Orioles vs. Mariners, Safeco Field

Safeco Field is very impressive. It's my second new stadium of the season, and this is every bit as nice as SkyDome, with the added bonus that it looks nicer and has natural turf. Even the cheaper seats in the outfield upper deck where we were had cup holders. The roof was open on this beautiful night. It doesn't close tight, so even if it's raining and they have to close it, outdoor air will come in. That's OK in a place like Seattle where it rarely gets too hot or too cold. That also means they don't need to have heat or air conditioning systems for the interior of the park. The park has a good feel to it, and you'd think they've been playing here for years. Hopefully this will keep the Seattle franchise healthy (but not TOO successful - I still remember 1995) for a long time to come.

One of the "things" here is that the stadium is built right next to the railroad. When trains go by (right behind our seats, in fact), the whole stadium vibrates and the trains all blow their whistles as they pass. It's a nice little thing, but it's only a weak substitute for the subway going past Yankee Stadium. The food variety was good, and prices were about what you'd expect. The hot dog I had was pretty good, probably above average. My Yankee shirt and hat got a lot of comments while I was in the food line, and surprisingly most were fellow Yankee fans somehow at a game in Seattle between the Orioles and Mariners. We're everywhere, I guess.

It seems to me that there is nothing the Kingdome could have that this place doesn't. But Blake brought up that he and his family had been going to games in the Kingdome for all these years, and how sad it was to have to leave it. And from the Yankee perspective - the last game Don Mattingly ever played was that Game 5 of the Division Series there in 1995. I think all this new place needs is some history, and it will have everything you want in a baseball stadium.