The Great Ballpark Chase: Desert (or Dessert) Oasis

timothynrussell
Chase Field
The roof is closed more often than not at Arizona’s Chase Field. That’s probably a good thing.

For anyone partaking in a ballpark chase, I guess Arizona’s stadium is aptly named: Chase Field.

Sorry, not sorry, for the dad joke.

For most ballpark chasers, the chase is usually done with friends or family. Of the 20 people on Coast 2 Coast Sports Tours‘ West Coast Swing tour, there was quite the mix. We had a mother-son, two sets of dad-daughter pairs, three married couples, two friends and, finally, a foursome of mom-grandma-two sons.

We did have two solo travelers on board: Bryan came from Texas and Andrew from Florida.

Andrew, who works at Walt Disney World, had just traveled to the Negro Leagues appreciation game at Rickwood Field in June. He is a Tampa Bay Rays fan.

Bryan is a repeat traveler with Coast 2 Coast. He did a hockey tour earlier this season, which began in Detroit. He is a Houston Astros fan and he had to keep an eye on the weather during the trip as Hurricane Beryl was coming ashore in the Houston area. Thankfully, his home wasn’t in the direct line and didn’t receive much damage.

One of the main attractions to Chase Field is its roof. It’s retractable, but for most of the season it remains closed. And that is a blessing as it gives a little relief from the 114 degree heat outside. They say it’s a dry heat, but dry or not, 114 degrees feels hot.

Chase Field Pool
You too can enjoy a game in the Chase Field pool … if your party has about $5,000.

But, for those that are really interested, there is a way to beat the heat at Chase Field. You can go swimming in the pool in right center field. It’s not cheap, though.

The pool suite package includes preferred parking passes, catering services, towels, and even a concierge. It typically costs guests from $4,750 to $7,000. For the World Series, the price jumped to $26,000.

It is only about 4-feet deep and has seating areas inside and outside the pool area, along with a hot tub. But the area does sell out for virtually every home game.

In 2013, when the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Diamondbacks in the playoffs, the Dodgers jumped into the pool to help celebrate their title. Arizona fans and players considered that over the top and it still burns them to this day.

When the Texas Rangers won the World Series at Chase Field last year, the pool area was guarded so there would not be a repeat of the Dodgers’ festivities.

Chicago Cubs’ first baseman Mark Grace was the first player to hit a home into the pool, back in 1998 during Bank One Ballpark’s inaugural season. It was known as “The Bob” back then before the name was changed to Chase Field in 2005.

Devon White was the first Diamondbacks player to hit a home run into the pool. To date, there have been a total of 68 splashdowns. (Take note, this won’t be the last time in this series, that splashdowns are mentioned.)

Food-wise, the go-to food item here is most likely better suited for those with a sweet tooth.

Churro Dog
This gutbuster is Chase Field’s “Churro Dog” and should not be consumed on a full tummy.

It is the churro dog, which features a long john donut, with a churro in the middle, topped by three ice cream scoops, and covered with chocolate syrup.

Another feature of the ballpark was the dirt strip between home plate and the pitcher’s mound, which was there until 2019. The dirt strip, sometimes known as the “keyhole,” was very common in older ballparks up to 1938. At Chase Field, the strip was removed when synthetic turf replaced the natural grass. Now, Detroit’s Comerica Park is the only stadium to have the ‘keyhole’ strip.

Some of the sights from around Arizona’s Chase Field.

Capacity at Chase Field is currently 49,033.

The park’s foul territroy is somewhat larger than most ballparks. About 80 percent of the seats are in foul territory. The upper deck is also one of the highest in the majors.

Here are the park’s dimensions: it is 330 feet down the left field line, 374 to left-center and 413 to deep left-center and deep right-center. It is 407 to straightaway center field. It is 374 feet to right-center field and 334 down the right field line.

  • The Game: We saw our first extra inning game of the trip, as the Atlanta Braves won 5-4 in 11 innings. Arizona had a 3-1 lead before Braves’ catcher Sean Murphy hit a two-run home run to tie it up. The two teams exchanged runs in the 10th to force another extra frame. Atlanta DH Marcell Ozuna hit a sacrifice fly, scoring Austin Riley. Joe Jimenez earned the save for Atlanta, allowing one walk in the bottom of the 11th before closing the door.

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