Like most ballparks these days, PNC Park in Pittsburgh has some great samples of local flavors…I’ve talked about the Primanti Bros. sandwich and BRGR stuff here and PNC has several attached restaurants too. But they’re hardly your only choices…here’s a few more great PNC Park food options:

BBQ sliders, beans, slaw, and a handshake from a Pirates great.

PNC Park Food Options, #1) Manny’s BBQ Platters. Longtime Bucs fans of course remember Manny Sanguillen, the star catcher of the great 1970s Pirates teams. Today Manny sits behind the counter and signs autographs for people patronizing his BBQ stand, like Boog Powell does in Baltimore.

Manny’s is located in the Riverwalk area in center field. Their burgers are grilled on smokers in full view behind the counter and across the aisle. You’ll love the smell. Loaded burgers especially get good reviews, and the platters with beans and slaw offer decent bang for your ballpark buck.

Anyone want my extra pierogi?

PNC Park Food Options, #2) The Pulled Pork Pierogi Stacker. Manny’s (and the Familee BBQ stand in Pops Plaza) is also home to the Pierogi Stacker, which was pulled pork with onion relish, barbecue sauce and pierogies—yes, pierogies—piled on it and sandwiched between two soft pretzel rolls. It’s vintage Pittsburgh.

Such a sandwich would probably require a fork and napkins to eat, and it’s probably not the healthiest thing, but who cares. At least you’re not likely to be hungry afterward.

Well worth the sugar crash afterward.

PNC Park Food Options, #3) Menchie’s Frozen Yogurt. Menchie’s frozen yogurt is pretty popular; the chain has locations all over the world. And one in PNC Park.

The PNC outpost almost looks like you can help yourself (but no, it’s not free); pick a cone or a cup, fill it with vanilla or chocolate yogurt and then top it with a great selection of toppings including Reese’s pieces and crushed Oreos.

This is probably the fanciest dessert item outside of the Club areas; and the yogurt is kosher and gluten-free as they point out. I’ve tried Menchie’s and it’s awesome, especially for the price…highly recommended for dessert at PNC.

There you go…now you have more of an idea what you can eat at the Pirates game. Stay tuned, I’ll share more…

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One very cool thing about PNC Park in Pittsburgh is that because of its location, you have a choice of not just the free downtown buses and light rail (I talk a little bit about that here), but also some fun, romantic and greener ways to arrive at a Pirates game. For the best way to get to PNC Park without a car, check out one of these choices…

My friends at TickPick have Pirates tickets…they offer a best price guarantee, a buyer’s trust guarantee, and NO service fees. Sounds like a no-brainer to me!

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“And folks, if you look to your left, you’ll see…oh wait, here we are!”

Best way to get to PNC Park, #1) The Gateway Clipper. The Gateway Clipper folks have a fleet of inland riverboats that run folks from Station Square to the outfield entrance of PNC Park. The fee is reasonable and free for kids under 6. You can usually park in the West Lot at Station Square cheaply, so long as there isn’t a special event going on.

Clippers begin carrying passengers over two hours before the game starts, and begins return trips in the 7th inning until a half hour after the game (or ½ hour after postgame fireworks or kids running bases). The lines for the return trip can get long afterwards, so be prepared.

The Clipper is a fun and novel way to get to or from a ballgame; it’s also a cool romantic thing if you’re so inclined. Station Square is a happening spot, with stores, restaurants and hotels and a railroad car that can take you up the Monongahela Incline for a spectacular view of Pittsburgh.

Just try to get on the earliest boat, because they’ll sometimes wait until a boat is full before sending it, and this has made people late for games in the past.

Marketing fail: website address should always be dockside!

Best way to get to PNC Park, #2) Pittsburgh Water Limo. Coming from the Strip District area (east of the ballpark on the North Shore), Pittsburgh Luxury Cruises rows boatfuls of fans to Pirates games on weekends.

Prices are reasonable, and you can park for free or inexpensively at the Lockwall One Marina. Reservations are recommended; it only holds 49.

Three boat rides run a half hour apart starting 65 minutes before each game; boats start returning passengers to the marina starting at the 7th inning stretch and continuing a half hour after the game. They’ll also run boats after fireworks or a concert.

As if all that wasn’t cool enough, you can buy a beer or glass of wine on the boat, and probably cheaper than it would be inside the ballpark.

The Strip District is another happening part of Pittsburgh with eateries and nightlife. If you’re doing the whole ‘Burgh experience you can have breakfast at Deluca’s, ride a boat on the Allegheny and take in a Pirates game. Great for romantic outings if your other can stand baseball (and even my wife can do that in Pittsburgh).

Featuring a solar-powered station, for further carbon footprint reduction with your baseball!

Best way to get to PNC Park, #3) Ride your bicycle (or rent one). PNC Park isn’t a bad ballpark to two-wheel it; there are bicycle paths near the park, including a scenic route along the waterfront. Cyclists can use any of the bridges that connect the North Shore to Everywhere Else in Pittsburgh except for the I-579 Veterans Bridge. There are ample bicycle racks on Federal Street on the east side of the ballpark.

An organization called Bike Pittsburgh features a map of trails and dedicated bicycle lanes in the city on their website. If you’re using a car/bicycle combination, Bike Pittsburgh suggests parking for free at Washington’s Landing north in the Allegheny and using the North Shore Trail straight to the park.

You also have bicycle rental options in Pittsburgh; for a small fee, Healthy Ride bikeshare members can take a bike from various stations throughout the city and return it to another station.

Healthy Ride a few stations close to PNC; one is right at the ballpark at Federal and Isabella. You could also use the station on the North Shore Trail, a very pleasant ride along the waterfront, or Fort Duquesne and 7th if you’d like to walk across the Clemente Bridge for the amazing view.

From what I’ve read in reviews of Healthy Ride, which weren’t always flattering, it’s definitely a good idea to get everything set up as far as accounts and such before trying this.

Nothing like having the right of way in downtown.

Best way to get to PNC Park, #4) Take a rickshaw. For a novel way to avoid traffic, save gas, and be eco-friendly, Green Gears Pedicabs will pedal you in a bicycle rickshaw to PNC Park and back from most downtown locations. Just call them and tell them where you are, and they’ll send one.

You can even bring a reasonable amount of cargo, and the nice part is that you don’t have to wait for the driver on the phone in front of you to get moving.

Up to three can ride in a Pedicab, and the price is fairly reasonable for the experience (parking would be cheaper, but just saying), although they would probably like you to tip.

Baseball fans talk glowingly about the view in PNC Park, and rightly so, but I consider the multiple ways to arrive at the place a great plus too. For your next visit to PNC, try an unusual way to get there and experience more of a great city.

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Planning a trip to Pittsburgh? Save a bunch of money on hotels, flights and rental cars…book your trip with my friends at Hotwire! (It’s still Kurt’s favorite!)

Click here to start booking your trip to Pittsburgh and PNC Park today!

In the tradition of making ballparks more millennial friendly, the Yankees ripped out a bunch of seats for the 2017 season and created several new standing room options. This is in addition to the assigned standing room areas that already existed in the ballpark, so Yankee Stadium is now a much nicer place to wander around in after buying a cheap ticket.

You can now get a “Pinstripe Pass” standing room ticket, which is a very inexpensive ticket with your first beer or Pepsi product included. At ballpark prices, that’s almost like getting into the ballpark for free.

Standing room with bar stools and a counter isn’t so bad. Especially in the shade.

Yankee Stadium Standing Room Tip #1: Field Level. The reserved standing room tickets on the field level aren’t as bad a deal as you might think looking at the price (you can’t access this with a Pinstripe Pass). There are barstools and counters, and in most spots you have a pretty nice view of the field and scoreboard.

The Yankees call is “café seating”, and it’s restricted to ticket holders. Nice and shaded, and easy to run for a beer or garlic fries from your spot.

My friends at TickPick have Yankees tickets…they offer a best price guarantee, a buyer’s trust guarantee, and NO service fees. Sounds like a no-brainer to me!

Click here to order your Yankees tickets on TickPick!

Showing the last year you were able to get a Yankees ticket this cheap.

Yankee Stadium Standing Room Tip #2: Outfield Areas. The Yankees tore out the bleachers sections with obstructed views…a smart move given that fans lost half the view of the field there…and these are now standing room areas with their own bar, drink rails, and barstool seats.

You even have some specialty food and craft beer options with the money you’ve saved on your cheap ticket.

The best part is that these areas are close to the bullpens (the visitors bullpen is in left field), making it a great place to offer some friendly encouragement.

Anyone have a four-foot stool?

Yankee Stadium Standing Room Tip #3: Avoid The Terrace Level SRO. I don’t know if the Yankees sell standing room tickets that are designated for the Terrace level anymore, but just get a Pinstripe Pass instead and stake out a better spot.

The Terrace standing areas are behind the handicapped seating, which is almost always occupied, and you need to be about 11 feet tall if you want a decent view of the infield. You’ll probably dislike the view enough to move.

