Stadium Tours - Dodger Stadium

It was May 23, a day before my 32nd birthday, so I decided to splurge and get a little bit better of a ticket than I normally would in this situation.  Surprisingly, the ticket was not all that expensive...I think I paid somewhere around $35 off of a ticket resale site to sit about seven rows off the field next to Yasiel Puig. Dodger Stadium                        

The opponent that evening was the St Louis Cardinals and it was Joc Pederson bobble head night. I love collecting bobble heads so my timing was perfect.

  Even better, Dodger ace, Clayton Kershaw was pitching.   The Cardinals started Lance Lynn, who also pitched very well that night.

Joc Pederson Bobble Head

The Arrival

There's a joke that Dodgers fans arrive in the third and leave in the seventh, mocking both the fact that LA traffic is horrible and the fans don't care.   Number one, the fans absolutely do care and number two, traffic really is that bad. I left my hotel in Anaheim about two hours before the game began.   It was a 30-mile drive and going against traffic.   The GPS said it would take somewhere between an hour and hour and 15 minutes, which was actually pretty accurate.   I actually didn't have any problems until I hit downtown and tried to cut over onto the 110 for the last mile or two of the highway portion of the trip. For those who have never been to Dodger Stadium, the stadium is located at the top of a hill in an area called Chavez Ravine and surrounded by a gigantic parking lot.   Vehicles line up at the bottom of the hill to pay for parking and then drive up and around to their designated parking area.   This was the beginning of as big of a traffic nightmare as Los Angeles Rush hour.  From the point I reached the bottom of the hill to the point I parked, walked up another hill to the gate and got in the door, it took over 40 minutes.

The moral of the story: Give yourself plenty of time to get to the ballpark.

  Downtown Los Angeles

The Entry

The entry was pretty comparable to the other ballparks I've been to.   You have a metal detector and security, but it moves well.   I was in the door and had my bobblehead pretty quickly after getting in line.   I'm ashamed to admit that I didn't do my homework beforehand and I entered the gate on the Top Deck.  A great spot to take pictures, but the complete opposite place where you should be if your seats are at the field level.   I really blame the fact that I was cutting it close to first pitch and wanted to make sure I got in and got my bobblehead.  

This isn't my floor...                        


So after walking around, I found my way to a flight of stairs and went down to the field level to my seat. Between traffic, parking, going in at the top gate, and pausing my travel for the National Anthem, I got to my seat just in time for for Kershaw to throw his first pitch...

The Game

This game went 13 innings and I admit, I did not stay for the full 13 innings.   If I'm pretending to be a Dodgers fan, I have to leave early, right?   I kid, I kid... Kershaw was Kershaw and pitched 9 innings, 1 run, on 3 hits, no walks, and 10 strikeouts.   Third baseman Logan Forsythe hit a walk off double in the bottom of the 13th to win it for the Dodgers, but you can read more about that on your favorite sports scores site.   Keep reading for my summary of the Stadium.

The Stadium

Dodger Stadium opened in 1962 and is the third oldest Major League Baseball stadium in use (behind Fenway Park, Wrigley Field, and just ahead of their crosstown rival at, Angel Stadium). ��The Dodgers had just moved to Los Angeles back in 1958 and played at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum until Dodger Stadium was ready.   Oddly enough, their first game in LA was versus the now San Francisco Giants, who also moved from New York to California for the 1958 season.


Dodger Stadium Building Placard                                


As a natural explorer, later on in the game I got up and decided to take a look around the ballpark and see how far I could get without security throwing me out. Surprisingly, there is a lot to see in the ballpark.   The top deck actually has a wall of old signs, seats, etc from the now 50+ years at Dodger Stadium.   It's pretty amazing to see how much even the seats and signage has changed in that time.


Old Signs & Seats                          


The real surprise was when I took a wrong turn and ended up on the club level.   There's actually a little Dodger museum in the lobby and you can actually get steps away from the Vin Scully Press Box where the legend worked in this stadium for 58 years.


  Vin Scully Press Box - Dodger Stadium


Behind this picture was a collection of Dodger trophies and memorabilia, headlined by a collection of items used by Vin Scully himself.   His headset, press pass, score book, and media guide from his last game and in this display case.   I have a lot of respect for the legend and it was definitely not expected that I would run into these items, so it just made the experience that much more special.

