Danielle Solzman
It has been over a month since traveling to Cleveland in September to tour the Cleveland Guardians’ ballpark, Progressive Field.
Because of the holidays, it was tough finding the time to write about the trip and then October 7 happened. Writing has very much been a challenge since then and my apologies for not keeping up with Dugout Dirt. I still owe a column about Coors Field.
The Guardians only do tours during May-September. I chose to go on a date when they were out of town so that I could hopefully see more of the ballpark. The other thing as to why I made the trip this season is because of The Beatles: Get Back to Let It Be at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. My being a Marvel fan and seeing MCU filming locations just happened to be an added plus.
Two of the Progressive Field statues are located just after the entrance (Jim Thome) and in Heritage Park (Frank Robinson), respectively. Heritage Park is also home to the Cleveland Guardians Hall of Fame. Unfortunately, my solo tour did not go to this area of the park. Come to think of it, the tour consisted of very few places in about 60 minutes. For much of the tour, we were sitting in the press box while the guide pointed out various places in the stadium and its history. That’s fine and all but I wanted to go to those places!
Among the other places that I did get to see on my tour were Throwing Smoke Barbeque (this area pays homage to League Park), a view of Hope Memorial Bridge, the building that influenced the look of the Daily Planet, a glimpse at two radio booths from the hallway, Kaulig Companies Club, visitor’s clubhouse, visitor’s dugout, and indoor batting cage. We did not do the Lexus Home Plate Club, District Neighborhoods, or the Corner Bar & Right Field. Some of this had to do with the renovations.
Bob Feller frequently sat in the press box whenever he attended games. It’s now the Bob Feller Memorial Press Box Seat.
The Guardians do pay tribute to a trio of barrier breakers with a mural on the stadium exterior: Satchel Paige, Larry Doby, and Frank Robinson.
I did manage to get my traditional dugout photo.
Along with one with the scoreboard backdrop.
Statues of Bob Feller, Larry Doby, and Lou Boudreau are at the Progressive Field entrance.
Had it not been for the Guardians prepping stadium renovations, I’d assume that I would have been able to visit more places on the tour. I’m thinking the tour won’t be so virtual after the renovations are over. It’s one thing to take in the ballpark views from various locations but it’s another thing to just sit in the press box and learn the history without actually going to said location. Die-hard Guardians fans might enjoy it but I’m not so sure that I can recommend the tour for those wanting to get to locations that require tickets during the game.
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