Mik's Mini Bat Collection: Tucson Toros

Earlier this month when Dad and I went to the Tucson Toros game, we finally got Mik a Toros mini bat. Last year we were going to get him one, but by the time we got to a Toros game at the end of the season they only had pink ones. He is glad we waited because the red mini bat we got him is way more his style.

Mik's Food Scrapbook: PetCo Park All You Can Eat Section 2010 Version

Last summer we sat in the All You Can Eat Section at PetCo Park when we went to the Padres game. It was a totally awesome section in a good location. The All You Can Eat was the best we experienced, as it included not only peanuts, hot dogs, popcorn, and soda, but also ice cream treats and best of all for me, veggie dogs!

When we decided to go to a Padres game at PetCo Park on July 16, 2010, I automatically looked up the All You Can Eat section tickets. I was quickly sad to see the section was moved, but the real sad part is that the selection was seriously downgraded. I get the getting rid of the extras like nachos and ice cream treats, but it is extremely disappointing that they also cut out the veggie dogs from the offerings. The only improvement is that they now give the drinks out as little bottles of soda and water, which is so much easier to stock up on for the later part of the game when the All You Can Eat service ends (2 hours after start time).

Mik still loved the hot dogs. He had 3, but he was too quick eating them for me to sneak a photo. He says the hot dogs are better than last year, but he was kind of sad they did not have nachos like last year.

Petco Park: Arizona Diamondbacks 1 @ San Diego Padres 12

I did not plan on going to several ballparks this year after going to all 30 last season, but a little over halfway through the season I have been to 3 (Dbacks Opening Day, Nats @ Cubs in April, and then Petco park). Only the Dbacks Opening Day game this season was the three of us, but I am going to still keep updating this blog as I visit and revisit various ballparks and baseball things.

Mik was definitely baseballed out after last season and only planned to go Dbacks opening day and the Luis Gonzalez bobblehead game coming up in August. However, when I told him that the Dbacks were in San Diego when we were there in July, he happily agreed to go to a game. By the way he also got mad at me for saying I might fit in a Twins game in August to check their new ballpark off the been to list. He called last summer the Summer of Hell, but since he has been to the other 29 current ballparks he thinks he might as well visit the 30th.

Anyways back to the main point of this post - Dbacks being slaughtered by the Padres on July 16, 2010, at Petco Park. It was a sad game for Mik the Dbacks fan, but it was still kind of exciting. We have been to Petco Park pretty much every year since it has opened, but yet again we got totally lost because we were sitting in the new All You Can Eat section (not as good as last year and will report in a Mik Food Scrapbook post later).

Petco Park is overall a nice ballpark if you sit in the right parts (i.e. not next to the building), but it is so dang confusing (see my post about getting lost in 2008). Just like in 2008, we wandered in circles for a while, but this time we ended up with a very helpful usher, who was manning the elevator priority, that actually wandered with us some more and eventually got us to the section. He never works the side of the park we were sitting and even he was confused and asked several other ushers before we got to the place. It was greatly appreciated that he put the effort in and figured it out for us. Unfortunately, we did not get to the ballpark until 30 minutes before the game and by the time we got to our seats we had missed the only run the Dbacks ended up scoring that game.

Mik enjoyed seeing his team play, but by the 7th inning he was ready to go (mostly because his team was getting slaughtered). Since it really was his choice of baseball game, I gave in and we left the game in the 8th inning. Amazingly, he did not even take his video game system out of the backpack at this game. I think he is slowly becoming a real baseball spectator and fan, although he will not admit it.

Kj's Baseball Collection: International Minor League All Stars Autographed Ball

Last Monday before the Home Run Derby at Hi Corbett, they had all the All Stars for the International Minor League All Star Game (Golden Baseball League vs. Northern League) available for getting autographs from. I got a Golden Baseball League official ball from the Team Shop and got about half of the All Stars to sign it. I ran out of room on the ball before I could get everyone. Still a pretty cool souvenir to add to my collection.

Hi Corbett Field: International Minor League All Star Home Run Derby 2010

Last Monday (July 12, 2010) Dad and I went to the International Minor League All Star Home Run Derby and Fan Fest at Hi Corbett Field in Tucson, AZ. It was fun to go to a Home Run Derby even if it was not the Major League Baseball one or even MLB minor league players. Hi Corbett is pretty interesting to see players try to hit homers at because it is not the type of ballpark you tend to see homers in during a regular game.

Cliff Brumbaugh of the Edmonton Capitals (in the Golden Baseball League) beat Jacob Blackwood of the Kansas City T-Bones (in the Northern League) with 11 home runs (Jacob went first and got 10) in the final round. It was pretty exciting to watch the homers, although most of the players got none or only 1 or 2 in the first round. Even Cliff got 0 in the second round, but his 11 from the first round carried over to the 2nd (not the finals!) and allowed him to continue to the finals as the Golden Baseball League representative.

Hi Corbett Field: Chico Outlaws 3 @ Tucson Toros 4

Chico Outlaws @ Tucson Toros, July 7, 2010
Originally uploaded by kjscrafts

I love Hi Corbett Field in Tucson even if it is a small, old, and low amenity ballpark. It may have only a small scoreboard and a few concession stands, but the seating options are all quite good. I like the bleachers even though the closer seats are only a few bucks more for Toros games. Besides there is never that much of a crowd at Toros games and you can seat hop, especially during the middle of the week like when we went on Wednesday, July 7, 2010, to see the Toros.

It was 100 degrees at the 7pm game start time, but it is a dry heat and it does not seem that bad to me, especially since I spent all of June dealing with hot and humid weather and Texas. Most of the time I do not pay attention to the temperature at game start and end, but it is something we always like to do when we go to Hi Corbett. It is such an easy thing to do, since it is one of the few things to look at on the scoreboard. By the way it was 93 degrees when the game ended around 10pm.

The July 7, 2010, Tucson Toros game was pretty interesting. In the sixth inning there was a real quick, but kind of hard rain shower. However, unlike the wimps of Major League Baseball (i.e. Cubs delaying start when rain was forecasted and that rain never happened in Game 16 of our trip last summer) they never stopped play. There was a fun run down play between second and third in the bottom of the 6th around when the rain stopped. The best part of the game, though, was the bottom of the 10th, although it was kind of annoying that the Toros allowed the Outlaws to tie the game up in the top of the 9th.

In the bottom of the 10th the pitcher for the Outlaws committed two errors making it easy for the Toros to score a run and win the game. The first error was throwing it poorly to 1st base letting the runner not only get on base, but to 2nd base. He then tried to pick off the runner at 2nd and instead threw the ball into center field and allowing the runner to get to third.

Kj's Baseball Collection: Dbacks Opening Day 2010

At Opening Day yesterday, I got a souvenir baseball in honor of Opening Day 2010 with the Padres and Dbacks logos. Mik had hoped to find a mini bat, but they did not have one and he settled for a souvenir pin.