Tuesday, May 14, 2024
I’ve said it before - I’m not a baseball superfan.
I do love the atmosphere of a live game and I do love visiting new ballparks. But baseball isn’t the only thing I’m chasing on this journey. 30 ballparks means traveling to 27 different cities across 18 states. And even though I will stay in many of them for no more than a single day, I’d be crazy to overlook all things other than baseball that these destinations have to offer. In the case of my 23-hour visit to San Diego, baseball almost ended up being an afterthought.
Now hold on! I don’t mean that the baseball part wasn’t great. It was. There’s still a unique and fulfilling experience to share from Petco Park. I just know when I think back on this stop, baseball will not be the first thing that comes to mind. Read on and you’ll see…
Indeed, Petco Park is a nice place to visit and catch a game. I won’t say it’s one of the best ballparks in baseball, but it’s certainly one of the better ones. It’s middle-of-the-pack in a state loaded with tons of professional sports franchises. California has a whopping five Major League teams - pretty crazy when you consider that no other state has more than two MLB teams and 33 states have zero. In fact, I’m flying out to California twice this season. I can’t hit every Cali ballpark in one trip. I did 3/5 this time out.
Having said all that, Petco Park has one thing going for it that no other ballpark does. The venue is celebrating its 20th season (opened in 2004) and using commemorative baseballs all year long to mark the occasion. You know I’m hoping to get a ball at every stop, so this was a big deal.
What’s a commemorative baseball, you ask? Teams will occasionally replace the standard MLB “batterman” logo on the actual ball with something more unique. They do this for things like All Star events, the postseason, and games at special sites (usually international - such as Korea and Mexico earlier this season). Commemorative balls are not common, and it’s very rare to see ones in use for an entire season. So when I heard Petco Park is using these 20th anniversary commemorative balls at every home game in 2024, I knew I had to get one.
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Here’s the kicker - these commemorative balls are used during the game, not necessarily for practice/pregame. Technically they’re all the same, since any ball used for pregame practice was an official game ball at some point. Even still, the only way to be sure is to secure a ball used in the actual game. As I’ve learned already, getting any ball from the field into my glove is not easy. Getting one during the game itself is even more challenging.
Are you completely confused about balls at this point? Have I said the word “balls” too many times?
I did show up early for my usual routine of walking around, finding a scorecard, and trying to get a pregame ball (even though the stakes were different this time). No luck with the latter this time, but I did visit the authentics store and discovered that they sell balls from the current game in the later innings. I first learned about this trend in Kansas City (ballpark #2/30) and have fully accepted it as a necessary fallback. Granted, this option comes with a cost. Most game-used balls sold like this start at around $50. They do come with a coded hologram sticker that can be looked up on the MLB website. That’s pretty cool. Given all the factors in play at this particular game, I did end up buying a ball this time. And yes, it was one of these touted commemorative balls.
But enough about balls already!
The weather was perfect at game time. I grabbed a cold michelada (beer with a Mexican twist) and headed to my seat near third base.
The San Diego Padres are playing decent so far this season. Their opponent was the far-from-decent Colorado Rockies. The game started as a pillow fight with a few singles by each team here and there. The Rockies got on the board first with a Ryan McMahon home run to lead off the 4th inning. They kept things going with four more runs in the 6th and one in the 7th. The Padres did begin a comeback with three runs in the bottom of the 7th, but after that the bats got quiet on both sides. Final score Rockies 6, Padres 3.
Extra Innings
As I said at the beginning - baseball wasn’t the top highlight of my stop in San Diego. Even with all that whacky ball business, the evening at Petco Park was topped by the two meals I had at Little Italy Food Hall.
My hotel was one block away. That was intentional. Little Italy Food Hall houses three fast casual food stands owned by one of my favorite YouTubers - Sam the Cooking Guy. The dude is a legit internet celebrity with nearly four million subscribers. One of the most widespread and popular kinds of content on YouTube is food, and among many giants in that category, Sam is my #1.
The first meal was a late lunch before the game at Not Not Tacos. This is Sam’s first restaurant. It pre-dates much of his YouTube stardom and was honestly the single thing I was looking forward to the most in San Diego. The expectations were very high, and still they were exceeded. Here’s what I ordered:
Three tacos and a mango margarita. The tacos were honestly the best I’ve ever had. I’m not sure how many people would consider this place a “famous” restaurant, but to me it was. And everything about it could not have been better. It was not busy. It was not overpriced. And, of course… it was absolutely delicious.
The second meal was an early lunch the day after the game at Petco Park. Still in Little Italy Food Hall, this time I opted for Sam’s burger place called Samburgers. It’s newer - opened two or three years ago - but it was great. Lots of celebrity chefs sell out and start opening lots of places with their name on it, but it all becomes overpriced novelty with subpar food. Samburgers wasn’t like that. Granted, unlike the tacos from the day before, it wasn’t the absolute best burger I’ve ever had. But it was still quite tasty. And anyways, the highlight of that return visit to Little Italy Food Hall wasn’t the food.
That’s the man himself - Sam Zien. I had no idea or expectation that he would be there, but as I walked in I noticed him immediately. This is a guy I watch three times a week on YouTube, and there he was in person. Sort of mind-blowing. And to boot, Little Italy Food Hall was once again not that busy. Sam had no other fans around trying to get his attention. As soon as he saw that I recognized him, he actually approached me. We chatted for a minute. He asked a few questions about me. I asked him for a sneak preview of his next YouTube video. He also gave me a pat on the back for eating at two of his restaurants during this one-day visit to San Diego. Now to be fair, I did wonder if just maybe I would get lucky and see Sam while I was there, but I figured it was a longshot. I suppose I got lucky, and the encounter was as special as those tacos.
The southwest leg of my journey is off to a great start!
Next stop: May 15, Anaheim
So happy you got to meet him