Rogers Centre -- Toronto Blue Jays 9-23-08

WE DID IT!

30 Major League Ball Parks in one season. 20 years of planning and one retirement later, we’ve completed our journey. Last night, we watched the Yankees beat the Blue Jays 3-1 in Toronto’s Rogers Centre.

Rogers Centre is a convention center masquerading as a baseball stadium. It has a retractable roof (railroad tracks just like Houston and Seattle). I’ll do some research when I get home to see which of the stadiums was the original, prototype design. Canadians are hearty people. It was cold and the roof should have been close, but NO! Having said that, the open roof did provide a spectacular view of the CN Tower. The concourses are wide and, instead of concrete, the floors were department store-like faux granite (Nancy’s description). It was actually comfortable to walk on. The stadium was very clean with more than enough bathrooms. They had lots of food choices, but be sure to bring Canadian money and be ready to pay extra … tax is NOT included in the price.

Here's the link to the pictures: http://www.flickr.com/photos/14772189@N03/sets/

The hot dogs were ok. Nancy’s Italian sausage with fresh peppers and onions was better than my hot dog with onions. We gave it a 7.5. One caveat … I think we’ve OD’ed on hot dogs and that has probably influenced our ratings. I had a slice of pepperoni pizza which was surprisingly good. Nancy drank an India Pale Ale which she liked. I thought it was too light, but what do I know. I haven’t had many beers in the past 20 years.

The game was a good one. The Yankees took advantage of opportunities; the Blue Jays did not. Mike Mussina pitched well despite getting hit by a line drive. Joba Chamberlain pitched into and out of a bases loaded jam. Mariano Rivera got another save … ho, hum. And, the Yankees were eliminated from the playoffs when the Red Sox beat the Indians. Here's a link to the box score:
http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/index.jsp?

As I write this, we’re on our way home. I feel like I should be planning another trip. We’ll figure out something. This was too much fun. I’ll be publishing “What We Did on Our Summer Vacation” shortly.