Accessibility Review: Chase Field Section 140

To celebrate the last day of school Dad decided we should go to a Dbacks games, especially since we have not been to one this season. We ended up sitting in the wheelchair row in section 140. It is located behind left field and while you cannot see the scoreboard it does provide a good view of the field and we like this section and the others next to it.

I am not sure if we have ever sat specifically in this section, as Mik was surprised that we did not exactly have the typical ballpark seats, but rather the companion seats were bleacher style. It is actually kind of cool that they are set up that way because it blends in with the rest of the section being bleachers. The only problem with the set up was that we had the end of the section and the wheelchair spot is next to that seat and no way to get out without Mik having to back entirely out of his space. Probably would have been more annoying with the manual chair, as at least with the power one he could back himself out when told it was clear behind him.

This was Mik's first ball game with his power chair. He has not gotten much of a chance to get used to maneuvering it in crowds, so it was good it was a midweek game with somewhat low attendance. He did great and it was a good move towards getting him to at least be ready to give it a shot for parts of Disney World next week. That may not work out well, but at least he is now more comfortable with it and will use it when we go to the new Marlins ballpark on Monday.

RedHawks Field at Bricktown

Dad got stuck in Oklahoma City for days this week waiting to get the car repaired on way back from Chicago with Mom.  He sent me a bunch of photos from walking around the outside of RedHawks Field at Bricktown.  Below are the photos and his accompanying text.



"Downtown OKC, in the Bricktown District, is the minor league ballpark of the Redhawks. Outside the stadium is a tribute to famous ball players with Oklahoma roots: Warren Spahn Plaza, Mickey Mantel Plaza, and Johnny Bench Plaza. I walked around the ballpark yesterday."

Warren Spahn Plaza




Mickey Mantle Plaza



Johnny Bench Plaza

Oldest Remaining Ballpark: Rickwood Field

This summer we finally got to see Rickwood Field even if it was just from the outside.  Rickwood Field is the oldest ballpark still in use having been in use since 1910.  It is barely used nowadays, but the Birmingham Barons do play one throwback game here every season called the Rickwood Classic.

Despite being over 100 years old, Rickwood Field is kept in good looking shape.  Kind of amazing considering it also is not even actively used by any team.  Although, I guess it is easier to keep a ballpark looking nice if you do not have a sell out or near sell out crowd coming in so often like the Red Sox and the Cubs have had over the years.

We only got to see the outside and peak in through the fences in a few spots, but was still worth the slight detour on our way from Kentucky to Florida.  They supposedly do have daily self guided tours, but the place was totally locked up when we got there.  Probably because we got there too late in the day.

Accessibility Review: Section 434 at Miller Park

For the July 6, 2011 Dbacks @ Brewers game we sat in the wheelchair row in section 434.  It was much better than where we had sat for the ballpark trip.  It is in the highest section, but you at least can see the whole field as well as the scoreboard.



Mik, of course, approves of them as being good seating because they have cup holders.  However, they fill the section with folding chairs and there are no ushers around to take them out of the way.  Thus with the sold out wheelchair section situation there ended up being quite a few chairs in the way of the walkways to the rest of the section.

Baseball Smashed Pennies: Target Field

At Target Field there is a Penny Smashing machine in the Main Team Shop near the registers.  Mik and I both got the design featuring Target Field.  I also got the one with the Twins logo.

Mik's Food Scrapbook: Pulled Pork Parfait at Miller Park

Mik saw the Pulled Pork Parfait ad on the scoreboard before the Dbacks game at Miller Park and then sent Dad to go get one for him.  The parfait has pulled pork, mashed potatoes, and BBQ sauce.  Dad had his with Chives, but Mik did not.  Both really enjoyed it.  It was very filling.

Of course, we also had to have some more of the waffle fries in a helmet.

Kj's Baseball Collection: Target Field

At Target Field I was able to get a ball featuring an image of the Target Field plaza entrance.  It also has the Target Field logo and the Twins logo on it.