The great MLB quest

[fleetfootmike]

I dunno how long it's going to take me, but I'm aiming to visit all 30 Major League Baseball stadiums before I run out of time :D

So far:

When	Where	Who	Swag	Company
6 July 1994	Metrodome, Minneapolis, MN	TOR 4 MIN 5	None	Anne, greylady & son
18 June 2008	US Cellular Field, Chicago, IL	PIT 2 CWS 8	generic White Sox t-shirt, logoed baseball	no-one
5 August 2009	Tropicana Field, Tampa, FL	BOS 4 TB 6	Jason Bartlett number/name t-shirt, kids logoed baseball and bat	Anne, James, plaid_dragon, losthismarbles
13 April 2010	Rogers Center, Toronto, Canada	CWS 8 TOR 7 (F/11)	Vernon Wells number/name t-shirt, logoed baseball	hofdave

Stats so far:

AL games seen: 4
NL games seen: 0
Interleague games seen: 0
Team seen most: White Sox, Blue Jays (2 each)
Extra innings games: 1
Total home runs: 16 (including one by Kirby Puckett)
Domed stadiums: 3

Of course, I shall have to visit 31 now, since Target Field has replaced the Metrodome: as a Twins fan, I shall probably leave that till last to bookend the list.

I guess you can expect to see me at a few strategically placed US cons sometime soon :D

Comments

[flabosib.livejournal.com]

Cool! If I ever win the Lottery, visiting all the ballparks would be one thing I'd like to do. (Grad School being another....)

Were you rooting for the White Sox or the Blue Jay last night?

[fleetfootmike.livejournal.com]

It was Monday, and the Blue Jays, obviously, as a Twins fan :D Can't have our divisional rivals WINNING, dontchaknow :D

[hms42]

Any chance of you seeing the NYC area ball parks (along with Philly maybe) around June/July 2011? I can use a hand with sound @ Contata again. (Yes, you were very appreciated last time.)

[fleetfootmike.livejournal.com]

Very much depends on budget, but it does seem the obvious way to do Citi Field, new Yankee Stadium and possibly (depending on time) a couple of the others. :D

Hoping to get to Balticon and Baycon one year to nail Nats, Orioles, A's and Giants, too, and Conchord is also in season for the Dodgers, Angels and Padres.

[redaxe.livejournal.com]

There are enough parks within a day's drive of NYC that you could use this as a base for seeing a major swathe, if you can add a week for scheduling:

New York (N): Citifield (Mets)
New York (A): Yankee Stadium (Yankees) (and it's a shame you missed Shea and old Yankee Stadiums; Shea was a pit, but it'd have been one more notch in the brim of your cap)
Boston: Fenway Park
Philadelphia: Citizens Bank Park (Phillies)
Baltimore: Camden Yards (Orioles)
Washington: Nationals Park (Nationals)
Pittsburgh: PNC Park (Pirates) (perhaps stretching a bit, but Pittsburgh is about 9 hours by car from NYC)

Also, NYC has two minor league ballparks (Staten Island Yankees and Brooklyn Cyclones), which are a totally different and fun experience (plus about a zillion more such, locally).

2011 schedules, of course, are not yet out, but in general, MLB likes to schedule one team in NY and one team on the road at any given time. So we'll see what happens for next summer.

[billroper]

A noble goal and one I haven't managed despite greater proximity. I'm up to twenty parks (if I've counted correctly), but seven of them are no longer operational baseball stadiums.

Did I mention that I have season tickets for the Cubs? And I'm planning to go to the game on Wednesday, June 16th vs. the As, which is conveniently located relative to Duckon the following weekend? :)

Of course, you get to see Talis more frequently than we do...

[fleetfootmike.livejournal.com]

I doubt I shall get anywhere in the US again this year unless someone else (like the BBC) is paying. FKO pretty much did for our con budget :D

Still mildly miffed that I didn't plan last year better, as a) I missed a Cubs game by 2 hours and b) I missed a Yankees game by the same margin.

[billroper]

I fully understand.

I note, for future reference, that Milwaukee and St. Louis are both within rational driving distance of Chicago and that a potential native guide and Cardinals fan still hasn't seen the latest incarnation of Busch Stadium. :)

[fleetfootmike.livejournal.com]

Ooo.
So noted :)

[redaxe.livejournal.com]

It look as if Detroit, Cincinnati, and Cleveland are within not impossible driving distance, as well (though Cleveland may be stretching the point, at sixish hours). Minneapolis and Kansas City are real stretches, but could be done on not horrid drives, probably planning to do them as overnight stays.

[ericcoleman]

My Dad has season tickets for the Iowa Cubs so the kids and I go join him several times every summer. I have to admit to have a distinct preference for AAA ball, but I really want to do this as well. I'm not a fan of any particular team, but I love baseball.

[ccrazy.livejournal.com]

Any time I have to travel to an Major League Baseball city during the season, one the first things I do is check if they'll be home while I'm there. Doesn't always mean I'll make it to the ballpark (like I still haven't seen a game in Toronto), but it's definitely part of my planning. I definitely need to plan a trip the Mets new stadium this summer. Last summer got weird and I never made it down.

[janeg.livejournal.com]

Did Ken end up being substituted for Dave, or did you mean hofdave for Monday's game?

[fleetfootmike.livejournal.com]

I did of course mean the latter :D

Trading

[(Anonymous)]

Do you want to 'buy' my attendance at Yankees Stadium in 2000 ?

Re: Trading

[fleetfootmike.livejournal.com]

That would depend on who you are :D

Also, doesn't really cut it, since the whole point is me, you know, BEING there :D

Re: Trading

[(Anonymous)]

Sorry = Andy Anonymous Liggins. Agree but just for fun, what would YOU have to trade with me?

Re: Trading

[fleetfootmike.livejournal.com]

Ooo. Tricky.

Um... I can offer the England/Australia T20 international from 2005 :D (in which Australia were roundly trounced)

Re: Trading

[(Anonymous)]

Agree - a tricky one. I bet the food & drink at the cricket were a LOT better than the rubbish food at the Yankees (it wasn't that it was fast food - just really bad junk food = dry frankfurter in dry roll) but think I'll hold on the trade unless you have something better...

[mrgoodwraith.livejournal.com]

You'll have to come to Confluence and take in a Pirates game with Marty Adkins. But it'll have to be soon, before we finally get tired enough of the Pirates losing to let them go somewhere else. (Actually, The Onion did a terrific piece once about PNC Park demanding to be traded...LOL!)