The area around Busch Stadium is in transition. One side of the stadium is boarded by a parking garage, another by I-64, and another by a construction zone where the old Busch Stadium once stood. The last side of the stadium serves as the grand entrance. Outside this entrance are statues of Cardinals legends and sidewalk squares commemorating important moments in Cardinals history. On the opposite side of the construction zone from the stadium are a couple of bars that are the places to be before and after games. The nearby interstate makes it difficult to walk around Busch Stadium - there is metal fencing preventing pedestrians from walking along that side of the ballpark.
The calling card of Busch Stadium is the backdrop beyond the center field fence. The arch and St. Louis skyline makes for one of the best views in major league ballparks. The "retro" characteristics of the ballpark continue beyond the center field city view; the brick structure, vertical light towers, metal facade, and limited foul ground give the ballpark a great baseball feel. I was very pleased with my view from ten rows up in the center field bleachers. I also like how the second deck was very close to the foul poles. Busch Stadium has quite a few attributes that left me disappointed though. The concourse is walled off from the field. To enter the seating sections, fans must walk through tunnel-like entranceways. The scoreboard was also lacking compared to other ballparks of similar age. The information displayed on the screen was minimal and a second scoreboard that could have been used for replays was used as an out-of-town scoreboard. I have mixed feelings on the food at Busch Stadium. I first got the Bratzel - a bratwurst wrapped in a soft pretzel. I love both pretzels and bratwurst but I was thoroughly disappointed with this item; it tasted like a ordinary brat on an average-tasting bun. After getting a few wishy-washy answers on what was the best thing to eat, I settled on the bacon wrapped hotdog. Topped with beans, sauerkrat, pickles, and two sauces, it was the best food item I have had at a ballpark thus far! Like the food, the fans at Busch Stadium were of wide variety. There were drunk military personnel trying to pickup girls all game, big time baseball fans with their families, people who were there more the atmosphere than the game, people who were unfriendly, and people who were friendly but down right trashy.
The Marlins got to an early 3-0 lead in the top of the third inning with two runs coming off of a Logan Morrison home run. The Cardinals closed the gap to one when Matt Carpenter tripled (thanks to a missed diving attempt in center field by Marcell Ozuna) and a subsequent single by Carlos Beltran. The Cardinals trailed 4-2 entering the bottom of the seventh inning with the pitcher coming up to bat and a runner on first. Matt Adams pinch hit for the pitched and delivered with a game tying home run just out of the reach of right fielder Giancarlo Stanton. The game remained tied until the bottom of the ninth when pinch hitter Shane Robinson singled with two outs, advancing a runner to third. The throw back to the infield just sneaked by the cutoff man and ended up dying in the middle of the infield. The Cardinal runner on third broke for home and scored easily the winning-run. It was one of the more unusually endings to a game I have ever seen.
My take-away from Busch Stadium is that it has a great view but there are many aspects of the ballpark that are lacking behind my favorites. Still, the passion of the Cardinal fans and the retro style make Busch Stadium feel like a classic baseball ballpark.
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