Ultimate Baseball Road Trip (51 page)

Located just to the right of the home team’s first-base-line dugout, we suppose this is where Bud sits when he comes
to town. We have no idea who sits here when Bud is not in town.

Kevin:
His minions?

Josh:
Probably. I just wonder if Bud orders a Bud at Busch Stadium, or does he have Miller flown in?

Kevin:
Judging by his dour demeanor, I’m going to say that he doesn’t drink.

Diamonds on the soles of your shoes, as Paul Simon once sang, might be the prerequisite for nabbing these babies.

If you’re sitting in these sections, you’re sitting pretty. These are the best seats we mere mortals can get. The ends of the sections run from the lip of where the outfield grass meets the infield dirt on the first base side (141) to the same on the third base side (160). Sections 148 through 154 constitute the sweet spot.

Getting to be a bit far from the action around the plate, but great for people who prefer their sight lines close to the field, and for those eager to catch a foul, these are more than passable in our book.

These sections have nice views of the action but are organized very oddly. For instance, there are three sections marked 140: a Diamond Box, a middle Field Box, and an upper Field Box, all offering a variety of viewing experiences and prices. The same is true of Section 160 on the right-field side: The lower section is Diamond, the Middle Section is Infield Field Box, and the Upper Section is Third Base Field Box—all labeled Section 160. Ay carumba! Josh skipped his high school geometry class more often than he attended. And Kevin took Advanced Woodworking instead. Couldn’t they have made it a little easier?

These are the “tweener” seats that wrap around the foul poles. They’re “tweeners” because they aren’t quite outfield bleachers and they aren’t quite baseline seats. As usual, we’re not big fans of them. If you like distant corner views, however, they might be for you. For our money, though, we’d rather head for upper decks behind the plate. Sections 127–131 and 168–172 are glorified bleacher seats, and you’ll probably like your seats much better if you simply buy bleacher tickets. You will have paid less for them. Sections 170–172 have overhang issues, and also lose a bit of the warning track, and 170 also has the left-field foul pole blocking views throughout the section, especially down rows 8 and 9. The foul pole remains a concern in Sections 168 and 169, while 167 is clear of obstruction. The Upper Sections of 163–167 feel a bit removed from the action, but aren’t too bad.

Avoid seats 4 and 5 in all rows of Section 129, as the right-field pole blocks your view of the plate. The rest of 129 and Sections 130 and 131 have foul-pole obstructions, too, but you can actually see the action areas where 95 percent of the game takes place. By the time you reach Section 132, the foul-pole obstruction is essentially gone. The only loss of sightline is the extreme right-field corner. The upper seating sections that have foul-pole issues are Sections 130–133. Avoid Upper Sections of 129 for foul-pole obstructions, especially seats 12 and 13 in all rows.

Kevin:
Why don’t they just put aisles here like they used to?

Josh:
Or a big brick warehouse like in San Diego?

The choice sections on the right-field side are in Section 134, both Upper and Lower, as these seats cost less than the next section over but get you nearly as good a view.

Unless you buy seats to one of the many clubs on this level, the standard seating sections are in the Loge sections. If you are heading for the club seats, by all means take the stairs. You know, to work off all those brats you’ve been eating lately. If you’re heading up to the Pavilion or Terrace Levels, head for the ramps where you’ll have to walk ten times as far, because you will be shooed away from the stairs as we were.

For the fancy-pants among you, these are the super exclusive clubs:

Home Redbird Club (Sections 247–253)

Infield Redbird Club (Sections 241–246 & 254–257)

BOA Club (Sections 258–260)

Champions Club, Party Suites, and Legends Club

These are the only seats in the Club Level not reserved for the rich and famous of the Midwest. They are nice and close to the action in left-field home run territory. However, there is significant loss of outfield sight lines from all three sections.

Sections 261–265 lose the left-field corner. We really think it’s better to get a choice seat behind home plate on the Terrace or Pavilion levels. There are simply better seats for less money.

If you don’t like foul pole and underhang issues, don’t sit in Sections 269–271. Especially avoid seats 1–5 in all rows of Section 271. Sections 267 and 268 are preferred, though they have underhang issues, as well, and lose a bit of the left-field corner.

Donning the other arches of a famous burger joint, Big Mac Land is the section where Mark McGwire’s homers once went to become EBay postings in the sky. The seats are fine, but we find the tribute of a seating section named for McGwire to be an interesting expression of the dual dance that Red Bird fans have with their former slugger and current hitting coach.

Pavilion: a fancier way of saying “third” deck. It sounds much better, doesn’t it? Thank you, marketing department!
However, it’s still the third deck, so get used to it. At least you’ll get a nice view of the Arch from up here and the upper seats are under the rooftop. Actually, the sight lines from up here are fairly protected, given the provisions noted below.

There is really nothing wrong with any of the seats in these sections. Lower than their Terrace counterparts, these seats are among the best in the ballpark for the price.

The seats in these sections are still quite nice, but we recommend popping the extra few bucks and going for an Infield Pavilion ticket. For not that much more money, you can shift your seat from beyond third base, all the way to behind home plate. It’s a worthwhile upgrade.

Sections 361 and 363 lose a bit of the left-field corner, and the loss increases in Sections 365 and 367. Section 368 suffers from underhang issues from the lower deck that juts out beneath it. Section 371 is another to avoid due to foul-pole obstructions, especially seats 16, 17, and 18 in all rows. Plus there are underhang issues.

Level 4, anyone? Once again, we prefer walking up the ramps to the upper decks and sitting behind home plate to being lied to about how great lower-level views are from behind the right-field foul pole.

Sections 453 and 454 are better than any seats on the 200 level. You are higher up, but you can see the entire field. The view of the game is better and the view of downtown is better. Sections 451 and 452 also hold up to scrutiny just fine.

These seats are all nicely shaded and preferable to the 200-level seats below them.

Section 433 begins to feel a bit far away. You lose the right-field corner from view increasingly as you head toward Section 428 in deep right. You won’t have the stunning downtown view to enjoy from here either. Section 432 has a foul-pole obstruction across the outfield. Sections 431 and 430 have an infield foul-pole obstruction. Section 429 should be avoided because the foul pole blocks the view of home plate.

This is the most honestly named seating section in the park. Whether you’re in Left, Center, or Right, they’re actual bleachers. You know it, you love it, you bought it. Don’t expect individual seat backs, you’re in the bleachers.

Sections 598–591 are above the visiting bullpen. Sections 593–597 in left center don’t feel far away, but are unprotected from the sun, so avoid those if you turn lobster … er … Red-Bird red when the rays hit your skin.

Sections 501–504 are good bleacher seats in front of the area known as Homer’s Landing. There’s no standing at the tops of these sections, because there are paid areas that get ticket holders into the family fun plaza in centerfield. Here you can keep one eye on the kiddos playing the games, and another eye on the ballgame. Okay, you can’t. You’d have to have your head on a constant swivel. But that’s our story and we’re sticking to it. Actually, there are attendants inside Homer’s Landing to assist you in your child rearing and retrieving endeavors.