Heartland of Baseball Tour 2003
July 24, 2003
We took Chicago Transit to the Cubs game at Wrigley Field rather than driving. This is surely the way to go, but unfortunately there was road work on Addison Street, which caused severe delays in the bus service from the Blue Line train. We ended up walking a good portion of the three miles from the train station to the ballpark.
Fortunately we had allowed plenty of time, and once we finally got there the atmosphere in and around the ballpark was everything it is reputed to be. It definitely gives you the old-time baseball feel. The park was also remarkably clean and well-kept. The only negative is that the ballpark shows its age in the area of spectator comfort. Compared to modern ballparks the concourses and ramps are too narrow, the aisles too cramped, and the rows too long between aisles.
The game itself turned out to be a blowout, the Phillies winning 14-6. Major points:
- It was cool to see Sammy Sosa run out to his position in the first inning and salute the fans in the right field bleachers.
- Sosa hit a two-run homer in the first inning. It would have been a shame to see a game at Wrigley and not have Slammin' Sammy hit one.
- Kerry Wood pitched great for five innings, giving up 2 hits and 1 run while striking out nine batters. The wheels came off for him in the 6th, though, as the Phillies scored nine runs, seven of which were off Wood before he was yanked.The key blow in the inning was a grand slam by Bobby Abreu, which scored the first four runs of the inning. It was a smash to right field that Sosa almost caught. He leaped and got a glove on it at the top of the wall, but the ball trickled out and the umpire signaled home run as the ball rolled along the top of the wall.
- The Cubs bullpen was unable to stop the bleeding after that. They tried five relievers who gave up several additional runs. One of the relievers was Todd Wellemeyer, who had pitched in the minors for the Eugene Emeralds (our hometown team). He pitched a 1-2-3 inning to start, but in his second inning of work gave up two runs on a walk and two bloop hits. He looked pretty good, though, and it was nice to see someone we had watched in the minors pitch in the big leagues.
Our seats for the game were quite good: terrace level mid-way down the first base line. They were in the shade also, which was a plus on a warm afternoon.
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The game day atmosphere around Wrigley is second to none. Here a band strikes up a tune to add to the festive atmosphere. |