5 DAYS – 5 STADIUMS – 5 BASEBALL GAMES – 2

DAY 2

Day two takes me to Dodger Stadium where I am, admittedly, biased. Firstly, rather than drive all the way back to Bakersfield, I spent the night in Burbank, where I grew up during my teen years. On Friday morning I made the short drive to Sylmar, taking San Fernando Road. Actually, I took San Fernando Place, which runs parallel to San Fernando Road on the other side of the railroad tracks. I suppose this is what as meant by the phrase “the other side of the tracks”. I bring this up because I was surprised to see RV after RV after RV parked on the side of the road. At least 50 of them and probably many more. Most appeared to have taken root, not having moved in years. Heck, most of those had flat tires and probably a host of mechanical problems. All that was missing was a good old midwest twister. As I saw in San Diego, the homeless problem seems to be growing exponentially. But I digress.

One thing I did this trip, that I’ve never done here or anywhere else, was take the stadium tour with my buddy, Eric. Should have done that years ago. For $40 it’s an excellent value. The tourt started at 3:30, running until about 5:00 o’clock. It really delves into the history of the Dodgers, all the way back to Brooklyn. But before we could do the tour, we made an unintentional de-tour. This was because, when we arrived at the the stadium at 2:00 o’clock, we discovered that the gates for tour participants didn’t open until 3:00. This is where it pays to know the area. I have averaged two or three, and sometimes more, Dodger games every year for over 40 years. So, I know the area. We used to go to the games early looking for cheap parking. That is how we found Compadres Restaurant. We could park for FREE on a side street, about a block from the restaurant where they make the best margaritas. After two or three of those we would stagger to the Stadium, which is about a 20-minute walk, leaving the car in a free parking spot. I don’t know when they started doing it, but parking is now restricted to residential only, subject to fines and towing and starting four hours before game time. That was cool. We would be gone by then and already had a voucher for paid parking.

The tour was a lot of fun. Starting at the field level concourse behind home plate, we got to see some parts of Dodger Stadium one only sees if they have VIP passes. This includes trophy cases commemorating Golden Glove and Silver Slugger awards, Rookies of the year (of which the Dodgers have far more than any other team), Cy Young Award winners, as well as all of the World Series trophies the Dodgers have won over the years. Interesting fact, for decades Major League Baseball awarded the World Series champion with a special bat which represented the winner that year. That was all fine and good until the first NFL-AFL championship game, (it became known as the Super Bowl two years later). In January 1967 the NFL awarded their champion, the Green Bay Packers, a beautiful trophy later known as the Lombardi Trophy. Baseball knew a good idea when it hits them in the face and followed suit, awarding their own trophy to the World Series winner starting in October of that same year. This became the Commissioners’ Trophy in 1985. The tour also included exhibits celebrating the lives of Vin Scully, Jackie Robinson and other Dodger notables. It ended up in the right field bleachers about 2 hours before game time, where we watched players take BP. A lot of balls were being hit into the stands or tossed into the stands after a player made a catch. Note to self—next time I need to bring a glove.

Because we came early for the tour, traffic was light, (for LA anyway) and it was very easy to get to the Stadium. It’s one of the reasons we got there an hour before the gates opened. Getting into the Stadium was a breeze since we were there 4 hours early for the tour. But, as anyone that has ever lived here, or spent any time here knows, LA traffic sucks. Getting in and out of Dodger Stadium is usually a pain in the ass on a good night. The fact that the Dodgers lead the league in attendance almost every year just makes the situation worse. Had we arrived at the stadium by 6:00 o’clock for a 7:10 game, we MIGHT have gotten to our seats in time for the first pitch. As it was, we were able to take our time and take a leisurely walk around the stadium, soaking it all in.

We had great seats and the stadium was packed, eventually, even though the game was meaningless. The Rockies were out of it and the Dodgers had locked up home field advantage through the World Series, for all the good that did them. By the time we got to the 6th inning, the Dodgers were comfortably ahead 9 – 0. I once attended a game against the Phillies that the Dodgers were leading 11 – 3 in the ninth inning. They eventually lost 12 – 11 in extras. Except, I had left at the top of the ninth inning and missed it. So, I NEVER leave games early. But we had already been at the Stadium for over 6 hours, and I still had to drive back to Bakersfield. Then, the following afternoon, I had to make the drive to Anaheim. Plus, this Dodger team was not likely to give up a nine-run lead in the 9th inning, even with Kimbrel pitching. Especially against the Rockies. So, we started to make our way slowy out of the stadium. We took our time and didn’t get to the parking lot until the game was over. It just meant that we had a head start on everybody else. In LA every second counts. I still didn’t get home until almost 1:00 AM. But the Dodgers won 10 – 1.

