On the way from Minneapolis to Milwaukee I made some pretty interesting observations. First, I had no idea how close Minneapolis is to Wisconsin. After I dropped Dad off at the airport I crossed the state line in about a half hour. Maybe that’s not very cool for the rest of you but I just don’t know my geography as well as I thought I did. Also, on the way out of town I saw one of those neon signs in front of a bank. You know the ones that rotate displaying the date, time and temperature? Well this was normal except for the fact that in front of 55 degrees there was a giant “+” sign! Good old north country, eh? Finally, I grew extremely depressed when I filled up my car with gas and it cost more than our hotel room for the previous night. That’s just terrible.
Anyways, remember how I reserved the right to go back and change San Diego’s grade from an “A” to an “A+”? Well I’m pretty close to doing that and very well may decide to do so by the end of this post. The reason for this is something I’m sure teachers/professors struggle with all the time. Originally, I didn’t want to assign a numerical grade to each stadium because I think that was just getting too nitty gritty and too many factors on a given day could influence the number a few points, one way or the other. However, my initial reaction to Miller Park in Milwaukee was to give it an A- but it completely blows the Giants' stadium out of the water, it compares favorably to Comerica Park but it isn’t quite on par with Petco Park in San Diego. So what do I do? Do I downgrade San Fran? Do I upgrade San Diego? I guess most of you out there are thinking “if these are the day to day problems facing this spoiled brat, he really doesn’t have anything to worry about” whereas I’m completely distraught over this conundrum. I promise I’ll let you know how it turns out though.
The hotel I stayed at in Milwaukee was close enough to the stadium that I was able to walk over, which is always a plus. Also a plus was the retractable roof at Miller Park. This game took place on quite a shitty day and the other fans and I were very lucky to be indoors to see it. When I saw the park rise over the tree line though, it really was quite impressive.
I didn’t fully appreciate this until I was inside but something that set Miller Park apart from most of the stadiums in the league was the sheer physical space it occupies. Milwaukee isn’t exactly the most bustling metropolis in our nation and on top of that the Brewers play in “West Milwaukee” which has even more undeveloped space. It turns out when you have enough space to build something right it can make all the difference in the world. The grounds Miller Park occupies is completely separate from everything else but it’s complete with park, playground, parking lots and attractions. When I got closer and saw the top of the stadium with its retractable roof I thought it looked like something out of Transformers. Feel free to agree or disagree.
The other cool thing I saw in the parking lot was all the tailgating. I think I’ve mentioned this before but I’ve been shocked by the amount of tailgating that goes on at baseball games around the country. This is because Fenway doesn’t allow it and I have no frame of reference other than football games. My incorrect assumption was that it’s appropriate at football games but not at baseball games. Regardless, the Milwaukee fans have been the primo tailgaters of our nation to this point. I think they get a lot of practice at Packers games but these folks were prepared with full spreads consisting of brats, salad, pasta, chips, beer and anything else you could think of. The whole parking lot was dotted with grill smoke, good times and Wisconsin accents (you know… "get the chayhre dowwn from the ruff", etc.). Side note – I struggled with how to type out a Wisconsin accent for about 15 minutes and I still don’t think I got it right. Here’s what I’m talking about.
When I finally entered the park I was a bit surprised at how small the field was…
HAHA, no, just kidding. This was a little league field outside Miller Park. I got you good, huh?!
Game Notes:
When I entered Miller Park for real I stood in the same spot for at least 3-4 minutes. That’s a LONG time. There is just SO much to take in about the stadium. I snapped a good 20 photographs from that first spot alone. Even more than 20 stadiums into my tour I love that I still can be stopped dead in my tracks. The last few stadiums have been in the “B” range because they may have provided their fans with a decent experience but they had no “wow” factor. It’s along the same lines as what separates a great actor/musician/performer from his or her peers. They just have IT.
Let’s get me out of the way first. After those first few minutes I finally realized there was an usher standing right next to me and I eventually asked her to take a picture of me. On the left is Bernie the Brewer’s slide (which we’ll get to more later) and on the right is the main scoreboard.
By the way, she didn’t ask to see my ticket which is always a plus in my book. And always a negative are games with huge amounts of kids in attendance. I know, I know…America’s pastime, etc. but I just don’t like fighting my way through 40 kids who all go to get a hot dog at the same time because the coolest kid in class decided he wanted one. Speaking of class, I saw this game on a Thursday afternoon on June 5th, why weren’t they in school?! Oh well, no bother.
