This blog post is Billy Dee Williams Approved.
The second and final game I attended at Coors Field began with a pre-game beverage at a bar called “1UP.” It’s an establishment whose theme is 80s arcade games. And they have plenty of them – Pac Man, Asteroids, Space Invaders, and my personal favorite, Operation Wolf. There are other 80s-themed features such as Pabst Blue Ribbon in a can and a gaudy Billy Dee Williams sign.
The walk to Coors was only a block, and I exchanged nods and “Lets Go Mets” greetings with fans wearing throwback Strawberry jerseys.
My seats were not as close this time around. I ended up in the lower 327 section, in the first couple of rows of the upper tank. They’re fairly high up, but the fact that they are offset behind home plate gives the fan a clean, clear perspective of the field (as opposed to lower seats, which are nice, but if you’re on the aisle, you have to constantly crane your neck around people).
Something like Kirk Nieuwenhuis’s insane catch looked even more insane from this perspective. When the ball
David Wright from above.
was in the air, it seemed impossible for anyone to come within 10 feet of it – but Kirk covered the sprawling center field of Coors with lightning speed, left his feet, and made the catch of the year so far, for my money.
The game itself moved along crisply, which is what happens when the teams don’t score a combined 27 runs, as was the case on Friday.
It also helped that Johan Santana carved up the Rockies through 6 innings, allowing only 2 hits. But then he was replaced in the 7th by Miguel Batista after only 90 pitches. I checked Twitter on my phone to see if he had gotten hurt, but no, the Mets were just being cautious with the post-surgery Santana.
Jon Rauch from above.
OK, fine. Batista got out of the seventh with the greatest of ease. But Jon Rauch got into something more in the 8th. I sensed another tragedy at Coors Field for the Mets. It was like a coming storm. And just as I had a sense the Mets would blow a 4-run lead on Friday (which they did), I was almost certain they would blow their 4-0 lead on Sunday. Sure enough, Tim Byrdak served up a grand slam to Todd Helton (one of my favorite non-Mets, but not that day), and the game was tied. The Mets came back to take the lead, thanks again to Niewenhuis, but, as I predicted, Frank Francisco gave up a line-drive homer to Carlos Gonzales. The Mets took the lead again on Ike Davis’s single. Ramon Ramirez came in to try to save it and got the first two batters with relative ease. But then, one-time Met Marco Scutaro ripped one to deep left. As Scott Hairston raced back to the track, I felt the same way the bowl of petunias in “Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” felt: Oh no, not again. But Hairston slowed down, and parked in front of the wall. Ball met glove, and the torture was over.
I left Coors Field that day happy, but relieved. Then, taking a step back, I realized what a great game I had just witnessed.
12 comments
srt
5/2/2012-11:25pm at 11:25 pm (UTC -4)
Nice day in the ball park story, Paul. Even better that they held on for the win.
Paul Festa
5/2/2012-11:32pm at 11:32 pm (UTC -4)
Thank you.
gategem
5/3/2012-2:08am at 2:08 am (UTC -4)
Paul have you have been to a Broncos’ home game?. I think the stadium is now called Sports Authority Field at Mile High. I was at the original Mile High Stadium and those fans are mad (and they’re not angry).
Paul Festa
5/3/2012-11:29am at 11:29 am (UTC -4)
I haven’t yet. I definitely want to – they like their Rockies, but this is a Broncos town for sure.
kingman 26
5/3/2012-9:14am at 9:14 am (UTC -4)
I have been fortunate enough to have been to about a dozen MLB parks, and I have to say that Coors Field I think is my favorite. Just an incredibly beautiful setting, and really cool to walk to the park from downtown.
Great city too.
Paul Festa
5/3/2012-11:32am at 11:32 am (UTC -4)
This and SF are my two favorites out of the ones I’ve been to. Pittsburgh’s PNC Park is supposed to be great, but I haven’t been there yet.
Prismo
5/3/2012-12:04pm at 12:04 pm (UTC -4)
I’d like to get to Coors for sure. I was in Denver a few months ago and it’s like walking around a freakin’ postcard with all the snow-capped mountains, etc.
PNC Park is definitely a great ballpark. Great view out from the outfield – the downside would be that because it’s in Pittsburgh…it can be very empty. I prefer my ballparks filled to the brim with fans.
Another one I’d suggest is the new Busch Stadium in St. Louis. I thought it was a fantastic ballpark.
kingman 26
5/3/2012-6:11pm at 6:11 pm (UTC -4)
Never been IN PNC, but stayed at a hotel overlooking it, and everything about it looked great. Except for the home team. I love the 21-foot RF wall as a tribute to Clemente’s #21. Great frigin idea. Walked around St. Louis and walked by Busch and it did look great. Did the same in Chicago around Wrigley–also looked very cool for an older park.
Safeco in Seattle is nice too. And I have to say, aside from the revolting neighborhood, Citi is very cool as well. The Acela Club has to be among the very best stadium/arena restaurants in the US.
And Prismo–I love Denver. Great and beautiful living postcard is right. Don’t sell Seattle short if you’ve never been—very much the same way. But with lots of water too.
gategem
5/4/2012-1:16am at 1:16 am (UTC -4)
Kong, there is a great story about Clemente that is near and dear to Brooklyn Dodgers fans hearts.
“While Clemente was playing with the Santurce Crabbers of the LBBPR the Brooklyn Dodgers offered him a contract with the team’s Triple-A subsidiary.[5] He then moved to Montreal to play with the Montreal Royals. The climate and language differences affected Clemente early on, but he received the assistance of his teammate Joe Black, who was able to speak Spanish. In 1954, Clyde Sukeforth, a scout for the Pittsburgh Pirates, noticed that Clemente was being used as a bench player for the team and discussed the possibility of drafting Clemente to the Pirates with the team’s manager, Max Macon.[6] The Pirates selected Clemente as the first selection of the rookie draft that took place on November 22, 1954.”
I recall seeing Joe Black pitch with the Brooklyn club but stop and think of how good those Dodgers would have been with Clemente in the outfield.
SaltyGary
5/3/2012-10:37am at 10:37 am (UTC -4)
Colt 45 Does it every time!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IlR-I57nmr4&feature=related
Mr North Jersey
5/3/2012-12:22pm at 12:22 pm (UTC -4)
Paul your post is about the Mets but dude your taking me back to old school arcade days with words like 1UP and the video games.
1UP as a bar? The only 1UP i knew was the popular gamesite http://www.1up.com/
Also what kid could resist Operation Wolf? The feel of holding an UZI type sub machine gun was just too hard to resist.
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JLQUSJK4OIM/TqagAc4ZmlI/AAAAAAAAAgw/kqv0jrskUKU/s1600/operationwolf00.jpg
Paul Festa
5/4/2012-11:37am at 11:37 am (UTC -4)
Yes – it is a bar. It’s full of arcade games from my youth (80s and 90s). Here’s their official website: http://the-1up.com/main/