SAN JUAN — If you are a Mets fan with nothing to do tomorrow, you might want to fly down for the final game of the San Juan Series 2010 against the Marlins. Imagine the poor Mets fans who decided to visit Baltimore or Cleveland instead. This was a trip you had to be on.
This series is one of the unknown great baseball getaways with tickets ranging from $13 to $100. Getting here, of course, was the pricey part, but for a fan, this is the perfect mini-baseball vacation. After all, this is the rumcapital.com of the world, so it can’t be bad.
Rum and ocean and Old San Juan by day and baseball at night. And did I mention the casinos. I’m not a casino guy, but I do know someone who did the Cha-Cha last night in the casino, winning a few bucks. The beaches are clean, although I learned this morning that you do have to watch out for big, big sting rays, not the little ones floating around in the Tropicana Field tank. I stepped on one about 30 yards out into the ocean; luckily I didn’t get the barb, just a scare and a sore left foot.
San Juan has proven to be a perfect host for the event; the people have gone out of their way to be accommodating and gracious. The restaurants are terrific, if you have the time, and Hiram Bithorn Stadium is a blast. This park is more of a ballpark than a stadium. It seats 18,000. Every seat is a good seat and the food is decent ballpark food with a pina colada twist. It feels much like a minor league park circa 1981.
The fans are incredibly enthusiastic.
“They have such a passion for the game,’’ Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria told me. “This is really fun.’’
Yes it is. Wish you were here.