Vin Scully Items


So after that, I made my way back up to the top deck, took a few pictures from the standing room only area and then packed up and went back to my hotel. Overall, it is definitely worth making sure this stadium is on your list to visit. I'm glad I made the trip and I will definitely be back again. Thanks for reading and check back here soon as I continue my stadium tour series. - D.J

It was May 23, a day before my 32nd birthday, so I decided to splurge and get a little bit better of a ticket than I normally would in this situation.   Surprisingly, the ticket was not all that expensive...I think I paid somewhere around $35 off of a ticket resale site to sit about seven rows off the field next to Yasiel Puig.

Dodger Stadium                         

Even better, Dodger ace, Clayton Kershaw was pitching.   The Cardinals started Lance Lynn, who also pitched very well that night.

Joc Pederson Bobble Head

The Arrival

There's a joke that Dodgers fans arrive in the third and leave in the seventh, mocking both the fact that LA traffic is horrible and the fans don't care.  Number one, the fans absolutely do care and number two, traffic really is that bad. I left my hotel in Anaheim about two hours before the game began.   It was a 30-mile drive and going against traffic.  The GPS said it would take somewhere between an hour and hour and 15 minutes, which was actually pretty accurate.   I actually didn't have any problems until I hit downtown and tried to cut over onto the 110 for the last mile or two of the highway portion of the trip. For those who have never been to Dodger Stadium, the stadium is located at the top of a hill in an area called Chavez Ravine and surrounded by a gigantic parking lot.  Vehicles line up at the bottom of the hill to pay for parking and then drive up and around to their designated parking area.  This was the beginning of as big of a traffic nightmare as Los Angeles Rush hour.  From the point I reached the bottom of the hill to the point I parked, walked up another hill to the gate and got in the door, it took over 40 minutes.

The moral of the story: Give yourself plenty of time to get to the ballpark.

  Downtown Los Angeles

The Entry

The entry was pretty comparable to the other ballparks I've been to.   You have a metal detector and security, but it moves well.   I was in the door and had my bobblehead pretty quickly after getting in line.   I'm ashamed to admit that I didn't do my homework beforehand and I entered the gate on the Top Deck.   A great spot to take pictures, but the complete opposite place where you should be if your seats are at the field level.   I really blame the fact that I was cutting it close to first pitch and wanted to make sure I got in and got my bobblehead.  

This isn't my floor...                        


So after walking around, I found my way to a flight of stairs and went down to the field level to my seat. Between traffic, parking, going in at the top gate, and pausing my travel for the National Anthem, I got to my seat just in time for Kershaw to throw his first pitch...

The Game

This game went 13 innings and I admit, I did not stay for the full 13 innings.   If I'm pretending to be a Dodgers fan, I have to leave early, right?   I kid, I kid... Kershaw was Kershaw and pitched 9 innings, 1 run, on 3 hits, no walks, and 10 strikeouts.   Third baseman Logan Forsythe hit a walk-off double in the bottom of the 13th to win it for the Dodgers, but you can read more about that on your favorite sports scores site.   Keep reading for my summary of the Stadium.

The Stadium

Dodger Stadium opened in 1962 and is the third oldest Major League Baseball stadium in use (behind Fenway Park, Wrigley Field, and just ahead of their crosstown rival at, Angel Stadium).   The Dodgers had just moved to Los Angeles back in 1958 and played at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum until Dodger Stadium was ready.   Oddly enough, their first game in LA was versus the now San Francisco Giants, who also moved from New York to California for the 1958 season.


Dodger Stadium Building Placard                                


As a natural explorer, later on in the game I got up and decided to take a look around the ballpark and see how far I could get without security throwing me out. Surprisingly, there is a lot to see in the ballpark.   The top deck actually has a wall of old signs, seats, etc from the now 50+ years at Dodger Stadium.   It's pretty amazing to see how much even the seats and signage has changed in that time.

Old Signs & Seats          

               

The real surprise was when I took a wrong turn and ended up on the club level.   There's actually a little Dodger museum in the lobby and you can actually get steps away from the Vin Scully Press Box where the legend worked in this stadium for 58 years.

  Vin Scully Press Box - Dodger Stadium


Behind this picture was a collection of Dodger trophies and memorabilia, headlined by a collection of items used by Vin Scully himself.   His headset, press pass, scorebook, and media guide from his last game and in this display case.   I have a lot of respect for the legend and it was definitely not expected that I would run into these items, so it just made the experience that much more special.

Vin Scully Items

So after that, I made my way back up to the top deck, took a few pictures from the standing room only area and then packed up and went back to my hotel. Overall, it is definitely worth making sure this stadium is on your list to visit. I'm glad I made the trip and I will definitely be back again.

Thanks for reading and check back here soon as I continue my stadium tour series.

- D.J.


This post was proofread by Grammarly