Getting to First Base

More thoughts on last night’s Royals trip

…and by “thoughts” I mostly mean “pictures,” but you get my meaning. All photos are mine, feel free to use them but please give me proper credit if you do. Click any photo for a larger version.

This view used to be inaccessable for fans!

As mentioned in my delirious post from 2:30ish this morning, I had not been to Kauffman Stadium yet this year. This is the first year that the Royals’ beautiful stadium has had anything going on in the outfield gates, so I was anxious to check out the view from there. So anxious, in fact, that I was the 4th person to get in the left field gates, and probably could have been the first if I hadn’t taken the time to scope out the stadium’s shiny new exterior.

I don't know whose head that is...

The outfield stuff looks pretty awesome, but I was by myself and on a tiny budget so I’ll have to wait until next time (which I think will be the day the team gives away this AMAZING t-shirt) to fully check out The Outfield Experience. Instead, I wandered over to the Royals dugout to watch some batting practice. I had the area all to myself for a little over an hour, and it was very peaceful.

The view from my slightly upgraded seat...not too terrible, I guess.

You know that weird row of seats that’s above the top step of the aisle, and is basically IN the concourse? That was my original seat. When I sat down, I realized I could not see CrownVision, which is a shame because a) It’s a beautiful piece of high-def awesomosity, and b) my cousin Chris is in charge of everything that goes on it. I like to be able to see Chris’s handiwork, so I went to guest services where a super-helpful guy gave me a ticket in the same section but WAY lower.

It was only one game, but I think I LOVE the “New K.” Previously, there were no seats in the outfield, so fans were chanting and yelling into empty space. Now, the fans out in the outfield seats and SRO areas bring a much more intimate atmosphere and MUCH more potential for loudness. Instead of the calls of “Let’s go Ro-yals!” getting lost in Interstate traffic behind the stadium, it is repeated and reverberated by the raucous fans by the fountains.

Here's how you would see the field if you were part of the CrownVision staff.

Then the game happened, which you can read about here or here or here or here*. I got home like 15 hours ago and I am still a little high on the amazing 9th inning rally! After the game but long before I came down to earth, I made my traditional visit to the control room upstairs.

*the last link features an ADORABLE photo. I encourage you to check it out!

You can see the rest of my (very few – sorry!) photos on Flickr here. Now I just hope the Royals can keep the magic coming in tonight’s game!