He Knew He Was Right

Caps! Happy National Hat Day to my ballcap collecting friends! It was August 28, 1993. That's when the idea of collecting ballcaps first hit. The New York Yankees were at the Cleveland Indians, and I was there with Larry, who of course is one of my very best friends. We had gone to many sporting events together, and even met on the road at a game or two, but we took this road trip together shortly before his wedding, as he wanted to join one of my ballpark chasing trips. We went to two games at the old Cleveland Municipal Stadium, and the Yankees split, but what stands out more than anything was Larry buying an Indians cap, saying he thought it would be cool to pick up a hat at each stadium he visited.  I thought that was a great idea on one hand, but I was snobbish enough on the other to not want a hat of any team but the ones for which I rooted. Still, I knew that could make for a great collection if pursued. As I had been to seven or eight stadiums at that point, though, that no...

A snapshot of the current AAA venues where I've seen a game. The funny thing about AAA ballparks is I can't think of a single one I didn't really like. Well, at least not after a renovation gave me a second chance to form a first impression. Nor until attendance at unseasonably cold or damp April and May games in some of the northeast stadiums was remedied with second and third games at them in the summer months, rectifying any lukewarm perceptions I may have previously had. Yes, it may have taken a couple of ballgames at them, but each AAA ballpark left me with a very favorable impression. Unlike MLB ballparks, where my journey to see them all started 20 years earlier, my AAA chase is a more recent undertaking. With 5/6 of the AAA ballparks now under my belt, I thought I'd take a look back at the journey so far. Not long after moving up to the Hudson Valley in the mid 2000s, my MiLB ballpark chasing got underway, much like a ballplayer's journey might progress, fro...

With the Minor League baseball season wrapping up, I confidently state that I don't expect to visit any new ballparks this year. Well, there is that one ballpark down in…no, no; not this season. Looking back over this past spring and summer, I am happy with visiting a dozen new stadiums. Some ballparks were visited as fulfillment of wish-list objectives, while others were attended to round out itineraries for day trips, overnighters or as part of my grander summer vacation out west. As I mull over where I've been and what I still need to see, it seems that I'll most likely never visit every MiLB venue, but I'll note that my various wish lists and travel goals—ballpark, National Parks and otherwise—will allow me to eliminate some new ballparks each season from the proverbial to-do list. Perhaps I'll get to half of them, or maybe 100 of them, but all 160 seems doubtful. Just for the sake of parsing out my ballpark travel goals a bit and sharing some of my...

From August 4, 2013 through the start of this MLB season, it felt good knowing that I had seen all 30 teams play in their current home ballpark. I've watched the home team play in a total of 43 ballparks, in fact. The Braves opening their new stadium this year of course knocked me out of that all-30 club. Surprisingly to me, though, I didn't feel an overwhelming urge to visit the new ballpark as soon as the season got underway. I was perfectly content to wait until the NFL schedule release later in April to see if I might in one weekend couple a visit to SunTrust park with one to Mercedez-Benz stadium to catch the Falcons in their new digs. A few weeks later, the scheduling gods did set up the alignment I sought, but I balked when realizing the football half of the setup was a Sunday night game in their new stadium's debut. While that'd be nice to see, chances are it's going to be more expensive than I'd like. So, I still haven't made plans to see the B...

Now in my second but first full season with the 27 Outs Network, this was the first of two posts I wrote for them in 2016, which in turn was my third season focusing on MiLB travel. Unfortunately, my fourth and final post for them — a tie-in with the NPS Centennial — was written directly in their WordPress site and is gone. I still have a ski post to belt out, and my National Parks sites check-ins are growing so there will surely be something on that sooner than later. However, baseball season is rapidly approaching for some. In my latest for 27 Outs Baseball, I reflect on this, thinking about my last few MiLB adventures and what this new season seems to have in store for my ballpark gallivanting...Enjoy. 100 days away For us fans of the NY–Penn League and other short-season leagues, there is a very long off season to endure. Perhaps there's some relief in noting that we're now within 100 days of opening day. Sure, other leagues will be underway considerably sooner, but, if yo...

On this date, my second article for 27 Outs Baseball was published. One of the things I really liked about this group was that they keep their posts positive. I always strive for the same. Maybe a little self-deprecation, maybe a wee bit of playful mocking of one or two rival sports teams, etc, but that's about it. These folks operated the same way: No rants, no bashing, no promoting one team over another. Fair, fun, supportive and encouraging stuff. In this post, which I'd thought about writing here and elsewhere, I came close to violating that philosophy, as I took on fans who seem irritated at other fans who enjoy the game differently, who don't watch the game exclusively from their seat. My intention here was a defense—a celebration, really—of the more laid-back baseball fan. Enjoy... A Hat Tip to the Casual Fan Full disclosure: I’ve never filled out a scorecard at a baseball game. I’ve fumbled with them on my softball teams, but they are not something I’m intereste...

It's no secret to anybody who looks at my blog that I love baseball and travel. That said, I was happy to join the 27 Outs crew in 2015 shortly after returning from a ballpark venture down south in June of that year. Mostly helping with their editing, I wrote my first post for them that July. They did a lot to promote Minor League baseball, and I was thrilled to contribute with editing, the occasional article, and even some pictures. The site went down a few years after I joined, but here's the first of three posts I wrote for them, each slightly modified and with dead links removed. Make Minor League Baseball Part of Your Travel Itinerary If you live on either coast, I’ll guess Oklahoma City, Wichita, Omaha, Des Moines and Davenport don’t rank high on your list of must-see vacation spots. Most of us, after all, have limited resources and vacation time, and we’re all too often drawn to beaches, National Parks, mountains and a host of other places that become the focal points...