Day 18 - Louisville

Start: Rolla, MO
Stop: Louisville, KY
Finish: Jackson, TN

Today was pretty much a travel day. We traveled to Louisville, Kentucky so Eric could go to his friend Drew’s wedding. While Eric was attending the wedding, Kyle and I went to play putt-putt and go on the go-karts.

We first headed to Kart Kountry, the home of the largest go-kart track in the United States (1.5 miles). First, Kyle and I played a round of putt-putt. It was a tight match, but I ended up getting the victory. After that, we engaged in a tough battle of go-karting which I won as well. It was really fun to have some down time.

We liked putt-putting so much, we decided to head to a “Putt-Putt: Golf and Games” that had 3 different courses. Kyle won 2 of the courses, but I won the last one by strokes, giving me the overall win by one stroke. After that, we went to pick up Eric and head to our last hotel stop in Jackson.

Eric enjoyed the wedding and he also enjoyed his time with Rachel. In the car, however, we all decided it was just about time to go home. We are definitely ready to be back home and back in our real lives. We will be home tomorrow!!!

Record (still): 7-7

Day 17 - Springfield

Start: Galesburg, IL
Stop: Springfield, MO – Hammons Field – Frisco RoughRiders (Rangers AA minor league) at Springfield Cardinals (Cardinals AA minor league)
Finish: Rolla, MO

Today we woke up around 9 to leave Galesburg at 10. We had to drive 7 hours before the 7 o clock game in Springfield, MO. After stopping at a Wendy’s for lunch, we stopped at our hotel in Rolla on the way to drop off our stuff and check in. Then we drove the last 1 ½ hours to Hammons Field in lovely Springfield. We were there before the gates opened, so we got out our gloves and ball and started throwing the ball around in the empty part of the parking lot. A photographer from the local newspaper came over and asked if he could take pictures of us throwing the ball around. He said he likes taking pictures of the fans having fun before the game.

After we finished throwing it around, Grandpa B showed up, we got our tickets and headed inside. The stadium was really nice for a AA stadium. We were there to see the Rangers AA team play the Cardinals AA team. When we got in the stadium, we found out that Tommy Hunter was pitching for the Rangers farm team. Hunter is the best pitching prospect on the team, so we were very excited. The game started off really nicely for Hunter, as he struck out the side in the first inning. He ended up striking out 8 in 6 innings, which was great. The game was great for the Rangers team, as they won 5-1. We had a great time with Grandpa B, and seeing all the great Rangers prospects was great fun. We’re almost home, whoo hoo!

Result: RoughRiders win 5-1
Record: 7-7

Day 16 - Clinton

Start: Wheaton, IL
Stop: Clinton, IA – Alliant Energy Field – Beloit Snappers (Twins low-A minor league) at Clinton Lumberkings (Rangers low-A minor league)
Finish: Galesburg, IL

After getting back from the game last night, we got our things together and went to bed. We slept for a while and then woke up to go to brunch at the Egglectic Café. It was more like lunch time, but most of us had breakfast food. Actually, all of us had some sort of eggs or pancakes, except for Jason, who had the Barbeque Bacon Cheddar burger. We all enjoyed the food very much, so we decided we needed to work it off. We packed up the bats, gloves and balls and went off to the baseball field. Kyle, Jason, Duncan, Eean and I went to go play some baseball and Aunt Diane came along to watch. The McNaughtons had some wooden bats, and we had never used wooden bats before, so we all took a few hacks with the lumber. We all got a couple of good hits, and then around 2:30, we went back to their house to cool off before we had to leave.

We left town around 3:30 to make the drive to Clinton. We got there around 6, and we were one of the first people there. We got our tickets (2nd row behind home plate on the 3rd base side) and went in to the stadium. We walked over to where the team was warming up and tried to look out for a couple of the top prospects. We saw a catcher running some blocking drills (the coach was throwing the ball down a few feet in front of the catcher, and he had to block the ball), a few guys doing some laps, and a few guys playing a game of hot potato with a baseball. We were standing over the dugout, and there were some balls sitting on top, so when a coach walked by, he picked one up and threw it to Jason. Not exactly the way we envisioned getting a ball at a game, but it’s the best we’ve got so far.

Once the game started, we watched in our seats. At this stadium, there was netting running from one dugout to the other to keep foul balls out of the stands, so we had to watch the game through the net. This made it a little hard to take pictures, but we made the best of it. Nearly all of the Lumberkings starters are top prospects in the organization, and tonight’s starter, Kennil Gomez, isn’t quite at the top of the list, but he’s pretty good. He pitched 7 innings and only gave up 2 runs, which isn’t bad, but the best part of the evening was the top of the third inning, where Gomez struck out all three batters in order.

As you know from our first game, minor league games have various on field activities in between innings. Tonight Birdzerk, “the craziest show in sports”, entertained the crowd between innings with his crazy hijinks. At one point, he tricked the opposing team’s third baseman into taking off his glove, then he stole it, jumped in a go cart and drove to the outfield fence and threw his glove over the fence. He did some other crazy things, but that was the best. One other quick note from the game was that the opposing team’s third baseman was very short. I saw him warming up with the team and thought he was a batboy or something, but then I looked at their roster and saw a 5’3” infielder, and sure enough, that’s who it was. Really odd seeing someone that short.

After the game, we started driving south to Galesburg. The highway we were trying to take was closed for construction, so we had to go around, but since we were in the middle of nowhere in Iowa, we had to drive 4 miles west, a few miles south, then 4 miles back east to get around the roadblock. Now we’re at the hotel, getting ready to store up on sleep for the next few days.

