matthewweaver.com | mlb ballparks

Ballpark:
Historic Dodger Stadium sits nestled in Chavez Ravine in Los Angeles, near Pasadena. Opened in 1962 and now one of the older ballparks in the Major Leagues, the stadium is still a decent venue. It has great sightlines and nice scenery, assuming the smog doesn't obscure the nearby San Gabriel Mountains (and it normally does).

In 2000, the park received a $50 million renovation that created a club section behind home plate with premium seats and services. The new seats took away some of the ample foul territory behind home plate, but there is still plenty of room.

The park's infrastructure and architecture shows its age. The concessions and bathrooms are dated and it is very difficult to move from level to level, resulting in the inability for a fan to explore the park easily. I did not like that.

Dodger Stadium has seen its share of history, from the great Dodger teams of the 1970's and 1980's to huge moments like Kirk Gibson's improbable game winning World Series home run in 1988. Despite the signs of age on the park, the mystique of Dodger Stadium and recent upgrades to the facility warrants a "B-" rating.

How to get there:
From LAX Airport in Los Angeles, take I-105 East to I-110 North. Follow the 110 to the Pasadena Freeway (Route 110) and get off at the Dodger Stadium exit. Follow the small blue stadium signs around and over the hills to the park. Be sure to park near your seating level, as the upper deck and the outfield bleachers are separated by a big hill and many levels of the parking lot.

City:
Los Angeles is an smoggy, traffic-filled city that is not one of my favorite places to visit. There are many great sights and famous destinations, but only a few are worth battling the traffic and the plastic people if you ask me. Beverly Hills was interesting to visit, but Hollywood was lousy and I don't think I could see downtown through the smog at any point in my trip. Where else could you regularly sit in bumper-to-bumper traffic on a Sunday afternoon?! I have to disagree with Randy Newman...I don't love L.A.

Stuff to do while there:
You can check out the beach near Santa Monica, roam around Beverly Hills, drive up to beautiful Malibu or explore the nearby mountains and canyons. Or you could sit in traffic, get shot at, see freakish people or (did I say this already?) sit in traffic.

Story:
I caught the game with my friend Jim, who had flown in from San Francisco to see games with me in San Diego and L.A. The game was the last in my 5-day, 4-ballpark trek through Southern California and Arizona in August 1999. We were able to catch 7 innings of what became an 11 inning game before we had to leave to catch our respective flights home.

Fun facts:
The Dodgers originally played in the huge L.A. Memorial Coliseum after moving west from Brooklyn, New York in 1958.

Due to its obvious proximity to Hollywood, Dodger Stadium is the site of many baseball-related movies and television programs. One example is 1988's The Naked Gun, a police comedy starring Leslie Neilsen, Priscilla Presley and the infamous O.J. Simpson.

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The exterior of Dodger Stadium from behind the left field wall
August 15, 1999

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The famous outfield bleachers, JumboTron and scoreboard
August 15, 1999

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Atlanta's Tom Glavine pitches
to Dodger 1B Eric Karros
August 15, 1999