Ballparks – 13 – Sun Trust Park, Atlanta, GA

8/10/18

Before I throw in a few more extinct ballparks you youngsters can no longer visit, let’s report on the newest park and one that was just visited…a few months ago.

We were in Atlanta for a wedding. Fortunately, so were the Milwaukee Brewers. This was our chance to get into Sun Trust Park and root for the visitors. Turns out we sat behind a couple who grew up in suburban Milwaukee…also there to root for the visitors.

The history of the Atlanta Braves goes all the way back to the founding of the game. In 1869, the Cincinnati Red Stockings were the first openly, all-professional team in the game. After the team dissolved in 1870, the core players moved to Boston to join the Boston Red Stockings who then became a dominant team in the old National League. When the American League was formed in 1901, the team lost much of its talent. They floundered until they changed their name to the Boston Braves in 1912. They won their first World Series in 1914.

The team moved to Milwaukee in 1953. The Milwaukee Braves played in County Stadium until they moved to Atlanta in 1965. During that time, they won their second championship in 1957 beating my beloved (at the time) New York Yankees. I reported on County Stadium here in August 2017.

Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium (From Google Images)

I never made it there.

Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium was built to attract a major league ball club and it did just that when the Milwaukee Braves moved there after the 1965 season. They played there until the end of the 1996 season. The site is now a parking lot.

Turner Field (foreground; from Google Images)

I never made it there, either.

Centennial Olympic Stadium was built for the 1996 Summer Olympics and the following season, became Turner Field and the home of the Braves until 2017 when Sun Trust Park opened. It has been reconfigured and is now Georgia State Stadium and hosts football games. So, in the span of 21 years, the Atlanta Braves have played in three new ballparks. Take that, Fenway and Wrigley.

The date above is a link to the box score. You will see that the home team jumped out to a three-run lead in the first inning and it only got worse from there. The Braves’ fans were happy as the game ended 10-1 in their favor.

Chipper Jones Greets the Fans (10 August 2018)

A pre-game highlight for the locals was an appearance by former All-Star Chipper Jones, who had recently been elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Home Depot Tool Race, Sun Trust Park (10 August 2018)

I’ve noted that the Milwaukee Brewers began between-innings mascot races with sausage characters in the 1990’s. Our Washington Nationals have their racing presidents. I had no idea racing mascots was such a widespread ballpark phenomenon. With Atlanta being the headquarters of Home Depot, these fans have to see racing tools every game. When you think about it, that’s no weirder than racing sausages.

Former Braves Signing Autographs (10 August 2018)

In addition to Chipper Jones’ Hall of Fame commemoration, the team brought back many former players who were staged in various places on the concourse to sign memorabilia for the fans.

Looking out From the Upper Deck, Sun Trust Park (10 August 2018)

“If you build it, they will come.” Sun Trust Park has followed the modern model that makes the ballpark the center of a greater development. The place is surrounded by new housing, hotels, restaurants and other entertainment venues.

As one might guess, Atlanta is pretty hot in August. The announced 84-degree temperature at game time felt more like 94. The Brewers never made a game of it and we departed before the contest ended.
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Congratulations to the Braves for making the post-season. The Brewers also made the playoffs after beating the Cubs in a tie-breaking game to capture their division. They then swept the Colorado Rockies but lost their chance to appear in the World Series when they were eliminated by the L.A. Dodgers – who lost the Series to the Bahston Red Sawx…a good season for the Brew Crew.