Result: Lumberkings lose 2-0
Record: 6-7

Day 15 - Chicago

Start: Milan, OH
Stop: Chicago, IL – Wrigley Field – Baltimore Orioles at Chicago Cubs
Finish: Wheaton, IL
After examining the schedule for today, we had high hopes that it would be a pretty easy and fun day. We didn’t have to wake up too early and we didn’t have too much to drive. Plus, we would have the honor of seeing a Cubs game at Wrigley Field with our aunt, uncle and cousins. Now that the day is over, it is pretty easy to say that we were correct in our prediction.

We left Ohio around 10:15 Eastern Time so we could arrive at the McNaughton’s house at around 3 Central Time. On the way, we stopped at a Fazolis to eat lunch. It was mighty tasty! We then got back on the road and arrived in Wheaton only about 10 minutes late. When we got there, only Aunt Diane, Duncan and Eean were at home, so we just hung out for a bit waiting for Lesley and Uncle Scott to get home. When they did, we packed up our Gatorades and headed for downtown.

When we got to downtown, we parked in a parking garage, walked to a subway station and rode it to the famed Wrigley Field. When we got there, we went to the home plate gate with the famous “Welcome to Wrigley Field, Home of the Cubs” sign is located. After taking a few pictures, we walked to our seats down the right field line and in the upper deck.

Our view was pretty good and uninhibited. The Cubs have been playing good at home, so needless to say, we were expecting a win. They came out fast, scoring 6 runs in the first 3 innings. The game was pretty good and the Cubs won so it was a successful evening.

We then rode the train back to the car and drove home! Tomorrow we are planning to eat breakfast early and then just hang out until we need to leave for Clinton, IA. It should be another easy/fun day!

Result: Cubs win, 7-4
Record: 6-6

Day 14 - Cleveland

Start: Harmarville, PA
Stop: Cleveland, OH – Progressive Field – Cleveland Indians vs. San Francisco Giants
Finish: Milan, OH

Today we woke up at around 10 in the morning and made our way out of the hotel at around noon. It was a lazy morning, but after eating lunch at Subway we headed to the Duquesne Incline, the famous place to take photos of downtown Pittsburgh. The ride up the incline was quite enjoyable, as was the view and picture taking. The whole experience was a great time. After coming down the incline, we headed to a Pittsburgh sports store so Jason could buy some souvenirs. I went in and bought a Roberto Clemente shirt for myself. I wanted to buy one in PNC Park, but they ran out of mediums. Luckily they had them at the store!

After leaving the store, we found a park with the help of the GPS and brought out the gloves and ball to play some baseball. After playing for about 30 minutes, we packed back into the car and got on the way to Cleveland. When we got to the city, we found some pretty cheap and close parking and made our way to the stadium. We passed the building with the famous (at least to me) LeBron James “We are all witnesses” banner draped over it.

We arrived at the gate at 5:50, when we then found out that the gates did not open until an hour before gametime. We found this quite ridiculous and minor league-esque. Anyways, we got into the stadium at 6 and sat down in our bleacher seats in left field. After the pregame, we decided to move to the upper deck behind home plate so we could see the video board. This was a wise decision. The game was a bit of a snoozer, and it ended up as a 3-2 loss for Cleveland. Traffic wasn’t that bad getting out, and now we’re about ready to go to bed. Until tomorrow!

Game Result: Indians lose 3-2
Record: 5-6

Day 13 - Pittsburgh (pt. 2)

Start/Finish: Harmarville, PA

Today was a much needed day off. We slept in past breakfast and woke up to go to lunch with Grandpa and Grandma Goldkette. They had to be in Southwestern Pittsburgh by 1, so we went to lunch around 11:30. We went to a place called Kings Family Restaurant. It was pretty good, but the weird thing about it was their “Frownie Brownies”, which is a weird brownie with a sad face on it. There was a sign on the table with a picture of the frownie with a speech bubble that said “I’ll be waiting for you after your meal”, which was a little creepy. We didn’t have a frownie, but the lunch was good.

After lunch, we went to Target to browse and waste some time. After that, we came back to the room and took a nap. I got up around 4 and Kyle and Jason woke up about an hour later. After watching some TV, we went to dinner at Arby’s, came back and threw the ball around, then went back inside to watch more TV. We had been planning to see Get Smart on one of these days, so we went tonight. The plan was to do outside-y things today and see a matinee of the movie tomorrow, but it rained today, so we just slept instead and saw the movie tonight so we could do outside-y things tomorrow before we have to be in Cleveland. The movie was really fun. I wouldn’t expect a really deep, meaningful story line or strong character development, but it was enjoyable.

Hopefully the rest we got today will help us get through the rest of the trip. After tomorrow afternoon, we’ll be pretty busy until we get home on Sunday night, so hopefully we can still get enough sleep for the rest of the week.

Record: (still) 5-5

Day 12 - Pittsburgh

Start: Silver Spring, MD
Stop: Pittsburgh, PA – PNC Park – Pittsburgh Pirates vs. Toronto Blue Jays
Finish: Harmarville, PA

Waking up after our successful night in Washington D.C. was very difficult (waking up at 7 should only be required for school days!) After falling out of bed, we left around 8 in order to give us enough time to get to Pittsburgh even if there was traffic. We got to the city around 12:15 and we were feeling pretty good. While following the route TomTom gave us, we ran in to a gay pride parade which was pretty weird to see. That forced us to drive around for an extra 30 minutes. We arrived at a parking garage right across the Roberto Clemente Bridge and parked the car ($5 garage parking=awesome!)

