My Trip to the Jake

As some of you know, I’ve was in Canfield, Ohio for my sister’s softball tournament and since we ended early yesterday, my Dad and I made the hour and change drive to Cleveland for the 7:05 Indians game vs. the Red Sox. I had my Mariner’s hat on and I was one of many who helped the Red Sox win 1-0 in a great pitching duel; Matsuzaka vs. Sabbathia. Rather than talk about the ballgame itself, I’m going to talk about the ambience and environment of Jacobs field.

Right off the bat, things started off well when we found a parking lot just 2 blocks from the Jake on a nearly sold-out night. We hurried to the box office to get tickets and were surprised when the guy told us that the best seats available was section 561 row X. We knew it sounded bad, but bought the $18 tickets anyway. Turns out X was the last row of the upper deck that had a better view of the outskirts of Cleveland than the actual game. Red Sox nation was out in full force, but Indian fans successfully quelled the Sox fans. I was surprised at how excited, enthusiastic, and flat out loud Tribe fans were. I knew this when the entire stadium was standing and making noise in the fourth inning. After boring seventh inning stretch with the same old Take Me Out to the Ballgame, we went down to stand on the left field homerun porch which actually wrapped around onto the third base line and had a fantastic view if you had the patience to wait for a spot on the railing. After I got my must-have, all-beef hotdog (which was really not that good), we found a spot and watched the last couple innings. Another thing that surprised me was how loud the sound system was. When they played Hell’s Bells in the bottom of the ninth, that place was rockin’! All 39,300 fans that showed up were there until the end, and that place was loud. As I said, the Sox ended up winning 1-0, and I was happy!

Besides things I’ve already mentioned, I made some other miscellaneous observations. The first thing I noticed was how tall and steep those bleachers were compared to Camden Yards. It reminded me of a football stadium rather than a baseball stadium. Even though we were in the last row, we actually weren’t far away from the field, just far up. Secondly, since it is a newer ballpark, everything is digitized. All the scoreboards and other little features were all digital whereas Camden Yards has the more old-school look with yellow bulbs on a black background. I tend to like the Camden look better. Lastly, the view past center field was gorgeous. This park was modeled after Camden Yards and features a similar view past centerfield of the surrounding buildings.

Overall, the Jake was a beautiful ballpark and I would encourage you to catch a game there if you’re in the area. I’d have to say that between the two parks I’ve been to, Camden Yards and the Jake, I prefer Camden Yards because of the more old-school look and the great Oriole traditions. Tradition was one thing that was lacking at Jacobs Field.