This was another busy summer of baseball games! I can honestly say that we watched baseball in pretty much all kinds of weather, from many different vantage points, and in way more ballparks than I would have imagined at the beginning of the season. The Cards won six of the nine games we saw them play, which is a pretty good percentage for us, and the children enjoyed seeing Fredbird bring the Cardinals flag out at the end of the game so many times!
The first game we went to was “Stan Musial Harmonica Night” in April. We had to wear winter jackets to the game, which was definitely a new experience! The game was filled with wonderful, loving, tributes to Stan, and it was an honor to be there.
Busch Stadium, Left Field Pavilion–Section 371
In May, to celebrate Moose’s first week of summer vacation, we traveled across the state to see the Cards play the Royals in Kansas City during the I-70 series. Our very first baseball road trip…how fun!
Kauffman Stadium, Hyvee Infield–Section 411, Row GG
Turkey played in his fourth season of parks and rec baseball this summer, and he got to play on two different fields. One of them had a scoreboard and lights, which was very cool.
The other was at Moose’s school, which was also very nice, even though it doesn’t have lights.
In June, Ryan and I went with a friend to Beer Stein Night, which was also the game that brought Lance Berkman to town. Sadly, we didn’t get to see him play, but we did see him being his normally awesome self, and signing autographs for people.
Busch Stadium, Infield Terrace–Section 450, Row 9
We went back to the see the Gateway Grizzlies play again this year, as part of Honor Roll Night for Moose’s school. You definitely don’t go to see good baseball, but it’s still a lot of fun! We spent a good portion of this game getting drizzled on, and it was surprisingly chilly.
GCS Ballpark–Section 121, Row J
At the end of July, we sat on the Coca-Cola rooftop deck (an all-inclusive area), for the first time. We enjoyed the buffet, and the extra space for walking around with Chickadee!
Busch Stadium, Coca-Cola Deck–Section CCD, Row C
At the beginning of August, Bunny and I had tickets to the Champions Club (another all-inclusive area), for Star Wars night, the first of two theme ticket events I attended, which was an amazing, once-in-a-lifetime baseball experience!
Busch Stadium, UMB Champions Club–Section CH6, Row C
A little later in August, we drove out to Springfield, MO, to see the Cardinals Double-A team, the Springfield Cardinals, also known as the “Baby Birds,” play. Two baseball road trips in one summer!
Hammons Field, Diamond Box–Section I, Row 9
The one game we try to go to every year is Build a Bear day. This year, they were giving away a stuffed Fredbird, as part of Fredbird’s birthday bash, so of course we had to be there!
Busch Stadium, Right Field Pavilion–Section 328, Row 5
On September 10, I kicked off “baseball week” in our house when I went to the Cardinals Social Media Night by myself. My ticket was on the Left Field Porch, which was a new place for me. This was one of the hottest days of the summer, but I still managed to have a good time. This was only the first of three games we went to that week, though!
Busch Stadium, Left Field Porch–Section LP3, Row 4
The following day, we all went back to Busch Stadium to see the Cards win again. For the last few summers, we’ve gotten seats in the Redbird Club with Ryan’s parents. Every year, I look forward to getting a cupcake while I’m there…yum!
Busch Stadium, Infield Redbird Club–Section 244, Row 1
We thought we were done with baseball for the year after the Redbird Club game, and then Moose’s school sent home a letter about an opportunity to buy tickets for a school fundraiser night. It’s the first time they’ve ever convinced us to participate in a fundraiser (other than buying Moose a new t-shirt every other year), but it was the Cardinals, so how could we say no?!? We even got to enjoy field level seats at this game, which is a rare treat for us! We also saw one of the strangest endings to a game ever…a walk-off victory on a passed ball!
Busch Stadium, Right Field Box–Section 130, Row 23
It seems like we have big “baseball summers” every other year, so I’m assuming next year will be lighter in the games attended department. We are hoping to make it to Memphis to see the Redbirds play, and I’m personally hoping to sit in the bleachers at Busch Stadium (the one area we’ve never been in, other than the elusive “green seats”), but other than that, I don’t have a lot in the way of expectations for next year. We’ll just have to see what the schedule (and ticket prices!), holds for us!