Brent (@ExitVelo_BH), Jordan (@ExitVelo_JR), and Zach (@braffz) rank their top 5 ballparks that they have been to. From the green monster, to the Minneapolis skyline, we give you reasons why we have these ballparks in our top 5. We also take a deep dive into ballpark food that we enjoy and suggest what you should get when you’re in town to catch a game. We also give a list of bucket list ballparks that we want to go to.
Podcast (exit-velocity-baseball-podcast): Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS
No one had citizens bank in their Top 5… I haven’t been to a game there only have seen it. I’ll have to get up there! Everyone has an opinion on what players and owners shall do so we shall see.
The comment that players will only just be around each other and the team they are with is just not true. They have wives and children who also cannot live inside a bubble. Some of their Wives work and their Kids will go to school (if they will go to school) and could very well become asymptomatic carriers.
Teams have hundreds of support staff that is necessary for game day and day to day operations. Who knows who these organization members will be around or surround themselves with at home. They also have wives and children. You cannot reasonably expect every support member of teams to put their lives on hold to service the game.
The worst thing for players is to be stuck in close proximity to each other all the time. Look how fast it spread in basketball. In a matter of two or three nights members of multiple organizations contracted it all from being around Gobert and the Jazz. Three members of the Sixers contracted the virus. The Sixers played Detroit nights after the Pistons played Utah. Every organizational member from the Sixers present at that game was quarantined for 14 days.
A few things holding players up are testing and what happens to players if they test positive. Manfred said the positive player will be quarantined but the league will go on while the NBA shut down. Players have a problem with this and want better protection and assurance.
Owners of teams purchased them as a business decision. Businesses have up and down years. Owners are going to take a bath this year without fans. It’s going to be a huge hit. Isn’t this a risk you take when you own a business? Were the players compensated higher pay in those years the owners raked some extra profits? Teams signed new TV deals. All profit for owners. Did the players see any of that TV money as a bonus? Nope. Good years they keep the money in their pocket but in a bad year they cry poor me and want players to bite the bullet for them. Sorry. This one is on the owners.
We all want baseball to be played but the fans opinions are at the bottom of the list of importance. It is financially wiser (in the short term) for owners to side with not playing and saving money than play the season and lose hundreds of millions of dollars. Not fair to the fans but the owners worry first about their money and then the fans.
That is my rant. COVID is not going away and this is only going to escalate. As Americans we need to be smart and safe about this. Four of my family members all in close proximity of each other all got the COVID. Two were placed on a vent. Nursing homes do not have the ability to social distance from each other. They are all getting hit hard and dying at great numbers. A number of religious communities refusing to socially distance themselves are getting hit hard in NYC and NJ. These meat packing plants throughout the country are forced to shut down due to all the workers getting the virus. Socially distancing helps prevent the spread.
I only got 6 minutes into the podcast. Citizens Bank Park better be on that list of top 5. Such an underrated stadium. The park itself has great sight lines from all angles. You can comfortably stand in any area of the stadium concourse and not have obstructed views. 100 level to the 400 level. The food is amazing. The beer options could improve. Plenty to do inside the stadium to occupy the kids. They really did a great job of incorporating positive features from other stadiums.
A few years back I went on a trip and hit 5 stadiums in 5 days. Milwaukee, Wrigley, Cleveland, Pittsburgh and Phily. Wrigley was cool because it was Wrigley. I was not impressed with Milwaukee. Cleveland was OK. Pittsburgh has a tremendous back drop sitting on the first base side. Once I got back to Philly I was able to see some of the features they took from each of those stadiums. The open area for fans to stand in center field was a nice touch they got from Cleveland. The open bullpens were something they took from Pittsburgh and they made it even more accessible for fans to view and heckle the opponent Baltimore has a great food area. Citizens Bank Park has something very similar in RF. Unfortunately they didn’t install a pissing trough like they have at Wrigley.