The Toronto leg of my solo Cleveland-Toronto-Pittsburgh baseball sojourn in June 2024.
Cleveland | Pittsburgh
Monday, June 3 – Drive to Toronto
I got myself on the road out of Cleveland around 9:30am, pretty much on my own schedule. The drive to Toronto was reasonably easy and nondescript on interstates all the way.
I wasn’t sure what to expect with the border crossing near Buffalo but it turned out to be across the Peace Bridge. It was easy getting into Canada with just a 10-minute wait in line and a couple of perfunctory questions from the man at the gate. There was a much longer line of cars and trucks to get into the U.S. which I would learn more about in a few days.
The Canadian side of the border was busier and more congested especially as I got beyond Niagara Falls and passed Hamilton, Mississauga and reached Toronto proper. There was an eerie fog from Lake Ontario that made it hard to see much beyond the road. The fog cleared a bit as I neared Toronto and the impressively modern skyline rose Oz-like from the mist. By the time I reached downtown around 2pm it was a clear, sunny day.
The downtown Toronto streets were hard to navigate; Google Maps directed me to my hotel, the Hilton Toronto, but not to the actual entrance. I had to circle several blocks several times before finding the right way around some construction but I made it. I decompressed in the room for a short while before heading over to the Rogers Centre ballpark.
Gametime was 7pm and I received an email saying gates would open at 5:30pm. It was a giveaway night for a Vladimir Guerrero, Jr. bobblehead so I figured I should get there early, seeing as I nearly missed out on my Steven Kwan jersey in Cleveland two days before. I arrived at the stadium at 4:15pm and there were already long lines forming. So much for my plan of wandering around the shoreline before the game. I got a pretty tasty Italian sausage from a nearby vendor and got in line. They opened the gates a bit early at 5pm and I got my bobblehead. I needn’t have worried – there were still plenty of bobbleheads left as people arrived closer to game time. But I had plenty of time to explore the Rogers Centre, a modern stadium with a huge retractable clamshell roof. The stadium originally opened in 1989 (so it’s not quite as modern as I thought) but has had major upgrades in the last two years so a lot of it felt new.
My seat was on the middle tier (200 level) and turned out to be in bright sunshine with the roof retracted, so I did a loop to see the stadium and scope out food choices. There were a number of interesting nooks and crannies in the outfield areas where one could stand and watch the action and visit a variety of food and drink vendors. The food choices on the 200 level were relatively sparse but I found a wider variety on the 100 level (where I would be on Wednesday).
The Orioles were on the field for batting and fielding practice; I enjoyed watching them from various angles, especially as they popped home runs to all corners of the park. I think they were invigorated to make their first trip to Toronto this season, and for many of the O’s it was their first time in the park.
I settled on trying a maple bacon hot dog which got some good online reviews – there was also a poutine hot dog but it looked like a gross cholesterol bomb and received mixed reviews. The maple bacon dog was not very good, not helped by the indifferent bun. I got a souvenir cup of soda which entitled me to free refills which seemed like a good deal…but I only drank half of my refill once I finally got it. Between the sausage outside the stadium and the hot dog at the game, I was too full to try anything else but there were a few other things on my list for subsequent nights. I decided I would definitely come to Tuesday’s game which featured Loonie Dogs — $1 dogs, Canadian style.
By gametime, the sun finally settled behind the retractable roof so I was able to sit comfortably and see the field. The O’s did me proud by blasting four home runs (two by Austin Hays who has been struggling for more than a season) and winning 7-2. I kept my cheering as discreet as I could to not overly upset the nice Canadians around me.
One mistake I made was not bringing a sweatshirt or jacket to the game. The temperature started at a perfect 74 degrees at game time but cooled as the evening progressed. I hustled back to the hotel after the game and was glad to put on a sweatshirt to get warm.
Tuesday, June 4 – Toronto
I took the opportunity to sleep in rather late, particularly since there was no hotel breakfast included with my room. This was nominally my non-baseball day in Toronto, a chance to explore the city and maybe find a nice meal. I found, however, that I wasn’t highly motivated to find a museum or eat a big meal, despite Laurie’s suggestion of looking for dim sum near Chinatown. The weather was very pleasant and I decided to opt for a more casual day in the park. I also decided to attend the evening’s baseball game; I had enjoyed the first night and wanted to see the O’s again. And I hadn’t found any compelling music alternatives for the evening.
