2019 Baseball Stadium Tour -- American Family Fields of Phoenix

The hubby and I headed back to spring training again this year. It is a break from the cold and snow of Wisconsin. We wanted to see the Brewers as well. We planned on seeing them a few times both home and on the road.. along with the Dodgers.

Our first day in Phoenix brought us to the newly renovated American Family Fields of Phoenix otherwise known as Maryvale Baseball Park. We got to the park relatively early and since the minor league players weren't in camp yet there wasn't much going on. All the practice fields were quiet. They didn't look much different than last year.

They did add giant statues of all the retired numbers plus Uecker and Selig on the walk up to the gate and a new sign welcoming you to the American Family Fields of Phoenix.

The press boxes are above the gates. While we were waiting we saw Uecker enter the press box as well as the Bill Schroeder, who waved to the crowd.

The Brewers may have done a multi-million dollar upgrade to their spring training complex but that was mainly for the players. The fan experience really wasn't upgraded. Yes, they took out the bleacher seats and gave us stadium seats but that's about it. There is still very limited shade in the stadium, which is not good if you're a pasty white Midwestern that has some issues with the heat. Luckily when the heat got to me, there was shade to stand in. However, there is no shade in the seating bowl. Maybe they will upgrade that next year.

Our friendly beer man

Food options really didn't seem to change. They wanted $9 for a scoop of mac and cheese. It was really worth of $5. The best part was the free samples of kettle corn. For some unknown reason the Brewers really love to unscrew the cap to my water and keep it... this does not bode well with a klutz. Luckily I didn't manage to spill or knock of my bottle of water.

Since we were at spring training a week earlier than last year, we didn't always get to see the "big names." However, Yelich played all the games and we saw Cain, Shaw, Moose, Thames, and Grandal at least once. Hader pitched two games. It was great seeing all the big names getting in the game for at least a bit.

Being close to the bullpens, we got to see Hader and company warm up. You know you've got a big time pitcher when you hear the "whomp" of the ball hitting the glove during warm-ups. Hader delivers a big whomp.

Hader warming up

Despite not having a lot of shade, it is still a nice park to watch a game especially if it's not too hot. We will be back next year and hoping it will be another winning season this year.