We grabbed the chance to catch a Pirates' baseball game when we recently visited Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, for a family party.
Pittsburgh's PNC ballpark, opened in 2001, has the open design favored by a lot of the newer ballparks, but it makes particularly good use of the city's skyline and its location on the shore of the Allegheny River. Most fans have a great view of the cityscape and the Roberto Clemente (or Sixth Street) Bridge from their seats, plus the two-deck design means the highest seat in the house is just 88 feet from the ball field.
The PNC ballpark is the fifth home of the Pirates since 1887, when they joined the National League. The team has a long and interesting history, which includes playing in the first World Series in 1903 (when they lost to the Boston Americans 5-3), being coached by current Detroit Tigers' coach Jim Leyland from the mid-1980s through the early 1990s, and having legendary players like Honus Wagner (who has the distinction of being pictured on one of the world's rarest baseball cards).
We had a great view of the field and Pittsburgh's downtown from our seats along the third baseline, and the seats were amazingly comfortable for being in the middle of the row.
We had a perfect view of Boston Red Sox Kevin Youkilis' crazy batting stance, too. I'm still puzzling over how the pitchers figure out where to throw the ball to him.
I love checking out the crazy promotions and local eats you find at sporting events. Pittsburgh has its bright-green parrot mascot to whip up enthusiasm for the Bucs (one of the team's nicknames derived from "buccaneer"), a between-innings race between four folks dressed as pierogies, and local delicacies like the massive coleslaw- and fries-topped beef sandwich I got from Primanti Brothers concession stand, along with a Yuengling beer to wash it all down.
We got to the ballpark by riding on the "T" (trolley or train) from the suburbs and taking it right downtown.
The city closes the Roberto Clemente Bridge to vehicular traffic on game days, opening it entirely to pedestrians crossing the river and going to the game. Tim tipped his family off to my affection for bridges, so we got off of the T a stop earlier so I could walk across the Smithfield and the Roberto Clemente Bridges on the way to the game (and, yes, there will be Pittsburgh bridge stories here sometime later this year!).
The Pirates took two games of the three-series they played with Boston that weekend, although they lost the game we saw to Boston 2-4.
Still, bridges, baseball, a sandwich nearly as big as my head, and some Yuengling beer made my day at the ballpark with the Pirates a winner.
Curious about the Pirates, Honus Wagner and Roberto Clemente? Check out The Team That Changed Baseball: Roberto Clemente and the 1971 Pittsburgh Pirates by Bruce Markusen, Pittsburgh Pirates by David Finoli, or Honus Wagner: On His Life & Baseball edited by William R. Cobb.
© Dominique King 2011 All rights reserved
Comments