ADV Draft Baseball League Other

My trip to Canada and Rogers Centre was part of what I call my 'Baseball Odyssey' -- a road trip over the course of a month that saw me hit 11 stadiums. I talk about it a bit in my post reflecting on my baseball chase up to this point. This was my second stop, exiting the United States for the first time via the tunnel in Detroit to visit Toronto.

I had misread that the motel I was staying at had a 24-hour check-in, so when I arrived and saw nobody was there I had to find new lodging as I didn't want to sleep in my car. A few hours later, I wound up in a spot in Brampton, a suburb, although there are likely far better options for lodging (including within the stadium) when it comes to being near Rogers Centre. It's a funny story to tell, as I didn't know what data roaming was and had to siphon WiFi from McDonalds parking lots at midnight. Once the initial spook was over, however, I was ready to head to the stadium.

I had scheduled my trip around a jersey promotion -- a Bo Bichette jersey and headband. I lined up some hours before the game, taking work from my phone as I ensured I was in the top cut of fans. With the jersey acquired, I started to walk the concourse. The stadium feels very "Blue Jays" branded -- everything is very blue and inviting. Since I was there so early for the jersey promotion, I didn't feel cramped or as if there wasn't enough space. After finding my seats, which had a decent view outside of the railing that was outside of every row of upper-level seats, I dug into the poutine I had ordered and promptly fell asleep until around a few minutes before the national anthem was sung. Poutine is heavy!

Fortunately for me, the roof of the dome was retracted due to the beautiful weather that day. I found the partial retraction interesting, as it cast stark shadows on the outfield throughout the sun's setting over the course of the night game. The CN Tower, down the first base line, provided an intriguing view as well -- I'd never seen a building this tall up to this point. Despite the retracted roof taking up the main part of the space above center field buildings still peeked around the foul poles, providing a decent backdrop.

Next to me during this game was a college student and his girlfriend. Even though they were younger, I would describe him as an umarell -- he knew every Blue Jay that came up to bat, the pitch mixes of the pitchers, and have his own quips and thoughts about everyone. It was a great experience sitting next to them during the game, as it almost felt like I had a human baseball reference page next to me. I never got his name, of course, but wish him and his girlfriend well.

The game itself was a 2023 Alek Manoah loss, one of nine on the year after a strong 2022 season. The Brewers' Abraham Toro shot a 2-run home run to right field (much to the dismay of the fans, especially my new umarell friend next to me) as the Crew took an early lead in the top of the second and never gave it up. This was Toro's first at bat on the year after coming up from AAA, showing a small-sample-size gem of an OPS of 5.000 for the year on the scoreboard. I did see Vladimir Guerrero Jr. play, but he went 0-4 while nearly hitting for a cycle of outs (flyout, groundout, lineout -- only missing a strikeout).

All said and done, I enjoyed my trip to Canada and the Rogers Centre impressed me -- even if the product on the field didn't show this game. The CN Tower is the crown jewel of a decent backdrop from behind home plate, situated in downtown Toronto, and the fans are both passionate and inviting. I can only imagine the atmosphere this place must have both during playoffs and when the dome is covered!