B4B Midseason Awards
Biking for Baseball has now visited 15 MLB stadiums and watched 15 “official” games this summer. We put together a Midseason Award list that was determined by compiling stats and personal experiences from the 15 games we’ve seen. Enjoy!
MVP – Justin Smoak – Mariners 5/12, 8 RBI, 4 runs, 2 BB, 1 2B, 3 HR. We’ve seen the Mariners play 3 times this season, and it seems like Smoak saves his best games for when B4B is in attendance.
CY Young – Brandon Morrow – Blue Jays 9 IP, 3 hits, 0 runs, 8 K. Morrow pitched a complete game shutout against the Angels. He was dominant. Worthy of a B4B Cy Young.
Rookie of the Year – Mike Trout – Angels. Trout had 2 of the 3 hits the Angels managed in the game we saw them, although Vernon Wells and Albert Pujols both grounded into double plays when he got on base. He also made some great plays in the outfield. He did his part in this game, and he’s likely to be the Rookie of the Year at the end of the season.
Best Game – Chicago White Sox 8 – Kansas City Royals 9 (14 innings) The game went back and forth all night before the Royals took a 1 run lead on an Alcides Escobar 2-run triple in the bottom of the 8th. Royals closer Jonathon Broxton blew the save in the 9th and both teams scored a single run in the 12th. The Royals wasted a few good scoring opportunities in the other extra innings before finally losing the game after 5 hours and 23 minutes.
Favorite Stadium – Kauffman Stadium – The “K” is a very under-rated ballpark. The recent face-lift the stadium received makes the beautiful fountains beyond the outfield walls even more accentuated. The concourse is very wide and the outfield concourse is extremely inviting to mingle with other baseball fans. Honorable Mention: Coors Field, Chase Field.
Best Gameday atmosphere – St. Louis We went to sold-out Busch Stadium for World Series replica ring give-away night. The stadium and the surrounding part of the city were buzzed for the game. What an atmosphere for a baseball game!
Best fans – Oakland A’s RF Bleachers Section 149. We’ve seen a lot of great fans, but we had so much fun hanging out with these guys and ladies at the A’s game we went to. The best part is when they got nuts when Metallica “One” is played during save situations when Grant Balfour takes the mound. There’s a reason why Jeff Francouer loves these guys!
Best concessions – Ballpark in Arlington, Kauffman Stadium. Anything with $1 hot dogs. These stadiums tie for first because they had dollar dogs the game we attended. We’re not sure if the Ballpark does that for every game, but we can speak from experience that the “K” doesn’t. The Royals have Buck Night most Friday nights, and that includes $1 hot dogs, peanuts, and soft drinks.
Best Bike parking – Houston We went to Bike to the Astros Game day at Minute Maid Park. There were hundreds of participants who biked to the stadium and the bike parking was fully staffed and safe. What a great way to show love for cyclists. Let’s do this every game!