
Overall, it was a fun trip and good times were had by all.
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