Another thing I noticed while dumbfounded for a while was the deck formation inside the building. Starting from field level the seats basically proceeded upwards as follows: lower bowl, luxury, second deck, third deck, luxury, upper deck. That’s a fair way to do it! They had two levels of luxury seating but they were interspersed with the rest of the seats around the stadium and didn’t stick out as an eyesore at all.
A great phrase to describe the rest of Miller Park is “nooks and crannies.” It was very similar to Petco Park in this way because they each offered fans so many different vantages from which to catch the game. If I try to get tickets to the green monster seats or the Budweiser pavilion in right field at Fenway it would cost me an arm and a leg. At Miller Park there are so many unique places to watch the game; from the “Dew Deck” to the “Dream Seats”, to bullpen seats, table top seats all over, luxury boxes, various restaurant views, right field ground level buffet seats and more. I checked out most of these areas and I had to go up special stair cases over and over again but I was allowed access to nearly all of them, at least to snap a few photos. Here is the right field buffet. I’ve seen this view at some other parks but never together with an “all you can eat” section.
And here’s another example of what I was just mentioning. You can see the fans eating at tabletops overlooking not only the outfield but also the bullpen. At the top of the photo is a couple of comfortable chairs that two fans per game are selected to sit in.
Continuing on my loop around the park (which took forever, by the way) I found some more gems. Bob Ueker, everyone’s favorite announcer, has his number and microphone retired along with an acknowledgement of his more than 50 years in baseball. Then came the activities. I really wish someone could have been with me to take more pictures with me in them but there were so many that I felt a little bad asking people over and over again. You could get your picture taken with two current player manikins standing on the top dugout step or with your hand in a glove catching a ball right atop the centerfield wall. They had a setup where you could race a player to first base based on his average time. I had heard of this before from Steve but hadn’t yet found one in any park. Then of course there were various activities and statues featuring the famous sausages from the Milwaukee sausage race. It all was pretty cool and, much like Cincinnati it was geared towards every fan as opposed to just kids or just adults.
Just a few other things I’d like to mention before we get to high and low points about the park. I haven’t seen this anywhere else but the Brewers offered a free speed toss. This is the thing where college kids try to blow out their arms by getting drunk and impressing their friends with how fast they can throw a baseball. Of note is that I saw a kid throw 76 miles per hour which is the fastest I’ve seen at one of these things. That also gives you a bit of perspective on how fast major league players throw. I know Curt Schilling once gave an interview in which he said the thing that the common fan would be most impressed by is how fast MLB players throw. These athletes are really the crème of the crop in the world (just think about how many levels of baseball in which you have to succeed to make it to “the show”) and I know I, for one, have never played catch with someone throwing 80 MPH before, no less 90+.
Miller Park was so big it had its own smoking deck INSIDE the park. This place could be found in the far right field corner of the stadium but it had open air walls, picnic tables, televisions and it served beer/snacks. There were probably 20-30 fans enjoying themselves there when I checked it out and although I don’t agree with smoking in public facilities, the Brewers did it right. These fans could still enjoy the game and other peoples’ company, yet they weren’t bothering any of the other fans. Nice job.
Finally, this wasn’t a high point or low point so I guess I should include it here. See the picture below. It’s of the entire stadium but in it you can see the funky dirt formation near home plate. I thought this was worth mentioning since I haven’t seen it anywhere else. Also, as a “PS”, I forgot to mention it before but the Tigers and Dbacks stood out for having an entire strip of dirt from the pitcher’s mound to home plate. That was unique and cool, apologies for my neglect.
High Points:
-Even though it was a crappy organ version, the Brewers were playing “Sweet Caroline” before the game. That’s always going to score points with a member of Red Sox Nation.
-Ushers stayed out of my business completely. Even when I was walking down by the field in the home plate area I never once was asked for my ticket. They made an announcement before the game that ushers would be checking tickets all over the park but that just wasn’t true and made my experience more enjoyable because I could move about freely.
-You know how I get mad when stadiums have more than one “first” pitch? Well, the Brewers made an announcement something along the lines of “Fans please turn your attention to the playing field for our ceremonial first pitches.” At least they acknowledged there would be more than one so people don’t get heated when they think they’ll be throwing out the FIRST pitch and discover 7 other people are doing the same thing.
