Bottom 2: Xavier Nady called out on strikes against Madison Bumgarner

Bottom 4: Nady struck out swinging against Bumgarner

Bottom 6: Nady struck out swinging against Bumgarner

Bottom 9: Nady struck out swinging against Brian Wilson

Final Line: 0-for-4, 4 K

Notes: Nady’s golden sombrero on Wednesday raised his season strikeout total to 32, which is also how many hits he has thus far.  And just to add to insult, Wilson fanned Nady on three consecutive pitches in the ninth.

Total 2011 Sombreros: 43

As I sat in the left field corner of Nationals Park last Friday evening, enjoying baseball, banter and beer with friend and colleague Jimmy Chiang, I was reminded once again that watching a baseball game live at the ballpark is one of life’s greatest pleasures.  The crack of the bat, the roar of the crowd, and even the occasional cry of “Get your ice cold [nine-dollar] beer here!” all make the ballpark a special place, even for those with only a passing interest in the game.

In my 24 years, I’ve been fortunate enough to visit the home venues of ten of MLB’s thirty teams.  While each may provide a different type of baseball atmosphere, some ballparks are certainly better than others, so as I wait to add to the list, I decided to rank the ballparks I have already visited.  Rankings are based not only on the quality of the parks’ bricks and mortar, but also on the experience each provides on any given night at the ballpark.  I am hopeful to one day compile a comprehensive list of all thirty ballparks, but now that I am a third of the way there, here is how each of the first ten stacks up:

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In conjunction with both the start of the 2011 MLB season and our one-year anniversary, The Golden Sombrero is proud to debut the Mark Reynolds Sombrero Tracker. Considering that he has new home with the Orioles, in the fiercely competitive A.L. East, we like the odds that Reynolds surpasses his league leading four golden sombreros from 2010. So be sure to check back with us — and with our friends at Off Base Percentage, who also cherish the always-impressive feat — as we chronicle another year of sombreros. And as for Mr. Reynolds, well, you can track his swing-and-miss prowess via our tracker, which is also affixed on our left sidebar.

• Scouting the Sally provides an in-depth scouting report on Atlanta Braves’ right-hander Julio Teheran — the Sombrero’s No. 13 prospect.  Regarded as one of the top RHP prospects in the game, and the best that they have scouted over at the Sally, Teheran could reach the big leagues in 2011, although 2012 is far more realistic considering the Braves’ already have both Brandon Beachy and Mike Minor primed to round out their rotation.  Be sure to check out the incredibly detailed scouting report as well as the video they shot last season.

• The Seattle Mariners’ second baseman of the future, Dustin Ackley, was optioned to Triple-A Tacoma on Wednesday, thus ending his chances of making the Opening Day roster.  Although the left-handed hitting Ackley — the Arizona Fall League MVP and No. 3 on our list — didn’t have a blistering Spring Training, it was by no means poor.  In 15 games he hit .269 with eight walks and 16 runs.  Considering that Brendan Ryan received the nod as Opening Day shortstop, which in turn shifts the defensively-sound Jack Wilson to second base, it shouldn’t be long before Ackley is called up.

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Last Wednesday, my dad and I flew in to Phoenix for Spring Training.  It was our second year in a row of watching baseball that doesn’t matter in the Valley of the Sun, and this year’s trip was even better than the last.  Of course, the outcomes of the games don’t mean anything. The players we know only play four or five innings a game (if at all) and the mid-day heat of the Arizona can bother even the most ardent of fans. But none of that is important to us as we spend a few days in the sun enjoying not only the game we love, but also the return of spring and the hope of another Rockies playoff run—all of that adding up to what my brother Sean (himself not even a baseball fan) appropriately calls “The Baseball Feeling”.

The trip started with a visit to the Rangers’ facility in Surprise.  Although driving in stop-and-go traffic up dreaded Grand Avenue was an ordeal, the Rockies won a wild and wacky game over the defending AL champions, 11-10.  Among the unsurprising portions of the game were a towering blast by a minor-leaguer off of former Rockies closer Franklin Morales, a wild Rockies comeback in the late innings, and not one but two instances of poor baserunning by Eric Young Jr., one of the fastest but also one of the poorest baserunners in the game.  With the winning run at the plate in the ninth, the Rangers hit into a game-ending line-drive double play to seal a bizarre win for the Rockies.

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