Commissioners Box...

About five years ago, I was introduced to a section of Busch Stadium that I would suggest that every Cardinal fan do at least once. I was buying tickets that year and when selecting "Best Available", I was presented with something called a "Commissioners Box". It at least looked interesting so I bought two tickets. We got the tickets in the mail in a special envelope and were pleasantly surprised to find what all came with that. First, you get a parking pass that allows you to park in the VIP parking lot right across the street from Busch Stadium. Then, you get to come in when the gates open and stand on the dirt part of the field and watch batting practice for an hour. You get a photo opportunity in the dugout. The seats were excellent. You also get food from a special menu included that is delivered to your seat for free throughout the whole game. It consists of the usual ballpark fare (hot dogs, popcorn, soda, brats, peanuts, Cracker Jack, etc). There are also other items like cotton candy, pretzels, turkey sandwiches and licorice. We loved it and every year since, I get a game with these seats.

Last year Josh and I had seats on the front row of the Commissioner boxes. It was the first time I've sat on the front row for a Cardinals game. All of us sitting on the row had to be reminded to not put things on the rail and not to lean into the field of play. We ate our fill of food plus saw the Cardinals win, so we really had a great time. This year, Donna went. We had front row seats again. They added several kinds of Ted Drewes ice cream to the menu. I had some of that of course. That added stuff like fish tacos and a crab cake, but I stuck with ballpark food. They've also added Pretzel sticks. These are the warm soft pretzel sticks you can get with either salt (me) or cinnamon and sugar (Donna). I got to see my old buddy Lance Lynn pitch again. He looked like he was going to be bad Lance by giving up two runs in the first but finally buckled down. The Cardinals were shut down until the 6th when Shane Robinson doubled in two to tie the game. The Cardinals scored single runs in the 7th and 8th. Trevor Rosenthal shut the door in the ninth and the Cardinals had a 4-2 win.

There are a few things to remember. You need to be in line when the gates open so you be on the field for batting practice. You'll see the visiting team because the Cardinals are already done with theirs. The Cardinals are not in the dugout when you get your picture taken. Finally, we ran into a different issue this year. Several very young girls would try to sneak into the section with baseballs to try and get autographs. Our servers would keep them out as best they could. I finally realized their dads were sending them down thinking they had a better shot at autographs.

These seats are expensive. Now that the Cardinals use "Dynamic Pricing", the cost can vary widely. If you go on a weekday and when they are not playing a "premium opponent", the price isn't too bad especially given what all you get. If you are a Cardinal fan, I strongly recommend you try doing this at least once.