Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Comparing the Mets and Angels respective homes

If the Mets have an American League soulmate, surely it's the California Angels of Anaheim.  They're an expansion team that shares a media market with one of the most storied franchises in baseball... And maybe that's about it.  But as I sat in the club level of Angel Stadium on a gorgeous night' I couldn't help but compare and contrast the stadium with Citi Field.  This was my first visit to this stadium, but I've only been to Citi twice so it's as fair as I can be...

The first thing I noticed was all the green.  The seats were green, the walls were green, and the railings were green... Yet it didn't occur to me that I was sitting in a ballpark that could be the home field for any team other than the Angels.  A big part of this, of course, must be the fact that the place is called Angel Stadium! And when you approach the entrance to the stadium you know exactly what you're there to see - the giant A's caps leave no doubt.    Does anyone think there'd be nearly as much griping about black outfield walls or Dodgers Rotunda if Citi Field were named Mets Park?  Maybe.  But actually the biggest signal of all that I was at an Angels game was: the fans.  The green seats were awash in red.  Something about that color red that unifies fans - go to a Cardinals game or even a Rutgers game and the place will be filled with fans donning the same color.  (He other thing that's red are the ads.  Almost without exception, all the ads in the park are red.  Maybe if the schlubs who "designed" that Arpielle sign had incorporated some orange and blue - it would still be ugly, but at least it'd be Mets ugly.

We have the Pepsi Porch, the Angels have the Budweiser Patio.  In centerfield we have a giant apple, they have, a waterfall! They have open air bullpens as well, but there is no tarp blocking the view from or of above.  Parking cost eight bucks but the food inside wasn't cheap.  I did get a free banner as a giveaway, commemorating the fact that Vlad Guerrero and Lou Gherig are the only 2 players to have achieved some sort of esoteric offensive feat I neglected to take note of.

The crowd was into the game pretty well, and I felt some tremors that were either caused by fan frenzy, trucks on the nearby freeway, or maybe it was an earthquake?

It was a real nice experience, even though I saw the Mets blow the 4-0 lead I heard them achieve on the xm radio in the car, on the centerfield out of town scoreboard.  You can't have everything, you know.  

1 comment:

Eli From Brooklyn said...

Gosh, I'd never be able to follow from so far. Not!

Actually, I did it from Israel for 3 years. The time difference (7 hours ahead there) is horrendous.

G-d Bless You.

-EliFromBrooklyn.com