There’s three Yankee Stadium standing room tips for you…click here for more cheap seating options. Remember Yankee Stadium has open concourses, so should your spot not be everything you dreamed of, there are plenty of places to view the game from your feet.

Click here to read my complete guide to Yankee Stadium!

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Believe it or not, there are cheap seats at Yankee Stadium. They’re just farther from the field than in most ballparks. If you’re on a budget, you can actually find some decent deals, especially if you subscribe to the team newsletter.

Here are three levels of less expensive seats…click here to read about standing room options, or take a look at my highly detailed Yankee Stadium seating guide!

I wonder what the poor folks are doing in the rows behind me…

Cheap Seats at Yankee Stadium, Tip #1: The Terrace Level. The seats on the lower tier of the upper level cost considerably more than the Grandstand seats, and there aren’t too many of them in the infield, those being the “Jim Beam suite seats”.

Considering that seats a few rows behind them can be almost half of the price, at full price it might not be worth it. But the Yankees do offer deals on these seats, including occasional $5 seat nights. (Their newsletter will alert you to these coveted events.)

For the moment the Yankees have turned Sections 305-306…the two sections all the way out in right field…into “All You Care to Eat” sections. It’s just dogs, sausages, pretzels and Pepsi products, but that’s baseball food. If you’re not picky it can save you a few bucks.

My friends at TickPick have Yankees tickets…they offer a best price guarantee, a buyer’s trust guarantee, and NO service fees. Sounds like a no-brainer to me!

Click here to order your Yankees tickets on TickPick!

Yes, it’s far, but you can pretend to crush opposing players with two fingers.

Cheap Seats at Yankee Stadium, Tip #2, The Grandstand. Grandstand upper deck seats cost about the same as the Bleacher seats, but with less noise and a nice panoramic view of the ballpark and amazing Jumbotron. Grandstand seats are pretty well up there though, higher than in most ballparks.

The Yankees’ website will mark some tickets as “obstructed view”, meaning there could be a railing or traffic in front of you. Usually it’s not terrible enough to reject the tickets if you have no other option.

Yankee Stadium has 16 elevators, eight of which are in the Great Hall, so no need to trek all the way up the lengthy ramps or stairs. You won’t wait long for an elevator. You will need to ascend a flight of stairs to get to your seats though, so keep this in mind if you have mobility issues.

Helpful ads make it easy to find your section.

Cheap Seats at Yankee Stadium, Tip #3: The Bleachers. The Yankees brought the bleacher seats from the original Stadium…hard metal, backless and all, although they are now placed behind bullpens or more expensive field seats.

Seats in right field are home of the Bleacher Creatures and the nightly “roll call”, chanting each player’s name at the start of the game until the player acknowledges them. The Bleacher Creatures are in Sections 202-203.

Bleacher seats are among the cheapest seats in the Stadium, but the view isn’t terrible and you are close to the bullpens. This is New York, though, and the right field bleachers probably aren’t a place for someone with rabbit ears or opposing team’s gear. Left field might be a better place for the family.

It can get very hot during day games here, as you can imagine. Good to bring a hat and sunscreen.

Want to know about getting tickets, parking and food at Yankee Stadium? Check out my complete Yankee Stadium guide!

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The short answer to whether you can bring food into Yankee Stadium is yes, you can. The Yankees allow a 16*16*8 soft-sided bag with just about anything you want, save for alcoholic beverages and anything that can be used as a projectile. Slice your apples.

But since Ballpark E-Guides always takes the extra base for readers, I’m offering a few suggestions here for getting your pre-game feedbag on before going into Yankee Stadium (read this to choose your parking spot accordingly):

The people in the Legends seats pay four digits to eat like this.

Bring Food Into Yankee Stadium, Tip #1: The Bullpen Deli. The Bullpen Deli has a terrific selection of food stuffs for your sandwich or wrap, and some of the sandwiches have Yankee-themed names like the Steinbrenner Blast or the Yankee Fajita. The sandwiches/wraps are very affordable, and if you want you can order a container of pepper steak or something like that. Good salads by most accounts too, and good portions all. Boar’s Head meats, just like in the Stadium, but for much less.

The Bullpen is the home of the Twin Donut shop, so you can add donuts to your bag. The donuts aren’t anything super special (Online folks say the Crown Diner is better for sweets), but if Dunkin or Krispy is good enough for you, these should be just fine.

My friends at TickPick have Yankees tickets…they offer a best price guarantee, a buyer’s trust guarantee, and NO service fees. Sounds like a no-brainer to me!

Click here to order your Yankees tickets on TickPick!

Yes, there is sufficient “B” in the Turkey BLT.

Bring Food Into Yankee Stadium, Tip #2: The Court Deli. The aptly named Court Deli (it’s near the Bronx Courthouse) was recommended to me by the inimitable Gary Herman, money-saving sports fan extraordinaire. It’s not what you’d call gourmet dining, but you can get a pretty good-sized pastrami sandwich for far less than what you’d pay inside the ballpark.

The Court Deli is about a block and a half away from the Stadium…just enough so that it gets a little but not too crowded on game days. You can get your sandwich here without too long a wait before gametime.

Breakfast is an unfairly overlooked component of baseball fan sustenance.

Bring Food Into Yankee Stadium, Tip #3: The New Stadium Gourmet Deli. Catchy name, eh? If you’re going to a day game there are breakfast sandwiches in this place, which are good-sized and built on croissants, bagels or whatever. But the lunch sandwiches are no slouch either, with fairly hefty amounts of meat in a submarine or panini roll.

Again, all for an affordable price. I might prefer the Bullpen or Court Deli for lunch, but if you’ve got a hankering for an authentic NYC bagel breakfast sandwich before a day game, this might be your spot.

Super cheap peanuts, on the opposite street corner from the Stadium. Do the Yankees even know???

There are also plenty of hot dog and halal food (!) carts, including a couple of carts selling honey roasted almonds and cashews, as good a ballgame snack as any. By all means get your bottled waters out here at one of these…they’re usually a dollar compared to a finski inside. Get a few, you’ll be thirsty.

There’s a few ways for you to eat cheaply at Yankee Stadium, but you can also eat very well inside the ballpark too. Have a look at my detailed Yankee Stadium food guide, or check out my complete Yankee Stadium guide for all of the info you need!

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If you love nachos with your baseball (and who doesn’t?) the home of the Indians will make you very happy. There’s not only three types of Progressive Field nachos, they’re all very different and great in their own way.

Here they are, in order of my personal preference, but your mileage may vary. (If you’re planning a trip to Cleveland for a Guardians game, check out my complete guide to Progressive Field!)

That’s what nachos need folks…lots of ingredients.

Progressive Field Nachos, #1) Barrio. Barrio is a Tremont-based eatery that is mostly about handmade tacos, crafted by a team of experts before your eyes. But they also make a truly awesome…and large…plate of nachos.

Barrio makes a big plate of chips with melted and shredded cheese, several types of salsas, and extra chicken or chorizo for a small fee. It’s easily enough for two, and reasonably priced for a ballpark.

The chips are salty though, so be sure to get a drink with them.

My friends at TickPick have Guardians tickets…they offer a best price guarantee, a buyer’s trust guarantee, and NO service fees. Sounds like a no-brainer to me!

Click here to order your Guardians tickets on TickPick!

Not just sour cream…cilantro-lime cream. This is a ballpark, remember?

Progressive Field Nachos, #2) Momocho. Ohio City based Momocho is more focused on nachos and quesadillas, and their chips are made to order and heated in a giant rotisserie oven.

Toppings include chicken, pulled pork, or chorizo, with pickled jalapenos, green salsa and a cilantro lime cream that both tastes and looks nice. And you can get extra queso or beans.

The chips are less salty here than at Barrio, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t wash it down with a Luchador.

Just in case you were wondering if anyone had red salsa.

Progressive Field Nachos, #3) Locos Nachos. They aren’t a locally based brand like the two heavyweight nachos at the Prog, but that doesn’t mean you should dismiss them.

At Locos you can get a perfectly adequate plate of beef, pork or chicken nachos, with Blanco cheese and red or green salsa. You can even add BBQ of Buffalo sauce, which doesn’t hurt Locos as a nacho choice.

It might be cheaper than the other two too, but don’t hold me to that. It is a place where you can get nachos without waiting in line, though.

That’s three excellent brands of chips with stuff piled on at Progressive Field in Cleveland. But the place has a great selection of other Cleveland based stuff too, like Happy Dogs, Ohio City Burritos, Melt grilled cheeses and much more. The food selection alone at the Prog is worth the price of the ticket.

Planning a trip to Cleveland? Save a bunch of money on hotels, flights and rental cars…book your trip with my friends at Hotwire! (It’s still Kurt’s favorite!)

Click here to start booking your trip to Cleveland and Progressive Field today!

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The Detroit Tigers are a pretty wallet and family friendly team by baseball standards. There are quite a few ways to score cheap Tigers tickets and enjoy an affordable game at Comerica Park.

