This one had me feeling all types of emotions as we were preparing to visit. First of all, as a Braves fan, I don't particularly care for the Los Angeles Dodgers. I wouldn't go so far as to say that I hate them (although there have been times when that word might have been accurate, especially when it comes to Chris Taylor). But in my lifetime as a Braves fan, there have been periods of time when the Dodgers were our nemesis. And then there is the whole Freddie Freeman free agency debacle. So I tried to have an open mind prior to the visit. And then there is the traffic situation. Everything I had read online said do not drive to Dodger Stadium, but our place that we stayed was only 4 miles from the ballpark. It was just a good idea to leave early (which is no problem for us). We left 2.5 hours before first pitch and it's a good thing we did. Traffic was not terrible, but just to be safe we got inside pretty quickly which gave us more time to explore the ballpark.
Dodger Stadium is the third oldest ballpark in the US (behind only Fenway Park in Boston and Wrigley Field in Chicago). It opened in 1962 and they are celebrating their 60th anniversary this season. It is a giant of a stadium and seats 56,000 people. The game featured the Dodgers taking on their division rival the San Diego Padres, which led to the game being sold out - over 53,000 people were there! I think 52,000 were Dodger fans. I was very impressed with the show of support from the people there that LOVE their Dodgers. I don't think I have seen anything like it in that large of scale. I could not help but think that it is no wonder that the Dodgers have so much money to sign free agents. Dodger Stadium is a money making machine! And 90% of the fans had a Dodger Jersey and hat on!
The stadium was magnificent! The weather was great with temperatures in the low 70s at first pitch and actually got down into the mid 60s before the game was over. It was Trea Turner bobblehead night and we picked up 4 of those (Tammy and Tate had sold theirs in the first 5 minutes - Tammy got $20 and Tate got scammed for $10). The game was entertaining and the Dodgers won 3-1 thanks mostly to Justin Turner's two home runs. As I referred to earlier it was pretty tough seeing Freddie Freeman down there playing first base for the Dodgers. And then we had to see another former Brave Craig Kimbrel come in and get the save.
The views of the mountains in the background of Chavez Ravine especially when the sun goes down are amazing. The food options were quite impressive but I decided to go for the Dodger Dog and Garlic Fries which were pretty good. Trey and Tate had the bucket of Chicken Fingers and pound of fries.
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| Dodger Dog - meh! |
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| Yes, we did wear Braves attire at Dodger Stadium, except for Tate who had his Padres Jersey on (but did buy a Clayton Kershaw Jersey T as a souvenir that you see in a previous pic) |
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| Former Favorite Braves Player - yes, it was too soon! |
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| Dodger Stadium |
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| Couldn't resist this one - and yes, he is! |
The traffic situation leaving the ballpark took a little while, but when you have to get 53,000 fans out of there, it is bound to take a little time. We were back at our place after the game in about an hour. All in all, Dodger Stadium left quite a good impression. It has definitely launched itself into our Top 5 Stadiums. 27 down and two more to go on this trip. The next day we left LA and headed up the coast for San Francisco.
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