MLB Fancave Experience... One great night!!

As an adult, there are few opportunities that give you the chance to do something that makes you feel like a kid again.  There are less and less things that give you that giddy excitement that prevents you from being able to sit still, that give you nervous energy, and that leave you smiling and talking about it non-stop for days after.  That is why I felt so lucky to have had the opportunity to spend last Friday at the MLB Fancave in NYC.  I got to experience all those feelings, just like I did when I was a kid on Christmas eve. 

For those of you who don’t know what the Fancave is… shame on you!  But I will explain it so that you can follow along.  The MLB describes The Fancave on the website as something that ‘allows fans to interact with the game in an entirely new way’.  It “hosts fan events, concerts, MLB player and celebrity appearances, as well as the nine Cave Dwellers who are attempting to watch every game of the 2012 MLB season while chronicling their experiences online through videos, blogs and social media.”

When I first heard about the Fancave last year, it became something I dreamed about and thought of as way out of my reach.  When I first mentioned the idea of applying to be a cave dweller for this season, I wasn’t really intending on following through with the application.  However, my friends and family convince d me that The MLB Fancave seemed made for someone like me due to my love of baseball, and passion to work in sports down the road.    So I applied, however much like other aspiring cave dwellers, I was surprised when I pressed ‘submit’ and then found out I needed to include a two minute video.  I rushed to make one before the application deadline, however I didn’t have enough time to be as creative as I would like, and unfortunately didn’t win in 2012.

As the 2012 season unfolded, I became engrossed with following the happenings at the Cave as well as following and getting to know the nine cave dwellers.  I talked to a bunch of friends about a ‘marketing’ approach for being in the Fancave in 2013 and decided that I would start my campaign on day 1.  I made what is now a signature neon orange sign and started carrying it around, and taking pictures with it at every baseball related stop I made starting with Spring Training in March.  The sign has met some stars of the MLB including Justin DeFratus of the Phillies, Larry Lucchino, Don Orisillo, and also been to a ton of games in a handful of different parks this season.  It has become a Where’s Waldo on Twitter and maybe even an annoyance to the cave dwellers who I have tweeted a ridiculous amount of times. 

Along with my campaign, I have got to know the cave dwellers by following them on social media, mostly twitter.  Prior to getting to meet them last week, they had become almost reality stars in my world.  Thus, you can only imagine my excitement when I bid on ‘The MLB Fancave Experience’ in The Jimmy V Auction and actually won.  Yes, I was going to get to go to the MLB Fancave for the night and hang out.  It has been hard to explain to others how excited I was about this opportunity.  Other than being a great addition to my campaign, I couldn’t wait to meet the cave dwellers that I have followed all year, hear their stories, see all the awesome memorabilia in the cave, watch all 15 MLB games at once, and talk hours of baseball with people who love the game as much as I do.  The five year old kid in me came out, and I was thrilled to be so lucky!!

So, you can only imagine the excited nervous energy I had last Friday as I made my way to NYC via car, then train.  I about drove all my friends crazy in the meantime, but my two good friends who came with me to the cave were able to feel my excitement and lived in the excitement with me.  Our night at the cave began shortly before the 7:05 starts and ended after the last west coast game was over around 2 am.  The night was everything I had been excited about and more.  I was jaw dropped for the first hour or so and in awe that we were actually there.  The three remaining cave dwellers, Ashley, Ricardo and Kyle, were so awesome; everything I imagined them to be like after following them for 5 months online.  They were engaging, passionate, funny, so welcoming and laid back.  We just hung out in the cave like we were hanging out on our own couches, but we had the ‘Cave Monster’ with 15 big screen TVs, and other passionate baseball fans to watch games with.  It was ‘Baseball heaven’ as one of the dwellers described it, with baseball everywhere all the time. 

I can see why the three cave dwellers who are left are still there and I know that they will be successful in their futures.  I can also see myself in the MLB Fancave next year, every single day of the 2013 season, enjoying every minute of it.  And if I win next year, I will never miss a home run slide rally parade!
-CL

West Coast MLB park tour 2012

Happy First Sunday of football everybody!  You would think that my blog today would be football related, especially since I am on the verge of my fantasy baseball season being over not making the playoffs for the first time EVER, but I am still in baseball mode folks.  In addition to this Friday being the day I go to the MLB Fancave, I just returned from 2012’s Ballpark tour out West.  On a mission to hit up all thirty parks in major league baseball, one of my best friends and I have become the Siskel and Ebert of MLB parks.  With each new park we visit, we find something new to appreciate about parks we have already been to in comparison, and of course we learn to appreciate something new about the game of baseball.  And as we are walking out of each respective park, we always say to each other “I love Fenway”. 

