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Loved every minute of our trip to AT&T park. It was only our fourth time we have been able to watch the Mets play on the road, so already it was a special day. Beautiful day, beautiful stadium, and most importantly, the Mets won!
Lots of people said to me going in that this was their favorite ballpark in MLB, so maybe AT&T was a victim of high expectations? I would rank it in the second set, one notch below PetCo, PNC, and yes, our own beloved CitiField.
Some thoughts....
*Getting There
Our hotel was within walking distance, so we enjoyed walking down to the park with all the other fans. Lots of Mets fans were in attendance over the weekend, and even the Giants fans were cool to us. Looks like there were lots of good bars and restaurants in the area. We went to an afternoon game, so we didn't get a chance to stop in. There didn't look like there was a ton of parking around the area, and all the cab drivers talked about how bad traffic is going to and coming out of the game.
*Stadium Amenities
Our first stop was the big glove out in LF. Looks kinda goofy on TV, but it's pretty impressive in person. The giant Coke Bottle is a slide, I don't think I ever realized that. My kids enjoyed taking a turn, even the now too cool for school older one. Out beyond CF, they have a food court area, which has some of the better food in the stadium. We were going to check it out, but the lines were super long, and we had wasted a ton of time in line waiting for the slide. There's also a batting cage downstairs in the "Garden area". Unfortunately, we saw it after it had already closed.
The view into McCovey Cove is amazing. They have a goofy trolley out in left-center that the kids begrudgingly took a picture on.
*Food
The sausage & peppers was pretty good (I think Citi is better). The clam chowder bread bowl is definitely worth it (metfairy suggestion!). We tried the garlic fries, which I think were a good change of pace, but if I went to several games a year I think it would get old. We tried King Carvery, which smelled delicious, but when we got our sandwiches they were super dry. I'd skip it and try something else. Drank 805 beer. It was ok too.
One note, if you want the helmet ice cream (my daughter collects the helmets), you have to go out to the Garden section in CF and order it there. They are super douchy when you ask other ice cream vendors. "The what? In a helmet? Yeah, we don't do that here. Like we stopped that a long time ago..." Whatever dude. You sell Dipping Dots at a stadium. Get over yourself. The Garden closes early (7th inning) so you have to get there early in the game.
*Watching the Game
We sat just beyond 3rd base about 30 rows back. Pretty good sightlines. I think I have been spoiled by the seats at Citi. The newer stadiums like Citi and Petco angle their seats toward the mound, so even if you are down the line, you can look straight at the pitcher. The older stadiums remain pretty straight, so you have to look over your shoulder a bit. At AT&T it's not bad, but if you want to be the best in MLB, you have to have that.
And for me, the game watching experience was just ok. Most of it is the weather. Even on what everyone agreed is a beautiful day in SF, it was in the low sixties, and definitely cool in the shade. We all wore longsleeves. I don't know, maybe it's just my thing, but I feel like you should be hot watching a baseball game. T-shirt and shorts, baking in the sun, cold beer in your hand. Even worse was the people around me talking about how SF has the best weather. "It's like this all year long." Then you never get summer. And baseball is best when you watch it during summer.
It's amazing how much the people around you color your experience at a baseball game. The people sitting around us were annoying. Behind us: "Hey, it's that guy that cried...(tells the whole Flores trade story to the guy next to him)...Hey Wilmer, does that make you feel sad?" Couple sitting next to us looked visibly annoyed every time they had to get up to let us out. There's nothing I can do guys. I have a son and daughter that eat and drink the whole game and that makes them have to pee. And finally there was the jerk in camo who caught the foul ball a few rows in front of us. It was a hard shot and it hit a young girl. The ball ricocheted off her and then the asshole caught it. He never even looked at her, waved the ball around happy, then sat down. Never even checked to see if she was ok. My son and I started yelling "Give her the ball". He ignored us. We kept yelling until others joined in. Finally when the whole area was yelling at him, he feigned surprise, and then reluctantly handed it over. The girl was ok, it hit her in the hip, but she was crying and needed ice. It was a good teaching moment for my son. I said if you ever catch that ball, don't be the jerk who puts it into his pocket making the whole area yell. Check on the girl, and give it to her before anyone says a word. That should be your first instinct. And never wear camo.
It was a super fast game, and I was secretly happy it went into extras just so we could stay longer. I don't know who these freaks are that think baseball is too long. For me, two and a half hours isn't enough time to enjoy a baseball game. Give me 3 hours and 15 minutes every time. Game ended on a Nimmo diving catch. We were thrilled.
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