If you are keeping score at home, I am now on Part 3 of my Tuesday trifecta of Chicago area baseball experiences. Part I was Impact Field, home of the Chicago Dogs. Part II took me over to Schaumberg and Wintrust Field, home of the Schaumberg Boomers. Part III finished off my day of baseball experiences with a trip to Rate Field for a night game featuring the home team Chicago White Sox vs. the New York Yankees.
After securing tickets to the game via Ticketmaster, I found myself in a heap of traffic on the highways and byways getting to Rate Field. When I got to the parking lot areas surrounding and supporting Rate Field, I discovered that many of the lots were pre-paid. I was re-directed to Lot G, which was a pay as you enter lot. Not a big deal, I arrived about 10 minutes prior to the parking lot gates opening, then found a great spot near the northeast corner of the lot, exited, and was in front of Rate Field in a matter of minutes. My senses were percolating – seeing the enormity of Rate Field, feeling the sun shining brightly, and the hearing the sounds of Grateful Dead music flowing in the air.
At the crosswalk under the sign that read “Bill Veeck Dr,” I crossed over to the front gate area of Rate Field. There was a ton of activity all around the front gates, as it was still about 30 minutes or so before the gates would open up for fans. No worries, I took the time to check out some of the White Sox commemorative plaques honoring former White Sox players. And check out the stadium facts on the official stadium plaque. And listen to a Grateful Dead cover band rock out a tune or two on the soundstage set up just across from a small community garden area. Very welcoming first impression.
After walking most of the front gate area, then down towards the other gate entrances, I noticed a ton of Grateful Dead inspired White Sox T-shirts, hoodies, hats, and baseball jerseys. And started to put together a theory that it might be some kind of Grateful Dead themed night. Being a huge fan of the Dead, I was certainly okay with the music, the fashion statements, and the folks singing their versions of classic Dead tunes.
The gates opened to fans about 1 hour before game time, so I hopped in line to get an early start on my tour of the inside of Rate Field. Rate Field has a capacity of over 40,000 fans and has 5 levels of seating. You can elect to walk up to each level through a cement walkway or take an escalator up. I chose the walkway and walked up to and down from the 500 level a few times during my self-guided tour of the inside of Rate Field. Here are a few items that caught my eye.
And this was a popular spot to take photos. The White Sox logo with the famous downtown Chicago business area in the background. I believe the Sears Tower is one of those tall structures.
Okay, so I have already mentioned the Grateful Dead shirts and music now a few times and now I can confirmed that Tuesday’s game was Grateful Dead night at Rate Field. A band called “Terrapin Flyer” played on the stadium’s Jumbotron and delighted many, many fans in attendance, including yours truly. The national anthem was played on the guitar (didn’t write down the cat’s name) with a Grateful Dead inspired style. Even the Dead logo popped up on the big screen from time to time. Baseball and the Dead are no strangers – many, many teams on the MLB and MILB level have hosted Grateful Dead themed nights and have Dead apparel. 60 years or so ago, the Dead formed as a band and 60 years later they are still uber-popular. What a band, what a legacy, what a long strange trip it’s been.
As for the game, I had 500 level seats and decided to actually catch the game in my assigned seats. I say that because the game was most likely sold out, there were a ton of fans in attendance, and seemingly more and more arriving every time I looked up. The White Sox are winning again, actually they are in first place in the American League Central as of today, August 3rd. Their opponent, the NY Yankees, are also winning again, but that is not so much news. The Yanks hold the 1st Wildcard spot in the American League, with their sights set on moving up the American League East standings to potentially overtake the 1st Place Tampa Bay Rays. Game conditions were amazing, sunny skies, nice temps, decent breeze, two top level teams playing really good baseball. First pitch was around 6:35pm CST.
ChiSox starter Anthony Kay started the game off with a flurry of Yankee K’s, 3 in fact. Kay pitched into the 6 inning, nice game, 3 runs on 5 hits, with 7 strikeouts. His foe on the mound was NYY RHP Gerrit Cole, who bested Kay’s performance with 6 innings of work, no runs, 4 hits, and 7 strikeouts of his own against White Sox batters. I moved around a bit on the 500 level before finding a spot or two on the 100 level for some photos. I have to say, the view from the 500s was really cool!
One spot of the 500 level looked out into a park located just outside the Rate Field area. I made a mental note of the location and thought ‘before I head back to my hotel, I’m going to check that out.’ Well, after about 5 innings or so, I did just that. And was happy that I did. After passing a rather colorful and decorative statue of a horse, I found a commemorative home plate honoring the Chicago White Sox former home field, Comiskey Field was in that park with a time stamp: 1910 – 1990.
The Chicago White Sox had zero runs going into the bottom of the 9th inning with just 3 outs remaining. NYY closer David Bednar, a trusted Yankee bullpen arm, came into to secure the win for the Yanks. The White Sox were able to push 2 runs across, thanks to a dramatic 2-run home run by White Sox 2nd baseman Chase Meidroth, but alas failed to tie the game. In the end, Yanks win 3-2 over the ChiSox in front of a reported 33,000 plus fans. I had an awesome time checking out Rate Field, listening to some awesome Grateful Dead tunes, and loving life on the 500 level of the stadium. Overall, it was an incredible day of Chicago area baseball experiences capped off with an really groovy time at Rate Field, home of the Chicago White Sox, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
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