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Hendu Style · 09-21-2022, 10:08 PM

Sam Arkwright Diary
September 21st, 2022

The ballpark tour continues. My visit in the L.A. Dodgers owner's box soured my trip to Chavez Ravine. I decided to skip Tuesday's matinee game at Dodger Stadium and dropped TJ back off in Boulder City. I then departed for the start of a whirlwind stretch across Kansas City, Atlanta, Tampa Bay, and Miami in a span of less than 24 hours.

I started with Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City on Tuesday night to watch the Royals take on the Twins. Royals owner John Sherman sent his regrets, saying he had a prior engagement and wouldn't be able to meet with me. Since it was my first time at "The K," I decided to mill around the stadium, watching the game from different parts of the park. Kauffman is one of the older stadiums in baseball (est. 1973), and it's starting to show its age. It sounds like ownership is starting to make a push for a new downtown stadium. In the meantime, the team is foundering. I witnessed a rare Royal win, as they beat the Twins 5-4. Sadly, it wasn't enough to save the job of longtime GM and now President Dayton Moore, who was fired amid a 59-89 season. That might explain why Sherman wasn't able to meet with me. He was probably too busy finalizing plans to part with the man who helped build a World Series champion in 2015, but hasn't had a winning record since.

I then took a late night flight to Atlanta last night, and caught my first game at the new Braves ballpark early this afternoon. Since the Braves are owned by Liberty Media, I didn't have high hopes of breaking through the corporate red tape and meeting with anyone from ownership. It's why I never took my own company public. There's something to be said for having a singular voice and a personal stake in a business. Not surprisingly, my calls to Liberty Media went unanswered, and there was no welcome wagon waiting for me at Truist Stadium.

That didn't stop me from enjoying a great day at the ballpark. The stadium is stunning. So is the surrounding area, called "The Battery Atlanta." It's got shops and restaurants, and mixed-use zoning. I'm sure that's exactly what John Fisher had in mind when pitching a stadium near downtown Oakland.

As for the game, the defending World Series Champion Braves jumped out to an early 2-0 lead against the Washington Nationals. But the Nats clawed their way back in, first on a sac fly in the 5th, and then a 2-run homer by Joey Meneses in the 7th. That's all Washington would need in a 3-2 win over the Braves.

The game lasted 3 hours and 13 minutes, which meant I had about three hours to fly out to Tampa and meet with the Rays owner before their 6:40pm game against the Astros. Stuart Sternberg almost apologetically guided me around the stadium about 30 minutes before first pitch. Tropicana Field is a domed stadium on its last legs. It feels like a 1980's casino in Las Vegas with outdated carpet and middle-aged cocktail waitresses. It's just depressing. Despite having the defending American League champion Houston Astros in town, the announced attendance was a paltry 9,293. And that's being kind.

Like the A's, the Rays are desperately seeking a new stadium. Sternberg told me how the team has its sights set on a 17 acre parcel in Saint Petersburg, and the Rays are negotiating with the City on making affordable housing and workforce housing part of the deal to revitalize the area. He tried to act hopeful that a deal will get done. We'll see if anything actually gets done. The Rays don't have the one thing the A's do seem to have right now: leverage.

Sternberg hosted me in what I supposed would pass for a luxury box for the first few innings before he excused himself from the suite. I gave him an Arkade console, which he promised to give to his children when he flew back to be with his family in New York. His lack of connection to Tampa Bay is apparent, and I can see why fans are hoping he'll someday just sell the team.

Not long after he ducked out, so did I, so I could make the short flight to Miami to catch the tail end of the Marlins-Cubs game. It was 3-0 Miami when I got there in the 6th inning. Bruce Sherman (no relation to Royals owner John Sherman) was in the owner's box and gave me a warm welcome. Just like Tampa, the attendance was abysmal. 8,753 tonight at loanDepot Park. Unlike Tampa's stadium, this one was at least updated... though it had the feel of a garish casino. Definitely not my cup of tea.

Patrick Wisdom finally got the Cubs on the board with a solo homer in the 7th inning off of former A's prospect Jesus Luzardo, now with the Marlins. Chicago pushed across three more runs in the 8th, rallying for a 4-3 win. Sherman was not a happy camper, his attitude getting increasingly more foul with each Cubs run. The conversation was pretty much non-existent. Maybe I just caught him on an off day. I certainly caught the Marlins on an off day, something that's been pretty commonplace this year. They're now 61-89 on the season.

It's now just shy of midnight at my hotel. It's Wednesday night and I can hear the bass booming from the night life outside on South Beach. If I were about 20 years younger, maybe I'd venture out and enjoy myself. But I'm just wiped out and wondering if this trip was a mistake. If I'm hoping to garner the support and friendship of owners, I'm having a pretty tough go of it. Hopefully tomorrow will be better.