-Going into Milwaukee I knew I had to get a “brat.” I had found out at other stadiums that a brat is basically the same size as a hot dog with the composition of an Italian sausage and a somewhat unique taste. That’s fine; I still had to get one in Milwaukee with the secret stadium sauce. I’ll tell you what, that made all the difference in the world! Also of note is the fact that they did not even OFFER plain yellow mustard! The condiment bars at Miller Park had ketchup, spicy brown mustard, secret stadium sauce, sauerkraut, onions and relish. A brilliant setup if I do say so myself.
-Despite the fact that the roof is often kept open and there were many pigeons inside I was impressed with the lack of bird shit on the seats. Unlike Houston, I didn’t have to wipe anything off the seats before I sat down!
-The Brewers are very into a “go green” initiative sponsoring various promotions and hocking a new “all green” cable channel in the area. Good for them, I support that too.
-For some reason this stood out to me…the music throughout was apt. Whatever the situation the organist or the music guy always had the right song to play.
-Miller Park is extremely handicapped accessible and there were an inordinate number of fans in wheelchairs at the game. That was nice to see as well. Like I’ve said, when you have the space it’s easy to do things right.
-I was waiting for it for about 6 or 7 innings but eventually the famous sausage race happened and I was there to capture all the action. The German somethingorother won the race but that wasn’t as important as the fact that I was there to see it. Remember a couple of years ago when that guy on the Pirates hit one of the participants in the head and knocked her down and there was this big story on ESPN? I do.
-The baked potatoes at Miller Park had real cheese! See Oakland, it can be done!
-I got to see old friend Gabe Kapler. He had a great game 4-5, 2B, 2R, 1 RBI and his intro song was “Soldier” by Eminem. I love finishing my runs with that song…it’s just relentless and easy to kick it in with.
-Another intriguing part of Miller Park was the mascot. Bernie the Brewer (which makes complete sense!) is known for sliding down a big slide every time a Brewer hits a home run. Well, this slide starts at the very top of the stadium and I was infinitely curious about how he made it up there so quickly after a home run. I was convinced there were two people dressed up in mascot costumes and one would just come out when it was time for a slide. It turns out he just heads up there at the start of the bottom of every inning instead of “entertaining” fans with lame antics down on the field. I support this. However, for the guy in the costume it must get pretty boring. The Brewers have hit 68 home runs at home this year but keep in mind they’ve played over 250 innings at home. That’s a lot of time for that guy to be spending up there without a lot of reward, at least relatively speaking. Anyways, the point I was going to make was that I caught Bernie in mid-slide! The Brewers hit an inside the park home run so I wasn’t sure if he was going to slide and didn’t catch him right but the very next batter parked one and I got a good shot. Check this out!
-I picked up a sweet bright yellow shirt that says “Cervaceros” which, in Spanish, means “Brewers.” It’s really awesome.
Low Points:
-The lower level seats had very large aisles at the top of each section but in terms of leg room between rows there wasn’t much. I’ve talked a lot about how much room the Brewers had to build their park and for an extra few feet per section I think they could have greatly improved fan enjoyment. Not that I’m a tall guy though, so I wasn’t too broken up about this.
-As promised, I paid attention to the beers vended at Miller Park. There were no Budweiser products to be found anywhere.
-I had an inkling before this game but it’s been solidified in my mind now…I hate national anthems performed by elementary and middle school choirs.
-I don’t think Citgo has any official affiliation with the Red Sox but there would be a full scale riot should the famous neon sign ever be torn down. Well, in Miller Park they have a Citgo sign/display that keeps track of the home runs hit by the Brewers. Even though it was totally unwarranted I was deeply offended by this and even felt betrayed.
-Even with the indoor acoustics and a double digit home town score the fans were still pretty quiet. Of course they cheered when the team scored but otherwise there wasn’t that “buzz” that has been found in numerous other stadiums.
-The infield raking/grooming job before the game has been one of the poorest I’ve seen.
-The cap shuffle during the 3rd inning was particularly challenging. It’s a fine line for those graphics operators to walk when trying to find a cap shuffle that is both entertaining and challenging.
-I know the Brewers haven’t won a lot in their team history but couldn’t they do a little better than this? They may as well put up a bright blue and yellow pennant with “Pathetic” in the middle.
-The sections in the upper deck were relatively small. This could be a good thing in that every seat was pretty close to the action but I think, given the room they had to build, they could have done a little better and increased some of the nicer sections. Especially directly behind home plate.
-Speaking of which, there are two GIGANTIC poles (think Fenway grandstand, but 3 times as wide) in the upper deck right behind home plate. Maybe they were structurally required but they sure do hinder the view for a lot of fans.
