Comiskey Park

Chicago, IL

Seattle Mariners @ Chicago White Sox

August 10, 2000

The Road Trip

We spent the night at an Econolodge near O'Hare, relatively clean and enough insulation to allow us to sleep despite the airplanes screaming overhead.  This was a day game so we headed down to Comiskey fairly early, we planned to get some groceries and cook out in the parking lot.  We drove down to the stadium and scoped out the scene.  We cruised the neighborhood and found an old style supermarket, the kind right on the street with no parking lot, small carts, and certainly no price scanners at the registers.  We picked up some burgers, buns, soda, and charcoal.  They had no beer so we stopped at a nearby liquor store, tossed everything in the cooler and headed for Comiskey.  Nearby the stadium there was a guy waving us into a parking lot; it wasn't an official stadium lot but was a bit cheaper.   For all I know, this guy had no affiliation with the lot and could have just been scamming some money out of us.  I've always thought about doing that, just walking up to an empty lot at a big event and start selling spots, make a few bucks and then walk away.  Fortunately, the car was still there when we came back from the game.

So we parked at the lot and broke out our supplies.  We bought some cheapo charcoal instead of the Match Light and had a heck of a time getting the grill lit, eventually we were ready to start cookin'.  We had the picnic table set up and before long burgers and beer were served.  People were looking at us like we were crazy with this folding picnic table and all but we knew they were just jealous.

We walked right up to the window to get tickets and had no problem getting lower level seats down the left field line.  We packed up our stuff and headed in to the game.  Right away, Comiskey Park seemed a lot like Yankee Stadium.  It had a very similar shape and color scheme, only the concourse area was much wider and open at Comiskey.  We even got to high five "The Big Hurt" on our way to our seats.

Getting Tickets

We knew that this game would be a weak sell so we didn't get tickets ahead of time.  We got to the stadium at least an hour ahead of the game and walked up to the window and got "best available".  We were sitting mid way down the left field line about 10 rows back.  Tickets were about $25 each.

The Stadium

Comiskey was an OK stadium.  Nothing new and fancy (like Jacobs Field) but nothing cool and historic (like Wrigley).  It shows some of the style of the new parks in that the concourse is very wide, there are plenty of concession stands, plenty of restrooms, and you can see the game from most areas of the concourse.  The crowd was kinda bland and not the most supportive, maybe it was because it was a day game. None of use had been to the old Comiskey so we couldn't compare.  The area around the stadium is pretty burned out, you want to just get out of there after the game, fortunately it lies right along side the interstate.  So after the game, we made like a tree, and got the hell out of there...

Pros: New stadium with the expected amenities, Chicago is a town with history, stadium is close to highway for easy escape, chance to see a fan with an 80's era Sox jersey (you know, the one with the techno looking batter on it)

Cons: The White Sox, Michael Jordan never made it past the Birmingham Barons, still plays a distant second fiddle to the Cubbies

The Game

This game would quickly set an important trend for our trip.   In the 4th inning,Dauber got up to get a program, and while was gone, The Big Hurt put a big hurting on <Seattle pitcher> when he put a bomb deep in left field.   We started heckling Dauber when he came back for missing the homer while getting his program; this will prove significant in later installments.

No, the ACTUAL game...

We were fortunate to get to see Sele start for the Mariners, but were a bit disappointed with a dismal day from the Seattle powerhouse with A-Rod, Ed-Gar, and Olerud going a combined 0 for 12. Surprisingly, the Mariners hit parade would come from the bottom of the order with Mike Cameron on fire and Joe Oliver pitching in with a homer of his own. It was great to see the Big Hurt hit a Big Bomb deep to left field in front of his home crowd. We also got a glimpse of Sasaki, now the most dominant closer in baseball, coming in to seal the deal. He got himself into a little trouble but 2K's always helps when you only have 3 outs to get.

BATTING: 2B - C Guillen (5, Biddle). 3B - C Guillen (1, Biddle). HR - J Oliver (7, 2nd inning off Biddle 1 on, 2 out); Cameron (15, 6th inning off Biddle 1 on, 1 out). RBI - J Oliver 2 (21), C Guillen 2 (20), Cameron 2 (53). 2-out RBI - J Oliver 2, C Guillen 2. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - E Martinez 1, A Martin 2. GIDP - Mclemore. Team LOB - 3.

BASERUNNING: SB - Mclemore (24, 2nd base off Biddle/Ml Johnson); Cameron (13, 2nd base off Biddle/Ml Johnson).

FIELDING: DP: 1 (A Rodriguez-Olerud).

CHI WHITE SOX	ab	r	h	rbi	bb	so	lob	avg
Durham 2b	5	1	1	0	0	1	2	.280
Jose Valentin ss	4	0	0	1	0	1	0	.282
F Thomas 1b	4	1	3	2	0	0	0	.343
M Ordonez rf	4	0	1	0	0	0	1	.327
Baines dh	4	0	1	0	0	2	2	.267
H Perry 3b	4	0	1	0	0	1	1	.309
Ca Lee lf	4	0	1	0	0	1	2	.300
Singleton cf	4	0	2	0	0	1	0	.263
Ml Johnson c	3	1	1	0	0	0	1	.221
a-C Johnson ph	1	0	0	0	0	1	2	.294
Totals	37	3	11	3	0	8	11

a - struck out for Ml Johnson in the 9th

BATTING: 2B - Durham (24, Sele). HR - F Thomas (34, 4th inning off Sele 0 on, 1 out). RBI - F Thomas 2 (101), Jose Valentin (67). 2-out RBI - F Thomas. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - Ml Johnson 1, Baines 1, Durham 1. GIDP - Ca Lee. Team LOB - 7.

BASERUNNING: SB - Singleton (12, 2nd base off Sele/J Oliver).

FIELDING: DP: 1 (Jose Valentin-Durham-F Thomas).

SEATTLE	ip	h	r	er	bb	so	hr	era
Sele (W, 13-6)	7.2	8	3	3	0	5	1	4.38
Mesa (H, 10)	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	5.81
Rhodes (H, 22)	0.1	0	0	0	0	1	0	3.23
Sasaki (S, 28)	1	2	0	0	0	2	0	3.94
CHI WHITE SOX	ip	h	r	er	bb	so	hr	era
Biddle (L, 0-1)	5.1	8	6	6	1	1	2	10.13
Simas	1.2	1	0	0	0	0	0	3.79
Foulke	2	0	0	0	0	3	0	3.33

WP - Biddle.
Pitches-strikes: Biddle 100-58; Simas 18-11; Foulke 23-16; Sele 95-70; Mesa 5-4; Rhodes 9-6; Sasaki 19-16.
Ground balls-fly balls: Biddle 6-9; Simas 4-1; Foulke 1-2; Sele 11-7; Mesa 0-0; Rhodes 0-0; Sasaki 0-1.
Batters faced: Biddle 25; Simas 5; Foulke 6; Sele 30; Mesa 1; Rhodes 1; Sasaki 5.

UMPIRES: HP--Dan Iassogna. 1B--Jeff Nelson. 2B--Derryl Cousins. 3B--Alfonzo Marquez. T--2:41. Att--23,924. Weather: 80 degrees, sunny. Wind: 12 mph, out to right.