Here are just three recommendations courtesy of Ballpark E-Guides:

There will be someone here. Honest.

Cheap Tigers Tickets, Tip #1) Join The Club. The Tigers have a fan club for kids, but I only see team newsletters for adults…but those newsletters often feature some great deals, so that’s well worth signing up for.

Membership in the fan club includes some gear, a newsletter with discounted ticket offers, and some buy-one-get-one vouchers. If you’re flexible about which games you can attend, the discounts will probably be worth the cost of membership, and you get some cool stuff too.

Just in case you didn’t know, Comerica Bank is a fairly big sponsor.

Cheap Tigers Tickets, Tip #2) Use Your Comerica Card. If you have an account with Comerica Bank, you can use it to get discounts on tickets. It’s only a few bucks, but customers get some other perks too (it used to include discounts at Cheli’s Bar, but since Cheli’s is no more maybe there’s something else). The Tigers will even let you use a separate, line-free entrance. Check with your bank and see if they have other offers…

And no, no one tosses their extras into the bucket. I checked.

Cheap Tigers Tickets, Tip #3) Get Your Monthly Pass. If you can make it to six or seven games in a month’s time…even in July…the Tigers offer a monthly pass for your smartphone that allows you to go to every game that month. Great for savings, say, when the Yankees or another divisional rival is in town…see the whole series at an affordable price. The Tigers will let you upgrade your seats on occasion too.

There’s three helpful tips for landing some cheap tickets for a game at beautiful Comerica Park in Detroit. Stay tuned, I’ll be posting more ways to save money here…

(Note: this article contains affiliate links. If you use an affiliate link to make a purchase, Ballpark E-Guides earns a commission, at no extra cost to you. Thanks for your support!)

There are four bona fide Comerica Park restaurants, as in conveniently located, inside the ballpark sit-down eateries. Before (and sometimes after) the game, fans can enjoy a meal and a drink or two with a view, or at least with TVs to watch.

Here are four places to get your sit down grub on at Comerica:

No, you can’t leave your peanut shells on the floor.

Comerica Park Restaurants, #1) The Beer Hall. The Beer Hall is on the corner of Montcalm and Brush Street, and it was something of a tucked away secret entrance in the past to avoid main entrance lines (you might still be able to try it). It has a 70-foot bar and wooden picnic tables, for that baseball festive atmosphere.

The menu features grilled Angus burgers, Philly cheesesteaks, and pulled pork sandwiches, and there are lots of local and domestic beers on tap, hence the name.

It’s not actually Tiger Stadium.

Comerica Park Restaurants, #2) The Corner Tap Room. The Corner is located near the main entrance with the big tiger statue. It’s dedicated to the memory of Tiger Stadium, with pictures and memorabilia and such. They have indoor and outdoor dining here, but the outdoor option is on a sidewalk in a parking lot, so the indoor option with the cool décor is better.

At the Corner you can choose from an “urban bistro” style menu; last I checked they had a grilled PB&J (!) and a footlong bacon-wrapped dog. Could be different by the time you visit, but I can tell you it’s fancier stuff than most ballpark food.

Because when you think BBQ, you think Fox Sports Detroit.

Comerica Park Restaurants, #3) The Brushfire Grill. The Brushfire is sponsored by Fox Sports as I write this, but it changes a lot. I think it might be called the 313 BBQ by now. It’s mostly just a food court with a big food stand on the side, but that counts.

At the Brushfire there is a pork and beef brisket smoker for above-average BBQ sandwiches, along with burgers and dogs. Get a basket value meal with slaw, chips and a pickle.

They’ve got black bean veggie burgers too, so you can sell it to your vegetarian friends.

Featuring three TVs to distract you from the absence of bartenders!

Comerica Park Restaurants, #4) The Miller Lite Pitcher’s Pub. You have to go upstairs and in the outfield for this one, so you can work up an appetite just getting there.

The Miller Lite Pitcher’s Pub is a larger sit-down eatery with a full bar; the menu is mostly fancy appetizers named for pitching phrases…the “Intentional Walk” is sloppy Joe stuffed potato skins with queso and scallions, for example.

The Pub is good for just getting a snack on, and you can hang out outside at the nearby Pepsi Porch afterward. And still have an appetite left over for this stuff.

There you go; four restaurants at Comerica Park with something to offer for everyone. If you want to know about what to eat inside the ballpark, check out this post.

(Note: this article contains affiliate links. If you use an affiliate link to make a purchase, Ballpark E-Guides earns a commission, at no extra cost to you. Thanks for your support!)

Every baseball fan should make the trip to visit PNC Park, but it’s also a second home to thousands of Bucs fans…at least the ones remaining following the trades of Andrew McCutchen and Gerrit Cole. But it’s still baseball, and we’re all looking for cheap Pirates tickets, right?

Here are just three tips for saving money on Pirates tickets from Ballpark E-Guides, but of course read this and this to help pick your seats.  And remember, there’s plenty more where that came from…

You can get this info without actually coming to the ballpark.

Cheap Pirates Tickets, Tip #1) Subscribe to Ticket Alerts. The Pirates e-mail newsletter contains a lot of great ticket offers, and on occasion the Pirates will waive ticket fees, saving you a trip to the box office. You’ll also know about giveaways, concert nights and fireworks nights, and the fireworks nights are popular enough to get your tickets well in advance.

The Pirates also make pre-sales available to subscribers, giving you a chance to land tickets for face value when high value opponents like the Cubs come to town.

See what they did there with the two baseball references?

Cheap Pirates Tickets, Tip #2) Check Out Local Institutions. There are quite a few chains and businesses in Pittsburgh that offer ticket deals for Pirates fans.

As this is written, PNC Bank cardholders get discounts on tickets and fan club memberships; Giant Eagle cardholders get discounts for weeknight games; and Slice offers a family pack with tickets and pizza (and it’s great pizza…take it from a South Jersey pizza snob) at a discounted price. These things are all listed on the Pirates website.

As opposed to using “jiu jitsu” to get your Pirates tickets…

Cheap Pirates Tickets, Tip #3) Get The Spring Pass. This one’s for locals who can go to a bunch of games. The Pirates offer a pass that you download on your phone that gives you access to every home game in a certain month, in this case April and May, for a fantastic price. If you’d like to see all of the Cubs games in a certain month, that alone will almost pay for this.

These passes sell out fast, so make sure that you’re subscribed to the Pirates newsletter to jump on it when it’s available.

There’s a few ways to save a few bucks on Pirates tickets; there are, of course, many other ways to enjoy a Pirates game at PNC Park without striking out your wallet buying tickets, parking or food. Stay tuned.

(Note: this article contains affiliate links. If you use an affiliate link to make a purchase, Ballpark E-Guides earns a commission, at no extra cost to you. Thanks for your support!)

There are four PNC Park restaurants…and when I say “PNC Park restaurants”, I don’t mean restaurants near PNC Park, I mean that there are actually four eateries attached to the ballpark, with entrances on Federal Street.

These are bona fide grub stops that are popular on game days, and with overall food quality inside the otherwise spectacular Pittsburgh ballpark (it’s not that bad, but it could be better), they make a good choice for a pre- or post-game meal, with the outdoor dining and all that.

Here are your Federal Street choices…

You have to step outside for this view, but at least there’s a drink rail.

PNC Park Restaurants, #1) The Left Field Club. It changes sponsors frequently…it’s the Jim Beam Left Field Lounge as I write this…but it has an entrance on Federal Street and the indoor sit-down restaurant sits behind the right field bleachers. Unfortunately with the new standing room space added there isn’t much of view of the field these days, but it’s still a pleasant atmosphere.

Menu items include Pittsburgh-style salads, the “pulled pork pierogie hoagie” with pork, potato and cheese pierogies with crispy onions on a bun, and for health nuts a vegan burger with secret sauce. Lots of vegan and gluten-free choices here in fact…it’s a good place to get your healthy grub on.

There’s great brews and Jim Beam drinks available, and best of all, drink prices drop significantly after the game.

It may get crowded, but hey…Iron City beer.

PNC Park Restaurants, #2) Atria’s. Atria’s is a sports bar with several locations in Pittsburgh; their PNC outpost is a small tavern inside but has tables and bartenders on the Federal Street sidewalk. Before games you can get a beer on Federal Street that is not cheap but cheaper than it will be during the game.

Atria’s menu is tavern-style grub; burgers, steak and seafood entrees, etc. Most people in the online universe are happy with the size of the burgers. There are TVs in the bar if you’d like to watch the game from there.

Pro tip! The Pirates give out a free program called “Inside Pitch”…check your program for coupons for Atria’s or other nearby joints.

NOTE FROM KURT: I’ve recently learned that Atria’s has departed from their PNC Park location, I don’t yet know what is replacing it. Will update this when I can…

Is there a food on earth that looks more enticing on display?

