matthewweaver.com | mlb ballparks

Ballpark:
Minute Maid Park is a huge step up from Houston's former home, the Astrodome. Though the old Dome was the first domed baseball stadium and it was once called the "8th wonder of the world", it eventually became a dimly-lit dungeon. The Astrodome's acoustics were bad, the fan experience was less than intimate and the ball didn't travel well. The new park, with its high-tech retractable dome, changed all of that!

Despite its large footprint in downtown Houston, Minute Maid Park is cozy, bright and fan friendly. The three-level park has terrific sightlines, especially down the left and right field lines, and there is hardly a bad seat in the house (a cliché, yes, but true in this case). There are a small amount of seats above the left field scoreboard that jut out into the field and allow those fans a great view of the action. The arched left field wall provides a host of standing room locations, as do the spacious first level concourses. There are plenty of concessions (especially beer...this is Texas, you know), as well as activities for the kids. There's even an inclined hill in center field, ala Cincinnati's old Crosley Field, that runs from about the 415 foot mark to the wall 436 feet from home plate!

There are only two real problems with this otherwise tremendous ballpark. One is that it's not pitcher friendly - not even close! The funky dimensions, including outfield areas hidden from home plate and a center field inclined hill with a flagpole (in play!), provide many places for the ball to get stuck. Unfortunately, the ball doesn't spend much time ON the field. It tends to leave the park in record numbers. There were so many home runs hit in the inaugural 2000 season that Houston fans and media dubbed the dinger-friendly park, formerly known as Enron Field, "Home-Ron Field". The other big problem is the park's new name. What is up with naming it "Minute Maid Park"?! I mean, what kind of money whores do the Astros management have to be to embarrass themselves with that lousy name?

The only point of redemption is that the fans and media have nicknamed the ballpark "The Juice Box". Pretty clever.

After any Astros home run, an antique steamer train, sitting on top of the left field wall, rides along the arched wall. It is a reminder that Minute Maid Park sits near the old train station in Houston. In fact, the old train station building overlooks left field and tickets are sold for the roof of the building. Even when the roof closes - which happens in just 10 minutes - the fans can see the games through the glass windows.

Ultimately, Minute Maid Park is one of the best ballparks in the Majors and only the pitcher-unfriendly qualities take its rating down from "A+" to "A".

How to get there:
From Houston Intercontinental Airport, take U.S. Route 59 south to downtown. After passing the I-10 interchange, follow the signs to Minute Maid Park. There's plenty of surface lot and garage parking in the neighborhood. Watch out at night, though, as it is not the greatest part of Houston.

City:
The humidity of summer meets you like a wall as you exit either of the Houston airports. The city is sprawling and rises in three distinct sections - the Galleria, the Woodlands and Downtown. Minute Maid Park is in a dicey part of Downtown, just south of the city center, with lots of panhandlers and bail bonding establishments nearby. Despite the questionable neighborhood near the ballpark, Houston is a decent city. If you can stand the heat and humidity, survive the smog and occasional hurricanes, and deal with the long drives and bad traffic, its at least an inexpensive and warm place to live. It's far too flat for my taste, though. :)

Stuff to do while there:
Golf is the sport of choice for most residents, and there are many nice courses in the Houston area. If you like rides, you can spend the day at Six Flags Astroworld, which is right next to the old Astrodome. Since it is Texas, I suggest having a big juicy steak or some killer Tex-Mex barbeque. Ultimately, you probably should plan to spend much of your time indoors in the air conditioning.

Story:
My Brother, Chris, lived in Houston for a while with his family. I was able to get there a few times to see them and catch a game at each of the stadiums. In 1998, we saw a game in the Astrodome and drove to Arlington (3-1/2 hours away) to see the Texas Rangers two days later.

In 2000, we again saw a ballgame, but this time it was in the new ballpark, then known as Enron Field. What a difference versus the outdated Astrodome!

Fun facts:
Minute Maid Park has the only inclined hill of all current MLB ballparks. The center field hazard is reminiscent of Cincinnati's old Crosley Field, which had a similar hill in left field.

The Astrodome's artificial playing surface gave rise to the term "Astroturf". Thankfully, only the Metrodome in Minneapolis still uses the stuff. Most fields are now natural grass or at least the very grass-like FieldTurf or AstroPlay surfaces.

The Astrodome, which opened in 1965, was the first enclosed (domed) baseball stadium.

This is a "not-so-fun fact," but Minute Maid Field was originally named Enron Field after the infamous energy company that went bankrupt in early 2002. The park's name was temporarily changed to Astros Field as part of the Enron buyout agreement. Many people in the Houston area lost their life savings in the bankruptcy, so the Astros didn't want to remind people of their troubles. Eventually, the naming rights were sold again and the field became Minute Maid Park after the orange juice brand.

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An awesome 7-photo mosaic
of Houston's Minute Maid Park
May 28, 2000

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A view of the infield from my
seats down the right field line
May 28, 2000

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The retractable dome
May 28, 2000

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The ballpark's exterior
May 28, 2000

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Matt in front of the LF arches
and the antique steamer train
May 28, 2000

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Matt in front of the Astrodome,
the former home of the club
May 11, 1998

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Inside the old Astrodome
May 11, 1998