Dave Baker’s Baseball Dream Tour: Stadium #6, Great American Ballpark, Cincinnati

Finally made it to the Nati. Small market area with big league fans. The Reds have been around since1869 so they have learned how to do things right. As we walked into the stadium we were handed a bronze statuette of Sparky Anderson. The team was honoring him on this day and his daughter and grandson were part of pre game ceremonies. Before we went to our seats we visited the Reds Hall of Fame. The team is highlighting Johnny Bench in this year’s exhibit. Wow, what a display! Everything you ever wanted to know about Bench, even a 20 minute video presentation highlighting his career. As we took our seats an hour before game time the tarp was on the field because it had been raining all morning and the threat of rain still loomed. I used the little Cub towel we had received in Chicago to wipe down our sears and settled in. In about 10 minutes it started to rain. We pulled out our ponchos ( a must have on a trip like this ) and put up the umbrella and waited it out. About 20 minutes before game time the rain stopped and the skies cleared. Immediately the grounds crew hustled onto the field and removed the tarp. The players came out warmed up the pre game ceremonies started and the first pitch was 1 minute after the posted game time. It was amazing that everything happened so quickly. Our seats were down the left field line behind the infield cutout and 8 rows from the field. We were close to the field but because of the angle our backs were to the video screen, so you had to turn around to see the screen. Great American is a beautiful park, there is a steamboat simulation in the outfield with smoke stacks and everything.The game atmosphere was exciting with a fairly heated rivalry between the two clubs. Both teams have red as their primary color so the stands were a sea of red. Great American has established a reputation as a homer dome. Out of 680 games there have only been 50 games without a home run. This game followed the form with 4 home runs 2 by the Reds catcher Ramon Hernandez.The fans were really into the game and loudly booed Yadier Molina every time he came to bat. This was left over from last year’s fight involving he and Brandon Phillips. I had a Brat Burger, nothing special compared to some of my recent entrees. I am including pictures of my lovely wife, the Sparky giveaway, the Bench exhibit, and the stadium. Back to Chicago for a cold wet weather pattern. Yikes!