Back From The Road

(Note: Ending our six week long road trip at Baseball Digest, we return to Reflections of Blue fresh off a Dodgers series victory in Arizona. We've been gone awhile, and it feels good to be home.)

When I was younger, maybe 10 years old, my Dad loaded up the car and took my brother and I on our first baseball road trip. My old man was offered tickets for the Oakland Athletics as they played host to the New York Yankees. Being a sports fan with two sons in the middle of summer vacation, I imagined my Dad figured what the heck and made the multiple hour drive to watch two teams none of us had any interest in. It wasn’t the first baseball game I had ever been to, but it was the first time I had ever driven a considerable distance for a sporting event.

I couldn’t tell you anything more than few brief remembrances of that game (Dennis Eckersley striking out the side for a save, and Mark McGwire tossing a baseball to me, and then one to my brother a few innings later) but it will forever be remembered as my first baseball road trip with the guys.

Fifteen years later my friends and I packed the car and headed out to Arizona to watch the Dodgers take on the Arizona Diamondbacks. No thanks to bad local knowledge we actually arrived one inning late, but still managed to settle in quite nicely.

In contrast to Dodger Stadium, Chase Field is completely modernized with carpeting in the walkways, a very nice scoreboard in center field, and even a hot tub box for those willing to pay accordingly. Although we didn’t take advantage, being in possession of a ticket granted you access to all areas of the park, not just the level your ticket reflected. Those of you that aren’t Dodger fans might not find that surprising, but alas, those are the rules at The Ravine..

The large courtyard areas outside the stadium were filled with restaurants and bars making it the perfect place to enjoy the company of others before and after the game. Early renderings of “The Next 50” project for Dodger Stadium have shown similar ideas that should prove a nice addition to our beloved home, if indeed those ideas come to fruition.

Concerns regarding the emergency start required by Eric Stults, and the lack of runs by the Dodgers offense to start the season, had us worried that our journey would be met with defeat; however, 11 runs later the trip was officially dubbed a success. The joy from the victory remained the rest of the weekend, and further extended itself with a 3-1 victory over Dan Harren on Sunday afternoon. It’s amazing how quick a six hour drive elapses when Vin Scully is providing the soundtrack.

Fifteen years from now I doubt I’ll remember the final outcome of the game, or how embarrassing Juan Pierre’s arm was, but I’ll remember the Arizona speed cameras, the crazy girl in the red shirt dancing to “Baby Got Back” outside of Chase Field, the lack of female companions, and driving on the wrong side of the road after a late night/ early morning Chipotle meal. The details of the game, and even the game itself, will slowly fade into obscurity, and will be supplanted with the memories of a weekend with the guys. And in the end, isn’t that what baseball road trips are all about?