Located in St. Petersburg, Tropicana Field' s 1. 1 million square feet include unique design features and fan amenities found nowhere else in the Major Leagues. Home to the Rays (previously known as The Tampa Bay Rays)
Each year we visit Florida we take in at least 1 baseball game as our son is an avid Rays fan.
Last year he and my husband were interviewed live on tv by the renowned in game reporter Todd Kalas, a memorable experience for us Brits in the USA.
Within the stadium is a touch tank. The Rays Touch Tank presented by the Florida Aquarium, is the first of its kind at a professional sports venue. The 35-foot, 10, 000 gallon tank is located just beyond the right-center field fence at Tropicana Field. The Rays Touch Tank experience is free to all fans attending home games.
This unique fan experience has been created through a partnership with the Florida Aquarium. The rays were caught in the waters of Tampa Bay and have been cared for by the Florida Aquarium staff since. The Florida Aquarium staff continues that role while the rays are at Tropicana Field.
To make it most convenient for all fans, there is a limit of 50 people in the tank area at any time. Fans may purchase Ray food with the proceeds going to the Florida Aquarium and the team' s charitable foundation.
Tropicana Field is the only Major League park to feature an artificial surface and all-dirt base paths. AstroTurf was installed prior to the 2011 season. All of the other parks that currently feature an artificial surface have only dirt cutouts around the bases and at the pitcher' s mound.
It takes about an hour and a quarter to get to Tampa from our home in Davenport. As you get into Tampa you can’t miss the dome. Signs are located on approach routes throughout downtown St. Petersburg to help guide you to general parking areas and color-coded permit lots.
So now a bit about the game and the rules.
Each team must field a minimum of nine players. Nine players must take turns batting on offense, and they must bat in a pre-determined order and remain in that order for the entire game. The same nine players will also play defense when they are not batting. On defense, teams must have one pitcher, one catcher, four infielders and three outfielders.
A baseball field consists of four bases, each positioned at a 90-degree angle from one another, home plate and first, second and third base. The out of bounds lines run from home plate toward and beyond the first and third bases, all the land in between these lines is fair game. A fence runs along the outside of the playing field in the outfield, any ball that lands beyond this fence but within the boundary lines on the side counts as a home run.
Basic Rules
Players take turns going up to home plate to try to hit a baseball thrown from a pitcher. The pitcher has to place the ball over home plate and between the height of the batter' s knees and shoulders. If the ball crosses this area and is not hit, it is counted as a strike. If it does not cross this area, it counts as a ball. Batters have to get a hit before they get three strikes, or else they are out. If a pitcher throws four balls before a batter hits the ball or gets three strikes, the batter automatically gets to go to first base, called a walk. Batters want to touch all three bases on their way to touching home plate. If a ball is hit, or a player is tagged out before touching a base, they are counted out. If a batter makes it to home plate before getting tagged and before his team collects three outs, the team scores a run. After three outs, half of the inning is over, and the teams switch positions, the batting team takes the field to play defense, and vice versa. After both teams have had a chance to bat, an inning is completed. Different leagues play anywhere from five to nine innings to determine a winner of the game. The team that scores the most runs wins
So next time you are in Florida try something different and take in a baseball game.