Milwaukee Brewers tickets

MILLER PARK will replace Milwaukee's County Stadium in 2001. Although the degree of decay was not as apparent at County as it was in Old Comiskey and Arlington, this ballpark will nevertheless join the ranks of the extinct. County has served the people of Milwaukee since 1952, initially as the home of the National League Braves. Fans do not support the Brewers as they once did-the franchise has enjoyed only mild success here since the move from Seattle in 1970, appearing in only one World Series, in 1982. It is hoped that the new stadium will boost attendance.

County was the first ballpark built with suburban commuters in mind, located several miles from downtown and accessible by car. Having a stadium near the highway enabled fans to arrive early and tailgate, an activity normally associated with football. Fans often arrived hours before game time, setting up grills and picnic tables in the parking lots, filling the air with rich aromas. There was nothing else like it in baseball. Since the new ballpark is adjacent to the old one, hopefully this tradition will continue.

County Stadium, like Memorial in Baltimore, is a solid-looking brick struc¬ture. There are steel support beams in every section, holding up the roof and giving the ballpark an old-time feel. But with the overhang of the upper deck, the last twenty rows of the lower deck have limited visibility. On the other hand, there are few bad seats in the upper deck, and the bleachers are terrific.

Along with beer, Milwaukee is known for its wonderful sausage-or brats, short for bratwurst. Part of the American ballpark experience is the hot dog, the frank, the red hot; but by any other name, it is simply not a Milwaukee brat. Savoring this finest of stadium cuisine, sitting under the brilliant blue Wisconsin sky, is a reminder of why we love baseball.

DUANE KUIPER "The first park I'd ever seen a major-league game in, I'll never forget. It was between the Cardinals and the Milwaukee Braves. It was the home of Aaron and Mathews, two guys I absolutely idolized as a kid. The thing I remember most, and I still look at it through the eyes of a kid, was that everything was so green. The other thing I remember is walking through the parking lot to the stadium and thinking that this place has to be absolutely huge because they're major-league players . . . So when I walked in, I expected it to be like the Grand Canyon, and it turned out that it was at least small. However, not small enough: When I played I didn't hit a home run."

OZZIE GUILLEN "You come from the country I come from, other kids never had the opportunity to do that. I was a lucky guy to come down to the big leagues and come to a big-league stadium, it's some-thing you always dream or you're always looking for, especially when you sign. I think when you're in the major leagues, there's no ugly stadium-every one looks good. First stadium was Milwaukee Brewers that was my opening day. County Stadium . . . It was - to me the best ballpark I'd ever seen, because it was my first major-league stadium."

SCOTT BROSIUS "I never saw a big-league game growing up. The first big-league game I ever saw, I was actually playing in the minor leagues at the time. We went over and we played on Milwaukee's field after Milwaukee played that day. . . . At the time, I thought that was the greatest thing in the world, you know, Milwaukee County Stadium, all the seats and the scoreboard and all that. Once you get to the big leagues, you realize that was probably down on the list as far as the nicer parks around. But at the time it sure seemed like the best field I'd ever played on."

LARRY ANDERSEN "Going from the clubhouse through the tunnel, up the steps, and to step out onto the field and just look around, you're in awe, it's incredible."

BILLY SAMPLE "In 1978, five days before the end of the Triple A season, I was informed by man¬ager Rich Donnelly that I was going up to the majors for the first time. The call-ups had to share space with each other in this old wooden clubhouse. The outfield bleachers and grandstands that greeted me as I exited the tunnel to the dugout were just as old. Yet it was definitely major league, in spite of the unaesthetic beauty of the dull grays, oranges, and greens, the pre-dominant colors of the twilight setting. That orange hue of twilight was behind Jerry Augustine as he delivered the game's first pitch: a low, knee-high sink¬ing fastball on the outside part of the plate, which I promptly lined in a moderately hard fashion into right center field for a base hit."