First Trip to PNC Park

[Box Score]

[Cincinnati.com] [Pittsburgh Post Gazette]

Another ballpark has been crossed off the list. Another bucket list item fulfilled. The fact that I got to see my favorite team win 6-0 and Johnny Cueto threw a one-hitter was just icing on the cake of what was a great night in my charmed life.

The day started immediately with a trip to Primanti Brothers. I would give it five stars out of five. We parked our car and went to the original location, and I would recommend that anyone going to Pittsburgh for the first time does the same thing.

Here’s the famous mural of Pittsburgh folk on the wall in the original Primanti Bros. I could sit and stare at it for hours it’s so well done. This is where you get a sense of the rich tradition that this town has from it’s sport. Clemente is a God-like figure in these parts. He sits in the middle of the mural, symbolically.

Look at Jimmy Leyland there! This is just awesome. Let’s do one more.

Willie Pops Stargell says hello.

I didn’t get a shirt because I didn’t carry any cash with me (stupid move). But I did get a couple of items that were pretty damn solid.

Best sandwich I’ve ever had in my life, the corned beef at Primanti Bros. It’s a little over six bucks I think. So good in fact that I had one also after the game (in which I only remember a little bit).

And here’s Iron City Light. It’s really not that light and does have some bite to it. Kind of reminded me of when I used to steal my dad’s Michelob out of the fridge. Those Michelob’s weren’t all that tasty but they were the only beer there. I don’t know, I drank these because I was in Pittsburgh. Then I went ahead and had about six more.

We stopped at this cigar bar after Primanti Brothers. What I remember about getting to this great place – which is called ‘Leaf & Bean’ for the homemade coffee they brew – is that you have to walk through a cool little market district to get there that has a lot of family owned businesses and farmer’s market type stops along the way. Very cool little section of Pittsburgh.

We talked shop with some cigar salesman who were very hospitable to my friends and I. For purchasing our cigars they allowed us a shot of some really good rum. And then pretty soon they were talking hockey, cities, and baseball with us and just letting us pass that rum around the table. Great cigars too. A perfect way to start any ballpark tour.

And then it was time to head to the ballpark.

When it was finally time to head to the stadium, we had to walk across the Roberto Clemente Bridge.

In my opinion, this here above is one of the most beautiful views in all of baseball. This is where you finally start to get an idea that you’re about to see a special stadium.

And once you get across that bridge, here is what you see. I missed the Willie Stargell statue and could have gotten a pick of it on the walk back to our parking garage after we spent the night; but I had a skull rattling hangover and my cell phone camera was dead and somehow; and this is the craziest part of all, but yes somehow I had maintained by camera all night long only to have lost the batteries within it. You tell me how that happens.

Alright so according to MLB The Show 13 this is supposed to be ‘Bucco Blasts’. I know this because, well; I also have a Pirates franchise going on the game. I think this is one of the coolest items in any stadium.

So when we entered the stadium we actually had the chance to bullshit for Sean Casey for a little bit. He’s always been a great guy, I remember actually talking to him back when I lived in Cincinnati when he would climb into the Diamond Club seats at Great American and take pictures with fans. He’s truly one of the best guys who have ever played the game of baseball.

And I owned him in fantasy baseball in 1999. What a summer that was for him. He was riding in the high .380’s in that summer. And right then I thanked him for 1999. He got a big kick out of that and right away he remembered what a year that was for him and the Reds. I then asked him if he still talks to Adam Dunn at all, naturally. He said he saw Dunn in Spring Training and they still stay in touch. He said he went out with Dunn in Spring Training and couldn’t handle it. “I’ve got three kids at home and Dunner tried to close down every bar, I can’t hang with him anymore.”

I then asked him how much longer he thinks Dunn will play – he said pretty quickly he thinks Dunn has one more season left in him, tops. This is a man who knows and has been around the game. Time will tell if he’s right.

Would you look at that skyline! Just look at it!

Here’s the pirates jacking around before the game. Andrew McCutchen center stage.

One of the best all around players in baseball on display for us. Andrew McCutchen went 0 for 2 against Johnny Cueto with a hit by pitch. He didn’t come to bat a fourth time because the Pirates only collected one hit. I kind of wanted to see him do something big, but just to say I saw him play live in Pittsburgh is a pretty cool deal and worth the price of admission.

And there he is in centerfield in front of those ‘PIRATES’ hedge bushes. If you hit a home run into those bushes as a Pirates player on MLB The Show 13 you unlock a code or trophy of some type.

And our boy Jay Bruce had a signature game with us in attendance at the yard. Here’s his 8th home run of the season – this cost us a round of beers after we had just bought a round. This is the happiest I’ve ever been to buy back to back rounds of cold ones.