PNC Park Restaurants, #3) Slice On Broadway. South Hills-based Slice replaced Diamond as the PNC Park pizza shop in 2016; and it was a good choice. Slice’s New York-style pizza has been voted Best Pizza in Pittsburgh by several periodicals, including Pittsburgh Magazine.

It looks just like any pizza shop, but the slices are large and tasty, and they have other terrific menu items like strombolis and hoagies. If you go before the ballpark’s gates open, it’s priced very reasonably, but with an entrance into the ballpark, you can go there for a slice during the game in a ballpark strangely devoid of a pizza stand. (They serve Fox’s pizza den inside, but it isn’t heavily advertised.)

Unfortunately prices rise after the ballpark gates open, but Slice is well worth a visit if you’re a pizza fan.

If you get it to go, skip the salsa…

PNC Park Restaurants, #4) Steel Cactus. Didn’t mean to put Steel Cactus last, since they’re perfectly good. Steel Cactus gives baseball fans what they need at PNC; a burritos and tacos option. The Federal Street entrance leads to a full restaurant and bar, and you have a choice of burritos and tacos with an impressive selection of stuffings.

It’s probably not a place to go if you’re looking for the most authentic Mexican food experience, but for a pre- or post-game meal it’s more than adequate. Burritos are nicely sized and reasonably priced and they have tasty salsas.

Steel Cactus is mostly a sit-down restaurant, but they do have a window in Highmark Legacy Square where you can order a burrito.

There’s some of what you need to know about the Federal Street restaurants at PNC Park, a lesser known part of the Pittsburgh baseball experience. Of course, they have food inside the ballpark too…

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Doing PNC Park with kids? Great idea…it’s a great time to expose them to baseball in one of the planet’s most beautiful settings for it. When the Pirates are competitive, it’s plenty exciting, but it’s a pretty fun experience (and cheaper) even when the Bucs linger near the bottom of the NL Central.

If you’re bringing the kids to PNC Park, here are a few things you should know about.

Oh no, this isn’t nightmare fuel…yeesh.

PNC Park With Kids, Tip #1) Go on Sunday. Sunday is by far the best day of the week for kids at PNC. Federal Street north of the ballpark is already closed to traffic, and on Sunday it becomes the Giant Eagle Fan Zone, with inflatable rides, face painting and a bunch of other stuff for the kids.

Sundays are also kids run the bases days, where the little ones can run around the infield after the game. This is a very popular promotion, which brings me to PNC Park With Kids Tip #2…

I’m so proud of my little Bucaroo…

PNC Park With Kids, Tip #2) Join the Bucaroos. By all means have your kid enrolled in the Pirates Bucaroos fan club. There are free memberships that include tickets and buy-one-get-one offers, but the paid membership is well worth the few extra bucks: four tickets and front of the line privileges on run the bases days.

The kids also get cool Pirates stuff like a bedroom sign and parrot blanket with the paid membership. They’ll treasure it forever.

It’s more popular than it looks. I was early.

PNC Park With Kids, Tip #3) The Kids Play Area. The Pirates have built a respectable kids play area in the right field corner of the ballpark (keep this in mind choosing seats, incidentally). There’s a wiffle ball field and slides and such, and it’s a place where the kids can burn off energy before the game. If you want to be the first ones there, try going in through the much lesser used right field gate.

Oh, one other thing…don’t forget that there’s a Bucaroos food stand in the left field corner, with smaller portions and prices for kids. Bonus tip at no extra charge!

There you go…some helpful things to know for your next Pirates game with the little ones. Stay tuned for more tips, I got a million of ’em.

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I wouldn’t say that the home of the Blue Jays tops the list in ballparks known for culinary greatness, although they have definitely improved things in recent years. But that there are several different editions of Rogers Centre nachos is impressive to me; chips with stuff piled on them go over pretty well here.

Here are three places where you can get a piled mess of food on chips at the ballpark in Toronto:

With a helpful listing of the ingredients, just in case.

Rogers Centre Nachos, #1) The Muddy York Market. The Muddy York is the large food court at Rogers, and there’s a separate nachos stand where you can actually customize your plate of nachos.

Get a plate of smoked jerk chicken nachos with cheddar cheese sauce, pico de gallo, cole slaw (!), green onions and infused sour cream. Or pile on your own stuff, with toppings like cheese, chicken, salsa, corn, jalapenos, etc. Sour cream and guacamole cost extra (as always)…

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Nachos with the visual enhancement of smoked meat sitting behind them.

Rogers Centre Nachos, #2) The King Club. At the Budweiser King Club bar area behind home plate is a carved meat station, and you can order “Bases Loaded Nachos”. These babies are covered with beef brisket, BBQ sauce, jalapenos, caramelized onions, pico de gallo, three bean chili (!), and something called “pepper infused sour cream”.

The Muddy York Market has BBQ nachos too, but they’re not as BBQ, if that makes sense.

Please don’t spit these at the umpire.

Rogers Centre Nachos, #3) The 12 Kitchen. The 12 Kitchen is named for star Jays (and Orioles!) second baseman and Hall of Famer Roberto Alomar, and has more of a Latin theme in its food. 12 nachos are made with a mix of plantain and tortilla chips (and rightly so, personally I don’t get the kettle chips thing), covered with adobo spiced chicken, queso franco, guacamole, sour cream and green onions.

They’re kind of Christmasy looking nachos, aren’t they?

Rogers Centre Nachos, #4) Intentional Guac. The Intentional Guac stand is located on the upper level as I write this, sparing SkyDeck patrons a trip down long ramps to the other nachos. And they’re perfectly serviceable nachos in their own right. It’s the gooey cheese type substance and un-pickled jalapenos, but you do get pico de gallo, beans and corn on them. And appropriately given the name of the stand, guac is available too.

The ingredients for these nachos plates could change when you visit, but as I write this these are the three distinct food stands where you can get some variation of nachos at Rogers Centre. It’s among the more popular non-hot dog foods inside this ballpark…but many fans go for the street meat outside too.

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Since the home of the White Sox is surrounded mostly by parking lots, the nearby scene is known far more for above average tailgating than a slew of eateries. (There are a few decent watering holes nearby though, contrary to popular myth.) That said, there are several Guaranteed Rate Field restaurants – as in attached to or inside the ballpark. Here are three worth noting:

“Wait! I’ve just realized we can see the game live right next door!”

Guaranteed Rate Field Restaurants, #1) The ChiSox Bar & Grill. The nice thing about the ChiSox Bar & Grill attached to the ballpark is being able to enjoy a meal before or after the game, without having to move your car.

The ChiSox draws a good crowd and the bar on the lower level gets pretty crowded. The food is popular among fans: burgers, tacos, sandwiches and appetizers like jalapeno cheddar hush puppies and pork nachos…and of course, wash it down with Big Hurt Beer. The ChiSox has appetizer specials on game days.

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This is about as good a spot for outdoor dining as you’ll find in Chicago.

Guaranteed Rate Field Restaurants, #2) The Craft Kave. The White Sox turned the Miller Lite Bullpen Sports Bar into the much more tasteful Craft Kave…it’s actually a party area with seating in right field and a full bar underneath.

It used to be for groups, but you can now enter the Craft Kave and not only choose from over 70 Chicago area craft brews, but also some truly incredible craft burgers like the “Veeck as in Wreck” burger with two patties and onion rings piled on, or the “Wild Pitch” with mushrooms and Swiss. There’s even a White Sox staffer that helps you choose the perfect brew to go with your burgers. Amazeballs.

Be sure to have someone on lookout for people trying to snag your seats.

Guaranteed Rate Field Restaurants, #3) Xfinity Zone. The Xfinity Zone in the lower right field concourse is a great spot for a sit down meal. There’s no view of the game, but there are plenty of TVs and you’re bound to be pretty close to one.

The menu includes superlative deli-style sandwiches such as the Ultimate Turkey Club and the Supreme Corned Beef, along with dogs, sausages and fried pickles and such. There’s a full bar with mixed drinks and domestic or craft brews.

There’s much more food at Guaranteed Rate Field to choose from…like the Comiskey Dogs and elotes, but this should help you choose a sit down spot in the absence of a nearby restaurant.

Want some more tips for your next White Sox game? Click here for useful Guaranteed Rate Field advice, and don’t forget to Follow Ballpark E-Guides on Facebook for useful knowledge at your favorite ballpark!

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With the team at or near the top of the AL Central often these days, cheap Guardians tickets can be harder to come by. But you still have some ways to save a few bucks on tickets – here are three courtesy of Ballpark E-Guides. If you want to choose from the cheaper seats, check this out…and if you’re planning a Guardians game, be sure to read my complete Progressive Field guide!

The fire pit is a chick magnet. Especially in April.

Cheap Guardians Tickets, Tip #1) Brave The April Cold. Cleveland weather being what it is, the team doesn’t generally draw big crowds for April games, especially on weeknights with dynamic pricing. This is a great time of year to save on Club tickets or tickets with access to the Home Plate Club, and you can duck out of the cold in the club.

