7/2/2009 - Wrigley Field - MLB Ballpark #14

2009 Game #12 - Milwaukee Brewers at Chicago Cubs
Final Score: Cubs 9, Brewers 5
Hot Dog - 4/5

Before we started this trip, there were two ballparks that I was really dying to see:  The new Yankee Stadium and Wrigley Field.  We’ve seen some absolutely gorgeous parks along the way so far, but those two have remained at the top of the list.

Well, tonight we went to Wrigley Field… and it did not disappoint.

There are two parks in Major League Baseball that really stand out.  Wrigley is one and Fenway is the other.  Obviously, these are the oldest and least comfortable (although Wrigley’s grandstand seats leave Fenway’s in the dust) parks still standing, so that makes them different.  They’re the only parks (for the most part) with support posts up and down the stalls, blocking field views in lots of places.  That makes them different as well.  Yet, despite all these antiquated characteristics, as I was standing in Wrigley looking out at the field, at the scoreboard, at the houses in the surrounding neighborhood, at the ivy… it felt like more than just a ballpark.

It’s kind of hard to explain, but I’ll try.  Pete S. took me to a Springsteen concert once and on the way out, he summed the night up perfectly as an almost-religious experience (”Church of Rock and Roll,” were his words, if I remember correctly).  Watching the game within the friendly confines of Wrigley evoked the same feelings; this is one of the cathedrals of the game.  Fenway has always been the same, as had the old Yankee Stadium.  There is so much history in the Cubs’ little bandbox.  So many great (and I mean great) ballplayers pitched and hit there.  The place is a living, breathing memorial to America’s pastime.  I really think it’s something you have to experience for yourself.  If you’re a real fan of the game, like we are, you’ll understand.

The game tonight was closer than it felt.  The Cubbies scored a lot early (thanks to rookie Sam Fuld and Derrick Lee’s 7 RBI, including a grand slam), but the Brewers kept chipping away and made the 8th and 9th innings interesting.  The crowd was electric, from the first pitch to the enthusiastic rendition of “Go, Cubs, Go!” (written, as we were told by the knowledgeable gentleman sitting next to us, by Steve Goodman, the man who wrote the lyrics to Arlo Guthrie’s “City of New Orleans”).  That’s the way a baseball crowd should be.

Of note:  The ivy looks really cool on the outfield walls.  I bet it hurts like heck to run into, but it looks perfect.

Also of note: Wrigley’s scoreboard lacks the modern flash and glitz, making it possibly the greatest scoreboard in professional sports.  Classic, old-school looking, and fully funcional (although it only has room to display 12 games and, on average, 15 are played every night), it really fits into the plark.

Also also of note:  Wrigley is the only park thus far where no one did the wave.  That’s right, not one fan even tried to start it.  That scores major points from both of us, as we really, really abhor the acrobatic abomination known as “the wave.”

Finally, and not all that interestingly, "award-winning journalist" Bill Kurtis (well known now for his AT&T wireless internet commercials) sang “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” at the stretch.  Mr. Kurtis, as few may know, is Karyn’s favorite investigative reporter.  There’s a bit of trivia that may come in handy when her birthday rolls around.

-Rich