So, the first park we hit up in California was Petco Park in San Diego.  It was a day game against the Braves and the weather was perfect.  We stayed in the hotel connected to the park so the process of pre-gaming and getting to and from the game could not have been easier.  Both the park and the hotel were new, clean, and modern.  All things that are very important to me!!  I am not much of an ‘old charm’ type of person (with the exception of Fenway charm). Before the game we had lunch and drinks at a great little sports bar where we sat outside and enjoyed the city of San Diego.  So far, all this would make you think that Petco was my favorite park, but I should have known that something was up the night before when we arrived into town and the Padres game had just ended.  The streets around the park did not flood with people as they do when a game ends in Fenway, and the people that were on the streets were all decked out in Braves gear.  Hmmmmm….  So as we sat behind home plate in amazing seats, beers quickly in hand because there were no lines, we quickly realized “wow, this place really lacks in atmosphere” in terms of engaging the crowd.  There was no music played between innings, no fun games on the big screen to engage the casual fan who could care less about the game, minimal announcing, and very few people there who even cared about the Padres or could name more than one player on the team.  Not to mention, that we didn’t see one person eating peanuts or a hotdog the whole game.  HUH??  At the end of the day, the convenience, cleanliness, comfort level of the park were amazing, but if you want a down and dirty ballpark experience with ballpark food and real fans, Petco is not the place for you.

Next, we drove up the coast to Anaheim to see our beloved tanking Redsox take on the Angels.  Now for those of you who aren’t aware of geography (like myself), Anaheim is pretty set off from action and is a good 45 minutes to an hour outside the city of LA.  Needless to say, there is not much to do around the park and accessibility is definitely not a strength of Angel stadium.  Case in point, it was five dollars to park which tells you something about location.  There were a few bars and restaurants nearby however, and the area around the park appeared safe.   We pre-gamed at a hole in the wall local gem that one of my favorite Fancave dwellers recommended to us.  We were shocked and pleased when the bill came and beers and mixed drinks were a whopping four dollars.  We did however enter the park hungry and were not happy to see that the food options were slim.  I will take the blame for that one though… not the fault of the park!  Honestly though, there isn’t much to note about Angel Stadium.  I compare it to watching a baseball game in RFK, which was the home of the Nationals their first few years.  There were definitely more fans of baseball at the Angels game which was nice, however oddly enough it seemed to be 50/50 Redsox to Angels fans which I thought was a little strange.  We ran into Don Orsillo before the game just hanging out, talking to fans in the park, which did make for an exciting night before the game even started.  Once at our seats, we noticed a lot more fan engagement than at Petco Park.  It was interesting because everyone around us appeared to have brought their own food… ziplock bags of peanuts, and candy, homemade sandwiches, etc.  It was kind of funny to watch, however I guess I was jealous because I left the park hungry!!  After the game, the schlepp to our hotel in LA was not ideal but of course we were glad we made the stop in Anaheim and got to see some AMAZING players on the diamond.  The Angels have one good squad despite their slightly disappointing season.  That is really what the whole night was about… baseball 101 would be my theme of the experience.

Our next endeavor was Dodger Stadium, also referred to as Chavez Ravine (who knew).  We had a day off between the Angels and Dodgers game to explore LA, go to the beach, shop Rodeo Drive, etc.  As we explored LA, we asked multiple people about where we should go before the game to get the ‘Dodger experience’.  It was interesting because everyone we asked, would hesitate, and then spat out “Well, there is this dive bar called Short Stop that people go to?”   Always with a question mark at the end. That definitely raised a red flag for us, but we were determined to try it.  We should have known what we were getting into when we drove past it multiple times in broad daylight, despite the GPS stating that we had reached our destination.  Our destination was a black narrow building, with no windows and no sign, that looked like it had been shut down ten years ago following a crime scene investigation.  We walked in anyways, and even sat down at the bar.  I think that we were both trying to ‘roll with it’ but honestly, I was a little scerrrred.  First of all, I couldn’t even see a foot in front of me because it was so dark.  Secondly, there was this random room next to the bar that had no tables and people sitting around the edges of the room like they were waiting in line at a DMV or something.  It was hard to comprehend what that room was all about though because you could barely see.  Ok, I am rambling on and on about this bar that we didn’t even get a drink in, but it makes the point that Dodger Stadium was in the GHETTO!!  Despite being in the ghetto however, the park had the most beautiful view of the mountains, the setting sun on the clear sky, and again perfect weather.  We sat in great seats, again behind home plate, and we were impressed with the food and drink options (which include Dodger Blue Margaritas that are bright blue).  Despite being the third oldest park in baseball, Dodger Stadium provided a great viewing experience.  It was hard to tell how into the game Dodgers fans really were, but there was a lot of fan engagement.   They played music to get people involved, it was ‘take your dog to the park day’, people were eating peanuts and drinking beer, and the majority of the fans were decked out in Dodgers gear.  I knew I was going to have fun at this game regardless for many reasons.  The week prior the Dodgers acquired four Redsox in a blockbuster trade and Beckett was on the mound, Shane Victorino, whom I will always love was recently acquired, The Diamondbacks had Tyler Skaggs on the mound who is one of the best rookie pitching prospects right now…  Needless to say, I was a little rowdy at this game and had a GREAT time in Dodger Stadium. 

All of that being said, one of our most random observations at all the parks we have been too is that  there is a common thread of fans being obsessed with their team’s version of the Hawiian short sleeved collared shirt.  I am not even sure what else to say about that…  

Happy Sunday Funday to all!! 
-CL