You can also order a cheap ticket and move to the upstairs section of the Corner bar, and move to the fire pit between innings. And who knows, it might not be that cold that night. I’ve gone to April games in Cleveland that weren’t too bad.

Nothing like a broken-in baseball glove.

Cheap Guardians Tickets, Tip #2) Take The Volunteer Challenge. The Guardians sometimes offer tickets and other rewards to philanthropic sorts; you can sometimes score tickets by donating cans of food or a used glove.

If you give your time through the team’s Volunteer Challenge, you can reap some rewards when you build up a number of volunteer hours, including game tickets. Who says good deeds aren’t appreciated? Not the Guardians!

You can find opportunities like this in the Community section of the Guardians’ website.

Just in case there is no one at the window.

Cheap Guardians Tickets, Tip #3) Eschew The Fees. If you know a game probably won’t sell out (see the April tip above), try getting your tickets at the box office or the team shop rather than online…with multiple tickets especially, you can save a considerable chunk of online fee change.

The only exception is the District Ticket, which is only available online. Bonus tip: the Guardians sometimes waive ticket fees and will tell you so in their e-mail ticket alerts; that’s the time to snag those District Tickets.

My friends at TickPick have Guardians tickets…they offer a best price guarantee, a buyer’s trust guarantee, and NO service fees. Sounds like a no-brainer to me!

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Cheap Indians Tickets, Tip #4) Bonus Tip: Try TickPick. TickPick is my favorite third party outlet for Guardians tickets, and I’m not just saying that because they’re an affiliate. I frequently find better deals there than on StubHub, and there’s no fees!

There you go; three ways (+1!) for you to land some possibly cheaper tickets to see the Cleveland Guardians. Stay tuned, I’ll post more.

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The short answer to the question for thrifty fans is yes, you can bring food into Wrigley Field from outside. The Cubs allow a 16*16*8 soft-sided bag (which is pretty big), so long as it doesn’t contain alcohol or projectiles. The Friendly Confines does have some great Chicago style grub (which I talk about in this truly informative Wrigley Field food post) but sometimes it’s good to save a few bucks too.

So what does this mean for you? In addition to bringing in peanuts and bottled water, which is easy to find anywhere outside, including at the Addison Red Line station, you have a few places near the ballpark to load up on Cubs game sustenance. This can help you choose an ideal parking spot, incidentally.

So Who Makes Food I Can Bring Into Wrigley Field?

Here are three suggestions if McDonald’s, Taco Bell or Subway doesn’t light up your palate:

Is there an “unofficial” hot dog of the Cubs?

Bring Food Into Wrigley Field, Stop #1) Wrigleysville Dogs. Yes, that’s an “S” in the name. Probably some legal thing. Wrigleysville Dogs is a few steps north of the ballpark on Clark Street, and it’s a great place for super cheap grub – like that classic Chicago dog dragged through the garden.

You can park in their lot too, if you’re early enough, but that part isn’t cheap.

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Translation: “Mexican Burrito”. I’m betting it took all night to come up with that name.

Bring Food Into Wrigley Field, Stop #2) El Burrito Mexicano. This tiny but authentic joint is right there at the foot of the Red Line station, and you can get yourself an easy-to-carry burrito to bring inside. (Burritos are an underrated ballpark food IMHO.)

Again, super cheap, but keep in mind that it’s cash only and very popular with fans. Get there early before it gets packed if you can.

The store is just a block away from the ballpark.

Bring Food Into Wrigley Field, Stop #3) Nuts On Clark. There is actually a Nuts On Clark outpost inside Wrigley Field as of this writing, but you can order your gourmet popcorn right there at the store on Clark Street, and it’s cheaper than in the ballpark and has a wider selection.

It’s a very short walk from Wrigley, but it’s only open during the day, so use this one for day games.

There’s three outside choices in Wrigleyville for fans bringing in their own grub. But there’s a pretty impressive menu inside the ballpark that you’ll want to know about too…

Want to know more about the Friendly Confines? Check out this complete guide to Wrigley Field, with everything you need to know!

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When it comes to the best way to get to Camden Yards, you have enough options. Driving and parking generally isn’t too bad, at least by downtown ballpark standards, and if you book ahead of time.

But for most Orioles games, I prefer to use the MTA Light Rail, for several reasons:

(Pssst…interested in knowing everything about Oriole Park? Check out my complete guide to Camden Yards here!)

Don’t be intimidated. It’s very nice.

1) MTA Light Rail is cheap. It’s less than four bucks as of this writing round trip to use the streetcar, and parking at most stations outside of the city is free.

You won’t likely find decent parking at the ballpark that cheap…and on top of that, driving to the ballpark in that notorious Baltimore congestion can use up a lot of gas.

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With a helpful photo of the ballpark!

2) MTA Light Rail is convenient. Park for free, hop on the streetcar, and get dropped off right there just a few steps from the gate. You can even use nearby stops to get on or off; the Convention Center and Hamburg stations are still closer than most ballpark parking.

The Light Rail runs frequently enough that you won’t have to wait long before or after the game; for big attendance games you might have a to wait a car or two. Try using the nearby stations in the opposite direction of where you’re headed…your chances of having a seat are better that way.

Sure…how slow could an Interstate highway be?

3) MTA Light Rail avoids traffic. Maybe I should have ranked this higher. If you’re driving in from I-83, traffic north of the ballpark in the city is brutal, especially in the evening when the Inner Harbor gets hopping. The streetcar may take some time trudging through the red lights, but at least you know it will get there. Sometimes when you’re sitting in that downtown Charm City gridlock, you’re not sure.

For the best way to get to Camden Yards, you can’t beat the convenience and price of the Light Rail system. But there are lots of other ways, including by boat or bicycle, and you do have some cheap parking options if you do decide to drive your car.

Want to know more about Camden Yards? Sign up here for my completely free Oriole Park e-mail newsletter series, and score some seriously valuable info about tickets, seating, transportation and food…see you at the Yard!

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When the Pale Hose struggle at the gate, there are numerous ways to find yourself some cheap White Sox tickets. Here are a few of my favorite tips.

They’re very nice people here, but check your inbox first.

Cheap White Sox Tickets, Tip #1) Get Team Ticket Alerts. I recommend this for every team, but the White Sox in particular offer very nice deals to their e-mail subscribers: monthly ballpark passes, flash sales of 200 or so tickets at a very nice price, and a “Sox Save of The Week”. No need to pay face price, especially when you can be flexible about when you go. Click here to sign up…

“I don’t know about the window with no line. What if it’s for farm vehicles?”

Cheap White Sox Tickets, Tip #2) Use The Box Office. Except for Opening Day and Cubs games, most White Sox games don’t sell out, and there’s no online fee for buying tickets at the box office. If you’re buying multiple tickets especially, the online fees add up, and they’re not necessary. Just go on game day and get tickets there.

You don’t have to work quite so hard to get in the ballpark.

Cheap White Sox Tickets, Tip #3) Donate Blood Or Something. The White Sox hold community events and they offer free or discounted tickets to charitable groups…more so than most teams. Check the community and group tickets section of their website, because you may find a great deal for philanthropic sorts.

My friends at TickPick have White Sox tickets…they offer a best price guarantee, a buyer’s trust guarantee, and NO service fees. Sounds like a no-brainer to me!

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Cheap White Sox Tickets, Bonus Tip!) Try TickPick! My friends at TickPick usually have great deals on White Sox tickets, and I’m not just saying that because they’re an affiliate of mine. Click here to check out their inventory of White Sox tickets…but remember that you can’t print them now. 

There’s three ways to save money on White Sox tickets, but there’s plenty more deals out there…stay tuned. If you’d like to know some things about seating here, check this out.

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What you pay for Camden Yards parking at Orioles games generally depends on where you’re coming from…spots north of the ballpark tend to command a higher price, being closer to the nightlife and more ritzy hotels.

So if you’d like to go cheap parking at Camden Yards, and go for an easier out too, here are a few spots south of the ballpark that may work better for you:

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Don’t be confused by the alphabet soup. Use F, G, or H.

Cheap Parking at Camden Yards, Spot #1) Orioles Lots F, G, and H. You can actually book spots ahead of time in Orioles Lots B and C close to the ballpark fairly cheaply, if you do it well enough ahead of time on the Orioles website…do that if you can.

But Lots F, G, and H near the Ravens’ stadium tend to be the cheapest choices, and they’re not too far away. You can even use the Light Rail one stop to the ballpark if you want to shorten the walk.

No, the valet parking isn’t any closer to the ballpark.

Cheap Parking at Camden Yards, Spot #2) The Horseshoe Casino. The Horseshoe is about a mile walk from Camden Yards, and you probably wouldn’t want to walk it at night. The neighborhood isn’t all that bad, just industrial and desolate in the dark.

But for day games, a free parking spot in an attended garage works well, and the walk isn’t too bad…Google calls it at about 18 minutes. No light rail near the casino yet, unfortunately, but maybe in the future…

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Mexican food and Orioles baseball. Your day is complete.

