Marlins Park
Miami, FL
Atlanta Braves at
Miami Marlins
July 29, 2003
By
Ken Schlapp
Marlins Park is the first new stadium that I have visited since I
started to finish up my stadium writing about a year ago.
Therefore, I was much more prepared to take better notes and use a
good camera to take photos of every nook and cranny of the
ballpark. The result of this may be too much detail, but at least I
have a lot more facts and memories penciled into my notebook and I
am writing this only a month or so after visiting the stadium
instead of 2-10 years later. That being said, the Marlins opened
their new Ballpark in April 2012 and although I was not able to make
it for opening day, or in June when my flight was cancelled, I was
able to make it on September 19, 2012.
 My
first attempt to see Marlins Park in June was to stop over in Miami
for one day on my way home from a business trip to Washington, DC,
but the airline computers went down in Washington, forcing me to
miss that game. However, when one of the preliminary rounds of the
2013 World Baseball Classic was moved up to September 19-22 in
Jupiter, Florida, I had to go. Not only was the venue close enough
to Miami to make it a go, but one of the teams in the Jupiter WBC
bracket was France. My Mom is from France (not a Conehead) and I
have visited France many times, so I was not going to pass up this
opportunity. The first game of the WBC was on Wednesday September
19th, which was also the last game of a home stand for
the Marlins, so I decided to miss the first game of the WBC between
Israel and South Africa, since France was not playing, and saw the
Braves and Marlins instead.
I
took the red-eye from Los Angeles to Ft. Lauderdale on the Tuesday
night to give me time to work out of my hotel for the day and still
make it to the game very early to see as much of the stadium as
possible. It was a 7 PM game, but I got there before 5 PM to walk
around the outside before the park was open. I paid $15 to park in
a lot right next to Marlins Park and actually had to back up to get
a good view from afar. The first thing I noticed was that the roof
was open and that I might get a shot to see the game in open air
instead of being cooped up in a dome. The other thing I immediately
noticed was that like Nationals Park, this was a modern facility. 
They did not try to go “retro” with this new place. Miami is a
young trendy city, so this modern ballpark works. As I have written
before, it does not look good when they try to force an “old
ballpark” feel to a place that it does not belong. Without even
making it inside I did like it right away
In
order to purchase tickets, I walked underneath the open roof on the
outside of the stadium, which gave it an imposing and daunting look
overhead. Although it was hot and humid, I was still hoping to see
an outdoor game, so the outlook was good at this point. I bought my
tickets by the main entrance from Nick who was a nice guy and very
helpful in letting me know what to do and see in the stadium, but
more importantly, he wanted to make sure that I wrote he was a nice
guy…and he was. The funny thing though, was that he told me there
is not much to see on the outside of the stadium, but he was wrong.
Out
in front of the ballpark was a giant rainbow colored M with a
rainbow Marlin on top, which is, of course, the new Miami Marlins
logo (as opposed to how they were previously known as the Florida
Marlins). I had to take a picture by the M, and as I was observing,
this did appear to be the place that everyone took their “I was
here” photo. There was also a giant video screen above the main
gate plaza outside the stadium, which simply had Miami vs. Braves at
this point, but also, had advertisements and I assume Marlins
highlights at other times. I also found it amusing that there was a
sale on Marlins merchandise set up on tables that mostly sold Hanley
Ramirez materials, since he had recently been traded to the Dodgers.
When
I continued walking around I noticed four orange stadium seats,
which immediately intrigued me. I found a plaque next to them
indicating that they were from the Orange Bowl, which had previously
been located on this site. Above the seats on the parking lot
façade, were murals that were also from the Orange Bowl. It was
good to see that that stadium’s history was not lost. As I came
around to the other side of the ballpark, I noticed a giant
inflatable version of the Marlins Mascot Billy the Marlin near
scattered huge orange block letters, which I later learned were the
letters that had spelled “Miami Orange Bowl” on the demolished
stadium.
After I completed my loop around, I was disappointed to notice that
the roof had been closed and the game would be played indoors
today. I figure that I at least got to see it open from the
outside. At that point, I also ran into three gentlemen that were
also attempting to make it to see every stadium in their lifetime.
 One
of them was from Arlington, another from the Miami area, and the
third gentleman wore a Mets cap and was from Connecticut. They all
became friends somehow at a bar and joined up for this journey to
Marlins Park. Unfortunately, I did not write their names down, but
did take photos for them, of them, and had them take a photo of me
with the stadium in the background. The Marlins were playing the
Braves today, but when I started to head into the Park as the gates
were opening, I noticed one fan in a Pirates Roberto Clemente shirt
and laughed to myself in remembering how much grief Rick took from
fans in Los Angeles for wearing a Pirates Roberto Clemente shirt at
a Red Sox/Dodgers game.