Around 11am I went in search of a bagel place that enticed me on Yelp. I discovered an underground network of walkways and connections between buildings, many lined with shops, a whole pedestrian mall under the city including many food courts that catered mainly to office workers. There was no signage at street level that this labyrinth of retail options existed. I had to ask one of the desk guards at an office building where the bagel place was and he directed me downstairs. The tuna salad bagel sandwich was quite tasty and a lighter alternative to full breakfast or lunch. In my wandering I found another food court, Chef’s Hall, that offered upscale alternatives for another day.
I went back to street level to walk to the waterfront to catch a ferry to the Toronto Islands park just offshore. My walk through the city to the quay reminded me of Sydney and Auckland: all very modern, quasi-English cities oriented along a shoreline. It occurred to me later that if I seriously wanted to go back to Sydney or Auckland it’s worth remembering that Toronto is a lot closer.
I caught the short ferry ride to Centre Island, and walked across the island to the pier by the beach. I sat on the pier for a while watching the coming and going and listening to a podcast (Family Trips with the Meyers Brothers, the one with Andy Samberg that featured a Mando ad segment).
After soaking up the ambiance at the pier I walked to Ward’s Landing at the eastern end of the island where I could catch another ferry back to the mainland. When I got to the Landing I had the option of catching a ferry right away to wander around Toronto some more, or I could linger on the island for a while. I found a nice Adirondack chair on the beach in the shade of a tree but with a nice view of the Toronto skyline. I settled in and listened to another hour of the podcast, this one with Jenny Slate. I had a very nice hour or so in that chair, watching the aquatic traffic slowly go by.
I caught the 4:15pm ferry back to the city then walked to Rogers Centre for this evening’s game. I wanted to buy an actual ticket from a human being at a ticket window, but discovered you had to purchase tickets online. I finally found one ticket window open but the agent was really just there to help me make the purchase on my phone. It turned out I did need his help and I was glad he was there. I got an upper deck seat on the third base side with a nice view of the CN tower.
Before settling in my seat I watched batting practice from one of the right field standing room areas near a bar, with the first two of my Loonie Dogs. It was great fun watching the O’s blast balls out of the park. The team is leading the league in home runs and it seemed like many of the O’s were effortlessly peppering the stands with homers, especially the lefties. A couple of balls came near me but I didn’t jump into the chase.
Watching batting practice and warmups gave me a sense of the daily routine for ball players and camaraderie among teammates. Everything seems to be a clockwork of rituals: stretches, fielding practice, batting practice, leaving the field at a precise time to change into game uniforms, the grounds crew prepping the field and then an even more micro-choreographed few minutes before gametime with first pitches, national anthems, more stretches, ball tosses and then finally “play ball”. That doesn’t include the time inside the clubhouse and before fans are allowed in the park or after every game. Then packing up and doing it again in the next city after a few days. It’s hard to imagine this going on day after day, month after month, year after year for the career of each ballplayer, even longer for coaches.
Every now and then someone breaks the routine and interacts with the fans. I watched as O’s bullpen coach Tim Cossins tossed a ball about 50 feet up from the field to an older couple just to my right on the home run deck. I don’t know how or why he decided to pick them but he did. The ball scooted past them and another guy just to my left wrestled the ball off the ground. It made the first couple upset and Cossins shook his head in disapproval. After a moment (and maybe at the suggestion of his buddy) the guy on my left came to his Canadian senses and gave the ball to the older lady. Cossins saw this and gave a thumbs up to the usurper. A minute or two later, Cossins tossed the next ball that came his way to the usurper. Order was restored in the universe.
I wandered around the upper deck concourse and found additional areas designed more for entertainment (and drinking) than for watching the game. It struck me that this was a rising trend in ballpark design. I had just completed an Orioles survey with lots of questions about upgraded amenities for Camden Yards. Many of the ideas were lifted directly from Rogers Centre. I do like having all these extra nooks and crannies that are mostly available to any ticketholder but I do wonder how they might try to implement them at Camden Yards.