Cheap Parking at Camden Yards, Spot #3) Banditos Bar. Banditos is a Federal Hill institution that recently started offering rides to patrons going to Orioles and Ravens games, and you can park on the street nearby free of charge, or in an inexpensive garage nearby.

It’s actually about as long a walk as the Horseshoe if you don’t want to get a meal beforehand, but Banditos gets pretty good reviews, they have daily food and drink specials, and you get a free ride (although you probably should tip the driver).

There’s three Camden Yards parking options that won’t break your bank at your next O’s game. Try one and let me know how it worked out.

Photo of Bandito’s shuttle courtesy of Bandito’s Bar.

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I highly recommend against driving and parking near Rogers Centre for Blue Jays games. If you don’t have to, don’t. But if you must, try using one of the “Green P” lots.

The Green P lots in Toronto, including the ones for parking near Rogers Centre, are owned by the city and as such offer better rates than most. As far as I can tell, none of them charge “event” rates. Here are my top three picks for a night at the ballpark…after a quick word from our sponsor:

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This is a pretty nice evening rate for baseball parking.

Green P Lot #1) 40 York Street. I’ll probably get some grief for sharing this favorite spot of fans, but it’s probably the best deal that you’ll find for parking near Rogers Centre. It’s not only cheaper, but the event rate kicks in at 5:00, unlike 6:00 for most lots, so you don’t have to time your arrival so much. It’s a convenient spot too, especially coming from the east. 

With a helpful arrow.

Green P Lot #2) 10 Portland Street. The night rate starts at 6:00 PM for this one, but it’s still fairly convenient at about a half mile from the ballpark, for a ten minute walk, and this one offers a relatively easy out going westbound.

“Municipal” means good rates!

Green P Lot #3) 2 Church Street. If you can’t score a spot at 40 York, this one isn’t bad coming from the east. It’s got over 2,000 spaces and has cheap nightly rates, including a Saturday special of $1/hour for the first two hours. So on Saturday especially you can arrive plenty early for a good spot and still pay a small fee to park for the evening.

One caution about the 40 York and 2 Church Street lots: these are both close to the Air Canada Centre, home of both the Maple Leafs and Raptors. I strongly recommend checking first to see if there is an event there before going…if there is, get there very early or use public transit.

There are other good options for parking near Rogers Centre, but I would advise that you try Green P first, especially if you can walk a little bit.

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For you Birds fans or other Baltimoreans looking for the best way to get to Nationals Park from Baltimore for a game, you have a few options.

Here I’m going to share some obvious routes…with a few things you should know.

(Hey Baseball Fans – Find out how to get cheap tickets, pick a great seat, get to the ballpark and choose what to eat at the game…and save money on all of it! Check out my complete Nationals Park Guide here!)

So…is this Greenbelt Station?

The Best Way To Get To Nationals Park From Baltimore, Route #1: Take the Green Line Metro from Greenbelt. The Metro train Green Line runs from Greenbelt station, conveniently located off of I-95/495, to the Navy Yard-Ballpark station at Nationals Park in about 40 minutes.

Even with typical I-95/I-495 traffic, this is probably the easiest route for using Metro, but you should have a plan to get back just in case this rare but frustrating occurrence happens.

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You want the one on the right. Unless you’re coming home.

The Best Way To Get To Nationals Park From Baltimore, Route #2: MARC and/or AMTRAK. Amtrak runs trains from Penn Station and BWI airport in Baltimore to Union Station (Red Line) and New Carrollton Station (Orange Line), both of which are a two train ride to Nats Park. The Camden-Washington MARC train runs from Camden Station to Greenbelt Station, requiring only one transfer, and the MARC is much cheaper.

Unfortunately MARC is only available during weekdays, so you’d need to use Amtrak (or a Metrobus, more likely, given their more frequent schedules) at least to get back after a night game.

MARC can be a nice option, sparing you traffic troubles, gas and parking money. Can be a little unwieldy though.

One of these will do it.

The Best Way To Get To Nationals Park From Baltimore, Route #3: By Car. If you’re going to just drive, I highly recommend that you 1) book your parking beforehand, and b) avoid the most common highways like I-95, especially during rush hour.

Try using MD295, which is truck-free, or if you’re coming from a western suburb like Ellicott City, try using the six-lane U.S. Route 29 highway to I-95/495, and then to MD 295. Route 29 is less congested than I-95 and can save you some aggravation.

Those are three of the better ways to get to Nationals Park from Baltimore; if you want to know about avoiding the hefty Nationals parking fees, check out this post.

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Chicago isn’t a cheap city, and Guaranteed Rate Field parking lots, while spacious and convenient, aren’t as cheap as they possibly could be. And while the tailgating is certainly respectable, there are some cheaper and sometimes more fun alternatives…

New name, but same great service!

Guaranteed Rate Field Parking Alternative #1: The Pace Guaranteed Rate Field Express. The Pace Bus is great if you’re going cheap; it’s just a few bucks each way, you can park for free in a suburb like Tinley Park, and you’re spared the traffic and parking hassles before and after the game…which can be considerable here.

Another nice thing is that you’ll be surrounded on the bus by White Sox fans.

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You need to be seen on a bus like this.

Guaranteed Rate Field Parking Alternative #2: The Reggies Rock Bus. The Reggies people tell me there is inexpensive parking near their popular music club…you can book it ahead of time…but however you get to Reggies, you get to ride the awesome-looking Reggies Rock Bus to the game.

Reggies (yes, there’s no apostrophe) also has specials that include a meal and game ticket, for an absolute steal of a price. Check them out.

In case you didn’t know the ballpark is on 35th Street.

Guaranteed Rate Field Parking Alternative #3: The CTA Red/Green Lines. Okay, these are obvious – but I’ve already talked about Metra Rail here. Besides, both trains have their advantages – you can park very inexpensively at stations like Howard (or even in Chinatown for the Red Line), and from the 35th-Bronzeville-IIT station on the Green Line it’s a short walk past cool sandwich shops like Jimmy John’s to fill up your goody bag.

That’s just a few alternatives to the somewhat expensive and kind-of-boring-if-you’re-not-tailgating lots at Guaranteed Rate Field. But there are plenty of ways to get to the White Sox ballpark, so choose whatever works best for you.

(Reggies Rock Bus photo courtesy of Reggies.)

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Can you bring food into Fenway Park? The short answer is yes, you can. The Red Sox allow you to bring in a 5*9*2 soft-sided bag, so long as it doesn’t contain alcohol or potential projectiles. Small, but still potentially useful. Nothing wrong with the Fenway Park food menu, but it’s nice to save a few bucks, especially in Boston.

But now that you know that you can bring food into Fenway Park, the new question is what to bring in…and Ballpark E-Guides, always willing to take the extra base, has a few suggestions:

Some Food Items You Can Bring Into Fenway Park…

That is more than enough Inner Beauty.

The Sausage Connection. Of all of the vendors selling sausages on Lansdowne Street before the game, the Sausage Connection is my personal favorite. It’s a yellow kiosk near the Game Day tickets line.

Not only are the prices for sausages and chicken teriyaki sandwiches better than inside the ballpark, they offer that “Inner Beauty” hot sauce, a thick mustard-style sauce that will blow out the back of your brain (go easy with it at first, seriously).

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Bigger than the roll, and foil included. Check.

The Sausage Guy. David Littlefield sells hefty and reasonably priced (for Fenway) sweet Italian sausages, and he loads them up with a nice amount of peppers and onions. Good and messy as it should be. Look for the small blue kiosk in front of Cask -N- Flagon.

And he’s open well into the evening, just in case you’re hungry after the game and have a few bucks left.

You need only dodge traffic to get there.

Tasty Burger. The chain of burger and beer joints has a location on the corner of Jersey Street and Boylston Street, just a block from the ballpark (it’s close enough that they can charge $50 to park there). The restaurant itself is cheaper…and the selection of burgers is much, much better.

That’s just three great choices if you want to bring food into Fenway Park and save a few bucks. If you’d like to know more about Fenway Park for your next visit, check out this amazing (and free) guide!

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I remember, when Camden Yards first opened, reading in brochures that the Orioles offered a ballpark tour. I remember thinking that it didn’t seem like something I’d be interested in, because at the ballpark I want to see a game. A pitching matchup. Home runs. Stolen bases. Extra innings. If you can’t root for the home team while eating peanuts and crackerjack, then why go to the ballpark?

The logo that preceded Camden Yards.

But for the purposes of what I do helping baseball fans, I decided some time ago that ballpark tours would be helpful; I could get some great photos, have access to places I normally can’t afford, and maybe even learn a thing or two, and get any questions answered that I might have.

The first ballpark I took a tour of was Fenway Park in Boston. My wonderful wife Suzanne had given me Red Sox tickets for my birthday, the best birthday gift ever, and on our trip I convinced her to take the tour with me for the aforementioned reasons.

