County Stadium vs. Miller Park

[nate82]

I miss the bleacher seats at County Stadium. I really don't like the ones at Miller Park they just don't feel right to me. Everything else about Miller Park I love but I do wish Bernie Brewer would slide down into a beer mug again.

 

Does anyone accidentally call Miller Park County Stadium every once in awhile? I know I do almost 10 to 20 times a year. I guess I just haven't let go of County Stadium yet. It is where I grew up watching Brewer games at. On the bright side though if I want to go down memory lane all I have to do is pop in the Major League movie.

[SeriesFinale]

I miss the County Stadium of my memories, which I recognize isn't the same thing as reality. I prefer MP in pretty much every way except for the lack of barrel.

 

Yeah, the new bleachers don't have as much personality, but I can't help but wonder if we're not better off without that sort of "personality."

[adamb100]

I miss the open feeling of County Stadium vs teh closed in confined feeling of Miller Park.

[AJAY]

I agree that the bleachers were better at County Stadium. It was nice to be at field level and it was nice to not have another deck hanging above you. But other than that, there is absolutely nothing I miss about County Stadium. Miller Park is just amazing in every other aspect . . . well . . . except for that stupid slide. I do miss the chalet and beer mug. I still think they need to add that.

[sgtcluels]

My favorite memories of 3rd Wold Stadium... in it's corrugated aluminum glory, were as a kid. Back in the day watching early season baseball. My mom used to bring blankets and we all used to drink hot chocolate from a thermos and try to keep warm under the blanket And my dad told me that super man tightened the bolts to the base of the light stands behind the bleachers. I used to imagine super man with this huge wrench screwing in the lights stands. (Someone has to remember how large those bolts were) Guess I was wrong...

 

But beyond the nostalgia..

 

Miller Park all the way! (And those memories are the same reason I park in the giants lot every time. Nothing makes it feel like home like walking under i94)

[burniebrewer]

I miss $5 general admission seats down both lines.

[BrewCrewForever]

CS has those nostalgia memories for me. Getting to see two HOF in Yount and Molitor play there of course. I also liked that you could sit anywhere you wanted in the bleachers, no assigned seats. And of course the beer mug slide was much better then what they have at MP. But MP is clearly a better park and the product on the field is getting much better then it was in the last few years at CS.

[razzzorsharp]

I miss the spacious seating to tell you the truth and the sense of accomplishment that you got when you were watching an April game with 8,000 people in crappy conditions.

[NeedMoreFans]

(And those memories are the same reason I park in the giants lot every time. Nothing makes it feel like home like walking under i94)

I'm sort of the same way with the Giants lot. We never parked anywhere else, unless we were with a big group and we had bleacher seats. Plus I feel that lot is still the easiest to get out of.

 

Just as a side note, I remember when they finally knew "Brewers Stadium" was going to be built, they drew the outline of the stadium on the parking lot, and it included where home plate was going to be. It was sort of a surreal moment, knowing someday baseball was going to be played in a new stadium.

[pitchleague]

I miss the "smell" of County Stadium. You know the smell--years and years of spilled beer, cooked sausages, the green grass. Everything. I know that I can still smell it in my mind. The half-dozen to ten or so times I've been able to go to Miller Park (remember, I live in AZ so I don't get up there for games very often) I can start to smell it, but it's just not the same.

 

Yeah, I remember the bleachers being better at County Stadium, too. I loved that they were on the field level.

 

The barrel and slide? Yeah, I wish they had it, too, but where would they put it? They wouldn't totally scrap the Bernie's Dugout and yellow slide, I think. So the barrel would have to go somewhere else. And in order to do that, they'd have to eliminate some seating. Not to mention that it would look so tiny in relation to the size of the ballpark. (it actually fit in at County Stadium since it was a smaller sized ballpark (height). I want it too, but at what cost?

 

I always thought those little mezzanine boxes that hung under the press box were like little egg cartons and I couldn't believe that people sat in them. They always looked unsafe to me as a kid.

 

I also miss the netting behind home plate and watching foul balls scoot up there and, occasionally, getting stuck under the press box, only to become dislodged by another foul ball later in the game.

[hawing]

Adding on to some of pitchleague's comments:

 

We used to sit under the netting at County Stadium, so we had a reverse bird's-eye view of the stuck and occasionally dislodged baseballs.

