Hey Guys and Gals,

I'm back and I am ready to go exploring many of the ballparks in this country this summer! I will have some extra cash because I graduate and I get a trip or two that I am planning for leisure. My goal is to see some more parks!

With that being said, I am thinking of visiting family in Colorado Springs for a week. This would naturally mean that I would have been accompany me in a Rockies game and would like to know what time to leave might be best or what…

Continue

My friend and I are on our second year of our baseball roadtrip. First year was mid-June with games in Cleveland, Pittsburgh, both New York teams, Boston, and Washington D.C. This summer we are planning 2 weekend trips; first one is in July with a Friday night game in Milwaukee and Saturday and Sunday games in Minneapolis. We have another trip in mind and that is Coors field. We are planning to leave on a friday afternoon/evening out of Chicago (our home city) and fly into Denver. Any advice…

Continue

Yesterday I wrote about having picked up a book titled The Baseball Fan's Bucket List. This book has a list of 162 things that we baseball fan's must see, do, get & experience. I'm sure most of you have already done a good number of the things listed in this book, such as Take a Baseball Road Trip ( Listed #1 ), Go to Opening Day ( Listed #3 ), and there's some things that some of us may never do, like Throw Out the First Pitch ( #139 on the list ) or Host a Minor League Ball Player (…

Continue

I haven't been to an MLB game yet this season. Extremely hard to believe. The weather has something to do with it, as does the sorry state of my New York Mets. I've also kept busy by "coming out of my baseball retirement". I am playing vintage baseball in the Coltsville Vintage Baseball League. We play 1860's rules that include playing bare-handed. Yes, with a hard ball. Check it out at the Friends of Vintage…

Continue

I’m not big on ticket scalping. If I’ve done it for five events in my life it would be a lot. Of all my ballgame experiences I believe I’ve paid scalpers to get in twice. (Although I did score a great seat to an Orioles-Yankees game at Camden Yards for nothing once. The seat was so good I could see the expressions on my Orioles’ faces as the Yankees whipped their butts. Sometimes patience and persistence can make a world of difference.)

 

The first time was my first trip to…

Continue

U.S. Cellular Field, the home of the Chicago White Sox, doesn’t present near the congestion challenges as does Wrigley Field, its venerable neighbor to the north. There are a few reasons for this; the White Sox offer more parking, they don’t draw as well as the Cubs, and there isn’t much else in the area drawing crowds, at least not at the moment.

 

But this isn’t to say that you won’t run into your own set of difficulties on the South Side. The Dan Ryan Expressway (I-90/94) in…

Continue

OK, so the cross-town rival Yankees have their majestic new stadium and a 2009 championship. The division rivals Phillies have a 2008 championship and plenty of parking. So what. The Mets have an unendingly loyal fan base, cooler hats, and the Ebbets-influenced outstanding new ballpark in Flushing. Citi Field is a vast improvement over the former home of the Mets, Shea Stadium, in nearly every way. Even with the Mets underperforming over the last couple of seasons, the Mets faithful still…

Continue

I have lived in Jacksonville, Florida since December of 1980.



I had never been to a minor league ball park except for a 1978 Detroit Tigers Spring Training game in Lakeland, Florida, home of Joker Marchant Stadium.



The Lakeland Flying Tigers are the current home team, and the Lower Single "A" affiliate of the Tigers.



I went to my first minor league game in 1981, in downtown Jacksonville, to old Wolfson Park, where the Jacksonville Suns played their… Continue

The Twins have announced that beginning Friday, Jan. 29 and continuing through Wednesday, Feb. 10, fans can register to participate in a random drawing for the opportunity to purchase tickets to any of the Inaugural Opening Series games at Target Field. Fans can register at TwinsFest, which begins Fri. Jan. 29, or at their main… Continue

As a native Minnesotan, I'm looking forward to the MN Twins' move to the outdoor ballpark. Target Field will be a major upgrade... minus the snow in April and October. (Yes- the Twins play in October sometimes...)



Here is a really good article that captures all of my favorite memories:

http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/story/12148420



The last game in the dome is Sunday, October 4th. Should be a fun… Continue

Cheney Field has been a springboard for many MLB players in it's 50 years of service. Players such as Gaylord Perry, Juan Marichal, Mark McGwire, Alex Rodriguez, to name a few, once honed their skills here before the bigs. Cheney Field is currently housed by the Seattle Mariners AAA affiliate Tacoma Rainiers. If you walk… Continue

One of the things I planned to do this season was to visit some minor league parks. I had the opportunity to visit 3 AAA parks this season, and every year, I make it out to a few Rancho Cucamunga Quakes game with my dad, who is an avid fan of Minor League ball and a partial season ticket holder of the Quakes. The 3 AAA Parks I would venture to this season would be Raley Field in Sacramento ( Parent Club....A's ) , Cheney Field in Tacoma ( Parent Club....Mariners's ), and PGE Park in Portland (… Continue

Hey all, I hope you've all had a great summer. My summer ballpark journey would take me through the Pacific Northwest, taking in a Mariners game at Safeco, and then a couple of Minor League Parks as well. My Visits to the Minor's I'll do in my next blog, since I had the chance to visit 3 AAA Parks this season,… Continue

I attended the inaugural Hall of Fame Classic in Cooperstown on Father's Day Weekend. It was a baseball fan's dream. With the likes of Bob Feller, Brooks Robinson, Ferguson Jenkins, Paul Molitor, Phil Niekro, Jeff Kent, Bill "Spaceman" Lee, et al, there were the makings of a "classic" weekend. I almost forgot to post a link here to my blog entry. If you're interested, check it out at Roger's Baseball Blog.

Robison Field was the home of the St. Louis Cardinals from 1893-1920. The site is just a few blocks from where Sportsman's Park (there four on the same site) was located at and sits just a couple miles north of downtown St. Louis. On the site today is Beaumont High School (pictured).



I was recently in Indianapolis… Continue

Opening in 2010, Target Field will be the new home of the Minnesota Twins. Fans got a sneak peek at the new seats this weekend at TwinsFest. Despite showing off the traditional plastic ballpark seats, the Twins surprised everyone with the unveiling of new wood-back seats. This feature has not been used in a new construction ballpark since World War II!



Well done guys -this is a great way to bring back the classic stadium look.…



Continue

While I was away for a few days to see my sister in Atlanta(who I never did get to see), I decided to head to a place of serious horrors for my team - the infamous Turner Field, or as they call it, "The Ted", to see my New York Mets take on the Atlanta Braves.



At that point, the Mets were right there for both the National League East title, and the NL wild card. As we know by now, they blew both - again. I didn't write to talk about that. Instead, I will say that earlier in the day,… Continue