PNC Park, Pittsburgh (A meeting and a ballgame, this time in the owner's box)

 

Slipping away from a meeting for a ballgame is a good way to get to a lot of parks if you have a job where you end up with meetings around the country, even if you’re not trying to systematically see all the stadiums. This trip to Pittsburgh counts as one of those, and also got us some great seats.

Kerry is part of the lay leadership for our church denomination (Disciples of Christ) in the state, and was asked to go to a meeting of state leaders from across the nation in Pittsburgh this week. The person doing the asking, Jay Hartley, knows Kerry well enough that he mentioned that the Pirates were going to be in town when he did the ask, so she was hooked, and I came along. Incidentally, we went to last night’s game with Jay, a die-hard Reds’ fan, and his wife, whose engagement ring was paid for by selling an extensive baseball card collection.

Today, the folks in charge of the meeting put together an outing at the ballpark for anyone who wanted to come, so we (and Jay) naturally signed up. What they didn’t say on the invitation was that one of them had a close connection to a woman whose grandfather owns the Pirates. So we got the owner’s luxury box.

What can I say about the owner's luxury box?

The view is great, right behind home plate. The food is far better than the vast majority of ballpark fare. You don’t have to use plastic forks. The restroom is in the back of the suite. You can either sit outside and watch the game, or go inside and sit or stand next to the buffet (though why anyone would be there and not want to see the game is beyond me).

Back to the concept of a trip for a meeting plus a ballgame. Over the last couple of days, I was trying to figure out how many times I’d gone to a game as a result of one of us having a meeting in a city with a team. I think I’ve now been to 15 MLB stadiums and two AAA stadiums that way. And that doesn’t even count the time a few years ago when I agreed to go Dallas to give a talk to a civic group only if the woman organizing the talks, who worked for the Rangers, got me a ticket to a game. I’ve now seen games at two Rangers’ stadiums with Alex Yocum.  

PNC Park

PNC Park has a deserved reputation for being beautiful, with the view over the outfield fence including some of the Pittsburgh skyline plus the Roberto Clemente Bridge over the Monongahela River, shortly before it combines with the Allegheny to form the Ohio (hence the “Three Rivers”). In many ways it's a great place to watch a game, but while the fans and staff were friendly, we found that it was that was one of the less "fan-friendly" venues we’ve been at in terms of services. It was probably the worst-signed park we’ve seen – both days, we had to ask directions to find our seats. And it took Jay two innings to get food last night because the system to get food didn’t seem to work (getting food in the owner’s box was no problem at all…).

Who’s Aroldis Chapman playing for this time?

In our tour of baseball stadiums, there was bound to be someone like this. Aroldis Chapman pitched the 9^th inning for the Pirates today (photo above). Last year, we saw him pitch for the Kansas City Royals in the middle of one week, then for the Texas Rangers that weekend after he’d been traded. I wonder who he’ll be playing for next year…

Even the great ones get old

In 2013, Andrew McCutcheon and Paul Goldschmidt finished first and second, respectively, in the voting for the National League Most Valuable Player award. They weren’t just great hitters, they were great fielders as well – McCutcheon had just won a Gold Glove as one of the league’s best fielding outfielders the year before, and Goldschmidt would win the first of his four Gold Gloves at first base in 2013. Goldschmidt was in his third season with the Arizona Diamondbacks, where we have season tickets, so we saw a lot of him, and there was always an extra spark when McCutcheon and the Pirates came to town, because you had the feeling that one or both of them would do something special. This week, we saw them both in the same game for the first time in many years, Goldschmidt with the Cardinals and McCutcheon back with the Pirates. In seven plate appearances, Goldschmidt, now 36, had one hit, four strikeouts, and grounded into a double play. In eight plate appearances, McCutcheon, a year older, had one walk and three strikeouts. I prefer to remember the 2013 version of both of them.

Today’s game: Pittsburgh 5, St. Louis 0

After Paul Skenes’ heart-breaking loss last night, there were slightly more than half as many fans in the stadium today. But they got a better result.

The Pirates got four runs in the second inning, an inning that included a batter hit by pitch to start the inning, a bases-loaded walk to drive in one run, and a ball that popped out of the glove of the diving centerfielder (one of those almost-spectacular-catches) to drive in two more. On the other side, the Cardinals had six hits, and received nine walks, but never really came close to scoring. In other words, the Pirates made the crucial plays at the crucial moments, and the Cardinals did not.