Ball Parks - # 3 – Progressive Field, Cleveland, OH

Jacob’s Field, Cleveland OH (25 September 2006)

So, as the baseball season wound down, I introduced the next quest, American ballparks. I have not been to many and just figured the introduction would be a diversion from the stuff I usually write about and set the stage for future travels. Now we have a magical World Series featuring the two teams that have gone the longest without a championship…AND they happen to play in parks that I have actually visited…with the camera.

I must note here that my interests at the time were sporting and not photographic. The camera came along to document the occasion, not capture the place in any interesting way. Future visits will focus more on creating special images.

The Archives call it, ‘Road Trip II’. In September 2006, Frnak and I drove through Ohio to visit four Dead Presidents. After paying our respects to James Garfield in Cleveland, we took in a game at ‘The Jake.’ BTW – I like a crisp, economical nickname for…just about anything. Life’s too short to have to say “Oriole Park at Camden Yards” every time.

Jacob’s Field, Cleveland OH (25 September 2006)

It’s early yet but the bleachers didn’t fill up this night. 

The flag shows the wind was blowing out.

At least it was for the home team.

It was late in the season and the Indians were out of contention. The team wasn’t drawing crowds for that reason and also because they were playing rookies…bringing minor leaguers up to give them a look on the big stage and plan for next season. This is a common practice for teams that are out of it and for teams that have already clinched a spot in the playoffs – so they can rest their stars before the post-season run. The only teams sprinting to the finish line this late in the year are those that still have a shot at the playoffs.

That was the scene here. The visiting White Sox fielded all their starters and stars. Jim Thome had 42 home runs that year. Jermaine Dye had 44. Paul Konerko had 35. The Indians started a few regulars but also sent out more than a few irregulars, scrubs, subs and rookies.

Although I still like calling the park ‘The Jake’, the naming rights were sold to an insurance company in 2008 so it is now officially Progressive Field. The Indians have played there since 1994. Before that, they played in the cavernous Municipal Stadium. Nicknamed the ‘Mistake by the Lake’, the stadium was built for the 1932 Olympics but those games went to Los Angeles. After the baseball team moved to the Jake, the Cleveland Browns continued to play there until they moved to Baltimore to become the Ravens. FirstEnergy Stadium was built on the same site to lure the NFL expansion Browns back to town.

Jacob’s Field, Cleveland OH (25 September 2006)

Completed in 1994 at a modest cost of $175 million, the park continued the trend revived by Camden Yards…asymmetrical, with natural grass and integrated into the downtown of Cleveland. The skyline provides an interesting backdrop for most of the fans.

Jacob’s Field, Cleveland OH (25 September 2006)

At 120-feet tall and 222-feet wide, the scoreboard is 

the largest free-standing one in the Majors.

The box score, confirms the memory. The Tribe scored four runs in the first inning and had 14 by the end of the sixth. The final score was 14-1. The scrubs beat the vets. Stuff happens. It was a good idea to leave early and get to Canton where William McKinley resides.

This ballpark visit was not like future ones will be. It was a nice way to spend a beautiful, late summer evening in a different city. I didn’t noodle around the park looking for images and other architectural or historic elements to shoot, but I did check a stadium off the list. Cha-ching.