The Dodgers’ allegedly haunted hotel in Milwaukee and other happenings

For someone who enjoys logistics, occasionally I miss stuff. I am not perfect by any means. Granted, if I had stumbled upon a haunted hotel in Milwaukee during my travels, usually, I would be there. For science. For the memes.

So when word arose on Monday that the Dodgers were staying at an allegedly haunted hotel in Milwaukee, my first reaction was “The Potawatomi Casino is a casino but I would hardly call it haunted. I would think I would have noticed had the team been there last time — ohhhh, they are somewhere else.”

Courtesy of Google Maps

As you can see, the Pfister Hotel is further downtown than the previously recommended Potawatomi Hotel and Casino. There is nothing wrong per se with Milwaukee’s downtown. I thought it was a bit windy for my taste as my cap tends to fly off when I am there but it is otherwise, quite nice.

In my multiple trips to Milwaukee, apparently, there’s a luxury hotel that is downtown and haunted. Apparently, this hotel is infamously haunted and I only learned about this news yesterday. Apparently, I dropped the ball for you all. I ain’t afraid of no ghosts, so I figured I would look into this matter from the comfort of my apartment.

I originally ignored the Pfister Hotel as it was out of my price range and did not offer a shuttle to and from the airport. For my money, I would still recommend flying to Chicago and driving the hour north to Milwaukee. The hotel apparently is not leaning into its alleged history of haunting which apparently goes back almost twenty-five years.

In 2001, then-Dodger Adrian Beltre claimed that “he heard knocking at his door while staying at the Pfister, even with the TV and air conditioner turned off.” The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel compiled a compilation of these happenings in 2021, which is worth your time. Most notably, Cardinals pitcher Carlos Martinez and then-teammate Marcell Ozuna believed that they had seen a floating ghost at the hotel, so they roomed together.

Word of this happening got out and the sound crew at then-Miller Park capitalized by playing The Ghostbuster’s theme during a mound visit in 2018.

Why bring all this information up now? Well, for starters, you now have a Guide to going to a Dodgers/Brewers game in Milwaukee and maybe you would like to walk on the spooky side. But more relevantly, reporting came out on Tuesday that Mookie Betts is not staying with the team at the Pfister Hotel during this recent trip.

Betts is renting an AirBnB with friends and staying there “just in case” the ghost stories are true, Per Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register, who also noted this from Betts regarding an earlier stay the Pfister: “I couldn’t sleep ... Every noise, I’d be like, ‘Is that something?’”

Does Betts believe in ghosts? Who is to say? I would not say that I am superstitious but rather that I am regular-stitious. I acknowledge that there are things outside of my philosophy, Horatio. Maybe Betts does the same.

Dontrelle Willis and things to eat in the Milwaukee area

I rarely comment on the SportsNetLA broadcast, because I prefer to spend my time watching the game and/or tweeting at the community for my amusement. But special assistant/television analyst Dontrelle Willis recently pitched a segment where he tries out various ballpark specialties that he did not get to try as a player.

Willis was understandably busy being a major leaguer and did not have the opportunity to try out the fare that you or I would normally partake in. The Milwaukee entry of the Guide covered food at American Family Field. But one thing I did not cover (for time) was the sheer amount of available hamburger options within an hour of Milwaukee.

For that info, I will refer you to the highlight of my first adventure that I shared on this site: #SaveEli. However, I will say that a trip to Milwaukee is not complete without a trip to Solly’s Grill and partaking of a butter burger, a burger with Wisconsin butter, stewed onions, and a sirloin patty.

Michael Elizondo / True Blue LA

The Dodgers have the most expensive beer in baseball

On May 9, USA Today reported a survey of food prices at 28 MLB stadiums (Levy Restaurants provides food services for the Cubs and the Rays and the company declined to participate).

If you want a cheap hot dog, go to Miami, Milwaukee, Seattle, Minneapolis, or Atlanta as they are all $4 or less per dog, with Miami being the cheapest at three dollars a dog. Conversely, the Orioles, Athletics, Cardinals, Giants, and Padres have the most expensive dogs at over $7.50/dog.

The Dodgers reported that a Dodger Dog was $6.99 a dog.

As for beer, USA Today reported that the Dodgers had the most expensive beer in the majors at 99 cents per ounce for 16-ounce cans, which cost $15.99. This cost is 30 cents higher per ounce than any other team in the majors. While I have had the occasional Michelada at Dodger Stadium. The alcohol markup at the ballpark, especially ours, is quite real.

While I normally do not partake in alcohol while at the ballpark, you might. If this news is bothersome to you, I must tell you that price changes during a season are rare. If enough Dodger fans complain that the alcohol prices are too high, maybe there would be some changes.

Per Jamie Obletz, president of Delaware North Sportservice, the food management company for 10 teams, from the USA Today article:

“Yes, we’re all economically driven. But at the end of the day, you’re trying to maximize that gameday experience for the fans, to keep them returning to that venue for the long term,” he said. “Objective number one, in my view, is to provide that value proposition and meet the guests or meet the customer where they want to be met.”