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...

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 still early in the 2015 MiLB season, and I hope to get to a few more ballparks this summer, but I did return from a fun trip down south where I got to four ballgames, four new stadiums, four games in different states (I'm now at 30 states, plus DC) and games in two more leagues. I'll do a summary post at some point of the traveling like I did last year , but when I got back from this trip, I suddenly became curious about where my last three trips have taken me, and what games I've had the good fortune of seeing. I've said before that I'm not really trying to see all of the AAA teams, or all of the teams of a given league (I don't think), but it struck me that I have seen affiliates of teams from all over the country. I saw an A's single-A affiliate in Vermont last year, a Twins AA affiliate in Connecticut a few years ago and I saw an Angels affiliate in Arkansas on this most recent trip. It seemed suddenly like I've seen affiliates for more te...