So how do I rate Dodger Stadium?

Average cost (family of 4) – #5 $265.93 Not only is Dodger Stadium the most expensive stadium at which to attend a game in California, it is one of the more expensive stadiums in Major League Baseball to attend a game. Only five teams are more expensive. This is understandable, considering the Dodgers have one of the highest payrolls in baseball. Somebody has to pay for all those superstars.

Cost of one hotdog, one soda, and an order of nachos – #5 $24.92 Once again, of the five California teams, this was the most expensive.

Parking – At $40, Parking at Dodger Stadium is probably about average. But Dodger Stadium has major parking issues aside from cost. For starters, just getting in and out of the stadium is more difficult than flying down a trench and hitting an exhaust port on the Death Star. I have more to say about this later. (Parking, not Star Wars although the Obi-Wan Kenobi series was pretty good, right). There are only 5 entrances and exits to the stadium and they tend to get jammed up, especially at the end of a game. Now that the Dodgers have gone totally digital, getting in is a bigger hassle than it was before. To access parking, you now need an electronic parking pass on your phone that the parking attendant has to scan. I have gone to a game on a Sunday afternoon and, due to the bright sunlight, it is very difficult to scan someone’s phone. I watched as the parking lot attendant spent two or three minutes on a single car, just trying to get a proper reading. Now multiply that by 30,000 cars. I’ve said this before. The Dodgers need to take a page out of the Inn ‘N Out Burger playbook. They should have attendants with tablets working their way along the line of cars, scanning everyone’s electronic parking pass as they go. That way, when you pull up to the booth, all they have to do is hand you a flier, which you place on your dashboard, showing to which lot you are assigned. Another problem is there are no inexpensive alternatives. And, unfortunately, the car culture in Southern California is so prevalent that people might not use a cheaper alternative were it available. Although California does have the most expensive gas in the nation, so that may change soon.

Cost of tickets vs. location – #5 $322 for two tickets. Once again, the Dodgers are the most expensive baseball tickets in California. No surprise there. Our seats were in section 33FD row D seats 5 and 6. That put us on the field level, 4 rows back, and slightly beyond third base. Up until a few years ago, these would have been prime seats. They are still good seats, but some years ago the Dodgers added the baseline club seats going down the left field and right field foul lines and even with both dugouts. They also added the dugout club seating directly behind home plate. This effectively took out quite a bit of foul territory, which was an intentional design feature to accommodate the Dodgers strong pitching, something they’ve always been known for. A couple of comments about seating here. I recently started buying tickets on the top deck at Dodger Stadium. Reason being, not only are they among the cheapest seats in the house, being nosebleed and all, but I have discovered the view from up there is phenomenal. You tend to get an overview of the entire field rather than just the right field side, or the left field side, or the infield, or the outfield, which is what you get when you are seated lower. Of course, one drawback is that you’re not as close to the players but, from the standpoint of watching the game, I can see things unfold much better up there because I can see everything at once. Since Dodger Stadium is one of the larger ballparks in the major leagues, I imagine this is true of the top deck in most ballparks. Another thing I miss, is the Dodgers used to have a special deal if you sat in the right field pavilion whereby, for the price of admission, you also got to eat all the hot dogs, peanuts, and soft drinks you could cram down your throat. Of course, I can’t eat like that anymore but, when I could, for a ticket that cost me $40 or $50 I would easily eat that much at the concessions. So, I reasoned, admission was free, and I was just paying for food. And, depending on how much I stuffed my face, I was paying far below concession prices. Sadly, the Dodgers discontinued this policy when they remodeled the stadium a couple of years ago. Before the remodel, fans could only access the right field pavilion if they had tickets. When the Dodgers remodeled, they made the entire stadium accessible, which is kind of cool, but it meant anybody could walk into the right field pavilion and get free food. You would think they would come up with some sort of a wristband policy or something to identify people that have tickets to that area. Or maybe there were too many people like me, and they used this as an excuse to cut their losses.

