My next stop: the only active major league ball park of the Great White North. But just because this was in Canada, it wasn’t exactly a frigid experience. If I had predicted that I would have got my first solid tan of the summer, I should have also bet some of my hard-earned Canadian money at the casinos of Niagara…and still would have lost it all, but at least I’d be rich in Vitamin D, for whatever that is worth. Here’s to baseball in my mind, Canada in my heart and poutine in my stomach!
Game Time! (vs. Mont… ehem, Washington Nationals – 6/17/2018): Fresh off of my visit to the Hockey Hall of Fame and the CN Tower in the previous afternoon, I psyched myself up for the main event of my Ontario trip. The place where Joe Carter did indeed hit the biggest home run in his life. Before the game, I took a journey to the upper deck in left field to get a good view of the diamond, as well as to be in the presence of where the ‘Sky’ in SkyDome came from, thanks to a few majestic home runs that have been hit. With a few of these, I can safely assume that some chemical assistance was required. By the time I got to my seat in the other end of the park, the clear Toronto sky replaced the concrete sunblock above. With the sudden splash of heat, I had a hunch that more beer was in my future, maybe even sneaking in a few before I got to relish in the sounds of two national anthems. I admired the sections of fans (I assume were from Quebec) that were donning their dusty Expos gear and grasping on to “Welcome Expos” signs as they watched the more Americanized, and arguably the more underachieving version of their old team. A fun part of this ballpark adventure is learning about the teams I am watching, and a Fathers’ Day game gave me a nice window into some of the players. For example, I learned that the song that reminds Aaron Sanchez of his dad was ‘Cats in the Cradle‘, which is undoubtedly the most ironic song for Fathers’ Day. Although, ‘Father of Mine’ gives it a run for its money. A nice touch was in the 7th inning stretch, where this Randy Newman-esque rally song blasted through the speakers, and perhaps powered the Jays to victory, with the 3 homers they hit in the 7th and 8th innings. I may not have had as good of a day as Randal Grichuk, but I felt joyful that I was able to enjoy a ballgame in a different nation with some like-minded fans of this grand ole’ game. Also, Mexico defeated Germany that day in the World Cup, so that was a plus. Just don’t remind of the recent USMNT qualifiers, and we’ll be good friends!
Home Runs: The presence of the dome guarantees at least a comfortable environment every game. Although on a sunny day, the Field Level seats are possibly the premier place in the city for a good sun bathing session! In addition, Rogers Centre is well-positioned, being about a 10-minute walk from just about everything you want to see in a dynamic and alluring city like Toronto, with places like Ripley’s Museum, Chinatown, Air Canada Centre, Toronto Harbour and about 27 fine Tim Horton’s establishments. I’m kidding… I think. It’s something about watching my beloved game in a locale with the metric measurements on the walls that gives me hope the baseball will still have a strong presence in the North American sports scene for years to come. Although known for it’s lagging attendance numbers for about the past 2 decades, this park drew the most fans out of any American League ball park for 2 consecutive years in 2016 and 2017 while the team was a solid contender in the American League. As a result, I imagine that many games created a sound wall that only a roadie for a death metal band could be accustomed to. I could only envision how lit this place gets indoors when the dome is closed, and the leaves turn colors outside.
Flyouts: Even though it does not produce the same wacky bounces as the old stuff, I still can’t get used to baseball on an artificial grass. Probably helped accelerate my burn by a shade or two, as well. With a near Fenway-sized crowd of 35,000+, I witnessed an engaged crowd peppered with jerseys of Donaldson, Stroman and Pillar to name a few favorites of the local 25. However, just like with the Trop, I felt like I was in a more unique situation with the crowd of the game in that it was a Fathers’ Day game, which generally brings in more fans due to summer-like temps and sentimentality. Like with other parks in striking distance of the powerhouses in the AL East, the larger crowds for this park will generally appear when the Red Sox and Yankees come into town, and overthrows the ratio of home and away supporters. I’m guessing that a Blue Jays – Mariners contest in August won’t generate the same buzz, unless Toronto is firmly in contention. It’s a shame, because from their recent playoff appearances, one could argue that a game at The Rogers Centre has one of the more insane environments for a baseball game in the optimal situation.
Safe to say, no gloves needed here. (6/16/2018) – CB
Around the Diamond: If you want to feel on top of the world in a touristy way, you are only a few paces to the CN Tower, where you can get a bird’s eye view of the game (An open-domed game, of course), while getting a solid view of Toronto and the many blues-and-greens from the glass of their tall buildings. A personal favorite spot of mine was Hunters Landing, which is situated a little over a half-mile (1.1 km for you internationals) away from the stadium. You have to praise a place that provides an outdoor bar on a nice day, along with a 30 oz. stein of grog before a game. Not a bad place to watch a World Cup, too! For a little fun of the electronic variety, located a line drive over the fence is the The Rec Room, which is basically a Canadian version of Dave & Buster’s. The scene around the Rogers Centre is a little more spread out, but there seems to be enough out there if you’re a professional tourist, or one of the dedicated barroom warriors looking to be boisterous.
My Final Play: Even though Rogers Centre is a couple decades away from receiving their AARP card, the park is a bit of an historical relic, in that it was the first motorized retractable roof stadium built. That alone is worth a trip to this crown jewel of The Six. However, you can argue that a lot of the park’s natural character literally comes from up top. Like with Tropicana Field in Florida, the drab concrete exterior doesn’t exactly draw eyeballs. As you can imagine with a team that had a significant playoff drought (At least until a couple of years ago), and a recent regression from the club, the crowds may not be as consistently electric as they were for…let’s say an ALDS game against Texas. As talk of expansion becomes louder within Major League Baseball, my thoughts linger over to the return of baseball in French Canada. With a starving fan base, and hopefully with a stadium that’s actually made for baseball, the presence of a Montreal team could generate an inter-divisional, regional rival (in the new AL North, perhaps?), which could potentially generate increased crowds for both of ‘international’ cities in the biggest league in the sport. While there, I sensed an enormous pride among the fans for representing the one team up north of the border. A national team, of sorts. The Expos Part II strategy definitely won’t be the singular move to boost attendance numbers for all parks, but maybe it may take a two-team rivalry up north to create more Canadian clout, and more importantly generate more decibels on a regular basis in the future. After all, it’s the only way to have Toronto baseball.
Well, now you know!: Wanna watch baseball, but don’t feel like getting out of bed? The Rogers Centre has the only hotel located in a major league sports stadium. The Renaissance Toronto Downtown Hotel has 70 rooms with a stadium view (348 total), all located within Justin Smoak-home run distance over the wall in center field. The hotel’s greatest contribution to history is that it helped give this ballpark the colorful moniker of The SexDome. If your imagination is a bit slow, let’s just say the fans were not looking at the scoreboard.
Wanna see what Toronto is all about? How about getting up close and personal with a somewhat popular waterfall 130 km south? Check out my Toronto gallery here for more pictures.