Chase Field: Diamond in the Desert

Los Angeles Dodgers 7, Arizona Diamondbacks 4 Ben's pregame pick: Dodgers Pick record 3-7 Nick's pregame pick: Dodgers Pick record: 6-4 Nate's pregame pick: Dodgers Pick record: 4-3

Date: June 14, 2016 Overall trip rating: 8.2 Streak: Consecutive days without In-And-Out- Burger — 3 (a record on this trip) Trip record: First 100 degree game

Welcome to Snake's Bend

The final leg of our journey was a quick one, and we feel bad about that because Phoenix seemed like a fun place to be, especially on game days.

We left San Diego early in the morning and traveled through the desert en route to Arizona. The scenery was interesting and cool to look at for the first hour or so, but after, looking at nothing but sand and rock became somewhat monotonous. There were some small towns along the way, and it amazed us how they function so well with the hot temperatures and seemingly nothing around them, including water.

We arrived in Phoenix late afternoon, as a traffic accident on the interstate caused a major delay. We only had enough time to check in at our hotel, rest for a bit and then leave for the game.

The game

The ball park wasn't too far from our hotel, but with temperatures in the triple digits, we decided against walking and just paid a few dollars for an Uber.



We walked around the area around the stadium and found a bar called "Coach's Corner Grill", where we started the evening off with a couple of drinks. The bar had an outside patio area with mist machines to help patrons handle the heat. The mist and the shade from the establishment's overhang actually made it feel pretty decent outside.

The street leading up to the stadium was lined with bars and restaurants where fans — a large majority of which were Dodger fans (the Diamondbacks were playing the Dodgers) — were getting ready for the game. One of the bars had a fun-looking outside area, consisting of life-size Connect Four, ping pong tables, bean bag toss games... It was a tailgaters' fantasy.

We got into the stadium and walked around for a little bit. Throughout the concourse, promoters were giddy to give us free swag, so of course we took it.

We also scoped out the food selection, which was pretty nice. There was a good variety of items, but the one thing that really caught our eyes were the Cheeseburger Dogs.

We knew these things were going to clog some arteries, but they were amazing and very unique. It was hamburger fried in a hot dog shape covered in cheese and bacon. Everything the body needs.

The game didn't go so well for the Diamondbacks, but the Dodger fans — which seemed to outnumber the home team's spectators — were fired up with their team's performance.

Arizona led 2-0 going into the fifth inning, but Los Angeles scored seven runs over the next three innings thanks to a pair of home runs from Joc Pederson and a homers by Chase Utley and Justin Turner. The Diamondbacks scored two runs during L.A.'s scoring spurt, but it wasn't enough as the visitors took the ball game 7-4.

During the game, we walked around the stadium again taking in the unique features. It was really cool to see Arizona's 2001 World Series trophy on display in the ball park.

One of the most well-known sites at Chase Field is the pool in the outfield seating area. Unfortunately, the pool and hot tub are reserved for those sitting in the outfield suite — not us.

Another funny quirk in the stadium was this gym, which nobody was using. We're still not sure if it's open to the public when games aren't going on or how many people actually use it, but it was interesting nonetheless.

The area outside the stadium was still just as alive after the game as it was before. There was one street performer beatboxing that was especially fun.

Again, this was a very quick trip. We arrived late in the afternoon and had to fly out the next day very early in the morning. So after the game we avoided the temptation of exploring the downtown area. Instead we were lame responsible and got everything packed up and ready for out trip home.

The game

As we stated, the trip to Phoenix did not receive the most thorough, but we enjoyed the time we spent there. We gave the trip a rating of 8.2, which puts it right in there with some of our other favorite trips.

Like most cities, there are nice parts of Phoenix and then some parts are a little more run down. Fortunately, we were in a nice area that was clean and some places that looked like they'd be fun to visit. Transportation seemed easy to access and the Uber driver we had was very accommodating.

The ball park appeared very modern and it was clean throughout the stadium. If we had to pick a negative it was the lack of numbers for the home team fans. The Dodger fans were so numerous that it felt like we were back in L.A.

Rank	Stadium	Rating
1.	Petco Park (Padres)	8.9
2.	Kauffman Stadium (Royals)	8.4
3.	Target Field (Twins)	8.3
4.	Angels Stadium (Angels)	8.3
5.	U.S. Cellular (White Sox)	8.3
6.	Wrigley Field (Cubs)	8.3
7.	Chase Field (Diamondbacks)	8.2
8.	Miller Park (Brewers)	7.2
9.	Coors Field (Rockies)	7.1
10.	Dodger Stadium (Dodgers)	6.2

On deck

Well, that wraps up our journey for this year. We are now 1/3 of the way through the Major League Baseball stadiums! We plan on revisiting the first three stadiums we saw along the way, so be on the lookout for some updates from those. Looking ahead at next year, the tentative plan is to once again visit four stadiums — Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Tropicana Field in Tampa Bay, Marlins Park in Miami, and SunTrust Park, which is the Atlanta Braves new stadium that will be open next season. It's never too early to give us some tips or places to see at our future destinations, so be sure to let us know about your experiences there. Be sure to like our Facebook page, follow us on Twitter, @MLBjourneymen, and check out our Instagram account, mlbjourneymen.