We walked across the bridge, bought some water and walked in to one of the most beautiful parks in the MLB. We then got to our beautiful seats (thanks Grandpa B!) and sat down to enjoy the game. The Pirates couldn’t complete the sweep of the sorry Blue Jays, but it was still a great game to see and a great view. We got some great pictures and enjoyed the wide variety of food. Eric and I got Philly Cheese steaks and Kyle got some buffalo wings.

After the game we walked down the rotunda and back to our car. We then checked in at our Days Inn about 15 minutes away from the downtown Pittsburgh area and sat down to relax for a bit. Grandpa and Grandma Goldkette were in the area visiting Grandma’s family, so they invited us to eat dinner with them. We went to Denny’s and it surprisingly tasty! I had the buffalo sub which was awesome.

All in all, it was a very good day. The next few days are looking even better. Tomorrow is a complete day off here in the city and we don’t have to leave until 4 PM on Tuesday! It should be very good for us to get some rest! Until tomorrow everyone!

Game Result: Pirates lose, 8-5
Record: 5-5

Day 11 - Washington DC

Start: Cranston, RI
Stop: Washington DC – Nationals Park – Washington Nationals vs. Texas Rangers
Finish: Silver Spring, MD

After waking up in the smallest state in the nation, we grabbed a quick breakfast and got on the road once again. After getting in tons of toll road traffic, we finally made it to the Silver Springs Days Inn at around 5:45, when we were hoping to get there at about 4. I hate traffic. Anyways, we got on the Metro train, (Red Line towards Shady Grove) took a change to the Green line, and made it to Nationals Park at around 6:30. We took our pictures outside and tried to make our way into the stadium, but Eric’s ticket wouldn’t scan. He had to go to the ticket booth and wait for a long time, but in the end he got a cool looking ticket, so it was worth it. We bought our souvenirs and made our way to our seats next to the Rangers bullpen in left field.

As the game got underway, Jason guessed that a Ranger would hit a home run into our section. Eric even said that Ian Kinsler, the Rangers’ leadoff hitter would hit one out as the first batter. Sure enough, Kinsler jacked one into the Rangers bullpen just 20 feet away from us. Unfortunately, the guys in the pen threw it in another direction, so we didn’t get the ball. After that, we settled down in our seats and enjoyed the game. The stadium was very beautiful (it is a brand new park) and the game was enjoyable. Jason got some nachos, Eric got a Frito pie, and I got chili cheese fries, and they were all very tasty. We sat back and enjoyed the Rangers kill the Nationals in the 7th inning, in which they scored 7 runs. They ended up winning the game in easy fashion, 13-3. It was a great win for the Rangers!

After the game, we headed towards the Metro station and got on the train with the rest of the remaining crowd. On the way back, we had a nice discussion with some general baseball fans that were at the game. They had been to Fenway, Yankee Stadium, and Oriole Park in the past couple of days, just for fun. We joked around and then got off the train at our stop. Now we have to get up early tomorrow to go to Pittsburgh so good night!

Game Result: Rangers win 13-3
Record: 5-4

Day 10 - Boston

Start: Stamford, CT
Stop: Boston, MA – Fenway Park – Boston Red Sox vs. St. Louis Cardinals
Finish: Cranston, RI

Today we slept in a bit (just until 10 AM) to get back some much needed energy that we lost in New York City. We got on the road around 11 so we could get to our hotel in time enough to relax a bit before heading to Boston for the Red Sox game. On the way we stopped at Taco Bell to eat lunch. There was a new item that we all tried called the Queso Crunchwrap Supreme. It was quite enjoyable and we went on our way to Rhode Island.

We got to the hotel around 2:30 and crashed on our king sized bed for 2 hours. To pass the time we ended up watching the late, great Bob Ross paint a masterpiece right before our eyes on PBS. It was pretty awesome to see how simple he made painting and we shared a couple of laughs of amazement at his work.

After watching Mr. Ross, we left at 4:30 so we could get to Fenway around 6. Even though we planned for traffic in to our ETA, we still got to our parking garage (which was 1 ½ miles away from Fenway Park) at 6:30. We got to the stadium in time enough to see the scheduled first pitch. However, rain delayed the game for over an hour so we were stuck under an awning for that time.

When the game started we took some great twilight pictures of one of the most picturesque parks in the MLB. Go to our Flckr account soon to see some of them.

The game was very well played. We got to see a knuckleballer (Tim Wakefield) which was exciting. The Sox ended up losing 5-4, but it was still a very enjoyable experience. It was a special day at the ballpark because the Boston Celtics were there to celebrate their newly won NBA Championship (booooo!). Because of that, the Red Sox wore green jerseys. We enjoyed our time at the historic ballpark but on the flip side it was very crowded and very hectic there. This week in the northeast has taught me that I have absolutely no interest in living here.

Tomorrow should be a great day because we get to see the Rangers again! Look for us on FSN Southwest, we will be sitting 4 rows up in the left field seats right next to the Rangers bullpen.

