No. 10: Sun, sand, fun and baseball in San Diego
Jon and I just sat in these seats for the first time last week. They were the obstructed view tickets and they were in the second to last row but there we were. We bought them the day of the game and they were indeed only $10.
The Park in the Park is a great idea. It's not perfect by any means, but it has some nice features. I was kind of hoping that when they built the park that they would put grass area right up to the fence like you see in a lot of minor league parks. The grass now is another 50 yards away from the fence. I do really like the sand, but if you're playing in the sand you're not likely that interested in the game, so I think it'd be cool to have the beach in the Park but not necessarily in this prime area. Though if you do have a kid, it'd be easier to keep an eye on them and the game at the same time, since they don't let people without tickets into this area.
When we sat there last Tuesday, I found the seats to be rather uncomfortable since there was no seat back and you were pretty much sitting on a bench. It's hard to sit comfortably in that area for a full nine innings. The usher they mention in the article, Rich Rachman is fantastic with kids and adults alike. He loves his job and it shows. At any given time you can see him leading jumping jacks or quizzing kids in math. The Padres are lucky to have him, I only wish that more ushers loved their jobs as much as this guy.
The only thing really good about the view is your proximity to the center fielder, getting a view of the strike zone from right behind the pitcher and the infrequent home run. Otherwise there are much better seats for viewing the game.
I'm going to shamelessly steal their poll.