5 DAYS – 5 STADIUMS – 5 BASEBALL GAMES – 1

DAY 1

I recently completed what I’m going to call the California Baseball Pilgrimage. The idea was to go to a Major League Baseball game at the home stadium of every single California team on consecutive days. That’s five ball games in five consecutive days. My first stop was Petco Park to see the Padres play the Dodgers on Thursday night, September 29th.

I am going to sidetrack here for a moment, as I often do, to make a comment. I came into San Diego off of the I-15, exiting on 16th St. Talk about tent city. The homeless problem is huge all over California. I mean it makes sense in a “Not in my backyard” sort of way. Where would you rather be homeless? The wintertime in the freezing rain and snow of Chicago? The northeast where it is arguably worse? The summer season in those same places, or on the Gulf Coast, where it is not only hot but humid as well? Or you can go to San Diego where the temperature is always in the 70s, it is close to the ocean, and the city doesn’t appear to be very proactive to the problem. It’s been a few years since I was last in San Diego, and there’s always been a homeless problem there. But this is the worst I’ve ever seen it. Everybody is concerned about the COVID epidemic, but I think that homeless problem has reached epidemic proportions as well. But this is meat for another blog.

Traffic going south from Bakersfield to San Diego was better than I had expected, but still bad once into the San Fernando Valley. It’s LA! I don’t miss that traffic at all. I got off to a late start, putting me in San Diego right around the start of the game. Parking in San Diego, to the uninitiated, is a problem. It used to be you could park all over downtown inexpensively. But, like everything else, they charge what the public is willing to pay. The city has been heavily invested in building up the downtown area for several years now, and Petco Park makes downtown a popular destination meaning they can, and do, chrge more for parking. Since I was running late, I grabbed the first parking structure I could find at a cost of $45. I’m sure it helps if you are familiar with the city you are in. Ultimately, the gentleman that sat next to me at the game, who is a San Diego resident, told me you can find cheap parking if you use the ACE parking lot app. He parked at a lot on K St, just a short walk to the ballpark, for $15. You can also use the light trolley to get to Petco Park. It stops right across from the main entrance behind home plate. There is also an Amtrak station about a mile away. So, while parking can be somewhat of an issue if you are coming from out-of-town, there are inexpensive alternatives. A little planning will save you some money.

The location of Petco Park is very cool. It sits directly across the street from the San Diego Convention Center, which is one of the reasons they now schedule the Padres to be out of town every July during the San Diego Comic Con. Just too many people and not enough parking. I was at Petco for a game in probably the last year they scheduled the Padres to be home that particular weekend. Crowds were absolutely insane. San Diego has a great downtown, but it can’t handle that volume of people. That being said, the Gaslamp Quarter, with its assortment of restaurants, bars, and live entertainment is a short walk from Petco Park. The Marina is close by as well and you can get some pretty good seafood at a number of restaurants in that area.

I got into the stadium during the top of the second inning. The fans were really into the game, loud and raucous. Of course, the Padres were playing the Dodgers and there has been a growing rivalry between these two teams over the past several years. The Friars jumped off to a 2 – 0 lead in the bottom of the first inning and were able to make that stand up going into the top of the sixth inning, leading 2 – 1. The Dodgers then scored three runs in the sixth and added a single run in the eighth, eventually beating the Padres 5 – 2.

I’ll be rating each of the five stadiums in eight categories as I attend these games:

Average cost (family of 4) – #1 $176.76 This is based on 2021 data and covers the cost of 4 tickets, parking, 4 hotdogs, 2 sodas, and 2 beers. Petco had the best prices among all five California teams.

Cost of one hotdog, one soda, and an order of nachos – #4 $23.71 They may be the best California value based on 2021 data but for these three staples they ranked fourth, behind three other teams. I’ll be breaking the above number down even further. The cost of tickets is going to vary widely depending on where you are seated. For instance, the cost of tickets behind home plate at the Oakland Coliseum aren’t even close to what they charge for the same seats at Dodger Stadium. In some ballparks parking, if offered, may not be the best option. And sometimes you’ve got to know where to go to get the best deals on food.

Parking – $45 I’ll not even rank this category. I spent $45 to park in downtown San Diego. If I had the ACE parking app on my phone, I could have parked for $15 plus a $3 service fee. In San Francisco, as far as I know, there is no stadium parking. For that matter, you can get good deals on tickets for below box office price. I had two tickets to all five games. The only game where I used both tickets was at Dodger Stadium. For the games at Angel Stadium and the Bay Area I listed the tickets on Stub Hub. I would have done that for the Padres game as well had I thought of it. Since it was a single seat ticket, and I was listing it a day or two before the game, I figured I’d be lucky to get anything for them. I posted them for a little more than half price and sold all three. I was talking to the guy that bought my extra ticket for the Giants game and he usually gets good seats at really good prices by buying them on StubHub on game day. Of course, not all teams are created equal, and it may be harder find that kind of a deal for say any Dodger games, which are usually sellouts. Also, single seat tickets are much harder to move and therefore you can get them at a discounted price. One strategy would be to buy several single seat tickets on game day, all on the same level, at a discounted price. Then, you and whoever you are going to the game with can meet up and move around the stadium. Usually there are no shows, and you might be able to grab some empty seats together. Otherwise, you might have to do a lot of standing and walking.

