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For the fifth ballpark I've hit on my chase, I visited the local park and home of one of the two teams in Major League Baseball I dislike--Wrigley Field, and the Chicago Cubs.

In this baseball odyssey I've been on for the past two weeks, I've been asked what my favorite team is. When I say the Cardinals, I'm also asked if I don't like the Cubs despite being from Chicago, to which I always answer yes. Realistically, there's no reason for me to dislike the Cubs--their 2016 World Series win was objectively a rather magical moment that occurred when I had no allegiance to a team, and I'm a resident of Chicago. However, I live in southwestern Chicago and am a Cardinals fan, and as a result of these things I've always preferred the White Sox and picked up a dislike of the Cubs along the way. I wouldn't call it a hatred like I have for the Astros, but it is enough to wear opposing teams' merchandise to a game at Wrigley Field.

Speaking of, this game was a perfect storm for a number of reasons. I still needed to hit Wrigley Field in my chase, but I'd be damned if I rooted for the home team like I usually do when I go to new parks. Secondly, my mom was in town for a week and I wanted to take her to a baseball game at some point during her visit. Additionally, the Cubs just so happened to be playing the Cardinals on one of the few days she was available to go. Circumstances worked out quite well, I bought four tickets for us, my sister, and her boyfriend, and then I prepared myself for the game. Since my mom was in town, I got nicer seats than I usually aim for within the first tier of seats at Wrigley Field. As I was soon to learn, however, Wrigley Field is a relic of the past that has stood the test of time through "history" alone, and as a result of the field being built before the new wave of cantilever seating came to popularity our seats were obscured by a pole. That's okay, pitching isn't important anyways.

Wrigley Field, alongside Fenway Park, is one of the two remaining 'ancient' ballparks in Major League Baseball. Since Wrigley Field is such a historic park, however, I did appreciate how it honored Cubs past and witnessing the iconic park entrance up close during a game. The ivy on the outfield walls is a very nice touch to an already good-looking field. There's a certain smallness about Wrigley that makes all areas of the park feel rather accessible, and I would be lying if I said I didn't enjoy the ballpark experience. This is actually the second Cubs game that I've seen in person, but the first was from a rooftop adjacent to Wrigley Field so it didn't count for purposes of my chase (I'm considering stepping foot inside of a ballpark a 'plus one' in my progress). During this first game, I was able to appreciate Wrigley from a different angle above right field and take in how cozy the stands are. This rooftop experience was a work outing, so my coworkers and I commuted directly from our office in downtown Chicago, which highlighted how easily accessible the park itself is using the city's public transit.

The food here was pretty decent, an experience I'd give somewhere around a 7 out of 10. Ordering food from Wrigley is surprisingly modern given the park's 'ancient' status--patrons pick up their food from a window (I got the Italian Beef sandwich alongside a hot dog and peanuts) and then scan it under a camera and pay based off of what the camera picks up. It reminded me a lot of the self-checkout bins stores like Zara or Uniqlo have, where the security tags are used to scan items as they're being tossed in. The hot dog stations at Wrigley also have the fixings for a Chicago-style dog present, including the celery salt, which gives it extra points in my eyes.

That's enough being positive about the Cubs, though. The game itself was a satisfying watch as the Cardinals beat the Cubs by a score of 3-1, making it the first game on my chase that the home team lost. During the game, former-Cub-turned-Cardinal Willson Contreras was booed each time he went up to bat but went 2-4 with 2 RBI and a run of his own, meaning he accounted for all three runs of the Cardinals' day. The Cardinals pitched decently enough on the day, with the relievers coming in clutch past the first out of the fifth inning and leaving five cubs on base during their appearances without allowing a run. Outside of this, though, the game wasn't much to write home about outside of a positive experience with my family and checking a ballpark off of the chase. The Cardinals are in the midst of a season at the moment, and at the time of writing are 27-42--on pace to have their first losing season since 2007 and worst season by win percentage since 1913 (thank you, Baseball Reference, for letting me calculate my misery). It was relieving to see them push out a solid win in the midst of a sea of losses.

Will I be coming back here? Probably, as the Cardinals come into town either six or seven times a year and I certainly wouldn't mind seeing them. I can't help but enjoy Wrigleyville as a baseball neighborhood in the city I call home--I just wish all of the fanfare surrounding the park was for the White Sox instead.