-The concession lines were too slow for such a great park. That’s an easily fixable problem and I hope the Brewers take note.
I don’t usually do this but I just wanted to talk briefly about my after-game activities. Miller Park is about a mile away from the Miller brewery so I took a walk over to get a tour and free tasting. I discovered that High Life is brewed right there and it is, in fact, the home of the High Life. See? I’m not lying!
They also gave us some other neat tidbits like the fact that they ship out 500,000 cases of beer PER DAY from the warehouse. All the beer we saw in this multiple-football-field-equivalent warehouse had to be out by the next day. Also, the Miller Park fans got very into the polka song “Roll Out the Barrel” in the middle of some inning…do you know that one? Well, apparently it started in the caves below the Miller Brewery. Before refrigeration they used to store beer below ground in these cave/cellar type places with ice and hay. When it was time to send out a shipment they would “roll out the barrel.” Then I got to taste 3 free beers. That was cool too.
**Still haven’t made up my mind about what to do with the grades…**
Overall Grade: A-
Game Stats:
Teams: Brewers vs. Diamondbacks
Final Score: 10-1 Brewers
WP: Manny Parra
LP: Micah Owings
Time: 2:46
Announced Attendance: 27,539
Ticket Price: $14.00
Parking Price: N/A
Trip Stats:
Home team record: 15-6
Best Anthem: Tropicana Field
Miles Driven: 8473
States Visited: 20
Countries Visited: 2
Beds slept in: 26
Highest Gas PPG: $4.19 [$4.81 if you count Canada]
Next Stop: Chicago White Sox
Favorite Park: Petco Park (Padres)
Stadium Grades:
Marlins: D
Rays: B
Braves: B-
Rockies: B+
Mariners: B
Giants: A-
Athletics: C
Angels: B-
Dodgers: B+
Padres: A
Diamondbacks: B
Rangers: B-
Astros: B-
Blue Jays: C
Tigers: A-
Indians: B-
Reds: B+
Cardinals: B
Royals: B
Twins: B-
Brewers: A-
I had quite the drive from Chicago to Pittsburgh. There was one road closure after another and Karen was having an absolute fit. There was nothing I could do though, so she just had to deal with a lot of “recalculating.” I saw some interesting stuff on the way over though. Have you ever seen a truck with THREE trailers?? I’ve seen a lot of double trailers but these things were massive and they were everywhere. How do they take corners?
Parking in downtown Pittsburgh was a bit tough for a day game in the middle of the week but once I realized I wasn’t supposed to be trying to find a space in the middle of the city my life was made much easier. I walked around the entire outside of the park first because I remember when the home run derby was there a few years ago it looked really cool on TV being right on the water and with all the bridges in the background, etc. It was pretty nice, like I mentioned, the skyscrapers make for an impressive backdrop.
Also, both stadiums have very open concession areas which always help with traffic/congestion. If I was in for a repeat of my Detroit experience I would have been pumped! Unfortunately, PNC Park was severely lacking in most other areas.
It was a disaster. The ketchup and mustard cart I went to had been sitting in the sun all day and I think that somehow affected the pressure inside because those condiments came exploding out. Then I added the jalepenos for flavor and found a seat (btw, ushers didn’t care where I sat as there were roughly 15,000 people there for a mid-week, day game) to enjoy my bounty. In the words of Simon Cowell, it was a complete and utter mess. I should have taken a picture in the immediate aftermath but food was everywhere. This was taken after a trip to the bathroom and using multiple paper towels soaked with cold water. I think you get the idea.
Since there wasn’t much else to do I checked out some other food options. I found an “all you can eat” section (and there has to be one of these in at least half the parks in the country) and I really want to try one but I’m not sure if the remaining stadiums will afford me that opportunity. I’ll let you know. Otherwise there was the “Bucco Taco” but, as you can see below, that looks like a disaster waiting to happen as well so I steered clear of that and went for a simple hot dog. I have to hand it to Pittsburgh on that one; $2.25 was their regular price and that’s one hell of a deal. No other stadium has come close. Granted, it was served on a stale bun and it sure as hell wasn’t real meat, but it was only $2.25!
I think that’s about it. I saw a barge on the river pushing tons of coal but otherwise my lap around the park yielded nothing else worth wasting key strokes.
-I’ve now seen this at a handful of stadiums but Pittsburgh is yet another to use a tee shirt launcher to shoot hot dogs into the crowd! I think that is so neat.
-I don’t know if there were any more specific low points about the stadium, it was just lacking in general. 
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