I can officially check Minute Maid Park off the list of Major League Baseball (MLB) parks I hope to visit in my lifetime, as I recently took a trip down to Houston to catch the Toronto Blue Jays play the Astros for four games.
Although the results didn't turn out the way I would have liked, (Jays lost three of four games) I still had a great time exploring Texas's biggest city.
My buddy Evan and I took a cheap flight from Fort McMurray down to Houston on the morning of July 31 to catch the first game of the series later that night. One of our goals during the trip was to try as much of the great Texas barbeque as we possibly could. This started right away, as we hit a nice little sports bar across the street from the park called “Home Plate”. It is not an exaggeration to say this place had one of the best pulled-pork sandwiches I have ever eaten. Boy, it was awesome!
The game that followed was the best game of the series, as the Jays pulled off a come-from-behind 6-5 victory. We had seats in left field, where three home run balls landed just a couple rows away from us. It was a great start to the trip.
On Friday, we picked up our rental car and headed out into Houston looking for some great barbeque. We had researched a few places and had some places in mind. Luckily for us we chose to hit Ray's BBQ Shack. This place had some amazing barbeque and some of the largest portions I have ever seen. I grabbed a three meat plate which featured smoked brisket, sausage and ribs along with some spicy baked beans and deep fried corn on the cob. It was heavenly!
We had planned to do some more exploring before the game, but Rays filled us up too much. We decided to chill at our hotel's outdoor pool instead, as it was in the mid-30's (Celsius) with extreme humidity.
Friday night's game was close, but the Jays eventually lost 3-1 with the Astros Gregorio Petit hitting his first career home run.
Saturday was by far the busiest day of the trip. We started it bright and early by taking in an open session of Houston Texans (NFL) training camp. This place was packed with crazy football fans, some of which had camped out in the parking lot since 2 a.m. for the 8 a.m. start time. We, on the other hand, didn't get out of bed until 7 a.m. and still had a great view.
After camp we took a short drive out of the City and hit the NASA Space Center. It was a neat place with a ton of cool displays. Unfortunately due to time constraints and a extremely long line, we couldn't take one of the tours they were offering.
Saturday's game we sat in the first row down the third baseline. The Jays proceeded to kick the ball around the infield like a bunch of little leaguers. Astros Jon Singleton scored an inside the park homerun and Houston won the game 8-2.
The lowlight of the game took place in the third inning. A security guard climbed into the stands beside us and right when he swung his leg over the wall he let out a large, loud fart. The incident occured a few feet from my friend Evan's face, who was in the middle of eating a plate of nachos. Evan sat their disgusted, I was doubled over in laughter and the security guard went on pretending like the whole event never happened. It was one of the more entertaining moments of the evening.
The highlight of the game was on play in the 9th inning which saw Houston outfielder LJ Hoes make a diving catch into the stands, landing mere feet from my lap. It was a great play and we made it on TV!
Sunday we sat directly across from third base, beside the Blue Jays dugout. Like the other three games the Jays scored first, kept it close for a few innings and then blew the game. Toronto lost 5-1.
Although the Jays played terribly, I would still recommend both Minute Maid Park and the city of Houston as great places to visit. I enjoyed the atmosphere, food and everything else about the City and will definitely be going back.
