A different perspective: Players on watching MLB games from the stands

TORONTO - It was early April in Boston and Angels catcher Logan O'Hoppe was looking for something to do on an off day. He found himself at a familiar place.

O'Hoppe was outside Fenway Park when he used his phone to buy a $20 bleachers seat to catch the Red Sox series finale with the Orioles.

"I grew up - and still am - a huge baseball fan. I watch a lot of it. I love being around it," O'Hoppe told theScore in August. "Fenway Park is my favorite visiting park. I walked around a little bit and ended up flashing my player card and got on the Green Monster. I tried to pull some tricks and luckily it worked out.

"I texted my parents as I was walking through the concourse because I felt like I was 12 again."

O'Hoppe went unrecognized as he maneuvered around the cramped confines of the 112-year-old stadium, and admitted it was a cold night, that he was "bundled up pretty good."

The Fenway trip was more than simply killing time on a day off; it had deeper meaning for O'Hoppe. Taking in the sport from a different vantage point allows him to connect with his past, and lets him appreciate how far he's made it on his baseball journey.

"It was good to get that perspective because it's something that (can get) lost when you're in the middle of it," O'Hoppe said. "Just like any other job, you lose an outside perspective of it. I enjoyed eating a hot dog and watching (the game) as a fan. You feel that excitement again. I'm happy I saw that perspective of it and realigned my mind."

O'Hoppe grew up in Long Island, New York, and spent his formative years playing baseball and watching it at Yankee Stadium. He was drafted by Philadelphia in 2018 out of high school and was traded to L.A. at the 2022 deadline. He made his MLB debut in late 2022 and is now a key piece of the Angels' future.

O'Hoppe said his April visit to Fenway was the only one he was able to pull off as a fan this season, but it's something he's always trying to do when the opportunity presents itself.

"Every off day, I go look," O'Hoppe said.

'I had a drink in the stands'

Days after his 2015 season ended, Nolan Arenado grabbed his passport and jumped on a plane to Toronto to watch friend and former Rockies teammate Troy Tulowitzki and the Blue Jays take on the Rangers in the ALDS.

"I had a drink in the stands," Arenado, now a member of the Cardinals, recalled. "It was awesome."

Arenado was one of 49,834 in attendance at Rogers Centre for what was Toronto's first playoff game since 1993.

"One of the loudest places I've ever been," Arenado said.

He wasn't spotted by any fans. They were busy.

Mets reliever Adam Ottavino also managed to catch a game that same postseason. Also on Colorado back then, Ottavino found himself in Queens to watch the Mets play in the 2015 World Series.

"Steven Matz was pitching, he's a friend of mine, so I watched him," Ottavino told me.

Both Arenado and Ottavino said they enjoyed watching the game from the stands, from that perspective. It served as a reminder of how grateful they are to be major leaguers.

"You watch a good at-bat and you're like, 'Damn, that's a really good at-bat,' or (you see) a great play, and then you're like, 'I think sometimes I have good at-bats and make good plays, too," Arenado said.

"It's hard to watch the game now the same (way) as before you played," Ottavino said, "Like, your brain just doesn't work the same, you don't enjoy it as much - you're too busy thinking about what you would throw, strategy stuff.

"But I think it's a little easier to do it in the ballpark than on TV. When I was there for that (World Series) game, I remember taking in the atmosphere and the excitement of it all, feeling the energy of the crowd and wanting to be in one of those types of games."

'I would never do that'

Playing out the full 162-game schedule is a grind. Even with first-class travel and five-star accommodations, demands on time are relentless. Players have only roughly 20 days off over the course of the summer, so it's understandable the majority use them to get away from baseball.

"The last place I would go," J.D. Martinez said of watching another team's game during the regular season.

"I'm spending the off day with my daughter and my wife," Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor said.

"I would never do that," Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman said about an off-day visit to a ballpark. "I've been playing a long time, and I play every day. I want a break. Sometimes you need a mental break - that's what days off are.

"It's not just physically but it's to give your mind a break. In today's game, there's so much information that sometimes you just need to shut off. Obviously, having a family and kids, I'm mostly on FaceTime; I have to play Roblox with my 7-year-old."

One problem for most of MLB's more notable players is that it'd be almost impossible to take in a game in the stands without being discovered - especially if you're the Yankees' 6-foot-7 captain.

"I've never done that. I think that'd be a little tough with my height, I might get recognized," Aaron Judge said laughing.

"That'd be fun, but I'll wait. I'm a fan of the game, I love watching the game, but I'd rather just watch on TV until I'm retired," Judge added. "Take my family, take my kids, my off days (now) are a little booked up."

While most players I spoke with said they'd pass on watching live MLB action on their days off, many added they look forward to doing so when their careers are over.

Most former players won't have any trouble affording tickets, but those with eight years of service receive a gold card from MLB: a lifetime pass for two tickets to any regular-season game. There's only one catch: issued tickets are the best available at the ballpark on that day.

Martinez's gold card is ready and waiting for him.

"I still haven't (picked it up). I heard the tickets aren't very good," he joked.

But make no mistake: he'll put it to use in the future.

"100%," Martinez said about going to games when his career's over. "That's how I got into baseball: my dad had (Marlins) season tickets and we'd go as much as we could."

Arenado's got similar plans.

"I have a daughter and she's 2, so she's not old enough to remember anything right now," he said. "But one day when she's old enough, and if she wants to see where I used to play, I'll probably try to use it in Colorado."

If you're in Denver at a Rockies game in, say, 10 or 15 years, keep your eyes peeled for Arenado in the stands.