Game Result: Red Sox lose 5-4
Record: 4-4

Day 9 - New York City

Start: Stamford, CT
Stop: New York City – Yankee Stadium – New York Yankees vs. San Diego Padres
Finish: Stamford, CT

Today started out with breakfast at 10 am, but it was kind of cutting it close to make our 10:37 train. We made the mile walk to the station and arrived at…10:37:02. The train doors had just closed as we got to the platform. Luckily there was another express train just 10 minutes later, so we hopped on that one. We got off the train and got an all-day subway pass and got on a train with a bunch of Yankees fans headed towards historic Yankee Stadium. Once we exited the train and got to street level, the stadium was right before our eyes. I was just honored to have the opportunity to watch a game in “The House That Ruth Built.”

While walking to our gate of entrance, we saw the brand new Yankee Stadium across the street. It looks really good, but the field is really just a replica of the original stadium. That’s fine with me, since it is so iconic. Let’s hope they have wider concourses there, because it was crammed in the current stadium.

We got to our seats in upper deck in right field and found out we couldn’t see the video board, which kind of took a little bit away from the experience. Still, watching Jeter and Posada play in Yankee Stadium was just awesome. The game was a great pitcher’s duel (we saw the young phenom Joba Chamberlain!) and ended in a 2-1 Yankee win. I felt kind of dirty cheering for the Bronx Bombers, but hey, I can see how a lot of people like them. After the game was over, we walked out to the sounds of “New York, New York.”

After the game, we got on the subway and headed down to Wall Street and headed down to the World Trade Center site. They are building the “Freedom Tower” at Ground Zero, so there was a lot of construction. The WTC #7 building has already been completed and it looks pretty good. After taking a few pictures, we walked down to Battery Park to get a view of the Statue of Liberty. We were a little far away, but the lighting was nice so we got some good pictures. After that, we bought some souvenirs and got on the 8:37 train back to Stamford. After getting back to the hotel around 10, we headed to McDonald’s to finally get some dinner. Whew, what a day!

Game Result: Yankees win, 2-1
Record: 4-3

Day 8 - New York City

Start: Newark, DE
Stop: New York City – Late Show with David Letterman taping
Finish: Stamford, CT

We woke up early this morning to drive around New York City to take the train into the city from Stamford, CT. We left early in case there was traffic, but we got through pretty smoothly, aside from having to pay about $15 in tolls to go over some bridges. We then went to the train station and caught the train into Grand Central station. Unfortunately, we got on the local train, which made a lot of stops and was about 20 minutes longer than the express train, which just goes from Stamford to Grand Central. Once we got into the city, we walked down 45th street until we got to Broadway, saw Times Square and continued up Broadway until we got to 54th street, where the Ed Sullivan Theater is. We ate lunch at Rupert Jee’s Hello Deli, which is a sandwich place outside of the Ed Sullivan Theater which appears on the show about once a week.

After lunch, we got in line to get our ticket vouchers, and they told us to be back in an hour. So we stopped by the small CBS store, then walked down to Rockefeller Center where the NBC studios are. We stopped by the NBC store, and there was a lot more merchandise to choose from. They had merchandise from nearly all of their current shows (including The Office, 30 Rock, Law and Order, etc) and some old shows (Seinfeld, Will and Grace). After wasting enough time there, we went back to the theater and stood in line to get inside. We were told to laugh at everything, even if we didn’t think it was that funny…and only to clap, cheer and laugh…no “Spring Break woo-ing”. We got to our seats in the balcony and immediately noticed that the set looks a lot smaller than it seems on TV. The warm-up comedian came out and told a few jokes, then he introduced the CBS orchestra. They played a song or two, and Paul Schaffer came out and finished the song out, and then Dave came out. He talked to the crowd for about a minute before it was 4:30 and time for the taping. He seemed in a really good mood, because he ran out when his name was called and hopped over the raised part of the stage where his desk is. Also, after his monologue, when it cut to Paul and the band, he jogged to his desk and put his hands on one of the guest chairs and spun his body around it to hop up on the stage.

We got to see Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen, fresh off their Game 6 victory of the NBA finals, Jane Krakowski of 30 Rock and some new American Girl movie, and Martha Wainwright. One thing that was interesting was that, while filming, they took breaks during the commercial break (rather than stopping for a second and going right back to it), and the band played to keep the audience pumped up. We were done at 5:30 sharp and went back on the town. We went to Central Park for a bit, then walked back down to the NBC store to pick up some things. It started raining and we made our way back to Times Square via the Fox News studios, where we saw Neil Cavuto (of Your World with Neil Cavuto) finishing his show and Shepard Smith (of The Fox Report with Shepard Smith) starting his show. We got some rainy pictures of us at Times Square (hopefully we can get better pictures tomorrow), and went to a pizza place on 45th street, near Grand Central Station. We got a big Sicilian pizza, which took about 45 minutes to cook, but it was pretty good. After dinner, we got back on the train and came to the hotel to rest up for our second day in the city tomorrow.

Day 7 - Baltimore

Start: Scranton, PA
Stop: Baltimore, MD – Oriole Park at Camden Yards – Baltimore Orioles vs. Houston Astros
Finish: Newark, DE

This morning, we had to be out of the hotel by 11am, and it was only a 3 hour drive for a 7:05pm game, so we wasted some time around Scranton. Scranton is where the TV show The Office takes place, so we drove around looking for landmarks from the show. We found the Penn Paper tower that can be seen in the opening montage, and at the Steamtown Mall, there is the “Welcome to Scranton” sign that is also in the opening of the show. Also, on the elevator in the mall, there was a picture of a Dwight Schrute bobblehead that is in a couple episodes of the show.