I
have to mention how lucky I was that today was Jose Reyes Bobblehead
day, so I was able to get a souvenir of one of my favorite players.
I am still bent out of shape how the Mets let him walk for nothing.
Some Mets fans booed him when I saw him play against the Mets at
CitiField, which I do not understand. The Mets did not attempt to
keep him. He did not abandon Mets fans; it was the Wilpons that
abandoned Mets fans by not spending to keep him. As a side note, I
am writing this segment of my journey on a plane going from Toronto
to Los Angeles on the day that Jose Reyes was the big news in
Toronto. Last night the Marlins effectively traded everyone making
more than minimum wage to the Blue Jays. Reyes, Josh Johnson, Mark
Buerle, Emilio Bonifacio, and John Buck all went to the Blue Jays
for Yuniel Escobar, and a bunch of prospects.
My
seats were on the field level by first base, so I figured I would
start my inside circle of the stadium with the upper level. To get
to the upper level, I walked up the external white ramps that head
up in a triangle and is an interesting piece of art in itself. I
was able to get good views of downtown Miami and other areas from
the walkway, which was nice. This walkway brought me into the upper
deck in right field. I then proceeded to slowly walk through the
upper deck concourses and seats to get every view that I could. I
even walked up to the last row of the stadium to get the furthest
view of the playing field as possible. The blue seats and green
outfield wall stood out around the beautiful baseball diamond.
Thankfully, despite the fact that most games are played under a
closed-roof stadium, the field was natural grass.
The
next thing that stood out was t he
rainbow monstrosity in center field, which has marlins, palm trees,
water, umbrellas, the sun, and effectively all things Miami.
Although I did not have the opportunity to witness a Marlins home
run, I did learn that this monstrosity lights up when a home run
does occur. I also noticed the bullpens behind the left and right
field walls and the Clevelander bar behind the left field wall and
next to the bullpen. My buddy Matt Angle (of
ballparksofbaseball.com) told me I have to go there, but since I
found out it was open after the game, I would wait until then. A
good thing I noticed on my walk around was that you could walk along
an aisle of the upper deck (that separates the upper and lower
section of the upper deck) without having to either climb over seats
or go back out to the concourse and re-enter in another section.
Most new stadiums would not facilitate this walk. The other good
thing was that there was plenty of handicap seating on this level
behind home plate. The concourses were wide in the upper level, but
unfortunately do not give you a view of the field as many of the
other newer stadiums do.
After I made my way around the top I headed down one level to the
suite section, which I did not have access to, but is called the
Legends Level. I did manage to notice a few paintings of baseball
players and a great photo of Roberto Clemente, Willie Mays, and Hank
Aaron. I also took this opportunity to buy a Jose Reyes t-shirt and
Marlins cap. I was hoping to buy a scorecard here too, but I was
informed that they do not have any, which was disappointing.
However, when I did reach the main concourse level, I double checked
at the main team store and found something better. They handed out
scorecards with the day’s lineup already typed in, just no program.
This gave me more time to observe instead of scrambling to pencil in
the lineup to keep score. They even gave out pencils to score for
free.
The
highlight of the main concourse is the Bobblehead Museum. There is
a collection of bobbleheads of players from every team in the
display. The players are both past and present too. It is a unique
display, behind glass that many fans flock to, to try to see their
favorite players in bobblehead form. So I was clearly happy to find
Mike Piazza, Pedro Hernandez, and Lenny Dykstra Mets bobbleheads. I
also found the co lection
of Angels to photograph to send to my wife Hiroko. Some of the
other cool things on the main concourse are another wall of
dedication to the history of the Orange Bowl, a wall and display
dedicated to all the people involved in building and designing the
ballpark, and a Wall of Fame honoring the Marlins season ticket
holders. There were also many photos and murals of Marlins players
and other baseball photos and paintings throughout that gave the
concourse a good Marlins feel. It was not difficult to tell which
team’s home ballpark this was. I was oblivious at first when I
noticed people taking photographs of themselves next to a pillar
that has a photo of Jose Reyes on it. Then I realized that there
was a photo of every player in the Marlins lineup posted on the
pillars. They were even in the order that they would come to bat.
I love this and had to take a photo of every pillar with a player in
the lineup. I have recently gotten into the habit of taking a
photograph of the home team’s starting lineup when I go to a new
stadium and this just added to that new tradition.
