Fun At the Field

We were recently in Ohio for a family reunion and had a chance to watch the Cincinnati Reds play against the St. Louis Cardinals at the Great American Ball Park! I was excited as we drove toward the field, and even more excited when the stadium came into sight! We had been near the Great American Ball Park only once, and not while a game was being played! Traffic slowly began to build as we neared the stadium. Lots of people were heading towards the ballpark.

Having sixteen members of our family all going to the playing field, it was necessary for us to take three cars! Dad pulled up close to the stadium and dropped Halayah and me off to accompany Mamaw, who had been let off up near the stadium so she wouldn’t have to walk so far. As the cars drove off to find a parking spot, I went along with Halayah and Mamaw toward the playing field.

After about a three-minute walk, we arrived at gate A where we waited for the rest of the family beside the statue of Tony Perez. After a few minutes, the rest of the family arrived, and we headed into the stadium. We arrived at our seats right as the game was starting. Our seats were behind home plate, and a few rows up.

The Cincinnati Reds have had eight different home stadiums since 1869 when they were first established as a major league baseball team. They have played at Union Grounds, Avenue Grounds, Bank Street Grounds, League Park, Place Of the Fans, Crosley Field, Riverfront Stadium or Cinergy Field, and currently The Great American Ballpark.

My favorite major league baseball team is the Cincinnati Reds. The oldest teams in the history of major league baseball were the Atlanta Braves- 1876, The Chicago Cubs- 1876, The St. Louis Cardinals- 1882, The Pittsburgh Pirates- 1882, The Cincinnati Reds- 1882, the San Francisco Giants- 1883, the Philadelphia Phillies- 1883, the Los Angeles Dodgers- 1884, the Oakland Athletics- 1901, and the Minnesota Twins- 1901. The Reds won the first league’s championship title in 1882 with a 688-winning percentage! That is the highest in the club history.

We cheered loudly with the rest of the crowd as the Red’s third baseman hit a homerun! The farthest homerun ever hit in the history of the Great American Ballpark was by Adam Dunn, a Cincinnati Reds outfielder on August 10, 2004. The distance was 535 feet, and the ball landed in the Kentucky side of the Ohio River! We all were hoping to catch a fouled ball, but they never quite landed in our area.

Sadly, the Reds lost the game 4 to 9 to the St. Louis Cardinals. It was an exciting game, with two homeruns by the Reds and some amazing plays and stolen bases by both teams.

Two of the three Reds vs. Cardinals baseball games I’ve been to, have been in the Cardinals’ home stadium- Busch. In contrast, in the Great American Ballpark, it was fun to watch and hear other people cheering for the same team as we were. It was an exciting evening at the ballpark as the night ended with fireworks over the beautiful Ohio River.

~Samuel