Food Quality – #1 This even surprised me. I have not been a fan of the new Dodger Dogs since they dropped the Farmer John brand last season. As an alternative, I have discovered the Brooklyn Dog. I don’t know who makes it, but when you bite into it, it has a real snap and tastes really good. Also, Dodger Stadium is the only stadium, in California at least, that has a footlong hotdog. One thing the Dodgers don’t have is street dogs. The other stadiums, except for possibly Angel Stadium, had street vendors selling grilled hot dogs outside the venue. These are different than the dogs you get inside because they come with grilled onions, peppers, and all sorts of other goodies on them. Unfortunately, I had to steer away from these because my cardiologist would have had a heart attack if he knew what I was eating. Since these purveyors of delicious beef and pork entrails aren’t really a part of the stadium but, rather, independent sellers, I wouldn’t have included them anyway. But, man, did they smell good. I am only guessing, but Dodger Stadium and Angel Stadium both have large properties with huge parking lots. Maybe these vendors get away with this because they are not on team property but, since the other stadiums don’t have expansive parking lots, they can set up shop right outside the venue on City property.

Accessibility – #5 Okay, back to last place. A big problem with Dodger Stadium is the location. The thing Walter O’Malley liked most about the location when he first decided to move the team to out to LA is now its biggest fault. The location is situated at the nexus of several freeways, giving fans from all different parts of the city access. It was close to downtown without being too close. And close to the Valley and Pasadena as well. That was fine in 1958. Now, LA traffic being what it is, those freeways are jammed even on non-game days. On game days it just adds another 30,000 cars to an already overburdened system. Just look at Petco Park and Oracle Park. And, to a lesser extent, Angel Stadium. You go to those stadiums and, after the game is over, all the bars and restaurants that are within walking distance fill up. In LA you have to get in your car and drive. By the time you get out of the parking lot you are so stressed out you just want to go home. A downtown stadium would be preferable, but Dodger Stadium is iconic, so a new stadium isn’t even a part of the discussion. There has been talk of running a light rail into the stadium or perhaps a subway from the valley like the red line that goes to Staples Center. They need to come up with something.

Stadium Ambiance – #3 This category is very subjective, and a lot depends upon my game day experience. A stadium that was #1 for one game could easily drop to #5 for the next game all because some fan ruined it for the rest of us, or myself at any rate. Dodger stadium is the third oldest ballpark in Major League baseball, but they do a marvelous job of keeping it up. Just before COVID hit, they did a multi-million-dollar renovation/upgrade. They have added concessions and places for fans to go if they want to sit back and just watch the game on a big screen monitor. This is really nice on a Sunday afternoon in July when it is in the high 90s and there isn’t any shade available. They still lag behind Petco Park and Oracle Park, but those are newer stadiums with those new design features incorporated into the original plan. Stadium design has evolved quite a bit in the 60 years since Dodger Stadium was first built. The fact that they are doing their best to keep it up gets high praise from me. I can honesly say I have never had a bad experience (aside from the occasional loss) when attending a Dodger Game.

Fans – #1 LA has great fans. Even when the team is not doing well, they are among the league leaders in attendance. Part of this is because LA is such a great melting pot with people from all over the country coming to the games. You’ll get a lot of Cubs fans or Cardinals fans or Pirates fans. Even Yankee fans will show their faces. Aside from that, the LA community has always supported the Dodgers, more so than any other major sports team in the area. Fans only seem to show up for Lakers, Rams, and Kings games when the teams are winning. Which is probably one of the reasons fans don’t go to Clipper games. The fans get a bad rep for arriving late (traffic is horrible) and leaving early (traffic is more horrible). If the game ends at 10:00 PM or later and it takes an hour (or more) just to get out of the parking lot with maybe a 25-mile drive home and you have to be at work at 6:00 AM, you leave early. Well, I don’t, but I understand the logic.

Girls – #5 And back to #5. You would think with all the plastic surgeons around, and the whole image conscious Hollywood crowd, that the Dodgers would be number one. They are dead last and it’s not even close to number 4.