Minute Maid Park photos!

[Astros]

Hi everyone...

I wanted to start a thread showing different views of Minute Maid Park.

This ballpark opened on March 30, 2000 with an exhibition game between the Astros and Yankees. The Astros won 6-5 that night and it marked the second time these two clubs payed each other to open a new stadium. The Yankees also helped to open the Astrodome on April 9, 1965. Since then the ballpark has seen three playoff appearances (two LCS, one World Series), attracted 3 million fans four times in eight seasons, an All-Star Game, Craig Biggio's 3,000th hit, Roger Clemens move into second place on the All-Time strikeout list behind former Astro Nolan Ryan and a string of other great memories.

Here are some photos...


Game 3 of the 2005 World Series.
The lower first base/right side Field Box seats with a view of the Club Level overhang and access to the Main Concourse.
The view from the top of Union Station behind the left field wall.
A view from the Crawford Boxes in left field.


More to come...

[Astros]

The Home Run Pump in centerfield keeps track of every Astros homer.
A view from down the left field line with the side of the Club Level in the upper left corner.
The left field upper deck with Union Station and some downtown skycrapers in the background.
A view of the third base Club Level concourse which shows the glass wall behind the seats that keeps a view of the playing field while being able to keep that seating level air-conditioned at all times.
A photo of the retractable roof closing as seen from the lower Field Level along the first base line.

[Danielh41]

Great pictures. I've been to three games at Minute Maid Park, but the roof was closed all three times. I'm going to try to go in April when the Rockies are there. Hopefully, the roof will be open then.

By the way, I went to game 3 of the 2007 World Series at Coors Field. That was the first World Series game in Colorado, just as game 3 in 2005 was the first WS game in Houston. The experience was awesome even though my team lost. I was able to take my 8 year old son, and he had a great time. It was expensive though...

[stlfan]

Astros, great photos. Many good games have been played there so far, especially against my Cardinals. Jim Edmonds has made probably 2 of the best catches on Tal's Hill in the ballpark's history. Also, try and save your photos smaller because I can't view the pictures as a whole on my screen.

[marlins739]

I was at Minute Maid Park in 2004 with the roof closed. Really nice experience, watching a game in the air conditioning when it's hot and humid outside, even though it still feels like you're outside for the day game I went to. One of my favorite parks overall, especially since it's the closest existing park to what the Marlins need to build.

I never noticed until I saw these pictures that the roof supports obstruct some views in the back of the upper deck on the first base side

[stejay]

Good pics man

[placount]

do you guys really think playing indoors is ever the right thing to do?

[nymdan]

do you guys really think playing indoors is ever the right thing to do?

I'll leave the question of whether or not it's ideal to others, but in some places a team isn't even a possibility without a dome... Arizona being the prime example because of the heat.

[bigworm_122]

great pics.

but they are SO SMALL, can't really see any detail

[nymdan]

great pics.

but they are SO SMALL, can't really see any detail
Haha. I was going to comment on that too, but then I realized that maybe a lot of people have higher screen resolutions, so it might fit for some people.

[Astros4Life]

do you guys really think playing indoors is ever the right thing to do?

its the right thing to do in houston from june-september...i believe baseball should be played outdoors but i also agree with the retractable roofs...especially in houston summers

[Hank 755]

How does the left field wall work? Where do you hit the ball to get a home run? Also what are the rules on that wall.

[hsnterprize]

do you guys really think playing indoors is ever the right thing to do?A team putting up a dome just for the sake of putting up a dome isn't right in my opinion. However, the Astros, back when they were the Houston Colt .45's, played in an outdoor stadium that was plagues by heat, humidity, and mosquitoes. If weather is a legitimate concern, then there's nothing wrong with playing inside. And the Astros are most famous for the Astrodome than anything else across the country.

Hank 755...

I think any ball that hits the wall above that yellow line is a homer. It's a funky line, but it's one of MMP's quirks.

[nymdan]

Hank 755...

I think any ball that hits the wall above that yellow line is a homer. It's a funky line, but it's one of MMP's quirks. [/COLOR][/FONT]

Yeah. There's a good view of the line in the first picture posted by Astros.

[Stray Cat]

The train is a nice feature. As long as they play on real grass I have no problem with a roof. :cool:

[spiderico]

Here are some shots I took at the 2004 ASG:

[PJ-34]

I've never been a fan of the hill in center field.

[spiderico]

More 2004 ASG...with George & Babs enjoying the game.

[JohnCropp]

Roger Clemens, the Bushes, and the Field Formerly Known As Enron...

I never realized there was so much to dislike about the Houston Astros!!!

[jimmyjimjimz]

Lookin at the All-Star Game pics and being a Yankee fan, I really hope Major League Baseball doesnt make the Yankees put signs around The Stadium saying "All-Star Game This One Counts" That would look so bad at Yankee Stadium.

