People will come, Ray. The one constant through all the years Ray, has been baseball. America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers. It’s been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt and erased again. But baseball has marked the time. This field, this game, is a part of our past, Ray. It reminds us of all that once was good, and that could be again. Oh, people will come, Ray. People will most definitely come.
Terence Mann (James Earl Jones) to Ray Kinsella (Kevin Costner) in Field of Dreams
Baseball is a special game.
There’s just something about it that makes it magical. At times, it may lack action, but watching a 1-0 game can be more fun than a 32-20 football game or a 5-2 hockey game.
The majesty of the perfect pitch. The art of turning a 6-4-3 double play. Watching the arc of a 3-run home run.
It’s what makes the game worth watching and following. And why I have always been a baseball fan. And what made me start chasing ballparks.
How do you chase a ballpark, you ask? It’s simple. It’s the quest to see all 30 Major League Baseball stadiums. Some do the feat in 30 days, some in one year, and some a park or two per season. Some even expand it to Minor League stadiums as well.
Officially, my chase started in winter 2015, when my brother and I made the trek to Lakeland, FL, to watch Tigers’ spring training. Obviously, we had watched many games before at Tiger Stadium and Comerica Park, but it was the first time we had decided to see more ballparks.
After the spring training trip, we spent a week in Baltimore and Washington, DC, since the Tigers were also spending a week there in 2016. We also saw the final game in Turner Field that season, which was the second time we saw Justin Verlander lose, 1-0.
Unfortunately, the chase ended in 2017. Our last trip together was San Diego for two games at Petco Park. Later that year, my brother passed unexpectedly. Although it’s not the same without him, I have continued the chase the past five years.
There are some personal rules as to what constitutes being able to check off a stadium. First and foremost, I have to see a game in the park. I also have to be there for first pitch and stay until the final out.
There are exceptions though. For example, in 2016, when we were in DC and Baltimore for back-to-back series it began with sightseeing in DC before we settled into the Tigers-Nationals game. It just happened to feature Max Scherzer pitching against the Tigers. It was the game he fanned 20, although I was only able to see about 15, since we had to catch the last Amtrak train back to Baltimore, where we were staying for the week.
In total, I’ve been to 43 stadiums, including major league, minor league, college, summer collegiate, and independent leagues. To break it down even further, I have been to 20 MLB stadiums, although only 16 active. Of the retired stadiums, it includes Tiger Stadium, the Houston Astrodome, Globe Life Park (Rangers), and Turner Field (Braves).
This year, I took my first baseball bus tour, through Diamond Baseball Tours. Over seven days, 21 like-minded baseball fans started in Colorado and proceeded to Omaha for the College Baseball World Series, Minnesota, Milwaukee, Chicago White Sox, St. Louis, and before ending in Kansas City.
Throughout the remainder of the season, each Wednesday, I’ll recap a ballpark from that trip, including highlights, lowlights, food, and other curiosities to experience.