AUDIO: Geno chats with Ryan Catterson, whose name is on "The Worst Seat at Tropicana Field"
Last week, I told you about a survey Bookies.com did to find the absolute WORST seat in every Major League Baseball ballpark. Their research took into consideration things like how far a seat was from home plate and if there was an obstructed view. They counted the number of steps to get to the bathroom and concession stands. After all the math was done, they came up with one seat in every stadium that you should avoid. At Tropicana Field, that seat you want to avoid for a Tampa Bay Rays game was in Section 129, Row G, Seat 1.
It struck me as odd that the first seat in the front row could be so bad. Then last week, when I went to a Rays game, I went on the hunt for the infamous seat to see if it really was so bad. And then I realized the survey was spot on. When I took some photos of the view from the seat, I decided to take a pic of the seat itself. It wasn't until the next day when I noticed the seat had a name on it. The Rays do that for season ticket holders. So I poked a little fun at Ryan Catterson, the owner (or so I thought) of the worst seat at Tropicana Field.
A few days after writing the article, I noticed Ryan left a comment on my Facebook page. Turns out Ryan hadn't sat in that seat for a while. And he probably won't anytime soon. Has NO regrets about buying season tickets and choosing that seat when he did. In fact, he thought he got a bargain because it put him right next to one of his favorite players. Plus, when he bought the seat, there really wasn't an obstructed view. In fact, he has a pretty awesome memory - Willy Aybar hit a home run off the foul pole and it bounced right to him sitting at that seat. Take a listen to his story as you go through the pics I took last week!
You would think Row 1, seat 1 would be great right? Not in this case. Seats right behind home plate at Tropicana Field are expensive. A seat in Section 103 for tonight's game starts at $300. So where should you look at The Trop seating chart when you're looking for less pricy tickets to a Tampa Bay Rays game? There really aren't that many bad places to watch. But we can tell you one seat NOT to pick. It's been deemed the WORST seat at Tropicana Field by Bookies.com.
They did a study of every Major League Baseball park to find the absolute worst seat in the house. Seats with an obstructed view and the distance from home plate were taken into consideration. They even measured how far seats are from things like concession stands and bathrooms. At Tropicana Field, they say you'll find no worse seat than the one near the left field corner in Section 129. Lucky for you Rays fans, I found it and took some photos.
So yeah maybe avoid Section 129, Row G, Seat 1. Although maybe you'll get a free souvenir. Lots of foul balls head out that way. Want to see the worst seat in the house at other Major League Baseball Parks? Head here!
First go to Section 129.
Walking halfway down, the view is already getting rough.
Head to Row G... that's the front row. You'd think a front row seat would be great right?
Then find your way to Seat 1. Row 1, Seat 1. SOUNDS good.
Geno/Q105Yikes. This is your view.
You can see the banners ok with good binoculars.
Keep in mind too this is the view BEFORE fans sitting in that pit area arrived.
One perk I guess ... if you're a fan of the visiting team, you do get an up close view of the action in their bullpen.
You may not have a great view of the action at the plate, but you can watch people eat from their plates.
The view of the roof isn't so bad.
I think we know why Ryan didn't show up now.
He might've just decided to stay home and watch on TV. Look at that big pole blocking a lot of the view of home plate.
I think Brett is laughing at you for picking these seats. The outfielders are pretty much the only ones you'll see well.
Or just spend more and get a seat behind home plate.
[Source: Bookies.com]