After wasting time at the mall, we went to get lunch and found a baseball field where we killed some time pitching and fielding. Then at 2:30, we made our way to Baltimore to get to the game early. It’s a good thing we did, because there was a lot of traffic and it took a while to find good parking. We walked to the stadium and immediately noticed the iconic warehouse that can be seen in right field. We walked around the stadium to get a good shot of home plate, then went in to our seats. Today was a promotion day, so we all got Orioles t-shirts that were made in honor of “Wild Bill Hagy”, a rabid Orioles fan from the late 70s and early 80s. This promotion added to the ambiance by filling the stands with orange-shirted fans.

One thing we noticed was that the fans were very involved in the game. It wasn’t even close to a sellout, but it seemed like the loudest game that we’ve been to yet. After 5 innings, we walked down to Eutaw Street, which is a street right outside the stadium, between the stadium and the warehouse. On Eutaw Street, they have markers on the ground where home run balls have been hit. If the game is a sellout, you can buy standing room only tickets and stand up over the right field wall and watch the game. When we moved down, we stood down there to watch the rest of the game. The Orioles were losing 5-3 when we got down there, but we had a feeling something would happen. They hit a home run in the 7th to make it 5-4, and then a 2-run double in the 8th put them ahead for good. We were surprised how loud the fans got and felt that they were the most involved fans so far. The park was beautiful and it was a really enjoyable place to watch a baseball game. If you’ve never been there, I’d recommend stopping by if you’re ever in the area.

Game Result: Orioles win 6-5
Record: 3-3

Day 6 - Cooperstown (Baseball Hall of Fame)

Start: Weedsport, NY
Stop: National Baseball Hall of Fame Museum Cooperstown, NY
Finish: Dunmore, PA

Today we woke up in our nice hotel (thanks Dad!) and ate breakfast around 10 AM. We got back to our room, packed up and headed to the place where baseball players strive to end up: Cooperstown.

We pulled in to the city with storm clouds looming heavily overhead. The final "Hall of Fame Game" was to be played today (Cubs vs. Padres), but it ended up being rained out. The place was so crowded because of the game, we had to park a half of a mile away from the museum. It was all good though because the walk gave us our exercise for the day.

We went into the Museum and were awed by all of the baseball history that was contained in that one building. The first thing we did was go to the room that has the plaques of all the Hall of Famers. I found it amazing that people could be so good at playing a simple, fun game. For example, Nolan Ryan struck out 5,714 batters in his career, which are 1,000 more than any other player in history. It was awesome to see all of the greatness contained in one room.

Next, we went to all the exhibits that chronicled the history of baseball. Baseball was officially invented in 1836. People hit a ball with a stick way before then, but that year was the first year that someone made rules to go with their game. Baseball finally evolved into the basic game we see today in about 1900. That’s when the game saw their first star, Honus Wagner.

In between viewing exhibits, we went outside to a vendor to get something to eat. During the time we were eating outside, it began to rain as hard as I have ever seen. Then it started to hail a little bit as we were trapped under an awning. The weather was absolutely crazy today.

We went back to view more history of the game and finally called it a day after about 4 hours at the museum. We left around 5 to head towards Pennsylvania. Once we got there, we decided to treat ourselves to Chili's (thank you Hill Family!). We then checked in at the hotel and now we are about to go to sleep!

All in all, it was a good day because of all the things we learned about baseball’s past. It was also a cool to see all the greatness that baseball has created. We can’t wait to see more baseball history made on the rest of our trip.

Day 5 - Toronto

Start: Novi, MI
Stop: Toronto, ON –Rogers Centre – Chicago Cubs vs. Toronto Blue Jays
Finish: Weedsport, NY

Today we left the Carson residence at about 8:20 AM in order to make the 1:07 start in Toronto. Unfortunately, we didn’t make it to the game on time because traffic in downtown Toronto was absolutely ridiculous and parking was a nightmare. That didn’t start the experience in Canada off too well. We finally got to the stadium in the 3rd inning and basically climbed a mountain to get to our seats. The steps in the upper deck are the steepest in all of Major League Baseball. When we walked in, they were closing the roof because of some oncoming rain. After watching a little bit of the game, we went down to the concourse to buy some food and our souvenirs. There was no food unique to Rogers Centre, which was kinda crappy. The souvenirs were a bit pricey but I got a really nice pin. Jason has been getting a bat keychain that is supposed to be at every stadium, but it wasn’t at this one. Also, they ran out of programs, which was ridiculous.

After getting mad in the concourses, we found some open seats in the outfield and took in some of the game. The fans were in the game as much as they could be in a 7-1 shellacking. When an ump missed an obvious call in the 9th inning, a fan screamed ‘Hey ump! I got your cell phone! It’s got 3 missed calls!’ Everyone clapped and gave the fan support, which I found hilarious. After the game concluded, we got out of the stadium and started heading back to our car in the parking garage. Halfway to the car, it started pouring rain, so we had to run back in flip-flops. We exited the garage and pushed our way through an hour of traffic in downtown and finally got on our way back to America.

At the US-Canada border, the officer was suspicious that we came all the way from Texas to go to a Toronto Blue Jays game, which was funny. Eric explained our trip, he checked the trunk, and then we left. We finally got to the hotel at around 10 and flicked on the Lakers game. What a day!