Once
I finished my stadium loops, I had to take one more loop to search
for food. There are plenty of options within the stadium, and as
opposed to the upper level, you can see the playing field from the
main concourses while obtaining food. Burger 305 is one of the
popular concession stands in the stadium, with the 305 symbolizing
the local area code. There is a Kosher Korner to facilitate the
eating process for the large Jewish population in Miami, but the
place that stands out most in this ballpark is the Taste of Miami
beyond the outfield walls. There is a large Latin population in
Miami, and this section caters to the Latin food delicacy. To the
Marlins credit, many signs and announcements are in both Spanish and
English to cater to their local population. I decided to go Mexican
and have a tomale, but there are all sorts of Latin food from Cuba,
Puerto Rico, and the Dominican Republic, to name a few. I enjoyed
the tomale (and my Jose Reyes souvenir soda) and from the looks on
other faces, it appeared that much of the food was quite good. I
will have to try some different foods next time. I guess I am
required to report that there is also a Budweiser Bar over the
Clevelander in left centerfield. However, in order to keep my
principles intact by never drinking that awful swill, I stayed away.
Finally, after walking miles and miles in and around the stadium, it
was time to take my seat and observe the stadium from that vantage
point to see what I missed in my walks. The first thing that stood
out were
the 1997 and 2003 championship banners down the right field line
over the scoreboard and WBC advertisement. In keeping with the
numbers theme, I noticed that the only retired number was # 42 (on
the green wall between the Budweiser Bar and the Clevelander) for
Jackie Robinson. This means that the Marlins have not retired the
number of any of their players, which is not surprising considering
they have only been around since 1993.  Then I also noticed the
number 427 in that area, which was strange. What I finally figured
out was that in addition to the distances painted on the outfield
walls, they painted the distances from home plate to the back of the
stadium seats in many spots too. I thought this was pretty cool
that you can roughly judge the distance of any home run by these
back wall distances being posted.
Whenever I visit a domed stadium, I like to take photos of the
roof. When I was about to do this, I noticed a sign on the top of
the rafters indicating “To Report Fan Misconduct: Text ‘Fish’ Issue
& Location to 69050” I have never seen anything like that, but
think it is a great idea with all the stupid things fans tend to do
at games. Unfortunately, for the Marlins, the numbers of fans have
been too few for a new stadium. In fact, the upper level was quite
empty and there were many empty seats in and around my section too.
Prior to the start of the game, I was subjected to a retirement
ceremony for the Mets archrival Chipper “Larry” Jones! He even had
the audacity to name one of his children Shea in honor of his
unbelievable success against the Mets in their old home stadium, so
it is hard to have good feelings for him. Since this would be Jones
last season, and most teams (including the Mets) have been paying
him tribute with gifts and ceremonies during his last visit to each
city. I just happened to choose the day of his ceremony to see
Marlins Park for the first time. Jose Reyes came out to honor him
with a bag of goodies from the Marlins, and I will admit that I did
stand and clap to recognize the great career that he had, but I did
chant the derisive “Laaaaarrrrry” while I was clapping in tribute to
my fellow Mets fans.
Josh
Johnson, the Marlins best pitcher (although now a Blue Jay), was the
starter today. He did not get off to a good start. Michael Bourn
led off for the Braves with a double, moved over to 3rd
on Martin
 Prado’s
sacrifice bunt and scored on a sacrifice fly by Jason Heywood to
give the Braves a 1-0 lead. Chipper Jones would end up making the
last out of the inning with a fly out to center field. While he was
up, I could not help but notice how crystal clear and informative
the scoreboards were. Like the last few stadiums I have seen, they
have both lineups on display at all times, which is great. Marlins
Park also has detailed statistics for the current batter and pitcher
for both the day and the season. My favorite part is that they
display the previous at bats in scorecard style, even including a
line where the ball was hit. After each inning ends, the next three
batters pictures are displayed on the screen on the left field wall
along with there in game results. In between innings, they use this
screen to display league leaders, and during the innings, it
displays the out of town scores. Details of both pitchers stats are
constantly displayed over the bullpens, so there is never an excuse
for not knowing what is going on at this stadium.
The
Marlins threatened in the bottom of the first against Kris Medlen,
but did not score. Gorkys Hernandez singled and stole both 2nd
and 3rd base in front of a strikeout by Reyes. Carlos
Lee walked, but Greg Dobbs grounded to 2nd to end the
inning. The Marlins would barely threaten to score the rest of the
game. The Braves, however, were not finished. Dan Uggla reached on
a one-out walk in the 2nd, stole 2nd base and
scored on an RBI single by Jose Constanza. They added another run
in the 3rd when Prado led off with a walk, moved to 3rd
on a single by Jones and scored on Freddie Freeman’s sacrifice fly
to left field. The only problem for the Braves there was that Jones
made a bad decision by running on the crack of the bat and was
easily doubled up at first base to end the inning. Luckily, for the
Braves, Prado touched home before Jones was put out.
