One of my favorite things in the world is spending the day at PNC park. An ongoing joke in my house is that my wife will never make me as happy as going to a baseball game and I can never compete with a good piece of chocolate. Baseball and chocolate were part of our lives long before we ever met.
With this in mind my wife decided to surprise me with Lexus Club tickets as an early birthday present. The Lexus Club is an all inclusive ticket (minus alcohol, but I decided to include it!) with seating right behind home plate. It is something I've always wanted to do, but carries a high financial commitment. It is a much easier decision when someone buys them for you! The tickets came with one condition, I had to take her. After hours of deliberating the pros and cons I decided that it was still worth it. I kid, I kid...I was super excited to finally get to have this experience.
So classy!
I probably should have stolen a glass.
The formal dining area is huge. Since this was an afternoon game it was a brunch buffet. I don't think I've ever had a meal with so much protein. I have no shame.
After dinner you go upstairs to another lobby area. This area has all your normal ballgame food like hot dogs, pretzels and nachos. A full service bar was right next to this area. I need to get that Pirate Pretzel holder for my basement.
This was the view from our seats. It was absolutely perfect weather.
The Nationals got super pissy at Jung Ho Kang for pretending to catch a ball at third which induced a Bryce Harper slide. During the slide Harper hurt his hand and would later leave the game. Dusty Baker was shouting at the Pirates bench after checking on Harper. I guess I didn't really see the big issue as this done all the time at second base. Dusty is a big unwritten rule guy.
When Jung Ho Kang came up to bat the Nats pitcher threw one over his head. The umpire immediately threw him out and the benches cleared. For the most part it was a stupid baseball fight except for Sean Rodriguez (on the ground on the far left of the picture) had to be held back.
Cutch at the plate.
A picture of the pregame meal. Should have stolen a plate too.
Here are some pictures that I got on my phone. They will be much worse than the ones above.
Hey its Jesus....nope just Jayson Werth.
Fight!
The Pirates went on to lose the game, but it didn't really matter. This was all about the experience. I hope the opportunity comes up again soon.
Thanks for reading!
If you stole everything you wanted to, you'd have been able to set a whole dinner table! Also, that'd probably earn you a fastball in your back - that's against the unwritten rules.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure blatantly stealing dinnerware is a written rule.
DeleteLooks like a great time!
ReplyDeleteThat it was!
DeleteExcellent early birthday gift!!! Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteIt was fun. Hopefully there will be a next time.
DeleteAwesome. I've got to make my way to that park someday. I've heard nothing but good things about it, and I'm usually in the Pittsburgh every April and September.
ReplyDeleteYou will be able to find tickets super cheap in April. It is still cold and schools not out. Always great deals.
DeleteSafeco Field has a similar type of deal with the seats behind home plate. I've always wanted to sit there but like you said, the tickets are pricey!
ReplyDeleteEvery time I see pictures of PNC Park I always remark at how beautiful it looks.
Safeco was on my shortlist this year, but the Pirates only had a two game series there. San Diego won out because of series length and weather!
DeleteVery cool post. Happy early birthday!
ReplyDeleteThank you!
DeleteWow, looks like it was a fantastic day to see a game.
ReplyDeleteIt was one of the nicest days of the year. Warm, but not humid and a slight breeze.
DeleteVery cool! I went to school near PNC and commonly got tickets for $4-$8. Four years ago, you could just meander down to those seats... not so anymore I suppose!
ReplyDeleteBefore the Pirates turned things around it was a ghost town at the stadium during football season. I remember several games where their was less than 10k in attendance. With success comes higher prices. I will give them credit for keeping prices lower than most contending teams.
DeleteAwesome seats! and food..
ReplyDeleteThe food was better than expected. They really do try and make it a fancy experience
DeleteYes, you totally should have stolen one of those pint glasses. All we drink out of at home are pint glasses from places we've been to (paid for most of them).
ReplyDeleteI think Sean Rodriguez missed his calling as a WWE wrestler. Just sayin'.
It is kind of weird about Rodriguez. He is the most soft spoken humble guy on during interviews but a complete madman when something goes down during the game.
DeleteLooks like a great day was had
ReplyDeleteIt was! Next year we need to go to a game!
DeleteHad Tony L done this post he might have included "In Da Club" by Half-dollar... I missed reading this last week. Very envious. Looks like it was a great experience all around. A good wife you have there. I took a tour of PNC when I was there in June and got to see a lot of behind the scenes stuff but wasn't afforded the opportunity to eat or drink in the Clubs.
ReplyDeleteYeah, my wife is a good sport with all my baseball shenanigans. The way she looks at it I could be into outdoor sports or cars. Baseball is a nice compromise.
DeleteAs for the "Da Club" it was a cool experience. It is super pricey but it is nice to see how the other lives every once in a while.