Vasquez, who got his nickname because he used to do the dance that was popularized in the move "Napoleon Dynamite," has been driving the Astros' train for 17 years. [73], While Crosley Field's infamous left field terrace, which was half as steep (only 15) as Tal's Hill (30), was a natural feature of the site on which the park was located, Tal's Hill was purely decorative. There is no automatic stopping mechanism so he has to brake the train manually on the track. No matter what Minute Maid Park looks like during baseball season, we know Bobby Dynamite will be there cheering on the Astros and conducting the old train perched atop the faade of archways 90 feet above left field. "I'm 90 feet off the ground up here, and that's about 89 feet more than what I'm comfortable with. Perched ninety feet above Minute Maid Park, he drives a train across the brim of the outfield to celebrate every Astros home run and victory. I'm up here surrounded by steel 90 feet in the air. My, my, aren't we important over there. [21] Drayton McLane pointed toward Astrodome renovations as necessary saying "It's 30 years old and not a lot of money has been spent to remodel it. Sotos solo home run helped the Nationals tie the Astros 2-2 in the top of the fourth inning in Game 1. Perchance was there -- despite the Minute Park Roof being closed -- a nearby pigeon?". Sure, that's like saying america is named after some random Italian dude. [68], From 2017 until 2020, the park hosted the final rounds of the Houston leg of the FIRST Championship. Oranges have filled the coal tender of the train engine since 2002 when Minute Maid assumed the naming rights for the downtown ballpark. They were the most modern stadiums in the world, and now they're saying they're all bad. Photos Baseball Seating Chart NEW Sections Comments Tags. [18] This is also evident by the Seal of Houston, which prominently features a locomotive. TBD for tomorrow night. 2016 Werkstatt. Four year old Hayden Schaefer looks at the train at Enron Field in Houston Friday April 7, 2000 at the Houston Astros' home season opener against the Philadelphia Phillies. How the Current Whistle is Wrong. Bobby Dynamite, conductor of the Houston Astros Train at Minute Maid Park, explains the different whitles used during home games on Thursday, Aug. 1, 2013, in Houston. The Astros hardly came close to scoring after that. [46] The Astros also became one of the first to use the new Chemgrass, later known as AstroTurf after its first well-publicized use at the Houston Astrodome in 1966. Houston Astros vs Atlanta Braves. The Nationals went on to win Game 1, 5-4, with Game 2 set for 7 p.m. Wednesday at Minute Maid Park. 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Built on the eastern edge of downtown Houston, the baseball-only facility actually looks like a football stadium on the outside, as Minute Maid Park appears more rectangular than the traditional square shaped footprint that ballparks occupy. Catch up on Texas sports, sign up for the Launch Pad newsletter here. Photo: Marie D. De Jess/Staff photographer. The home-plate-to-fence measurement there is only 315 feet (96 meters), one of the shortest in Major League Baseball. The following transit lines have routes that pass near Minute Maid Park. Christopher Yancy, Cason Paul, Claire Paul run the bases at Minute Maid Park during the Texas Children's Hospital Family Fun Day. Go left to section Torchy's Party Deck. The locomotive will run on 800 feet of track on the left field wall. Jon Shestakofsky, the vice-president of Communications & Education with the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, says the ball was retrieved Tuesday night from the train tracks after the game. Vasquez, who has been the trains conductor since 2001, gave his nearly 14,000 Twitter followers lots more info during the Astros 2-0 win over the Mariners on Tuesday. So whats the deal here? [67] Shane Warne's Warne's Warriors clinched the series 20. [76] Home runs must clear a 19-foot wall in front of the elevated boxes houses which the hand-operated out-of-town scoreboard, displaying the day's other games. Add the train high above left field to Tals Hill on the list of Minute Maid Park quirks potentiallyon the chopping block. It was completed and opened on March 1, 1911. This year were hoping he makes that trip plenty more times, and to honor the fan favorite, weve dug up some numbers about Bobby and the famed Minute Maid Park train. Vazquez told Chron.com in 2013 that he drives the 60,000-pound train at a slow and safe 2.5 mph. A November referendum was planned for Harris County residents to approve the deal. It's a unique nod to the linked histories of the Astros and Union Station. The University of HoustonDowntown also holds their commencement ceremony in Minute Maid Park.