Rogers Centre

Toronto Blue Jays (American League)

6/10

There really isn't a main entrance to the dome, they all kind of look like this.

Roof is closed for a September matchup against the Cubs.

Roof is very much open for this contest in 2007 against the Nationals.

 This is the place I saw my very first Major League game in 1995. We were out visiting family in Ontario, when for my birthday, I got tickets to go down to Toronto to watch the Blue Jays play the Boston Red Sox. The pitching matchup was still one of the best I've seen, Roger Clemens for the Sox and Juan Guzman for Toronto. John Olerud stole home, I got my first glimpse of Shawn Green, who I hadn't heard of at that point and we left early to catch the last train out of town as the Jays won in extras 2-1. I went back in 2007 after a trip to some parks was aborted at the last second and took in 2 games against the Nationals. In 2014, I went back for my 4th game here, against the Cubs.

The Blue Jays are my favourite team and on the old website, I gave this place I think a 7/10 on my old site, but have lowered the rating to a 6. Why? The different system places more emphasis on areas where this place is behind the rest.

The stadium itself is a very staid, concrete dome. The concourse is like most others you'd see in the Majors, but the exterior lacks much character, other than some statues on the one side. The stadium is close to the lakeshore, right in the middle of downtown Toronto, making it easy to access via subway and GO Train(for regional commuters). Sadly, this is a dome. A roof of some kind is all but mandatory in a colder climate like Toronto, but this one completely encloses the stadium when closed, making it, in my opinion, even worse than Tropicana Field when closed, as that roof at least lets some light in. This stadium does hold some sentiment with me as Canada's de facto national baseball stadium, but it's at least in the bottom 3 in terms of visual appeal. When it opened, it was the class of the league, as it was the first retractable roofed stadium to actually work properly. Now, its a little behind the times and I don't imagine it will be long before the calls to replace it begin. Still, 2016 will mark the first year without CFL football at the dome, which will mean natural grass rather than turf, which should improve the look of the park somewhat.

The other big knock on this place are the concessions. It's partially just the exchange rate, but they're expensive. I.e., 5.25 CDN for a bottle of Coke Zero that costs 2.25 at the corner store across the road. My stepbrother, a temporary Torontonian, took me and a friend who came up from London(the one in Canada) to a Vietnamese-style sub place before the game. A good call, as for 13 or 14 bucks we got what would have cost around 20-25 inside. I've seen Coke Zero as much at some NHL venues in Canada, but not in the US, even with the exchange. I still couldn't get over how expensive food was, I hardly even looked after an initial survey and don't remember any prices.

The plus is the atmosphere, which after some lean years, is picking up, especially with the Jays making their first playoff run in a generation. The game we went to, I sat in the 500 level(upper deck) for the first time. View was not too bad. There were a few die hard, some randoms, and a school trip from Brazil of some kind, which tried to bring their sort of cheering into the mix. Fans are somewhat passionate about the Jays, as they have the whole of Canada to tap into, but locals are getting more interested in recent years, as the Jays success is the opposite of most Toronto franchises.

Overall, this is an adequate stadium which should be improved by natural grass, but a lack of visual appeal combined with expensive concessions will keep it in the bottom 5 of all but the most contrarian fan's list. 6/10.

Update 2021: Despite this being my team, I haven't been back here, I prefer to watch them on the road. They did install a dirt infield in 2016, instead of the previous dirt on turf. My experiences elsewhere since my last visit just continue to show how out of date the dome now is. There have been rumblings of a replacement facility, but that's all they've really been. Any replacement will be on the lakeshore within a few kilometres from here, but I can't see that happening until the back end of this decade at least. I added the linescores, it turns out the 1st game I saw here was actually in 1995, a year earlier than I'd thought. No idea when I'll be back to Toronto.

Linescores

1996-06-12

                   123   456   789   10  11 12  R H E

Boston       002   001    000   0    0   0    3 8 0   

Toronto      000   021   000    0   0   1     4 11 0

Temp: 20C  Time: 3:47   Att: 40,171

Note: My First MLB game ever, Aged 12.

2007-06-16

                      123   456   789  R H E

Washington  010   100   010   3 7 1

Toronto         104  200   00x  7 10 0

Temp: 27C  Time: 2:32  Att: 26,342

2007-06-17

                      123   456   789  RHE

Washington    020  110    000  470

Toronto           101  000   000  240

Temp: 26C Time: 2:14  Att: 28,867

2014-09-10

                        123   456   789  R H E

Chicago(NL)   000  000   100  1  5  3  

Toronto            001 003   52X  11 13 1

Temp: 20C  Time: 3:12  Att: 19,411

Florida Auto Exchange Stadium

Toronto Blue Jays, Spring Training
Dunedin Blue Jays, Florida State League

6/10

The main entrance to the park is pretty nondescript.

The best view from behind home plate I could get without blocking someone.

A decent crowd hangs around to watch the Blue Jays get polished off by the national team.

I finally finally made it to Dunedin after many years of ballparking for a spring training match up in 2017. The game saw the Jays taking on the Canadian entry for that year's WBC. The Jays were missing a few regulars to other WBC camps and a few to injury, so it was a Quadruple-A roster to start. J.A. Happ was shelled right out of the gate as the Canadian nationals went on to win their only game of the 5 pre-tournament and round robin games they played, with little struggle.

The park itself is quite old, opening in 1990, although it somehow looks older than that. It's a facility that is definitely lacking in many areas, the least of which is the cramped team store, in an outbuilding off the concourse, seats that are benches, with not much room between people or in the aisle and a general lack of parking in the area. I ended up parking about 3 blocks away on the lawn of a bar for about 10 dollars(free drink ticket included!). The concourse is a little narrow, but is mostly kept clear.