Game result: Blue Jays lose 7-4
Record: 2-3

Day 4 - Detroit

Start: Greenfield, IN
Stop: Detroit, MI – Comerica Park – Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Detroit Tigers
Finish: Novi, MI

After the game on Friday night, we got in the car and headed towards Indianapolis to stay at my fiancée’s apartment with her and her roommate. Unfortunately, Indy is 4 hours away from St. Louis, and in the Eastern Time Zone. So we got to her apartment at 3:30am and promptly got our stuff together and went to bed. We woke up around 8am, had breakfast with Rachel and her roommate at McDonald’s and headed off to Detroit to make it to the 3:55pm game at Comerica.

This was the second game we would be attending with a bigger group than just the three of us. Our aunt and uncle and their family, as well as our grandpa and grandma, met us at our aunt and uncle’s house. Our uncle was able to get very good seats to the game, so we were able to enjoy the game from 5 rows behind the Tigers’ dugout. We got there in time to see the Dodgers batting practice, but it wasn’t very flashy. We figured they may have been practicing opposite field hitting or something, because we didn’t see any go over the fence.

We have all been to Comerica Park before, so we were familiar with the park and with the area. Kyle wasn’t overly impressed with the park in the preview a few weeks ago, but once we got there, he seemed to change his mind a bit. There’s something nice about a downtown ballpark, and Comerica is definitely a downtown ballpark. You get to see all the fans walking to the game and all the local businesses showing support for the team (including a church sign near the park that says “Pray for the Tigers here!”). Inside the park was also nice. The scoreboard wasn’t anything to write home about, but we may have our standards too high after seeing the new high-definition board at Kansas City. The stadium was packed (sell-out game) and the fans were very into the game. It certainly helped that team was winning, but we were still impressed with the level of fan interest and knowledge.

The Tigers took the lead in the fourth inning, scoring six runs to make it 7-4. They allowed more runs, but never gave up the lead. Fan favorite Pudge Rodriguez went 3-4 and Miguel Cabrera and Marcus Thames both hit home runs.

We had a good time with our family there as well. Our youngest cousin, Evan, had just come from a picnic and he got his face painted to look like a tiger, in hopes that he could get up on the video board at the park. He didn’t get on by himself, but when the woman sitting in front of us held up a poster with something written on it, he got up next to her and got on the board for a second. We also got him to go talk to Paws, the Tigers’ mascot. Paws autographed his program and he took a picture with the four of us.

After the game, we went out for food at a Greek restaurant, which took a while because we had a big party, but overall, it was pretty good. We had the saganaki, which is usually a flaming cheese dish, but they didn’t set it on fire at this restaurant. My lamb chops were excellent. After dinner, we went back to our aunt and uncle’s house, and Kyle, Jason and Alex (our cousin) went outside to throw a ball around. It was late, but they had a light so we could see everything. At one point, Jason was standing in front of my car, because they were throwing in that direction, and he was in charge of keeping a ball from hitting it. So then the ball got thrown very quick in that direction, and Kyle couldn’t make the catch and Jason wasn’t paying attention, and when he looked up and saw it, he stuck his bare hand out on instinct and it bounced off the heel of his hand. Jason immediately went down, wincing in pain. It got swollen fairly quickly, but it looks like it’s just a bad bruise and nothing’s broken.

All in all, we had a good time with our family in Detroit and were very appreciative that we got to spend the day with them at the game as well as dinner and our post-dinner activities. We then went to bed to get up for our trip across the border.

Game Result: Tigers win, 12-7
Record: 2-2

Day 3 - St. Louis

Start: Columbia, MO
Stop: St. Louis – Busch Stadium (III) – Philadelphia Phillies vs. St. Louis Cardinals
Finish: Greenfield, IN
Today began a crazy 36 hour stretch in which we would drive for 10 hours while attending 2 games. We woke up around 8 AM in order to take advantage of the free breakfast in our hotel. After eating we went back to our room to lie down and get prepared for our tough times ahead.
We checked out at noon, but still had about 4 hours to waste in Columbia. We took Eric around the Mizzou campus because he had never been there before. We showed him where we will be living in the fall (Mark Twain Hall), the famed University of Missouri columns and the new journalism institute that will be opening next year.

After going to Mizzou, we found a park where we could play baseball. We got Eric running around which has been one of our goals in the time he has spent with us. Some of us (Kyle and I) made some great diving catches and plays, while other people (Eric) gave a nice effort but didn’t quite make as outstanding plays. I am just kidding, of course.

We then left Columbia to head to St. Louis for our next game. I had high hopes for the stadium since it is fairly new (2006) and I wasn’t disappointed from the outside because it was very beautiful. However, the park was in a pretty trashy part of town which did not help my feel for the park. We went to the home plate gate to meet one of Eric’s teachers from college, Don Bagert, and his friend, Charlie. We then trekked to our $32 seats in the upper deck near the left field foul pole. These outrageous ticket prices pretty much summed up the pricing around the stadium ($28 dollars for a baseball????).

Once we got to our seats, the promise I saw on the outside of the park quickly faded. The scoreboard did not have much good information on it, we could barely hear the announcer’s dull voice and the pump up tactics usually seen in MLB ballparks could not be found here.
The experience was not all bad, though. Eric and Kyle had the toasted ravioli and they both enjoyed it. I had a bratwurst which was very juicy and very tasty. Also the park was just as beautiful inside as it was outside. View our Flickr profile for a closer look at the stadium.

Finally, time to talk about the crazy game we saw. It started good for the Phillies, scoring 3 in the first inning. However, they would not slow down there. Philadelphia then blew the door off of the game in the fourth inning, scoring 9 runs. They ended up winning 20-2, which was pretty awesome for us to see even though we were cheering for St. Louis. We got to see back to back to back homeruns by the Phillies which was also pretty special. Although Kauffman Stadium was better overall, the New Busch Stadium wasn’t too shabby!