It was Loonie Dog night where hot dogs were $1 (actually $0.73 with the exchange rate). I had two to start and two later. I contributed to more than 54,000 hot dogs consumed that evening by just under 28,000 in attendance. It was a reminder that the game on the field was just one of many levels of commerce transacted that night, from the ticket prices, all the concessions and swag being purchased, the radio, TV and internet broadcasts, the commercial signs around the field and announcements between innings, the betting, and on and on. All because a group of grown men learn to toss and hit balls around a field with uncommon skill.
I settled into my upper deck seat, enjoyed the view, and was delighted to see the O’s blast the Jays 10-1. Mountcastle hit two homers. Rookie Connor Norby got his first major league hit, a home run. I cheered only slightly less discreetly, being further up and not directly next to any Blue Jay fans. It was a fun evening.
Wednesday, June 5 – Toronto
After sleeping in and taking some morning time to type notes, I plunged into the Toronto pedestrian underground searching for an early lunch at Chef’s Hall, the upscale food court I discovered the day before. The underground was very disorienting but after several false turns I came upon it. I decided on a lamb biriyani which was decently satisfying but not very special. It’s been my experience with food courts worldwide that the array of treats offered usually outweighs the actual satisfaction from the meal, but it’s still fun to shop and I like that they’re generally cheaper and quicker than a full restaurant. For solo dining, especially, they meet my needs.
I headed toward Fort York to try to get a little history about Toronto and maybe a Canadian/English perspective on early American history. I had to walk a bit further than I expected to find the entrance to the Fort’s visitor center but I finally made it. The visitor center had an overview of the inconclusive War of 1812 during which the fort saw its main action. It turned out the British blew up the fort in 1813 before an invading party of Americans could take it. Did you know America invaded Canada? Canadians know it and make a big deal of it, at least here at the fort. The British retreated and the Americans sacked the young village of Toronto which at that point was already the British capital of Upper Canada despite being only a few years old, founded after the British won French Canada in the French and Indian War, the North American conflict that morphed into the Seven Years War.
I caught a guided tour of the fort and learned a bit more than I would have on my own but still felt shortchanged on context of the British history in Toronto, their relationships with First Nations people, and interactions with the newly independent Americans. The tour ended with a detailed presentation on the firing of a musket which is something I’ve now seen at multiple colonial sites but is always a crowd pleaser. People love when things go bang.
After the tour we were offered the opportunity to be interviewed by a Toronto University student about the effects and lessons of tourism. My interviewer was a friendly young woman named Karina. I offered what insights I could and related my interest in history and the changes that had come from my last few years of learning. I felt that Karina might be interested in speaking with Laurie so was able to make a WhatsApp connection between the two of them. After a few days of false starts they did connect but I don’t think anything much came of it. Oh well. I do hope to eventually get a copy of the project from her professor, maybe.
After the interview I wandered a bit more of the fort. I found that each of the buildings held more exhibits and information though it was not evident from the exteriors. In one of the buildings I listened to a different tour guide give a more detailed explanation of the fort’s history which offered some of the context I was seeking. I also learned there had been a small French trading settlement and fort on the site of Toronto earlier in the 17th century but it was mostly abandoned by the time the British founded York in 1793.
Partly because Karina’s questions made me think about it, I left Fort York somewhat dissatisfied. I felt like Canada and the city of Toronto could do more with the fort and visitor center to tell a more comprehensive historical story. This feeling was multiplied a few days later when I visited the much better museum at Fort Pitt in Pittsburgh. I thought there must be some other Toronto museum that deals with the city’s history but if so, I haven’t found it.
I walked back to the Rogers Centre to wait for the gates to open for the evening’s game. I also wanted to make sure I got the free backpack giveaway; it turned out to be pretty nice. Thank you Blue Jays!
I once again enjoyed watching the O’s batting practice and pregame rituals. The roof of the Rogers Centre was closed because of a threat of rain this evening and it changed the feel of the stadium. The O’s seemed a little less exuberant and they weren’t hitting as many home runs during practice. They didn’t during the game either, their bats falling silent after scoring two runs early then losing 3-2 in the ninth.
I called it a night and headed straight back to the hotel. I know I missed out on a lot of Toronto’s food and nightlife options but I had a good time in the city. I wouldn’t mind coming back to explore it further sometime but I doubt it will be anytime real soon.
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