There was no more scoring after the top of the 3rd, but
there were some interesting in-game antics. In the 4th
inning, a fan gets to control one of the TV cameras, with the task
of finding Billy the Marlin in the crowd. If he does, he wins a
prize. There was no prize today. In the top of the 6th
there was an electronic race on the scoreboard to see which fish
eats the most between blue, yellow, and white…white won. In the
bottom of the 6th there is a sea creature race similar to
the wiener race in Milwaukee, but I could not figure out what each
creature was, but the red one won this race. During the 7th
inning stretch, Take Me Out to the Ballgame was played on an organ,
which is always nice, then we were serenaded by a Bon Jovi song.
When
Chipper Jones came to bat in the 8th inning for his last
ever at-bat against the Marlins in Miami, the crowd gave him a
standing ovation, and yes, I was standing too. Unfortunately, for
Chipper, his last at bat was a ground out to second base.against AJ
Ramos. Josh Johnson ended up giving up 3 runs on 5 hits, with 2
walks and 5 strikeouts. As a note, for each of the strikeouts and
electronic “K” or backwards “K” was placed on the M K Meter on the
outfield wall. For the Braves, their starter, Medlen, pitched 8
innings without giving up a run, while allowing 4 hits and 1 walk
with 6 strikeouts. The Braves closer, Craig Kimbrel, closed out the
game in the 9th, but not easily. Reyes led off with a
single, moved to 2nd when Dobbs was hit by a pitch, moved
to 3rd when Justin Ruggiano grounded into a force play.
Ruggiano then stole second to put 2 runners in scoring position, but
that would be all. Kimbrel got Rob Brantly to ground out to second
to end the game.
After the game, I followed Matt’s
 advice
and went to check out the Clevelander, which is the bar/club in left
field. This was certainly a unique ballpark bar that completely
fits the Miami club scene. When you walk in the first thing you
notice is the pool on the right side of the bar and the women
dancing on the bar. The place was completely packed with dance
music so loud there would be no possibility of a conversation.
There is a section of seats in front along the left field wall to
watch the game, but I doubt that most of the people that go in there
really want to watch the game. I believe there was a cover charge
during the game, but it was free to enter afterwards (which is what
I did). If you are into the dance-party thing, I would say this
could be a lot of fun, but that is not my thing, and I would much
rather be watching the game than hanging in a club. I will admit
that it was difficult not to notice that the women dancing on the
bar were only wearing body paint on top, but I did not stick around.
Once
I left the Clevelander, I took another walk around the stadium to
get some night photos. Marlins Park does look good under the lights
at night, so I am glad I did take that additional walk before
heading back to the hotel. When I did get back, I looked up
information about Marlins Park features, and there was mention of an
aquarium behind home plate with thick glass that could withstand the
impact of a baseball. The only problem with that was that I never
saw the aquarium, and even when I look at the 200 pictures I took, I
do not see it anywhere! This is a mystery that I will have to solve
at a later date.
Bottom line – I had a good time thoroughly (except for the aquarium)
seeing all this modern ballpark had to offer. However, my bigger
excitement began after the game, when I knew I was heading to watch
France and three other countries play in the World Baseball Classic
over the next four days.
Basic trip facts:
-Stadium - # 41
-Old Stadium Sites visited – None (Total – 40)
-Under construction Stadium Sites visited – None (Total – 3)
-Miles traveled – 166 via driving and 4,696 via Air (Totals: Driving
– 20,121, Subway - 132, Amtrak – 460, Air - 36,546, Total – 57,259)
-States, provinces, Districts and/or commonwealths passed through –
Florida (Totals: States – 48, Provinces – 2, Districts – 1,
Commonwealths - 1)
-Seats – Section 7, Row 6, Seat 16 – Field level near 1st
Base
-Prices: Parking - $15.00, Beer - $8.00-$9.00, Souvenir Soda
(bottomless) - $8.00, Hot Dog - $6.00, Scorecards/Program – None
available for purchase, but I was given a score sheet with the
lineups prefilled, Tomale - $6.00
-Credit Card giveaway – None – This does not appear to be anywhere
any more
-First Pitch - 7:10 PM
-Results: Braves 3 – Marlins 0, W – Kris Medlen, L – Josh Johnson, S
– Craig Kimbrel
-Home team record to date – 29 wins, 23 losses
-Record of “team I was routing for” to date – 22 wins, 30 losses
-Attendance – 25,998
-Lodging – Miami, Florida |