Game result: Cardinals lose 20-2
Record: 1-2

Day 2 - Kansas City

Start: Ottawa, KS
Stop: Kansas City, MO – Kauffman Stadium – Kansas City Royals vs. Texas Rangers
Finish: Columbia, MO

Today we woke up at around 9 AM and got ready to leave the hotel at 10:30 AM. After the hour drive, we arrived at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, MO. As we were driving towards the parking lot, Arrowhead Stadium popped up out of nowhere. It is truly a sight to behold. Kauffman Stadium, which is right next to it, is not so bad itself. There is currently construction going on at both Arrowhead and Kaufmann, which kind of took away from the experience. However, when the construction is complete, the stadiums will both be better for it. Kauffman is getting wider concourses, which is a must. I described them as ‘cozy,’ which is the nice way to put it. Also, they are finally getting outfield seats, which will make it feel more like a major league stadium.

When we entered the park, we went to our seats in the left field corner. The Rangers were warming up right below our seats, so we took that in for a while. Then, we went and stopped by the pro shop to buy our daily souvenirs. Jason bought a mini-bat keychain, Eric bought a program, and I bought a Royals pin. Then, we scouted out the concessions around the lower concourse and decided to get some classic KC food: barbeque. As we sat in our seats, the Leapfrogs from the Navy did a short show. They are parachuters who do stunts as they glide to the ground. One was wearing a Royals jersey, which made the fans there happy. The show was really cool, and they topped it all off with flying the plane over really low.

When the game started, Eric, Jason, and I were very excited to see the Rangers starter because it was his first major league start. All in all, he had a pretty good game. He gave up 4 runs on 2 home runs in 6 innings, which gave him a no decision. In the 8th inning, the Rangers took the lead, 5-4. Then, in the bottom of the 8th, the Royals got 2 runs off of our bullpen and went on to win the game, 6-5. The fans there were pretty fun to be around, and they seemed to be interested in the game. A couple behind us were joking with us all game, which was fun, even though the guy was a University of Kansas fan. They were quite vulgar, too.

This stadium visit was fun and relaxing, just what you want in a baseball game. The facility could be nicer, but they are working on that. I give Kauffman Stadium a passing grade!

Game result: Rangers 5, Royals 6
Record: 1-1

Day 1 - Oklahoma City

Start: Cedar Hill, TX
Stop: Oklahoma City, OK – AT&T Bricktown Ballpark – Oklahoma Redhawks vs. Nashville Sounds
Finish: Ottawa, KS

We woke up at 5am to leave town early enough to avoid the traffic and get to Oklahoma City in time for the 11:05am start. We avoided the traffic so well that we got to Oklahoma City around 9:30, and the stadium gates didn’t open until 10am. So we bought our tickets (field level, 3rd base side between the dugout and the net behind home plate, 10 rows back) and wandered around outside for a bit until the gates opened. It was a field trip day, so there were a lot of young kids there from schools and day cares, and they all got Lunchables (we, unfortunately, had to pay $4 for a soda and $4 for nachos). We had planned on bringing drinks in, but when we got there, we found that they don’t allow outside food or drink inside the stadium, which is much more restrictive than most of the major league stadiums we’ll be going to.

Once we got inside the park, we went to our seats, then got up to check the park out. We first went to the gift shop, where I got a hat, and Kyle and Jason got the first of their round of souvenirs. We decided we wanted to get one (cheap) thing at each stadium. Jason is getting keychains, Kyle is getting pins, and I’m getting programs to keep score of the game. Jason got a keychain bat, Kyle got a Redhawks pin, and I got the “program”, which was just two sheets of paper: a roster for both teams and a scorecard. I’m hoping the other programs are more substantial, but at least this one was free.

Jason found a game where you can throw four balls and it shows you how fast you pitched. He was throwing in the upper 50s and touched 60 on the last pitch. After that, we wandered to the first base side to check out the rest of the park. We were stopped by some promotion people to participate in one of the mid-inning games. Minor league games, unlike Major League games, have contests and games between innings to keep people entertained. We got to do the “build-a-burger” game. They rounded up another kid and split us into two teams (me and Kyle against Jason and the other guy, Dillon). We then split up and went down to the two dugouts. Kyle and I were hanging out in Nashville’s dugout and got to see a former Ranger (Laynce Nix) walk by a couple of times. Between the top and bottom of the fourth inning, we ran out on the field to play the game. The way it works, is both people on the team have a big bun costume on. At the start of the game, both “buns” run down the foul line to a “plate” near home plate and a pile of burger toppings (including tomatoes, but none of us got salmonella). So I flopped down on the “plate” while Kyle ran back and forth, grabbing one topping at a time and putting it on top of me. Once he finished adding the toppings, he jumped on top to complete the burger. Unfortunately, Jason’s team beat us, and we walked off the field. It was still pretty crazy and pretty fun.

After the burger game, we got some food and changed seats so we were out of the sun. We sat behind home plate, about 15-20 rows back. There were some scouts sitting in front of us, and it was interesting to see all of them raise up their radar guns when certain players were pitching (some of the younger players for the two teams, not the Sounds’ washed-up Jeff Weaver). We also think we may have seen Matt Harrison’s (the starting pitcher for the Redhawks) fiancée, because she was wearing an engagement ring and was yelling “come on, baby!” a few times, only when he was pitching.

