Comiskey Park (U.S. Cellular Field)

New York Mets @ Chicago White Sox
June 11, 2002

White Sox 10, Mets 8

W: Todd Ritchie
L: Jeff D'Amico
S: Antonio Osuna
HR: Paul Konerko 2 (CHW), Frank Thomas (CHW), Magglio Ordonez (CHW)
Attendance: 20,156
Time of Game: 2 hours, 51 minutes

Stadium Facts

Location: Chicago, IL
First Game: April 18, 1991
Capacity: 40,615
Type: Open
Surface: Grass

This is going to come as a complete shock to some of you, but I actually have no recollection of attending this particular game. If it weren't for the ticket stub and scorecard, I wouldn't have even known I was there. Until I started gathering my items earlier today, I was certain I had attended this game with my buddy Dom and we had waited out a long pre-game rain delay before moving down to seats in the first row near the White Sox dugout. All of that is true, except it was a game I went to a week earlier against the Royals. Apparently I took the photos of the park at that game, a couple of which are posted in the album. However, I guess I chose the Mets game the next week to be the official visit. I don't have any photos from this game, so I've mixed in photos from a few other visits. That confusion shouldn't be a problem for this write up about the ballpark though considering I have probably been to 50+ games in the park's 18 year history.

Comiskey Park, which was renamed U.S. Cellular Field in 2003, was one of the first parks built in the surge of new stadiums in the past two decades. Being the first has its drawbacks, particularly in the lack of an opportunity to learn from the good and bad qualities of the ones that follow. As such, Comiskey was never recognized as one of the elite ballparks like many of its successors have been.

Some of the criticisms of the park have either been remedied or are completely overblown. If you are going to the park simply to watch a baseball game, there are very few places better to do so. Almost every seat in the park has a great view of the field. The layout of the lower bowl is as good as any park I've seen. While Comiskey Park didn't wind up being the primary trend setter for new parks (Camden Yards probably gets this nod), one aspect that they did lead the way on was concourse design. I love parks like this one that have lower level concourses that allow you to walk around, get food or souvenirs, and still let you see the game on the field. Most, but not all, newer parks have followed this model.

This stadium has changed significantly since it opened in 1991. In the early part of this decade, the bullpens were relocated and are now more easily seen by fans. This caused the outfield walls to move in, changing the park from one of the best pitchers parks to one of the best for hitters. More changes came after the U.S. Cellular naming rights deal in 2003, including the addition of a fan deck in center field and the removal of thousands of seats from the upper deck. This was certainly a change for the better since the nosebleed seats in the old configuration accounted for one of the biggest complaints about the park. The upper deck seats that remain are no worse than any other park.

I'm admittedly biased when it comes to this park, so there isn't much about it I don't like. One complaint I will throw out though is that I'm not sure why the ballpark designers didn't come up with a way of showing off the best city skyline in the country. Perhaps home plate could have been placed in the southwest corner, like the old park, rather than the northwest. As it is, upper deck seats look out onto the Dan Ryan Expressway and some low income high rises, though many of those have been knocked down recently.

A couple more biased statements from me: U.S. Cellular might have the best ballpark food in all of baseball. Not surprising since Chicago is such a great, diverse city that loves its food. The tailgating scene is top notch too, perhaps only surpassed by Milwaukee. Finally, it is hard to match the big game atmosphere at this park. White Sox fans, though not a self-proclaimed "Nation", are as passionate about their team as any. I've witnessed few sporting events with as much crowd enthusiasm and participation as the three playoff games I've been to at this park.

As I said earlier, I really don't remember this game. I see my seat was in right field, behind the Bullpen Sports Bar, an area I have sat many times. I love sitting in the outfield in most parks, especially U.S. Cellular. I assume I went to this game with my family, but again, I have no recollection of that.

The Sox beat up Mets starting pitcher Jeff D'Amico. Frank Thomas hit a three run home run in the third inning. There is no doubt I have seen more home runs hit by Thomas in person than any other player. Paul Konerko added another home run in the Sox five run fourth inning. Todd Ritchie started for the Sox and had his typical 2002 outing. He gave up six runs in six plus innings. He was taken out after allowing three singles to lead off the seventh inning. All three wound up scoring, but the White Sox maintained an 8-6 lead. Solo home runs in the bottom half by Magglio Ordonez and Paul Konerko, his second, seemingly put the game out of reach. However, the Mets rallied for a pair of runs in the ninth, but came up short in a 10-8 loss.

This photo album is of the park, not this particular game. Two of the photos were taken at the game I went to a week earlier and another was from this past summer. I have tons of other photos from U.S. Cellular, but we'll just go with these for now.

Photo Album

From Chicago White Sox

From Chicago White Sox

From Chicago White Sox

From Chicago White Sox

From Chicago White Sox

From Chicago White Sox

From Chicago White Sox

Next stadium: Miller Park, Milwaukee