Last week I wrote about going to Houston to watch a couple of baseball games between the Washington Nationals and the Houston Astros. I highlighted the fact that this is the final season for Nationals television broadcaster Bob Carpenter.

This week, we look at the experience of attending a game at Daikin Park. It was my first time seeing the Astros play at home, and that brings my total to 16 out of 30 teams that I have watched in their home ballpark. I also count the number of ballparks, because for some teams, I’ve watched them play in old ballparks as well as their current homes. That total is now 19 different Major League stadiums. One of the teams that I saw play at home a few times is no longer in existence; the Montreal Expos.

I went on this trip with my good friend and someone whom I’ve traveled with many times for baseball and mission trips, Victor Cruz. He and I are huge baseball fans, but we don’t agree when it comes to our favorite teams. He loves the Pirates and the Royals; I’m a Nationals and Athletics fan. Two years ago, I had to suffer through a three-game series in Kansas City between the Royals and the Pirates. Victor was in his glory. This time, he was forced to watch my Nationals.

Daikin Park is very similar to other relatively new stadiums in Miami, Arizona and Texas, with its retractable roof and large wall of windows beyond the outfield. It also has a large wrap-around concourse making it easy to maneuver around the stadium. Nothing beats outdoor baseball, but when the temperature is in the 90s or higher, nothing is better than sitting in an air-conditioned ballpark with the roof closed, and a comfortable 74 degrees. That was the case for the two games we watched.

I was impressed with the concessions and how generous they are. Not only do they have a great assortment of food selections, like most ballparks these days, but if you purchase a souvenir soft drink cup for $13, you can bring it back and get free refills throughout the season. That’s an amazing deal, even if you only go to a few games. Plus, you can purchase a bottomless popcorn tub with free refills during that day’s game.

Near the end of one of the games, I went to purchase something at a concession stand, and before I could make up my mind, the girl just handed me a giant pretzel. I thought she misunderstood me, so I asked, “What is this for?” and she said,     “Don’t you want a free pretzel?”

Um, sure. That was nice, and I really appreciated it, but it might have been because they were getting ready to shut down and needed to get rid of the pretzels anyway. Regardless, I don’t experience that kind of generosity in most professional sports venues. In fact, years ago, if you were a credentialed member of the media, you could get a free meal in the press box. Not anymore. There are very few stadiums that have free media meals, although some allow you to get a snack or maybe a hot dog at no cost.

When someone hits a home run in Milwaukee, their mascot slides down a curved slide. In Kansas City, a Royals home run triggers a spouting water show by the outfield fountains. In New York, when a player for the Mets hits a home run, a big red apple with a Mets logo rises out of the wall.

In Houston, when an Astros player hits a home run, the home run train makes its short trek across the tracks high above the leftfield seating area. The train’s engineer for the past 20-plus years is Bobby Vasquez, who goes by “Bobby Dynamite.”  As part of Daikin Park’s 25th anniversary celebration, the train’s cargo is 25 large baseballs, representing significant moments in the stadium’s history.

If there was anything negative about my visit with the Astros it would be that my team, the Nationals, lost both games we saw, but the experience overall was fantastic, and I look forward to going back sometime.

TULSA NATIVE IS ASTROS’ BROADCASTER

While in the press box, I had the opportunity to visit with an old acquaintance, Tulsa native Steve Sparks. The longtime Astros radio broadcaster is a graduate of Holland Hall, and a former Major League pitcher, whose specialty was the knuckleball. When he played in the minor leagues, he spent three seasons in El Paso (1990-92), and played against the Tulsa Drillers, in the Texas League.

That’s when I first met Sparks. I was the Baseball Chapel coordinator at the time and Sparks would attend chapel whenever he was in town with El Paso.

“I worked at old Drillers Stadium when I was in junior college at Eastern Oklahoma State College,” Sparks said. “In the summertime I had the chance during two seasons to work in the concessions, on the grounds crew, and just whatever they needed me to do. I just wanted to be around that ballpark. Then going full circle and six years later, getting a chance to pitch there in front of my friends and family, it meant a lot to me. Growing up, going to the Max Patkin day and all those great experiences. Not only to the Tulsa Oilers games but also the Tulsa Drillers games, we spent a lot of time at that ballpark.”

Sparks spent nine seasons in Major League Baseball, and I asked him if he ever thought he would turn to broadcasting when he retired from playing.

“No, I never thought about it at all,” he said. “You know I think the seed was planted by a couple camera people or whomever, when I was in the big leagues. People saying, ‘hey when you’re done, you ought to think about it.’ Things like that. The opportunity arose here when they were looking for some people to do some pregame and postgame work on TV, so I did that for seven years before this job opened. Robert [Ford] and I have had the chance to work together for the last 13 years now.”

Sparks said he still returns to the Tulsa area at least once a year to visit his parents in Broken Arrow.

TULSA BEACON RADIO

Tune in to “Tulsa Beacon Weekend” radio show every week, featuring interviews with local and national guests, talking about everything from politics to family issues. This week my guest will be Phil Martin from Child Evangelism Fellowship and Brenda Seastedt will share her story of miraculous healing and her current ministry. The show airs on Saturday at 12:00 p.m. CST on 970am KCFO.