Concession, on the other hand, is also lacking in options, but at the very least, prices are comparatively low. Atmosphere was tough to judge with the non-MLB opponent for this one, but I'd say it's slightly above average, but not deserving of special recognition. Overall, I'd take off a full point for facility, which would leave this as a 6. It looks more like a bigger, dated, minor league park, as opposed to most of the other Spring Training ones. It's way too big for the High-A team it hosts in the Florida State League, which usually averages just under 800 fans per game.

But, the Blue Jays themselves are well aware of the park's shortcomings and are working on it. More of concern to the team is that the minor league complex and training fields are a 15 minute drive away. A 5 minute drive was enough to have the Oakland side desert Phoenix Municipal for Mesa. This was a big bone of contention for the Jays, but it appears they're willing to live with it, as a tentative deal will see this stadium and the training complex both heavily renovated, even if they remain a fair distance apart.

I will likely give this one a pass until renovations are completed and try to see the Blue Jays in Clearwater or Tampa.

Linescore
2017-03-07
                         123  456   789   R H E
Canada             122  000   011   7 13 0
Toronto             000  000  100   1  2  2
Temp: N/A  Time: N/A Att: N/A

Nat Bailey Stadium

Vancouver Canadians, Northwest League

10/10

 A large crowd outside just before 1st pitch, waiting to get in, pick up tickets, or come up with a new plan for the afternoon, as the game sold out.

 The first pitch of the Vancouver Canadians taking on the visiting Boise Hawks.

A great sell out crowd on a Friday Afternoon.

Firstly, this park is now known officially as Scotiabank Field at Nat Bailey Stadium. But I went there before this change and most people still use the old name, so we will stick with that.

I went to my first ever Pro baseball game when I was 8 years old in 1992. It was here, at "The Nat", to watch the then AAA Vancouver Canadians battle the Edmonton Trappers. This was in the midst of the Blue Jays first championship season and baseball enjoyed a higher stature in Canada than it does now. I'd love to say I enjoyed it and was hooked, but it was a slow game, with the final being either 1-0, or 2-1 and runs not coming in until the 6th or 7th inning. Eventually we left early and I jokingly taunted my Aunt and Cousin that it was their fault, knowing full well it was mine.

I went back in 2000, having turned 16, to watch the now Short Season A Vancouver Canadians take on the now defunct Portland Rockies with my Stepfather, Brother and some friends. It was the first season of the Canadians having moved down 4 rungs on the Minor League hierarchy, but as my Stepfather heard from a local die-hard, the difference in the quality of play was only so much. The team went from a poorly drawing AAA team in a small old ballpark to an NWL team in a big city, with a gem of an old park and a strong following locally. I attempted to go back in 2013, but discovered the game I wanted, the last Saturday night home game of the year, had completely sold out.

I finally got back to Nat Bailey Stadium in August 2014 and have to say that I LOVED it. There's just so much to like.

The park is a 1950s era grandstand that is very basic, featuring lots of painted concrete and wooden benches, outside of the box seats. My ticket behind the aisle cost 12.50 Canadian, which is higher than most low minor parks, but for Canada is very cheap. The park has the main concourse under the seats, but a smaller one to move people to their seats in view of the field and a teeny one at the top of the grandstand. There is a videoboard, but the main scoreboard is hand operated, which is always a nice touch.

Parking was free on the street a few blocks away, as the stadium is located in the middle of Queen Elizabeth Park. Parking right next to the stadium was 7 dollars and had bad entrance and exits, so if you're able, I'd suggest parking on the street, it saves time in the long run.

I went back solo for a Friday afternoon "Nooner at the Nat"(which actually started at 1, but we'll spot them that) against the Boise Hawks, who I hadn't seen play since my visit to Boise. The game sold out, but not every seat was filled. Still, about 4,000 people or so showed up and from die-hards to casual fans, most people were into the game...which was a good thing, as the Canadians took it on the chin, losing 10-3. I read a review from ballparkreviews.com about how the atmosphere at minor-league games in Canada is usually better and having been to a few different parks now, I totally agree. People who go to ballgames in Canada want to watch at least some baseball, pure and simple.

Another reason I enjoyed Nat Bailey was the food, it was fantastic. I was in the mood for a burger, but with the line at the main concession looking quite long, I went to the shortest line "Sushi and Asahi Beer". It's a great pairing and me, my Asahi and my Sushi had a good time(despite me spilling the sushi trying to break apart the chopsticks). I also got an ice cream helmet. Also of note, the team uses the tiny concourse at the top of the grandstand to have a few beer stands, which kept a lot of people from walking past my seat during the game, and kept the beer people and the food people from all being in the main concession area. I can't think of another older park that did that as well.

The location in a park isn't terribly scenic, but is pleasant enough for the park's purposes. Between the well maintained gem of a park, good layout and use of space, plus good food and atmosphere, it doesn't get much better than a game at "The Nat" and it now ranks among my favourites. I thought it was a strong 10/10 as of right now, it's my favourite in the low minors.

Update 2016: I enjoyed this one so much that I went back and typed a lengthy update almost right afterwards. There's little to add, except for the fact that the C's have put in a party deck in left field, which has boosted capacity somewhat. The Canadians are the leading draw in the NWL, averaging just over 6,000 a game. That's 21st in MiLB period, with only the Midwest League Dayton Dragons drawing better in the low minors. It's pretty remarkable how their numbers have jumped in the last few years. I found the 2014 line score with little issue, but the other two will take a lot more digging. I will save them for the next update.

Linescore
2014-08-22
                                                123     456    789    R  H E
Boise Hawks(CHC)                     231   003     001    10 11 2
Vancouver Canadians(TOR)        000    010    002     3 12 2