Cost of tickets vs. location – #3 As I stated earlier, not all stadiums are created equal. Ticket prices can vary widely depending on the stadium and where you’re sitting. The thing is you can have seats behind home plate at Dodger Stadium for around $1000 a ticket or similar seats in Oakland for about $100 a ticket. So, this is where I try to compare which stadiums give you the most value for your dollar ticketwise. In San Diego my two tickets cost $275. I was seated in section 115, row 13, seats 6 and 7. That is field level about halfway between first base and the right field foul pole and 13 rows back. Not bad for around $140 per ticket. Of the five California teams, it puts the Padres right in the middle in terms of the quality of your dollar. But I can remember when……

Food Quality – #3 (tie) The hot dogs, supplied by Hormel, we’re OK but nothing special. Petco offers a condiment station with ketchup and mustard dispensers and packets of relish. I like onions with my dogs and, since COVID, nobody serves onions. A soda is a soda and nachos are nachos, although I like jalapenos with my nachos, which they didn’t offer. I think you have to request them if you want them.

Accessibility – #4 Petco Park is pretty accessible. While expensive, there is plenty of parking and cheap parking if you arrive early and can find it. It wouldn’t hurt to do a little advance planning in that regard. There is always public transportation as an alternative. You might also consider staying overnight, depending on how far you are traveling to get to the game. I highly recommend this option if you’ve never been to San Diego. There are plenty of hotels within walking distance of Petco Park plus San Diego has SeaWorld, their famous zoo, the Gaslamp Quarter, plenty of neat museums, and just a ton of fun stuff to see and do if you have three or four days. One issue with the stadium is what fans are allowed to bring in. Most venues now don’t allow backpacks and require women to have clear purses. This is not only sporting events but concerts, fairs, and other popular events attracting large crowds. It is sad that it has come to this, that we need so much security but, at the same time, why does a woman need to have a purse full of makeup and whatever else they put in there to go to a baseball game?! A clear purse, from a security standpoint, just makes sense. San Diego has not yet adopted this policy. Most of the women entering the stadium had large bags and were stopped while a woman opened the purse and scanned the contents with some sort of a wand. It really slows the whole process down. It took me about 20 minutes to get through security, and the lines were not that long, just slow.

Stadium Ambiance – #1 Overall, Petco Park is a fun place to watch a baseball game. Stadium construction has evolved, and Petco Park is the newest of the five stadiums in California. It includes a lot of fan perks which, also, is the way to get fans to spend more money. But hey, do you really need that oversized foam finger? It has a very retro look with an old brick and mortar steel company building bordering the left field foul line. I guess there were some issues when they built the stadium and conservationists didn’t want to see the historic building torn down. So, it has been repurposed into restaurants and shops. The Padres have their team mascot to get the crowd fired up (Friared up?) and they’re always shooting T-shirts into the crowd between innings. Another great thing is, as you walk around the concourse, there are all kinds of places to buy souvenirs. And not the aforementioned foam finger either. I’m talking quality merchandise. Anything, from a simple T-shirt and a cap, which I picked up at every stadium at about $40 for each item, to game worn jerseys and autographed baseballs and bats. There are also all manner of stands where you can buy wine, craft beers, and specialty food items like sushi. These include areas of extra seating where you can enjoy a microbrew and have a quiet conversation. Well, relatively quiet. There is also an area beyond the main field level concourse with additional very comfortable seating. These seats face a full service bar with a giant TV monitor so you can watch the game and enjoy a cocktail. I would rate Petco slightly ahead of Oracle Park in San Francisco as the best stadium in California to watch a game, just for this feature.

Fans – #3 I can only rate the fans based on my experience and interaction here. Obviously, this is a very minuscule sample size based upon my very subjective opinion. And, to a lesser extent, their knowledge of the game. I would have to say the fans here are great, as most fans are. Guy next to me was very helpful with parking info. I told him what I was doing that weekend and he shared that he had done a similar thing on the East Coast with his son about 20 years ago. They rented an RV and they just traveled up and down the East Coast hitting all the Major League ballparks. It’s difficult to rate fans for each of these games especially since, in my opinion, Cubs fans have set the bar so high. But, as far as California teams go, I would rate Padres fans middle of the pack.

Girls – #1 This is an unofficial category. If I share pictures on this one, I’m sure I’ll end up divorced, if not worse. Besides, a 60-something-year-old man taking pictures of young girls is just a tad creepy. But, on a scale of 1 to 10, girls in San Diego are a 9. San Diego is a college town. after all, so you’re going to see a lot of cute young girls. And girls today are not modest, bless their hearts.