[JohnCropp]

As bad as Joe Torre in Dodger blue?

(Who else would Clint Hurdle pick as a bench coach?)

[jimmyjimjimz]

As bad as Joe Torre in Dodger blue?

(Who else would Clint Hurdle pick as a bench coach?)

I'm happy for Joe Torre. He did what he had to do. He had to tell Steinbrenner and co. to F Off. It's obvious he wasn't happy there anymore with Steinbrenner's demands. We'll see how Girardi does.

[spiderico]

Speaking of Torre and Mattingly and Minute Maid...one more shot of the All Star GAme:

[St. Louis 093]

I've been too Minute Maid several times. Great Ballpark. When is the last time they have opened the roof. I go once or twice a year (mostly in april or may) and the last time they had it open when i went was in 2003. I think Opening the roof makes it much better. Is it just me, or is the last time they opened it the 2005 World Series?

[Westlake]

I've been too Minute Maid several times. Great Ballpark. When is the last time they have opened the roof. I go once or twice a year (mostly in april or may) and the last time they had it open when i went was in 2003. I think Opening the roof makes it much better. Is it just me, or is the last time they opened it the 2005 World Series?

They've opened it after that. I know that they opened in on July 4th in '06, and I've seen other times as well.

[St. Louis 093]

Well okay, they have opened it a few times. But they should open it alot more. Baseball is an outdoor sport. It is a great ballpark either way.

[Lafferty Daniel]

Well okay, they have opened it a few times. But they should open it alot more. Baseball is an outdoor sport. It is a great ballpark either way.

The Astros starting pitchers can decide if they want the roof closed...another reason why retractable roofs are garbage. (for most markets)

[Astros]

The Astros were 42-39 this year at Minute Maid Park.

The roof was open for 13 of the 81 regular season games in which the Astros were 5-8.

At no time this year did the roof open once it was closed. A couple of years ago it used to be common practice that the roof would be shut at the beginning of the game and then open sometime between the 5th and 7th innings depending on the temperature that day.

Keep in mind that a roof in Houston is very much needed because of the semi-tropical climate. We have had lots of late afternoon thundershowers that pop up between 5pm and 7pm. In fact the first rain delay since the days back when the team was still the Colt .45's (not counting the 1976 "rain in" at the Astrodome where flooding prevented fans and staff from getting to the dome) occured in late in 2002 when a shower quickly developed over downtown Houston while the roof at Minute Maid Park was open. The shower caused a 19 minute delay and tons of complaints from fans who were not used to sitting in wet seats. Boo-hoo.

The Astros probably perfer to keep the roof open because the ballpark was designed as an open air stadium with a retractable roof. It is not an enclosed ballpark like Chase Field or Miller Park. They wanted to keep an outdoor feeling to the ballpark, which is why the western wall is glass and moves with the roof.

I personally wished the roof was open a lot more and they played more day games because this ballpark is a great place to be in during the day. However, there are still many people who do not like sitting in the sun in Houston. The Astrodome spoiled many fans because of the theater-type, cushioned seating and an even distribution of sunlight through the dome's skylights. They did it big and bold in Houston when the Astrodome opened in 1965 with restaurants, clubs, skyboxes, soft seats and air conditioning, but it created a few generations of fans who got used to being indoors. Also keep in mind that the atmosphere in the Astrodome was not the sterile environment that was seen in later domed stadiums such as the Kingdome or in the cookie cutters. The Astrodome was very different from those stadiums and fans in Houston loved watching baseball in their dome. Lot's of people today still miss seeing games in the Astrodome 8 years after the Astros moved.

But in the end Minute Maid Park does what the dome could never do and that's allow the Astros to play on grass with open skies. The fans have dictated that they'd rather have a closed sky with 7,700 tons of air conditioning blowing almost every game. Minute Maid Park thus becomes Astrodome: The Next Generation.

[Astros]

Here are some more photos from Minute Maid Park.

Sorry if they might be too big. I need to figure out how to save them smaller.

[Astros]

Here are some night time photos I recently took.

[stlfan]

Very nice. Other than the short left field porch, MMP is a beautiful park. It looks even better open air.

[tomzpc]

I've never been a fan of the hill in center field.

Agreed. That hill is a career ending injury waiting to happen. This is baseball, not miniature golf.

[Seattle1]

That looks like a real luxurious ballpark!

(Not to be a Douglas Downer but I don't like the slope in centerfield though. Get rid of the hill and the flagpole and leave that nice deep CF as God meant it to be.)

[Yankeefan3783]

I actually like the hill and having the pole in play.

[Astros]

That looks like a real luxurious ballpark!

(Not to be a Douglas Downer but I don't like the slope in centerfield though. Get rid of the hill and the flagpole and leave that nice deep CF as God meant it to be.)

The hill is actually small in comparison to the entire outfield. The base of it is about 410' feet from home plate.