The lead changed a few times throughout the game, and we got to see a few of the Rangers’ good prospects play some pretty good ball (Warner Madrigal finished the game with 1.2 IP and no runs allowed, pitching up to 96mph, John Mayberry, Jr. went 3-4 with 3 doubles, and Harrison got his first win in AAA), and the Redhawks ended up winning 8-6, so I’d say it was a successful day.

Game result: Redhawks win, 8-6
Record: 1-0 (we’ll keep track of the record of the team we’re rooting for, which will usually be the home team or the Rangers/Rangers minor league team)

Stadium Preview #10

Stadium: Progressive Field (formerly Jacobs Field)
Date Opened: April 4, 1994
Date of Visit: June 23
Game: San Francisco Giants vs. Cleveland Indians


Jacobs Field was one of the wave of stadiums built in the early 90s (Oriole Park, Rangers Ballpark, US Cellular Field) and is just as interesting as the rest of them. It was ranked as the best ballpark in a 2008 Sports Illustrated poll, mostly due to the atmosphere and promotions. We'll be able to experience the whole atmosphere, as we'll only be a few hours away the night before and can get there early. Also, the game we're going to has a Travis Hafner mini-bobblehead as a giveaway, so that makes it even better.

The teams haven't been doing so well this year, but it will be a good place to go see a game. It's one of the few games where we're sitting in the outfield, so there should be some colorful characters to make the game interesting. This is also one of the last stadiums we're visiting, but it's after a few days rest, so we should be energized and ready to go for the last leg of the trip.

Stadium Preview #9

Stadium: PNC Park
Date Opened: April 9, 2001
Date of Visit: June 22nd
Game: Toronto Blue Jays vs. Pittsburgh Pirates

Looking at the picture to the right, it is pretty evident that PNC Park is one of the most beautiful parks in the major leagues. The park is across the 3 rivers from Pittsburgh's downtown area which creates a stunning view from the ballpark. Our seats (which are located on the first base side thanks to Grandpa Brynsvold!) will give us a great view of the river, skyline, scoreboard and field!

Although this game will be a bit of a yawner, the park will more than make up for it. Because I am a Steelers fan, I hear about all the great stadium food in Pittsburgh, so this day will be good for us to try some nice food.

The giant scoreboard in left field is one of the biggest and best in the MLB so that is a big plus. Also, there is a concourse in the outfield that you can walk on to get a great view of the downtown area without the stadium blocking your view.

All the way around, this stadium should be one of the most picturesque and enjoyable of the whole trip.

Stadium Preview #8

Stadium: Nationals Park
Date Opened: March 30, 2008
Date of Visit: June 21th
Game: Texas Rangers vs. Washington Nationals

Nationals Park is a brand-new state of the art facility, replacing RFK Stadium as the National's home park. The stadium is simply beautiful. From the 101x47 ft HD scoreboard to the cherry blossoms behind the left field bleachers, everything in this place just screams 'awesome.' I can not wait to walk into this masterpiece of a building.

When we arrive in our nation's capital, we'll be taking in our second Rangers game of the trip, which makes this visit even more fun. That is, of course, if they win. We will be sitting right next to the Rangers bullpen, so we can talk to CJ Wilson, Eddie Guardado and the gang.

Flashy Nationals Park is just one of a slew of new ballparks that have opened or are opening in the next few years. Citi Field (Mets) and New Yankee Stadium (Yankees) are set to open next year, and the unnamed Twins Ballpark is set to open in 2010. The A's and Rays both have proposed stadiums set to open in 2012 and the 'Miami' Marlins will have a new stadium in 2011.

This game will be fun not only because the stadium is great but also because it is a Rangers game. Can't wait to get to DC!

Mailing List

As we go along on our trip, we'll be updating this blog daily. But, if you want a note in your inbox reminding you of this daily, we can add you to our mailing list! Email me at fightingengineer@gmail.com and I'll add you to the list. The daily email will likely be a link to the blog and a link to our Flickr photo album for the day as well as a short message.

So send an email to fightingengineer@gmail.com if you want to be kept updated throughout the course of our trip.

Stadium Preview #7

Stadium: Fenway Park
Date Opened: April 20, 1912
Date of Visit: June 20th
Game: St. Louis Cardinals vs. Boston Red Sox

Almost 100 years after it was constructed, Fenway Park is still going strong as one of the best and most unique stadiums in all of baseball. It has seen its share of changes, from adding seats to the famed Green Monster to adding thousands of seats around the park since its opening. This stadium is the crown jewel of Boston for good reason: it has everything you would want in a classic stadium. It has history, crazy quirks, interesting seats, and a great team to play in the stadium.

Every way you turn in Fenway Park, something catches your eye. Whether it is Pesky's Pole, the Green Monster, the press box, or the triangle, this place is just an amazing facility dripping with history. We will be sitting in the new 'roof seats' in foul territory next to right field, which will be good because these seats are more comfortable than the original seats closer to the field. Those seats were definitely built for a 1912 American, not a 2008 one.

The fans are very much connected to the team, which will be a fun experience for us since the fans in Arlington do not have much to cheer about (although we are hovering around .500 this year!). Also, seeing Manny Ramirez in front of his home crowd will be electrifying. Too bad David Ortiz won't play in the game since he just got put on the DL.

This stadium visit will be the most memorable in my eyes not only because the stadium is just simply amazing, but also because the game will be a good one. St Louis is a premier team in the NL, and likewise, Boston in the AL. This interleague matchup should be one of the best played games of the trip.