The Fenway Park tour starts in the Team Shop on Yawkey Way, where the tour guide starts off by asking if there are any Yankees fans in the group. Inevitably there are and they will, of course, proudly declare themselves, to which the guide will respond, “Okay, I’ll talk very slow for you.” And the tour continues in that vein, with the guide taking humorous shots at the Yankees throughout.

As I said, I didn’t think I’d consider a ballpark tour all that much fun. And I was totally wrong. The Fenway tour got me addicted to ballpark tours, and I take the tour whenever I can on baseball road trips. You learn about the ballpark’s history, stories of historic events that have happened there, and how certain parts of the ballpark like the Green Monster came to be. You get to see the field from several angles, often including the press box or the suites.

Most times you can sit in the home team’s dugout (I don’t know why that’s such an essential part of almost every ballpark tour, it’s not a big deal to me, but people love it). The tour guide will inevitably give people in the group a chance to show off their knowledge of baseball…and often little kids will answer their questions.

Fenway quiet and peaceful, as it is rarely seen.

But here’s the best part of a ballpark tour, something I never gave much thought to before doing it: you get to see a baseball field in the morning. I know that doesn’t sound exciting, but there’s a wonderful peaceful charm to it, especially on a bright summer morning. It’s quiet. Grass is getting watered or mowed. Maybe a fence is being repaired in the outfield.

You think about what goes on behind the scenes and start to realize that hundreds of people put in thousands of hours of work to prepare the ballpark for the madhouse it’s going to become that evening. There is something about being in a ballpark in the morning that appeals to the types that hear voices telling them to build a baseball diamond in their cornfield.

Since Fenway I’ve toured a total of…let me get my slippers off here…fourteen ballparks. Of them the Wrigley tour may have been the most entertaining, simply because there is so much history and so much that people don’t know, and you get to sit in the bleachers. But all the tours are fun; PNC Park in Pittsburgh and Miller Park in Milwaukee were especially neat and full of stopping points.

At Progressive Field in Cleveland, and later at Nationals Park in D.C., I had the good fortune of being the only person taking the tour at that time, and I had a very enjoyable time talking with the tour guide. It’s nice when you can move at your own pace.

Going to a ballpark for a game, of course, is one of life’s greatest pleasures at any age. But going for a ballpark tour on a beautiful summer morning is a wonderful experience in its own way, and I highly recommend it, especially if you’re visiting a ballpark in another city.

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Since I’ve started researching everything there is to know about various baseball venues in the quest to help the non-affluent baseball fan, I’ve learned a lot. Some things have saved me money, some things have saved me time, and some things have saved me a lot of aggravation.

Even I still don’t always get it right going to a game, but I’ve definitely learned to avoid certain pitfalls. Here’s a list of four mistakes I used to make in my misspent youth…

Just in case your search engine is busted.

Baseball Fan Mistake #1: Buying tickets from the team website. By itself, this isn’t always the worst thing to do. Many teams, like the Brewers and Nationals, offer pretty good ticket deals on their websites, and buying from the team at face value can be your best option for a high demand game.

But over the years I could have saved a TON of money by exploring all of the other options…like StubHub, eBay and other third parties, checking to see if there are sites like Travelzoo that offer deals, or simply buying from the team box office. I can easily stop at the box office in Philly since it’s close; most games aren’t sold out and you can find some seats on game day and pay the ticket without the obnoxious fees. Game day ticket sales are very popular at Fenway in Boston too.

On third party sites like StubHub, you can choose the exact section you want to sit and see what is available and the pricing. Teams are getting better at this, though. Many teams have seating maps that show the exact seats that are available, which is even better than StubHub. Remember though, you’re still paying the ticket fees.

12 minutes to Fenway by foot. If you walk hastily.

Baseball Fan Mistake #2: Not looking into all my transportation options. Just driving to the ballpark and hoping to find a good parking spot is not a great strategy, and will likely result in your fuming at both the traffic and the cost of parking. I have had many a ballgame experience at least temporarily marred by this frustration, especially when visiting a ballpark for the first time.

I used to be able to tolerate the traffic in downtown Baltimore when I was able to park in a garage for $5, but since they’re nowhere near that cheap anymore, I just use the Light Rail if I’m by myself and park for free in Lutherville. With other people, I’ll use an app to get it done.

In my first visit to Comerica Park in Detroit, I paid $20 to park almost at the front door, because I was concerned about leaving my car too far away in Detroit. This was 2001 money, so $20 was a lot to park. In my second visit a year later, I accidentally stumbled on a cool tip, parking at the Fox Theatre garage much earlier in the day and paying just $2 for the whole night. And it was just a few steps further away. (It’s $5 today, if you get there early enough.)

I drove my car to Citi Field once too. Once.

Not just pizza. Grandma Joan pizza!

Baseball Fan Mistake #3: Just getting a hot dog at the game. OK, maybe that’s not really a mistake. Nowhere does a hot dog taste better. But until researching Citizens Bank Park…and this is my home ballpark…I didn’t know about the roast pork and provolone from Tony Luke’s, the Campo’s Heater sandwich, the Schmitter, or the Bull Dog from Bull’s BBQ. Seriously. And I wouldn’t have a clue what Federal Donuts was. Talk about missing out.

Nowadays every ballpark has so many great food choices that it’s worth checking it out beforehand and deciding what you might like. At ballpark prices, don’t just get a simple hot dog and popcorn. Next time you’re at Citi Field, try Josh Capon’s Bash Burger. Or the garlic fries at Yankee Stadium. Don’t leave PNC Park in Pittsburgh without trying a Primanti Bros. sandwich with fries and slaw piled on. And a Ben’s Chili Half-Smoke at Nationals Park is worth the price of a Nats game ticket.

I’ll take one wing please.

Baseball Fan Mistake #4: Not knowing about the local scene. For years I bought one beer at Camden Yards because I didn’t want to (and still don’t) pay ballpark prices for beer. I literally did not know that I could knock down a couple of cheap Natty Bohs across the street at Slider’s before the game. I made two visits to Cincinnati to see Reds games without having any clue about the restaurants and nightlife across the river in Newport. There’s a great bunch of eateries near E. 4th Street in Cleveland, just a short walk from Progressive Field.

And would you believe I didn’t even notice the tailgating party in my first trip to Miller Park in Milwaukee? Nor did I know about the large number of taverns that would have given me a ride to the game.

Knowing what I know now, I suppose it’s a testament to how much of a baseball fan I am that I enjoyed the games anyway. Dad taught me well.

But it’s so much better now that I know what I’m doing. And I can always refer to one of these.

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Eu conheci o Joe Vogel em 12 de Junho de 2016, enquanto me encontrava com um amigo e companheiro de viagem Dan Davies e o seu grupo de amigos viajantes que me convidaram para ir com eles para Pittsburgh.

Estava um dia perfeito no maravilhoso PNC Park enquanto os Pirates se preparavam para uma batalha de fim de tarde contra os Cardinals.

Naquele dia, porém, beisebol não era a única coisa na mente dos fiéis torcedores dos Bucs.

Sidney Crosby e os Penguins estavam em San Jose naquela noite, prontos para trazer a quarta Stanley Cup para a cidade. Eles realmente fizeram isso algumas horas depois que o jogo de beisebol terminou. Uniformes, camisas e bonés dos Penguins eram vistos em grande número para uma plateia de beisebol.

Em certo ponto, durante o jogo, um jovem torcedor fez uma “zueira”: apareceu com uma Stanley Cup de papel laminado, quase em tamanho natural e passeou com ela orgulhosamente por uma seção do estádio no “right field”. Ele foi aplaudido de pé pelos que estavam assentados por ali.

Mas, apesar de ser um nativo de Pittsburgh, Joe Vogel não estava gostando nada daquilo.

Sem aviso, como se o dever o chamasse, ele salta da sua cadeira no “Right Field Cove” (uma seção específica de assentos no PNC Park) e desaparece no meio das arquibancadas. Segundos depois, ele era visto andando ali perto de onde estava o cara que carregava a taça. Para grande diversão dos seus amigos do “Cove”, Vogel passou vários minutos numa busca determinada por aquele cara que, a esta altura, já estava longe há muito tempo.

O riso na seção do Vogel aumenta à medida em que a sua busca determinada continua muito além do tempo que aquela situação merecia. Porque após várias entradas sentados com aquela figura, eles sabiam exatamente porque ele estava atrás daquele orgulhoso fã de hóquei.

Era para envergonhá-lo. Para olhar para ele com uma cara feia. Para educar aquele jovem rapaz sobre as prioridades.

Isso, porque o “Baseball Joe Vogel” vai sempre deixar claro que só o beisebol importa. Todos os outros esportes são perda de tempo.

O único torcedor que pode jogar uma bola de beisebol pela área do estádio sem enfrentar problemas.

“Baseball Joe” é surdo e mudo em função de 3 derrames debilitantes. Ele se comunica através de gestos e sinais de mão, com um pequeno teclado, ou um pequeno alfabeto num pedaço de papel dobrado.

