For us, baseball is literally life. Baseball is embedded in our culture’s DNA, we’ve included the game in our Holidays and traditions. For those that observe, we all have our own sub traditions of how we celebrate Easter. New clothes, new shoes, Church in the morning, luncheon after, catch a movie, maybe a Family dinner. For us, it’s going to a Baseball game.
This past Easter, we had the most amazing time at George Steinbrenner Field, in Tampa. The Yankees affiliate, the Tampa Tarpons, pride themselves in providing a quality Family experience ( might I add, very affordable too) and they lived up to that claim.
For this game, we arrived as early as we could. As soon as we entered the stadium, the first thing our kids noticed was the bounce house! On this day, the Tarpons had 3 different bounce houses for the kids to enjoy. If we let them, they would’ve spent the better part of the game here. After the bounce houses, we had to make a stop at the Team store. The Team store is two floors, with so much to choose from. We grabbed something for each of our kids. Emma chose a plushy, Noah chose an inflatable bat and ball and we grabbed Ayla a Yankees Jersey. In case you’re wondering, we got her an Aaron Judge one.
Afterwards, we made our way to the field for the Easter Egg hunt. Although it was more like an Easter Egg mad dash, it was great to see all the kids have a blast. I’ve got to give the George Steinbrenner Field Staff and Tarpons staff credit, this was one of the best controlled chaos events I’ve ever attended. They separated the children into two age groups and had enough Easter Eggs on the field to make everyone happy. The kids were satisfied and walked away with plenty of Easter Eggs and candy. As we made our way off the field, we got a little cherry on top. We ran into Tarpons Pitcher, Jack Neely and Catcher, Antonio Gomez. Both of them were super kind, they even took pictures with Emma.
One of the biggest gripes we all have with going to Ball games is the price of concessions, but the Tarpons had that covered. The Tarpons have an extremely affordable meal deal option that includes a game day ticket (great seats), French fries, a drink and your choice of a Hot Dog or chicken tenders for under $20. We went on a Saturday and we got to take advantage of the Dugout Club, All you can eat (and drink) Tickets. Let me tell you, it was worth every penny!
The Tarpons are a Yankee affiliate, so of course the lounge was beautiful, it was spacious and had a nice elegant feel to it. Inside, I loved how they brought Yankees history to life through their photos. The Kids were in snack/ junk food Heaven. They got to enjoy a Hot Dog station, dessert table, pop corn machine, pizza, sliders, cracker jacks, you name it! Myself and Britt got to enjoy the adult beverages, unlimited beer and wine, (Homer Simpson voice) woohoo! If you’re ever in the area on a Saturday, this is a must do.
The game was super exciting and tight. As a die hard Yankees Fan, it was great to see super prospect, Jasson Dominguez. In my opinion, he has the best nickname in Baseball, The Martian. We expected a post game fireworks show, but the show started a little early. We got to experience one of the most exciting finishes in sports, when the Tarpons won in walk off fashion. What was even cooler about this, Jack Nealy came in to toss 2 innings, striking out 6 and positioning his team to get the win in walkoff fashion. As soon as the game ended, the fireworks began and lit up the night sky to send the fans home extra happy.
One of our Family phrases is, “we like sports” and we’ve gone to a ton of sporting events, but as a Family, this was one of our favorites! If you’re around, be sure to check out a Tarpons game, I promise you won’t be disappointed. In fact, if you happen to be around any minor league baseball affiliate, be sure to check out a game.
Growing Up Garcia 