Hotlanta,

Left Field Outside the Stadium

The next stop would be Atlanta after about an 8 hour drive. I stopped at Sonny’s BBQ just passed the Georgia line, which was delicious. As I got close to Atlanta I found a Georgia sports station and during breaks they would report how hot it was going to be and that they might break the all-time record high the day that I left. Thank goodness this game was an evening one because it was hot and humid. The temperature while I was there did end up either tying or setting the all-time record for Atlanta.

After the Game

Turner Field was a very nice one. It was another red brick stadium close to the downtown area. This one had lots of room to walk around in, especially in the outfield area. Outside the stadium gates in the plaza there are Statues of Ty Cobb one of the game’s greatest players as well as Hank Aaron, Phil Niekro and some other braves heroes as well as huge numbers of Brave greats that have been retired. This was a cool place and very well done. In left field there were plenty of games and things to play for kids and big kids as well as the Braves baseball museum. 

View during Batting Practice

I paid the two dollar fee to go into the Museum and it was a nice one, the lady tried to tell me it was the best outside of Cooperstown but it was easy to tell that it was not. There was really only Braves memorabilia in the museum. It did a nice job of tracking the history of the Braves from when they were in Boston and then Milwaukee and then Atlanta. They had the 1995 World Series trophy on display as well as numerous other awards won by players. There was a locker display for each of the Braves record 14 division championships and playoff appearances. Each of the lockers had special jersey’s and awards as well as cleats, bats, balls and newspaper or magazine articles headlining that season. There was also a room telling how the team got to Atlanta from Milwaukee and Boston. A train car which was formerly used to transport the team in much earlier days is also on display which was very unique. There is a reproduced dugout as well as a TV showing Braes highlights. It is a nice museum that does a wonderful job of celebrating Braves history.

1995 World Series Trophy

The game was my first chance to see teenager phenom Bryce Harper play as the division rival Washington Nationals were in town. The game was a good one. The Nationals jumped out to an early 4-0 lead and then the braves scratched out a run and then another one. The crowd was then into it doing the braves famous tomahawk chop chant. The Braves new young shortstop then hit a game tying homerun in the 7^th to tie the game. All the Braves runs were in the 7^th. The Braves fans got very loud at this point and did the chant even louder. The next inning though the Nationals hit a solo home run to take the lead back.  The final two Braves’ at bats went for not despite fans trying to will their team to win and doing their chant over and over again. It was very exciting to hear the stadium get so loud especially so early in the season and hearing the chant that I had seen and heard only on tv through the Braves playoff years of the 90s and early 2000s.

The drum that is beat during the Tomahawk Chop

I really liked this stadium as it had plenty to offer and did a great job of celebrating Brave’s history and baseball. 

After the game scoreboard shot