When The Pilot texted me last week asking if I wanted to come down and go to the Astros game, I couldn't refuse.
The Astros are one of the few teams that I've actually never seen play so I was excited to see a new team on the field...even though they're currently the worst team in major league baseball. We got to the game about an hour before it started so that we could walk around for a bit...and of course take pictures.
When we got to the Box Office, we were looking at the seating chart trying to decide what we wanted when the lady behind the counter said, "We have Field Box seats for $11 today, interested?" Field Box seats? For $11?? I'm in! We ended up sitting about 10 runs behind 1st base. It was awesome.
After we ate, we walked around the ball park for a while and (of course) stopped in the Team Store. I've been collecting pins from all of the stadiums I go too and the one I picked up in Houston is definitely my favorite.
By the time we got to our seats, it was already the 3rd inning and the Astros were up by 2 against Cincinnati. By the 6th inning, the Reds had tied up the game which made it interesting. In between at-bats, we stopped to buy some Blue Bell ice cream because they only have it in Texas and it's amazing. Of course, as soon as we left to get ice cream, the Kiss Cam started up and we missed it. The Pilot and I have been trying to get on the Kiss Cam at every baseball game we go too! And our seats were so good, I'm almost positive we would've gotten on if we had stayed in our seats because every time they panned the audience, our section was always shown. Bummer!
Anyway, we devoured our ice cream in about 35 seconds and watched the rest of the game. At the top of the 7th, the Reds scored another run taking the lead 3-2 but the Astros came back at the bottom of the 7th and brought the game up to 4-3 and scored another run in the 8th. Despite the Reds scoring at the top of the 9th, they were unable to take a 9th inning lead and the Astros won.
When the game ended, the stadium erupted. You would have thought they had just won the NL Championships or something! They had won the series which I don't think they had done in awhile and people were just jumping up and down, cheering, screaming, it was great! I don't think I've seen fans that excited over a win at any game before.
I loved Minute Maid Park. It's a domed stadium and they had the roof up so we were indoors but all of the windows in the outfield brought in enough natural light that you still felt like you were at a baseball stadium. That was my biggest gripe about Tropicana Field...it just didn't feel like a baseball stadium. But Minute Maid Park was great. The people there were all so unbelievably friendly. It felt like everyone at the ballpark was making an effort to make sure I was having a good time. Now that's how a baseball stadium should be...unlike my last baseball stadium experience.
Not to mention, the stadium is beautiful! I love the way it's set up. I love how all of the new stadiums are being built so that you can walk around the entire ball park and really see everything. And I have to comment on the paint job...it was fantastic! The way they painted that stadium to reflect the Astros colors was really nicely done!
Whenever I tell people I'm on a mission to visit every MLB stadium, the one question I always get is, "What's your favorite so far?" And I always have a tough time answering. On the one hand, I'm a Mets fan and I love CitiField but I feel like because I'm a Mets fan, I'm biased so when considering my favorite ball parks, I always try to leave CitiField out to be as fair as possible. Until last week, it was a toss up between AT&T Park and Camden Yards. But I think Minute Maid Park just climbed to the top of that list!
So that's that! 14 ball parks down, 17 to go! Making it before 25 is definitely going to be a challenge but hey, at least I'm having fun along the way!
The Astros are one of the few teams that I've actually never seen play so I was excited to see a new team on the field...even though they're currently the worst team in major league baseball. We got to the game about an hour before it started so that we could walk around for a bit...and of course take pictures.
When we got to the Box Office, we were looking at the seating chart trying to decide what we wanted when the lady behind the counter said, "We have Field Box seats for $11 today, interested?" Field Box seats? For $11?? I'm in! We ended up sitting about 10 runs behind 1st base. It was awesome.
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| The jumbo-tron was huge! |
We were both hungry when we got to the game so we stopped at the FiveSeven Grill for a bite to eat. The menu was a little pricey so we decided to share the spinach and artichoke dip as an appetizer. Spin dip with tortillas and crostini? Yum.
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| The FiveSeven Gill |
By the time we got to our seats, it was already the 3rd inning and the Astros were up by 2 against Cincinnati. By the 6th inning, the Reds had tied up the game which made it interesting. In between at-bats, we stopped to buy some Blue Bell ice cream because they only have it in Texas and it's amazing. Of course, as soon as we left to get ice cream, the Kiss Cam started up and we missed it. The Pilot and I have been trying to get on the Kiss Cam at every baseball game we go too! And our seats were so good, I'm almost positive we would've gotten on if we had stayed in our seats because every time they panned the audience, our section was always shown. Bummer!
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| You can take the girl outta the Honky Tonk... |
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| The Home Run train was...anticlimactic. |
I loved Minute Maid Park. It's a domed stadium and they had the roof up so we were indoors but all of the windows in the outfield brought in enough natural light that you still felt like you were at a baseball stadium. That was my biggest gripe about Tropicana Field...it just didn't feel like a baseball stadium. But Minute Maid Park was great. The people there were all so unbelievably friendly. It felt like everyone at the ballpark was making an effort to make sure I was having a good time. Now that's how a baseball stadium should be...unlike my last baseball stadium experience.
Not to mention, the stadium is beautiful! I love the way it's set up. I love how all of the new stadiums are being built so that you can walk around the entire ball park and really see everything. And I have to comment on the paint job...it was fantastic! The way they painted that stadium to reflect the Astros colors was really nicely done!
Whenever I tell people I'm on a mission to visit every MLB stadium, the one question I always get is, "What's your favorite so far?" And I always have a tough time answering. On the one hand, I'm a Mets fan and I love CitiField but I feel like because I'm a Mets fan, I'm biased so when considering my favorite ball parks, I always try to leave CitiField out to be as fair as possible. Until last week, it was a toss up between AT&T Park and Camden Yards. But I think Minute Maid Park just climbed to the top of that list!
So that's that! 14 ball parks down, 17 to go! Making it before 25 is definitely going to be a challenge but hey, at least I'm having fun along the way!
