Ohio: Days 1 & 2

Between working, going to Michigan football games, moving into my new apartment, and actually going to the remaining ballparks on my list, I have been pretty busy and have done a poor job at updated the blog. I strategically left the Ohio stadiums, Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati and Progressive Field in Cleveland, until the end of the summer so I could take a weekend trip after I started working. Weekend road trips figured to easier to coordinate than plane trips or week-long road trips.

About a month ago now, I took a weekend trip down to Ohio to knock stadiums #27 and #28 off my list. I left my parents' house around noon on Saturday, August 24, and headed down 1-75 in Cincinnati, OH. I arrived in downtown Cincinnati at 5:30 pm, giving me plenty of time to explore the stadium before the 7:10 pm first pitch. My thoughts on Great American Ballpark, the home of the Cincinnati Reds, will be written upon in an upcoming blog post.

During my journey to the ballparks I have met some interesting characters. One of the more notable characters was a guy who went by Neagle. Neagle was part of a bachelor/bachelorette party that sat next to be at Great American Ballpark. Neagle was the friend in the group that do always do something stupid but everyone else would just roll their eyes and let it go because it was Neagle. The entire group had been drinking throughout the day and were planning on going out after the game. Between throwing hotdogs at his friends, trying to pickup married girls, and reminiscing about walking around the University of Cincinnati's campus and yelling "The Juice is Loose" after Illinois beat No. 1 Ohio State, Neagle asked me about 20 times to go with the bar with them. He repeatably told me "We'll show Cincinnati." Lucky for me, I had a hotel booked about 30 minutes outside the city so my excuse to Neagle somewhat legitimate.

The next day I woke up early and drove across the state to Cleveland. My experience at the Indians' ballpark, Progressive Field, will be published in an upcoming blog post. After the game I hurried my way back home for a fantasy football draft. Going to two games in a weekend was tiring and quite the whirlwind. However, it was refreshing to go to a baseball game live again for the first time in a couple of weeks and great to see two more world-class ballparks.

Cup Collection: Denver, Sunshine, & Ohio

Five more stadiums down and five more cups to add to the Souvenir Cup Power Rankings. The new souvenir cups are from Rockies, Rays, Marlins, Reds, and Indians games. Since all of these cups were acquired on trips where I attended two or fewer ballparks, they are in black font. 

Rankings after the Ohio trip:

1. Toronto Blue Jays
2. Cincinnati Reds
3. Kansas City Royals
4. Philadelphia Phillies
5. Houston Astros
6. New York Mets
7. Cleveland Indians
8. Colorado Rockies
9. Washington Nationals
10. San Diego Padres
11. Miami Marlins
12. Texas Rangers
13. Oakland A's
14. Tampa Bay Rays
15. Los Angeles Dodgers
16. Boston Red Sox
17. Baltimore Orioles
18. Minnesota Twins
19. Milwaukee Brewers
20. Los Angeles Angels
21. San Francisco Giants
22. Chicago White Sox
23. St. Louis Cardinals
24. New York Yankees
25. Detroit Tigers
26. Chicago Cubs

Notes on rankings:

• All five of the new cups are of the same style as 15 of the top 16 cups. As mentioned in previous Cup Collection posts, this cup style is superior from others in that it is structurally sound and has a large design surface.
• The Rays, Marlins, and Reds cups all included one free refill. The Indians cup had $2 refills, and the cup itself was one of the more inexpensive cups in the collection.
• The Rockies cup is a collage of tiles in the shape of the numeral "20", in honor of the Rockies' 20th year in existance. Each tile is has the date and opponent of a game along with a picture of current or former Rockies player. However, neither the tiles or the "20" are overly easy to read. The idea behind the design is well-intended but the execution was slightly lacking.
• The Reds cup is holographic and features star first baseman Joey Votto.
• The design on the Indians cup is a portrait of League Park, the Indians' home from 1900 - 1946.