July 9, 2017
For the third and final stadium on this Southeast trip, we made our way down to Marlins Park in Miami. This would be an experience unlike any other for us up to this point, as we were here for All-Star Week in Miami, our first time ever getting the experience of baseball’s Midsummer Classic. As much as we would have loved to attend the Home Run Derby or the All-Star Game itself, ticket prices were astronomical. Instead, we decided to enjoy being in the city for the week’s festivities while attending the Futures Game at a much more reasonable price.
After spending some time downtown and near the hotel where everyone famous was staying, we ordered an Uber for the first time on our road trips to get to Marlins Park, which was not in the heart of the city. We arrived at the ballpark very early, early enough to ensure we got the Ivan Rodriguez bobblehead being given away. Before getting in line we enjoyed the many pre-game activities, including some samples of Coca-Cola and yummy sliders and sandwiches. From here we stood in line awhile before finally entering Marlins Park.
Thankfully we all got our bobbleheads, and with that important treasure secured we were free to roam around the ballpark. The first stop was the bobblehead museum, which for people that love bobbleheads (as is evident by us arriving so early in the hot Miami sun for one) was an amazing sight. Each team had their section of bobbleheads, and my favorite were the mascot bobbleheads! Next we went to the Latin food market out in left field, saw the Kosher concession stand and of course the infamous home run structure (that’s now gone) before sitting by the third base line.
It was a little weird not being here for a Marlins game, but we were excited to see baseball’s best prospects play. Chance Sisco hit an RBI triple, and maybe one of these days he’s a star on the Orioles! I was surprised by the pretty empty stadium for an All-Star Game, but I guess that’s typical for baseball in Miami… After the Futures game, Singer/Rapper Flo Rida performed a few of his big hits, which was great to see live! The concert came right before the Celebrity All-Star Game, which turned out to be a ton of fun. Actor William Levy dominated and won the MVP, while my mom enjoyed seeing The Bachelorette Rachel Lindsay among many others. We even caught a ball thrown in the stands by the MVP himself!
Before leaving we got a picture with recently drafted Brendan McKay, the pitcher and first baseman from Louisville. Then while we waited for our Uber outside we saw some celebrities get in their cars. Getting to be at an All-Star event was special, and we ended up having a wonderful time because of all the different events inside and outside the ballpark. However, it’s clear that baseball is not loved down here, and I feel the league and the Marlins wasted time and money building this huge modern stadium that no one cares to visit. There should be a team in several other cities, (cough cough San Antonio) rather than having one here play in front of a little league crowd every day.