[66]. Here at Minute Maid, we pride ourselves on our history of providing quality products to families around the world. Minute Maid Park is located at 501 Crawford Street on the northeast end of downtown Houston. Bobby Dynamite dropped all kinds of fun facts about Astros' train on us. Watch: Astros SP Luis Garcia debuts new windup after rule changes, Oops! As mentioned, Minute Maid Park is in the middle of Houston's downtown area. We're waiting on the team store to start selling his replica overalls and orange Astros T-shirts. Before Game 2 of the ALCS, ESPN's Scott Lauber received an inside look at Houston's train, which sits beyond and above the left field bleachers. The nationally syndicated TV talk show Rachael Ray held a mass wedding at the park following Hurricane Ike for 40 couples who were unable to get married after a company they paid to hold the weddings went bankrupt. Soto joined Miguel Cabrera, Andruw Jones and Mickey Mantle as the only players to homer in the World Series before turning 21. Minute Maid Park is a premier venue located in Houston, TX. They are located in left field and span sections 100 through 104 (with all but the latter in fair territory). The train that Astros fans know and love is just a quarter bigger than a real locomotive. Speaking of which, the Minute Maid Park left field dimensions are technically in violation of MLB guidelines. Chennai, [17] Exterior walls were constructed of granite, limestone, and terracotta, while the interior used an extensive amount of marble. Speaking of which, he's a somewhat disconcerting detail via the official guide to Minute Maid Park: If the track is slightly out of alignment, all the weight of a roof panel could come to rest on one wheel, causing severe structural damage. Anytime the Astros hit a home run at Minute Maid Park, the count goes up on the Phillips 66 pump out in the standing room only section, just next to the batter's eye Intrepid prediction: The number will go up during the span of the 2017 ALCS. Taxi cabs and pedicabs are also commonly found near the surrounding ballpark area. In addition to baseball games, you can also check out the Houston Rockets basketball arena who sit less than a mile. In total, the three roof panels weigh more than 5,700 metric tons. The Astros set a franchise record with their 12th . Street parking, garage parking, and private lot parking are available, with an estimated 25,000 spots within walking distance to the ballpark. That means Games 1 and 2 and -- if the fates bless us with maximum baseball -- Games 6 and 7 will go down at Minute Maid Park in downtown Houston. The ballpark was Houston's first retractable-roofed stadium, protecting fans and athletes from Houston's notoriously humid weather as its predecessor, the Astrodome, did, but allowing fans to also enjoy outdoor baseball . Its debut as a soccer venue happened during the 2006 edition of the CONCACAF Champions Cup. A 15-foot-high and 56-foot-long replica of an 1862 steam locomotive takes up almost all the space at the SMI Hydraulics Inc. shop in Porter, Minn., Tuesday, Feb. 29, 2000. Minute Maid Park is a retractable roof stadium in Houston, Texas, . The train carries oranges as cargo, of course. If an Astros player hits the pole, all fans in attendance get a coupon for a free chicken sandwich from Chick-fil-A. [70][71] The incline was inspired by similar features that used to exist at Crosley Field and Fenway Park. The station served as the main inter-city passenger terminal for Houston for over seven decades thereafter. Artist Eric Kaposta puts the finishing touches on his "lucky lady bug" as he works to finish painting a sculpture of oranges that will soon fill the coal tender behind the 1860s replica locomotive at Minute Maid Park Thursday, March 26, 2009, in Houston. He will sign them for you if you send them to the stadium. Please check your email for a confirmation. As you see above, Minute Maid Park measures a paltry 315 down the left field line. At first its cargo was logs but once Minute Maid bought the stadium's naming rights in June 2002 that switched to oranges. Keeping with the naming conventions from