Ele mora num apartamento no centro de Pittsburgh pertinho do PNC Park, atravessando a ponte Roberto Clemente. Beisebol, especialmente o beisebol dos Pirates, é a sua vida. E assim tem sido desde que ele era um garoto. Ele se auto proclama “o maior fã de beisebol que existe” e até agora, no meu quase meio século de existência, eu ainda não encontrei alguém tão fanático por baseball quanto Joe… nem mesmo o meu pai, que considerava ser o maior fã desse esporte.

Os Pirates o conhecem bem. Ele vez por outra joga e apanha umas bolinhas com o técnico Clint Hurdle e até mesmo o aconselha algumas vezes por e-mail. Cortesia de um time que ama a sua dedicação, ele tem ingresso de sócio torcedor e vai a todos os jogos na seção coberta para portadores de necessidades especiais que fica no campo direito, embaixo da arquibancada, pois não consegue ficar no sol durante muito tempo. Ele, talvez, seja o único torcedor no PNC Park que não liga para aquele cenário pitoresco da cidade.

Sentado com ele, é quase impossível prestar atenção ao jogo, especialmente num dia em que os rebatedores adversários começaram com tudo contra os arremessadores dos Pirates, como os Cardinals naquela noite. “Baseball Joe” é tão divertido quanto a ação em campo… constantemente conversando com espectadores ao seu modo, pacientemente se comunicando com o seu teclado ou o seu surrado pedaço de papel quando as pessoas têm dificuldade de entender os seus gestos. Ele carrega uma bola de beisebol que ele frequentemente joga para funcionários que, casualmente, a jogam de volta pra ele, conhecendo o procedimento habitual. Durante o jogo, empregados de outros times aparecem para cumprimenta-lo. Ele constantemente ganha souvenires e parece ter um suprimento sem fim de copos de refrigerante colecionáveis, um dos quais, ele dividiu comigo.

Ao longo da noite, risadas são ouvidas na seção onde estávamos tanto pelo seu conhecimento do beisebol quanto por suas duras críticas aos torcedores que não respeitavam o jogo o suficiente.

Em um certo ponto, ele me pergunta se eu gosto de algum outro esporte. Esquecendo-me do seu desdém por aquele fã de hóquei eu falei pra ele que eu gosto de NASCAR também e ele balançou a cabeça. Ele fingiu estar dirigindo um carro, depois olhou pra mim com cara brava e fez o símbolo de “vergonha” com os dedos. Depois, segurou a bola de beisebol e fez um movimento circular com o dedo. Eu, então, entendi: “Beisebol o ano todo”.

Durante toda a noite, ele nunca parou. Com o seu teclado ele mandou várias perguntas sobre beisebol pros seus amigos, como “Cite dois jogadores no Hall da Fama que tenham o mesmo primeiro e segundo nomes.” Um sabichão no grupo responde com um tom pedante como se estivesse certo da resposta: “Ken Griffey Senior and Ken Griffey Junior!”.

Enquanto o resto do grupo gargalhava, Joe sorri, vira pra mim e informa: Henry Louis Aaron and Henry Louis Gehrig, or Joseph Paul DiMaggio and Joseph Paul Torre.

Mais tarde, Dan, que levou Joe com ele e seu grupo a vários estádios da liga e ao Hall da Fama, me contou a história de ele arrasando nas enquetes feitas por lá. Se houvesse uma edição de beisebol do “Jeopardy” (jogo de perguntas e respostas muito famoso nos EUA), “Baseball Joe” ganharia de qualquer adversário.

A casa do Baseball Joe

“Baseball Joe” detém o título de ser o primeiro fã a pedir o meu autógrafo, pelo menos como um autor de livros sobre beisebol.

Num jogo dos Pirates, ele me pediu para enviar pra ele o guia digital do PNC Park autografado. Ele também me deu instruções precisas: “certifique-se de assinar com o seu nome completo, incluindo o nome do meio e o faça em ordem”, coisa que eu não estou acostumado a fazer já que a minha assinatura é um garrancho horrível. Ele é um perfeccionista, especialmente no que diz respeito ao beisebol.

Joe amou o “e-guide” do PNC PARK e delirou sobre ele num e-mail… uma medalha de honra pra mim… mas ele também fez algumas sugestões: falar um pouco mais sobre os assentos, incluir mais fotos nos espaços em branco e, talvez, falar um pouco mais sobre a comida e outras coisas. Ele é a primeira pessoa a reclamar comigo dizendo que não há informações SUFICIENTES num “e-guide”.

Ele tem me pedido repetidamente para enviá-lo guias sobre o Wrigley Field e o Busch Stadium in St. Louis (este último eu ainda vou escrever). Eu sempre fico feliz quando tenho plateia.

O lado oeste do Citizens Bank Park.

Alguns dias depois daquela experiência em Pitsburgh, eu me encontrei com o “Baseball Joe” e o grupo de novo, dessa vez no Citizens Bank Park, na minha cidade natal, Filadélfia. Eu arrumei pra eles um lugar para estacionar o carro de graça e me assentei com eles no andar superior na hora do jogo. Durante a noite, Joe, novamente, me manteve mais entretido do que a ação em campo.

Eu contei pra ele que eu torço pros Orioles e ele levantou os dedos. Primeiro um sete e depois um um. Eu logo saquei. A World Series de 1971. Os Pirates sobre os Orioles em sete jogos. Eu tinha três anos.

Então ele fez um “7” e um “9” com seus dedos. 1979. Os Pirates, liderados por Pops Stargell, viraram uma série que estava 3 a 1 para, mais uma vez, baterem os Orioles em sete jogos. Minha reação foi tombar a minha cabeça e fingir enxugar as lágrimas dos meus olhos, ilustrando a decepção de um pequeno torcedor dos Orioles de 11 anos. Eu não dancei NUNCA MAIS “We Are Family”, informo a ele. (Em 1979, quando os Pirates ganharam a World Series, eles se uniram, porque a mãe do técnico Chuck Tanner tinha morrido. Então, eles adotaram a música “We Are Family” do trio Sister Sledge como música tema.)

Ele acena com a cabeça, entendendo. Ele também faz o gesto de esfregar os olhos mencionando o péssimo desempenho dos Pirates por tantos anos.

Ele me pergunta qual o meu jogador preferido e, quando eu digo Cal Ripken Jr, ele rapidamente traz com o seu teclado uma estatística pra mim: “A média de aproveitamento mais baixa de um jogador com 3000 rebatidas.”

Quando eu mostro pro Joe uma foto da minha filha posando com bichos de pelúcia vestidos com uniformes de beisebol que eu trago pra ela das minhas viagens ele brevemente digita no teclado e me mostra: “Você é abençoado. Eu não tenho família.”

Eu instantaneamente me senti não só triste por ele, mas também culpado por alguma eventual insatisfação que eu sinto com a minha própria vida. Ele está certo. Eu sou muito abençoando. Eu não só tenho duas crianças lindas e saudáveis, eu ainda tenho tempo para o único esporte que importa.

O maior fã de beisebol que existe.

Muito depois que a multidão deixou o Citizens Bank Park naquela noite, “Baseball Joe” conseguiu deixar alguns funcionários sem jeito, já que resolveu sair da parte dos assentos somente depois de juntar tantos copos de refrigerantes de coleção, quanto ele podia. Dava pra ver claramente a agitação crescendo nos olhos deles enquanto eles antecipam o confronto (Ao fim de qualquer jogo nos EUA passado algum tempo, os funcionários começam a impedir que se transite ou até mesmo se permaneça dentro do estádio). Joe parece ignorar à aproximação da “polícia do estádio”, mas ele sai da área dos assentos no exato momento anterior em que o funcionário começar a ficar irritado. Ele é um expert nisso.

De volta ao hotel em que eles estavam hospedados, “Baseball Joe” e eu posamos para uma foto e ele me surpreendeu com um grande abraço! Aparentemente, eu deixei uma boa impressão. Eu fiquei feliz que ele não se chateou comigo por eu ter mostrado a ele as minhas fotos de família.

“Baseball Joe” e eu trocamos e-mail com frequência. Nos seus e-mails o assunto é quase sempre Beisebol. 24 horas por dia. 7 dias por semana. 366 dias por ano – se assegurando para não perder nem mesmo o dia extra do ano bissexto. Seus e-mails são geralmente breves, mas sempre muito atenciosos, desejando “bom feriado” para minha família e pra mim, me pedindo para mandar mais “e-guides” quando eu puder e dividindo comigo seus pensamentos sobre o destino dos Pirates. Logo depois que o time de Pittsburgh não foi para os Playoffs em 2016, ele me mandou um e-mail escrito: “Pirates eliminados – eu choro.” Por 33 anos e contando, esse fã dos Orioles sabe bem o que é isso.

Eu sempre fico feliz quando tenho notícias do “Baseball Joe”, porque sempre que eu penso nele, ele está certo. Outros esportes são perda de tempo.

E “Baseball Joe” sabe como ninguém que o nosso tempo é muito valioso para ser desperdiçado.

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