 

And we had mezzanine seats once. My first date with the S.O. was the August 6, 1989 Angels-Brewers game. He called and requested "best available" seats and the mezzanine was it. We sat on old folding chairs and had a little countertop. That was about it for the specialness of that section.

 

Anyway - things I miss from County include...

 

- Lower Grandstand section 3: our season ticket hangout, and still the best view + value for family section seats in the history of the Brewers (in my opinion).

 

- The green, green, green grass of the always-outdoors field. I think this gets mentioned every time we have a County Stadium thread, and for good reason.

 

- To a limited extent, the invasion of the weather. Razzzorsharp is correct - there is a sense of accomplishment to be had in being part of a tiny April (or September) crowd in adverse conditions. For that matter, traveling to MP in adverse conditions (especially coming a distance like ours) to be part of a small crowd in April gives me a sense of accomplishment, even though it's generally more temperate inside the park.

 

- And like other posters, the memories. I represent the third generation of my family to have watched games at County Stadium. After my grandfather died, I got some of his old ticket stubs and found that he too had sat in LGS 3. Circle of life.

[temke]

i miss rain delays...seriously.

 

i have lots of fun memories of goofing around in the bleachers during rain delays. one night the bleachers were so empty that they forced us into the grandstand...that was pretty cool.

[zingsheim]

I miss the friendliness of the players. It seemed like at County the players would always be willing to come over and chat and sign autographs. I remember going as a kid in he early 90's and pretty much every player was out no matter who they were. Now at MP because the Brewers are suddenly "big time" barely anyone comes over and when they do they seem like it's an inconvenience to them. Still love Miller Park though, although I agree with the Bleacher comments.

[burniebrewer]

i miss rain delays...seriously.

 

As long as the delay started before beer sales ended....

 

It was great when they'd broadcast an out of town game on the scoreboard. You couldn't tell what was going on, but it was still fun.

 

Also, I have a friend who always carried a backpack with him--the contents of that bag never bored us. We had a few cribbage games during rain delays.

[danzig6767]

I miss the "smell" of County Stadium. You know the smell--years and years of spilled beer, cooked sausages, the green grass. Everything. I know that I can still smell it in my mind. The half-dozen to ten or so times I've been able to go to Miller Park (remember, I live in AZ so I don't get up there for games very often) I can start to smell it, but it's just not the same.

 

Yeah, I remember the bleachers being better at County Stadium, too. I loved that they were on the field level.

Those were the two things i loved about County Stadium. Like you say, i can still remember that smell as i walked in the gates.

The bleachers were my home for so many games at County. I loved going to a day game on a blazing hot summer day with the beer flowing and shirt off. My really only beef with Miller Park is there is to much damn shade because of the roof. I get annoyed on a hot day when the sun is pounding on me and then the roof ends up blocking out the sun.

The two nicest things about Miller Park for me are the bathrooms and concourses. During those big crowd days at County Stadium, man those bathrooms were just flat out nasty.

 

 

 

[mattsr0625]

the only thing that i miss about county stadium is the players parking lot. me and my brother would go almost every summer morning and try to snag a few auto's. it was easy when the had to walk right past you. can you imagine if it were still like that at miller park.

[valpocrewsader]

I really miss the Two Fisted Slobber video. It needs to be brought back.

[mothershipconnection]

I miss County for the beer mug and on the most beautiful of summer days. Aside from that, give me Miller Park.

[jason21nl]

the only thing that i miss about county stadium is the players parking lot. me and my brother would go almost every summer morning and try to snag a few auto's. it was easy when the had to walk right past you. can you imagine if it were still like that at miller park.

that would be pretty crazy. I don't know if you have been to ST or not, but there are some fields where they have to do that.. The Rockies play at HI Corbet field and the visiting team has to walk right through the crowd. Talk about autographs. I got Konerko, Pierzynski, Dye, Crede, Jenks, just to name a few in a matter of minutes. Very, Very neat.

 

[temke]

I really miss the Two Fisted Slobber video. It needs to be brought back.

slobber, or slopper?

(just kidding...no real need to open that can of worms again!)

 

[Brew City Baseball Fan]

I really miss the Two Fisted Slobber video. It needs to be brought back.

 

Im pretty new here but has anyone ever found video of this anywhere on the internet? I would die if I could see that clip