the previous match at Minute Maid Park, the ends were named after Nolan Ryan and Jos Cruz, two players that have their numbers retired by the Astros. The Washington Nationals will meet the New York Yankees in MLB Spring Training on Wednesday afternoon at George M. Steinbrenner Field. "I kind of feel like the kid in the golf cart at the driving range up here sometimes," he said. And considering the Astros scored more runs (896) this season than any team since the 2009 New York Yankees, Bobby Dynamite has logged a lot of miles in the choo-choo. Every time the Astros score a run, Bobby "Dynamite" Vasquez, the force behind Minute Maid Park's home-run train, sound its bells and whistles. 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At 54 feet (16m) high and 124 feet (38m) wide, it is the fourth largest scoreboard in Major League Baseball, behind T-Mobile Park (home of the Seattle Mariners), Progressive Field (home of the Cleveland Guardians), and Kaufmann Stadium (home of the Kansas City Royals). The exact address of the park is 501 Crawford Street. This is a view of Minute Maid Park in Houston not many people get to see from atop the left-field train! . "[22] According to the organization, the team was in danger of being sold to a Virginia businessman who was expected to move the Astros to the Washington D.C. area because of poor revenue. It has a seating capacity of 41,168, which includes 5,197 club seats and 63 luxury suites. We Now Have an Answer. The process of incorporating an old building into the design is certainly the most explicit manner to integrate the area's context into the ballpark, but it has to be well done . He spent eight hours in the train during Game 5 of the World Series last year. Well, that home run shot from the young Washington Nationals star is now headed to the Baseball of Hall of Fame. If it went out of the field of play (over the fence), it was a home run. ", "I'm deathly afraid of heights," he said. This is a carousel. Before it was a ballpark, the west end of Minute Maid Park was Union Station, making a train a very apt addition. He was even on hand during last years Covid-19 abbreviated season, a weird campaign in which the Deer Park native, who works by day as editor for the Houston-based trade publication International Facility Management Association and got the train gig when he was interning with the Astros, was basically the only fan in the ballpark. Bobby Dynamite conducts the Astros Train at Minute Maid Park during home games on Thursday, Aug. 1, 2013, in Houston. Houston pitmaster goes viral after hilarious TV interview, Houston is in for dust and gray skies as Texas haboob arrives, 'Call me a Nazi': Former Houston pastor calls for state book ban, Former KHOU anchor turns layoff into lucrative real estate career, The only Houston rodeo food guide you'll need, KPRC 2 anchor Brandon Walker announces he is leaving network, Houston leaders delay vote on Hobby Airport concesssions contract, UH favored by wide margin to win NCAA tournament, per ESPN's BPI, Report: Houston ranked No. If a ball hit the flagpole on the hill and stayed in the field of play, it was in play. The home of the Houston Astros baseball club may be the best of the ballparks with a retractable roof. [75] The engine's tender is filled with giant oranges in reference to Minute Maid's most famous product, orange juice. It opened in 2000 as the home ballpark of Major League Baseball's Houston Astros. He's been with the Astros since he was just 22 years old, starting out as a tour department intern before jumping on the train. In case you live under a rock, Houston has some of the best sports teams in Texas and the experience to see them play live is like no otherespecially when you're talking about the 2017 World Series . Directions to Minute Maid Park (Houston Astros) with public transportation. Most Astros fans know the basics of the train: Its a 15-foot tall and 56-foot long replica of an 1862 steam locomotive that was brought to Houston when Minute Maid Park then known as the Ballpark at Union Station - opened in 2000. At Crosley field and span sections 100 through 104 ( with all but the latter in fair territory.! Went out of the Houston Astros Baseball club may be the best of the world, that! Commencement ceremony in Minute Maid Park ( Houston Astros Baseball club may be the best of the world and... 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what happened to the train at minute maid park?