Originally written April 8, 2008

I moved to Atlanta in 2003. Admittedly, I wasn't a huge baseball fan at that time, mostly because growing up, there was no home team for me to actually cheer for, and have a reason to enjoy baseball. Coming to Atlanta, I realized how big baseball was down here, and it was only matter of time before I found myself tuning into Braves games on television, and getting caught up in the wave of a traditional late-season Braves run for one of the 14 consecutive division titles they would go on to win.

Going to the ballpark was a concept that I never really thought about until I won some tickets on a radio call-in promotion. I suppose I just never actually thought about going to the games, because I didn't know what the price of tickets were, or the inconvenience of driving to the ballpark, or whatever lame excuses I could've made. But with free tickets, I really didn't have any excuse to not check it out.

The San Diego Padres defeated the Braves, 12-7. This was also Mike Hampton's last ever known Major League start. I had fun at the game, but I still wasn't quite sold yet.

But then a few weeks later, I called into the same radio station again, and won some more free tickets.

The Braves defeated the Washington Nationals in 10 innings, with the game ending on an Andruw Jones walk-off home run. I was hooked now.

I'm finding my home field to be the hardest to actually write about, because at the time I'm writing this, I've been to so many games, throughout the last three years alone. I've seen so much, enjoy so much good, agonized over so much bad, and remembered pretty much every moment of it all.

Turner Field is the epitome of a home field for me - no matter how much I travel to visit other parks throughout the summers, I'm still relieved to come back home, and watch a game at the Ted. Especially after visiting American League parks. It's superior to other parks in some instances, and could use some work in other aspects, but for the most part, I find that Turner Field is a very high-quality ball park, and not just because it's the one I frequent the most.

The admission for Braves games is reasonable and easily affordable, and there are plenty of cheap parking options that aren't the ludicrous prices of cities like Seattle or Boston. The food is on the generic and nothing special side, but for as many games I go to at the Ted, park food isn't exactly high on my priorities. The seats are plentiful and spacious; going back to the admission, $35 seats at RFK are $11 at Turner Field, and face value $44 seats at Fenway Park are $25 at the Ted.

I've sat pretty much in every available section at Turner Field, and I'm hard pressed to disagree with the notion that there are no bad seats in the house. The park is perfectly designed for baseball, and there are no cumbersome and distracting skyscrapers nearby, so there's never any silly excuses for strange wind patterns or anything. In the upper deck, breezes come by frequently, making it pleasant even on the hottest-as-balls evenings in July. The field level seats are all close to the action without being ludicruosly expensive.

I generally schedule my away trips in conjunction with Braves road games. Preferrably, I'd love to make every National League park I visit when the Braves are playing there, but that's not always possible. But as much as I relish this quest I'm on, and continue on my goal to see a game at every Major League ballpark, I always look forward to coming back to Atlanta to watch the Braves. Because sometimes, there really is no place like home.

Game Result:   The first time I ever went to Turner Field, it was August 19th, 2005. It was the Braves hosting the San Diego Padres. This game was memorable for many reasons aside from being the first time going to the Ted; this would be pitcher Mike Hampton's last major league start, during the rise of rookie-sensation, Jeff Francoeur, and Chan Ho Park's first start after being traded back to the National League from the Texas Rangers. Unfortuantely, because of Mike Hampton's injured suckiness, the Braves were pretty much obliterated, and then to add insult to the quite literal injury, the Padres teed off on Dan Kolb to blow them out 12-7. It did little to dampen my first experience at the park, because I had a fun time despite the loss, and the next time I would make it out there, the Braves prevailed over the Washington Nationals in 10 innings, and more importantly, on an Andruw Jones walk-off home run. If there's anything that can make someone a fan, the walk-off home run is most definitely at the top of the list.

Additional Photos:   There are so many, I have to put them on a secondary page. If so desired, I have a heap of random images, taken throughout the last few years from so many home games that I've attended. Pictures taken from the upper deck, the pavilion, and from five rows behind home plate. Pictures taken from Opening Day 2007, pictures taken from one of Tom Glavine's returns as a Met. John Smoltz vs. Greg Maddux. John Smoltz's 200th career victory. So many memories, and only so many pictures taken.

Anyway, to view the additional photos

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