Pittsburgh (a bit late)
So after Cleveland last Saturday, James and I headed to Pittsburgh Sunday morning, and took in a Giants-Pirates game at PNC Park. At a capacity of 38,500, PNC Park is the smallest park built in the latest wave of stadium building. ESPN.com’s “Page 2″ rated it as the best ballpark in the majors when they conducted a tour of all major league stadiums a couple of seasons ago, and after visiting, I can see why they did so. Due to its small size, all of the seats in the stadium have great views. The food is pretty good too, if a bit expensive, and most of the stadium vendors are local restaurants (something more stadiums should do). The barbecue vendor in the stadium happens to be run by Manny Sanguillen, a retired Pirates catcher, who sits and signs autographs for fans who are waiting in line. The view at PNC Park can’t be beat either: the low stands in the outfield mean that almost all of the fans in the stadium get a great view of the Pittsburgh skyline across the Allegheny River.
The game we wound up catching last Sunday was pretty damn good too. The game was scoreless through six and a half innings before a ridiculously strong thunderstorm moved through the Pittsburgh area and delayed the game for two hours. The rain delay proved to be a real spectacle, as ridiculously strong wind whipped rain around the park and lightning struck buildings that were easily visible in downtown Pittsburgh. Given that James and I had just moved to seats underneath the upper deck, we found the entire thing thoroughly entertaining, unlike a bunch of other people who got drenched. Surprisingly, given the number of baseball games I’ve attended, it was the first rain delay I’d ever experienced. Probably because most of the games I’ve been to have been during the summer in the Bay Area. After the rain delay, the Giants got a quick run on a home run, at which point the game slowed to a crawl as both managers did their best to try to out-think each other and make ridiculous substitutions, which is apparently the norm now for most National League games. The Pirates tied the game on a home run of their own, and after an excruciating couple of innings, the Pirates won on an RBI single in the bottom of the 10th. Barry Bonds pinch hit for the Giants in the top of the 10th (to an extremely loud chorus of boos from the Pittsburgh fans), and promptly got intentionally walked because first base was open. Stupid managing by Felipe Alou ensured that Bonds would get walked because of the way he pinch hit for his batters…
The trek back home to Boston from Pittsburgh wound up being an incredibly large pain. Due to the lack of major interstates running northeast from Pittsburgh, James and I were forced to wander around western Pennsylvania on rural highways before finally hitting I-80, after which we promptly managed to get stuck behind a bunch of trucks near central Pennsylvania. This eliminated any chance of getting to visit Muth, and it was 8 a.m. before we wound up getting back to Cambridge (after getting ridiculously tired on the way back home and stopping for food in Connecticut). The combination of the rain delay, extra innings, and driving delays caused us to arrive sixteen hours after we originally planned on leaving Pittsburgh. All in all an interesting experience…