Los Angeles Dodgers

Going to a ball game is quintessentially American and well worth a day out of your schedule, especially if the weather is good.

The Dodger Stadium is perched on the top of the plateau that is Elysian Park with the most efficient layout of access roads ever.  There are very few queues on entering or leaving the ball-ground even when the stadium is packed to capacity.  Parking is charged at a reasonable $10, tickets vary in price but around $20 buys you a very decent seat - the stadium is all-seater.

Baseball as Explained to an English Visitor

To the English visitor it may seem strange, but fans of both sides sit wherever they want and there is no friction between them at all.  Maybe partly because you can see generations of a family, grandparents, parents and children all together, enjoying the game.

The atmosphere is very friendly and even as an English visitor you will be made to feel very welcome.

You can enjoy the game even with a rudimentary understanding of the rules. 

Each batter gets up to 3 balls which must be pitched between waist and neck height.  Failure to hit a ball results in the batter being out. When 3 batters are out that is the end of that team's innings.  The other team then comes in to bat.  There are 9 innings in total.

As in rounders, players can run between the bases, but will be out if the opposing team throws the ball to a base before the player reaches it. A player that has run all around the 4 bases scores a run.  If a batter hits the ball and manages to run all around the 4 bases in one go he scores a home run.

As you are at the ball park for the day there is plenty in the way of food and drink (no alcohol).  Dodger Dogs (hot dogs) are a must, but there is also pizza, nachos and dips, burgers, etc.

Constantly you will have salespeople walking the terraces selling peanuts, souvenir pennants, flags and other items.  Cracker Jack is an all-time favourite, this is a combination of popcorn, peanuts and molasses - crunchy and tasty!

At some games there are giveaways which could be towels, bags, newspapers, souvenir books or some other Dodger-branded merchandise.

In any break in play there will be statistics thrown at you and displayed on the stadiums massive screen