Arizona Diamondbacks

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.

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 10^th 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 11^th before closing the door.

Previous Installments

The Overview, August 10, 2022
Rocky Mountain High, August 17, 2022
Back to School Time, August 24, 2022
On Target, August 31, 2022
Milwaukee’s Best, September 7, 2022
Guaranteed Fun, September 14, 2022
Busch!, September 21, 2022
Sidetrip!, September 28, 2022
Fountains & Waterfalls, October 5, 2022
That’s a Wrap, October 12, 2022
Fenway Sizzle, Then Fizzle, July 24, 2023
Taking a Bite Out of the Big Apple, July 31, 2023
Hall of Dreams, August 7, 2023
Citizens of Philadelphia, August 14, 2023
National Treasure, August 21, 2023
Yankee Doodle, August 28, 2023
Birds of a Feather, September 4, 2023
A Moment of Silence, September 11, 2023
Rank’em Part 1, September 25, 2023
Rank’em Part 2, September 27, 2023
Rank’em Part 3, September 29, 2023
Sleepless (no more) in Seattle, July 31, 2024
Oakland’s Last Call, August 7, 2024
It’s Time for Dodger Baseball, August 14, 2024
Brotherly Love in the Land of Padres, August 21, 2024

**^{The San Diego skyline is visible beyond centerfield at Petco Park.}**

Today, it’s time to do a little remembering.

During these ballpark adventure stories, I try to introduce you to people on the tour, putting you into the seat next to me as we travel the country via bus.

Time for a little detour.

I had waited for this tour stop both anxiously and with apprehension or uneasiness. The next stop on the west coast swing tour with Coast 2 Coast Sports Tours was San Diego’s Petco Park. It was a park that I had already been to, but also one of my favorites.

It was also the last Major League ballpark I was able to visit with my brother, Todd, who passed away suddenly in November 2017. I never got to do a bus tour with him. All of our travels were done with our own planning.

Our travels started in 2015 when we visited Detroit Tigers’ spring training in Lakeland, FL. The next year, we saw the Tigers were going to be in Washington D.C. and Baltimore for a week, so we made a trip there. Finally, in 2017, we spent a long weekend in San Diego.

There were other non-baseball trips during that time, especially Garth Brooks concerts (we went to six) as well as Eastern Michigan University football games.

But the trips I will remember most are the baseball ones.

Todd Russell — **^{The author’s brother, Todd, aboard the USS Midway in San Diego.}**

Todd lived in Nashville, TN, while I lived in Michigan, so it was also a chance to spend time together. It also helped that since Todd worked in the hotel industry, he was able to get highly discounted employee rates for the hotels.

Even though we were seven years apart in age, we were still pretty close. From playing baseball in the front yard to chasing ballparks or concerts, he was a joy to be around and I miss him every day.

A few times during the baseball chase, my emotions have gotten to me. The first time was walking into Coors Field, being the first stadium visited since he passed. Walking through Fenway Park last year affected me some. And standing outside Petco last month was a little tough.

But it helped that my mother was able to take my brother’s place. She’s not as a big of a baseball fan as me, but enjoys the travel and meeting the people on these trips.

Given the circumstances, it could be why Petco Park is one of my favorites. But even without the sentimental feelings, there is plenty to like about it.

^{The Wiffle ball diamond sits in Gallagher Square (also seen top right) and the former Western Metal Supply Co. building factors into the architecture of Petco Park.}

Two eye-catching parts of the stadium are the Western Metal Supply Co. building. It’s an historic warehouse that serves as the left field foul pole. The 100-year-old building had been scheduled for demolition to make room for Petco, before architects decided to save it. The building houses the team store, private suites, a restaurant, and rooftop seating.

Gallagher Square is located beyond the outfield wall. It includes a community park and viewing area. It also has areas that is open to the public during stadium off-hours.

It is a grassy area of about 2.8 acres, and contains a Wiffle ball infield, a statue of Tony Gwynn, and lots of grass to spread out. A game ticket is needed to access the area during game days, but it is open to the public on non-game days.

^{The Padres highlight two of their Baseball Hall of Famers with statues at Petco Park.}

The Padres also have one of the nicer halls of fame areas, commemorating past players. In addition to the Gwynn statue, there is one of former pitching great Trevor Hoffman.

Inside the museum, which is located just inside the left field gates in the Western Metal Supply building, you will see Padres’ memorabilia along with recognition of its former greats.

**^{Plaques of Baseball Hall of Famers with past-connections to the San Diego Padres.}**

Of note to Tiger fans, former Tigers shortstop Alan Trammell is inducted into the Padre Hall of Fame along with former manager Sparky Anderson. Trammell was the first base coach from 2000-2002. Trammell also is a San Diego native. Anderson was the third base coach for the Padres in 1969, their first season in the National League.

Petco Park has a seating capacity of 39,860. The dimensions of the park are: 334 feet down the left field line, 357 feet to left field, 390 feet to left center, 396 feet to center field, 391 feet to right center, 382 feet to right field and 322 feet down the right field line.

There are plenty of places to eat and drink around the park, especially in the Gaslamp Quarter. It is also known as the “Historic Heart of San Diego.” Some non-baseball sites around the city are the USS Midway Museum on the waterfront, SeaWorld, and La Jolla Cove. The cove is about a 20-minute drive from San Diego.

Inside the park, the barrio dog, carnitas snack shack, and elote street corn would be my choices to eat.

The Game: The Arizona Diamondbacks scored eight runs in the last three innings to take the 9-1 victory. Eugenio Suarez hit a three-run home run in the seventh and Gabriel Moreno added an RBI single in the eighth. Arizona pitching gave up just four hits, including three by starter Ryne Nelson. Padres’ starter Dylan Cease gave up three runs on five hits, before the Padre bullpen gave up six runs.