Saturday, WBC Game 1 - Korea vs. Venezuela

Woke up early Saturday and planned my upcoming days. Made some calls for tours and generally planned my upcoming pre-game activities. I usually do this WAY ahead of time before flying out anywhere, but I wanted to see exactly where I was and what was available only once I got out there. Wingin' it. Out of my relative comfort zone that way. It felt refreshingly good.

After breakfast and some more reading in the lobby (these Hard Case Crime novels are addicting...like candy), it was another cab to the lunch destination today: Gordon Biersch Brewery & Restaurant in Burbank. Basically the same beers and same menu as the one I frequent in Washington, DC, but I find it difficult to find a brewpub that brews a clean German lager. So Gordon Biersch it was.

The game tonight was at 6:00pm, and I wanted to get to Dodger Stadium WAY ahead of time to tool around and explore, so basically right after lunch it was the cab back to L.A., grab the ticket from the room, and walk that walk straight uphill seemingly into the sky to the stadium. It was obviously my first stab at the walk, so I had really no idea how long it would take, nor just when it would ever end. Felt as if I trudged upwards for quite a long time. Finally, the stadium is in sight. Giddy!


Dinner tonight and for the next 2 nights would in fact be identical. Gastronomical fare that would rival the treats of the finest fine dining establishments. A meal worthy of photographical evidence of its consumption.

The venerable Dodger Dog.



Sadly, the exquisite delight that is Cleveland Stadium brown mustard is nowhere to be found here. Bland and boring YELLOW mustard is forced upon me. Sigh. I muddled through somehow...

My seats for the three contests were along the 1st base line a section down from the foul pole. Every night I got to my seat super-early, about 2 hours before first pitch, to absorb the ballpark atmosphere. Got to walk around, see batting practice, meet all sorts of baseball fans from around the globe, and generally have myself a grand old time enjoying something that always brings a smile to my face: a ballgame at a ballpark.

Korea walloped Venezuela tonight. 10-2. Check out the box score in this link. Venezuela forces FIVE errors in a sloppy performance. Cleveland Indian Shin-Soo Choo hits a first inning home run for Korea and they never look back. A 60-degree gametime temperature fell dramatically into the 40s as the evening wore on. I thought I came to sunny California for warmth! It was actually borderline "uncomfortably chilly" tonight. But regardless of the weather, the atmosphere of the game was unlike anything I have ever witnessed in a baseball game. Every pitch it seemed was the final one for the World Series. The excitement was palpable. I couldn't help but just look around and smile and be in awe of the tireless fans who chanted, clapped, danced, and cheered nonstop for 9 innings. I am SO glad I flew out for this. Incredible.
And this final picture makes sense once you play the video I uploaded to YouTube. Crazy. Such a fun experience my lowly words here just don't do it justice and relate what a good time this was.