
San Diego: dry, sunny, mild; who could ask for a better climate? Most can't. Chargers, Trojans, Padres; who could ask for better sports teams? Well, most can.
But tonight's not about talent. It's about the glorious American pastime of baseball. The usually awkward San Diego Padres play at home in one of the country's (or at least the west coast's) newest and nicest ballparks, Petco Park. Here's some of the views of the stadium, and one where you can see that some of the older nostalgic SD buildings were preserved, at least on the exterior, and they blend beautifully with the modern construction of the Park.
But tonight's not about talent. It's about the glorious American pastime of baseball. The usually awkward San Diego Padres play at home in one of the country's (or at least the west coast's) newest and nicest ballparks, Petco Park. Here's some of the views of the stadium, and one where you can see that some of the older nostalgic SD buildings were preserved, at least on the exterior, and they blend beautifully with the modern construction of the Park.
This ballpark is quite the work of modern architecture. It also would have never been built if it were up to me. As I posted on my Facebook page with one of these photos, to build a ballpark of this magnitude and with this level of luxury for a team like the Padres is at best ill-advised. Maybe Kevin Costner would be proud (google "if you build it they will come") but I wouldn't have bet the California Vineyard on it.
Obviously my rant means absolutely nothing without any numbers, but this isn't a statistics or analytical blog, so you will get none of that; in fact I'm about to point out all of the fun parts of my visit to Petco.
Obviously my rant means absolutely nothing without any numbers, but this isn't a statistics or analytical blog, so you will get none of that; in fact I'm about to point out all of the fun parts of my visit to Petco.
The bad side of sitting in west-facing seats? For 3-4 innings you wish you had some sunglasses. See Below:
I mentioned more beer, and I'm not a liar. San Diego prides itself for being a Mecca of craft beers, and one is never short on options for a different flavor of brew. My liquid-bread of choice for this evening was Karl Strauss' Pintail Pale Ale. It won the 2012 California State Fair Commercial Beer Competition Gold Medal! It's just a fantastic hybrid of crisp and dry hops and a full-flavored and yet-citrusy ale. I love Pale Ales, and my favorite previously was Kona Fire Rock, but this one may be the new beer I lust for.
Oh yea, San Diego actually beat the San Francisco Giants that night (this was Saturday, the 27th of April)! I guess that didn't really help my case above when I was basically saying "the Padres suck". Sorry Padres. I had a great time at your ballpark. Here are a few more pictures to prove it.
Oh yea, San Diego actually beat the San Francisco Giants that night (this was Saturday, the 27th of April)! I guess that didn't really help my case above when I was basically saying "the Padres suck". Sorry Padres. I had a great time at your ballpark. Here are a few more pictures to prove it.