Pictured: Kauffman Stadium, Truist Park, Tropicana Field, loanDepot Park

09-21-2022, 10:08 PM	#37
Hendu Style All Star Starter Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 1,452	On the Road Again Sam Arkwright Diary September 21st, 2022 The ballpark tour continues. My visit in the L.A. Dodgers owner's box soured my trip to Chavez Ravine. I decided to skip Tuesday's matinee game at Dodger Stadium and dropped TJ back off in Boulder City. I then departed for the start of a whirlwind stretch across Kansas City, Atlanta, Tampa Bay, and Miami in a span of less than 24 hours. I started with Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City on Tuesday night to watch the Royals take on the Twins. Royals owner John Sherman sent his regrets, saying he had a prior engagement and wouldn't be able to meet with me. Since it was my first time at "The K," I decided to mill around the stadium, watching the game from different parts of the park. Kauffman is one of the older stadiums in baseball (est. 1973), and it's starting to show its age. It sounds like ownership is starting to make a push for a new downtown stadium. In the meantime, the team is foundering. I witnessed a rare Royal win, as they beat the Twins 5-4. Sadly, it wasn't enough to save the job of longtime GM and now President Dayton Moore, who was fired amid a 59-89 season. That might explain why Sherman wasn't able to meet with me. He was probably too busy finalizing plans to part with the man who helped build a World Series champion in 2015, but hasn't had a winning record since. I then took a late night flight to Atlanta last night, and caught my first game at the new Braves ballpark early this afternoon. Since the Braves are owned by Liberty Media, I didn't have high hopes of breaking through the corporate red tape and meeting with anyone from ownership. It's why I never took my own company public. There's something to be said for having a singular voice and a personal stake in a business. Not surprisingly, my calls to Liberty Media went unanswered, and there was no welcome wagon waiting for me at Truist Stadium. That didn't stop me from enjoying a great day at the ballpark. The stadium is stunning. So is the surrounding area, called "The Battery Atlanta." It's got shops and restaurants, and mixed-use zoning. I'm sure that's exactly what John Fisher had in mind when pitching a stadium near downtown Oakland. As for the game, the defending World Series Champion Braves jumped out to an early 2-0 lead against the Washington Nationals. But the Nats clawed their way back in, first on a sac fly in the 5th, and then a 2-run homer by Joey Meneses in the 7th. That's all Washington would need in a 3-2 win over the Braves. The game lasted 3 hours and 13 minutes, which meant I had about three hours to fly out to Tampa and meet with the Rays owner before their 6:40pm game against the Astros. Stuart Sternberg almost apologetically guided me around the stadium about 30 minutes before first pitch. Tropicana Field is a domed stadium on its last legs. It feels like a 1980's casino in Las Vegas with outdated carpet and middle-aged cocktail waitresses. It's just depressing. Despite having the defending American League champion Houston Astros in town, the announced attendance was a paltry 9,293. And that's being kind. Like the A's, the Rays are desperately seeking a new stadium. Sternberg told me how the team has its sights set on a 17 acre parcel in Saint Petersburg, and the Rays are negotiating with the City on making affordable housing and workforce housing part of the deal to revitalize the area. He tried to act hopeful that a deal will get done. We'll see if anything actually gets done. The Rays don't have the one thing the A's do seem to have right now: leverage. Sternberg hosted me in what I supposed would pass for a luxury box for the first few innings before he excused himself from the suite. I gave him an Arkade console, which he promised to give to his children when he flew back to be with his family in New York. His lack of connection to Tampa Bay is apparent, and I can see why fans are hoping he'll someday just sell the team. Not long after he ducked out, so did I, so I could make the short flight to Miami to catch the tail end of the Marlins-Cubs game. It was 3-0 Miami when I got there in the 6th inning. Bruce Sherman (no relation to Royals owner John Sherman) was in the owner's box and gave me a warm welcome. Just like Tampa, the attendance was abysmal. 8,753 tonight at loanDepot Park. Unlike Tampa's stadium, this one was at least updated... though it had the feel of a garish casino. Definitely not my cup of tea. Patrick Wisdom finally got the Cubs on the board with a solo homer in the 7th inning off of former A's prospect Jesus Luzardo, now with the Marlins. Chicago pushed across three more runs in the 8th, rallying for a 4-3 win. Sherman was not a happy camper, his attitude getting increasingly more foul with each Cubs run. The conversation was pretty much non-existent. Maybe I just caught him on an off day. I certainly caught the Marlins on an off day, something that's been pretty commonplace this year. They're now 61-89 on the season. It's now just shy of midnight at my hotel. It's Wednesday night and I can hear the bass booming from the night life outside on South Beach. If I were about 20 years younger, maybe I'd venture out and enjoy myself. But I'm just wiped out and wondering if this trip was a mistake. If I'm hoping to garner the support and friendship of owners, I'm having a pretty tough go of it. Hopefully tomorrow will be better. Pictured: Kauffman Stadium, Truist Park, Tropicana Field, loanDepot Park Attached Images __________________ Catch me on Twitch.tv as Dr. Dynastic (drdynastic) Previous OOTP Dynasties: SimNation Fictional Universe (est. 1889) This is Oakland A's Baseball Beane Counting: The Oakland A's Last edited by Hendu Style; 09-25-2022 at 12:36 AM.