If you attend a baseball game and don’t take a selfie, were you even there?
There’s no question that a selfie can be a fun souvenir of your visit, as well as something you can share on social media during the game. To take a good selfie, you want a decent light source, the right pose and the perfect backdrop. At any ballpark you visit, it’s important to spend some time assessing your backdrop options so that you choose the right one.
Here are five perfect places to snap a selfie at Minute Maid Park in Houston.
1. The Minute Maid Park Sign
While it can be tempting to get a selfie in front of the sign at any ballpark, this can be particularly appealing at Minute Maid Park. The Houston park’s sign is iconic, given the fun look of the orange-themed baseball. Or is it the baseball-themed orange? Whatever the case, you’ll find numerous examples of the Minute Maid Park sign throughout the ballpark, including on the main concourse and atop the video board above right field.
2. The Phillips 66 Home Run Pump
One of the most recognizable features around the park is the Phillips 66 Home Run Pump, which you can find on the home run porch in left-center field. The pump tracks the number of home runs that the Astros have hit since Minute Maid Park opened in 2000. The pump towers overhead, and can easily fill the entire background of your selfie. One fun idea is to take a shot at the start of the game and another when the home run tracker changes after an Astros long ball.
3. Union Station
Rather than tear down Houston’s historic Union Station, a train station that opened in 1911, the architects of Minute Maid Park decided to incorporate the station into the ballpark’s design. Today, the old train station’s lobby serves as the main entrance to the ballpark, and it can be fun to walk through this historic building on your way to the ballgame. It’s a good selfie spot because it has a historic look, while also featuring modern Astros-themed memorabilia displays and decor. There are all sorts of eye-catching backdrops to explore in this space.
4. The Train
Perhaps the most iconic sight at Minute Maid Park is the train that sits on an 800-foot track high above left field. Paying tribute to Union Station, the train is visible from inside and outside of the ballpark. Look closely, and you’ll notice that the locomotive’s tender is filled with enormous oranges, tying into the park’s name. It’s fun to keep your eye on the train throughout your visit, especially when it moves along the track after each Astros home run. From any spot in the lower seating bowl, you can position yourself so that the train makes a cool selfie backdrop.
5. The Left Field Scoreboard
Most baseball fans love seeing manual scoreboards at parks, especially because they’re less common today than they once were. At Minute Maid Park, the out-of-town scoreboard in the left field fence is still manually operated, and walking down to field level in the left field corner will make it easy to have the scoreboard serve as the background to your selfie. If your favorite team is playing, and especially if it’s winning, try to position yourself so that your team’s score is visible over your shoulder.