MLB stadium tour: 30 games in 30 days

[zuty]

Hi there... I'm a baseball nut. I play OOTP (which brings me to this board), but I also thrive on real life baseball during those glorious six months of the year.

This year, I am considering a crazy road trip, during which I would see one game at each of MLB's thirty stadiums over a course of thirty consecutive days. Each day, a new city, a new stadium and a new game.

I've been scoping around the 'net, hoping to find some data on other crazy people who have tried this, or better yet, succeeded. I can't find anything.

Has anyone ever done this? Do you know where I could read about their adventures?

Am I nuts? Or would a trip like this be worth it?

Feel free to drop me an in-board PM, or send a real message to 30games30days at gmail dot com.

Thanks!

(P.S. I posted this in two locations here [only two!], because I wasn't sure which was more appropriate... please don't flame me!)

[Tony M]

Originally Posted by zuty

Each day, a new city, a new stadium and a new game.

Surely, it would make a bit of sense to find when say the Cubs have a home series followed by a White Sox one or vice versa, and the same with the Mets and Yankees and the same with the Angels, Dodgers, Padres, and the same with the Giants and Athletics. I know that doesn't give a new city everyday but it would cut down on travelling costs.

Are you flying between all the venues?

And you won't succeed in 2008 in visiting all the parks MLB teams play MLB matches in unless you start in Tokyo...

[Terpripken]

Originally Posted by zuty

Hi there... I'm a baseball nut. I play OOTP (which brings me to this board), but I also thrive on real life baseball during those glorious six months of the year.

This year, I am considering a crazy road trip, during which I would see one game at each of MLB's thirty stadiums over a course of thirty consecutive days. Each day, a new city, a new stadium and a new game.

I've been scoping around the 'net, hoping to find some data on other crazy people who have tried this, or better yet, succeeded. I can't find anything.

Has anyone ever done this? Do you know where I could read about their adventures?

Am I nuts? Or would a trip like this be worth it?

Feel free to drop me an in-board PM, or send a real message to 30games30days at gmail dot com.

Thanks!

(P.S. I posted this in two locations here [only two!], because I wasn't sure which was more appropriate... please don't flame me!)

There is a great book you should consider reading called The Summer That Saved Baseball.

http://www.amazon.com/Summer-That-Sa...9365093&sr=8-1

The two authors were featured in Mastercard commercials a few years back. It gives a lot of useful information about each city and stadium, as well as some of the issues they ran into. A great read. Perhaps a bit outdated with the new parks that have been built since 1998, but a fantastic read nonetheless.

[AnotherAlias]

Originally Posted by zuty

Hi there... I'm a baseball nut. I play OOTP (which brings me to this board), but I also thrive on real life baseball during those glorious six months of the year.

This year, I am considering a crazy road trip, during which I would see one game at each of MLB's thirty stadiums over a course of thirty consecutive days. Each day, a new city, a new stadium and a new game.

I've been scoping around the 'net, hoping to find some data on other crazy people who have tried this, or better yet, succeeded. I can't find anything.

Has anyone ever done this? Do you know where I could read about their adventures?

Am I nuts? Or would a trip like this be worth it?

Feel free to drop me an in-board PM, or send a real message to 30games30days at gmail dot com.

Thanks!

(P.S. I posted this in two locations here [only two!], because I wasn't sure which was more appropriate... please don't flame me!)

Sounds awesome! First off, I give you a lot of credit for unveiling your issues in public like this. We don't always run across people that are willing to air their dirty laundry about their own personal strife in life. Addmission is the first step towards recovery, you know.

I remember when I first realized I had a baseball jones. It wasn't pretty. I had to be straightjacketed and chained to a wall in a padded cell. At least, that's what it felt like when Mom took away my TV and my firstbaseman's mitt for the very first time. It was punishment for staying up late watching a Cubs/Dodgers game in LA, when I was five. (...watching the Cubs at any point in one's young life should be considered punishment enough, IMHO)

Nevertheless, I survived that first sentence and I decided to turn the TV set down and put a towel under the door, so that no light could filter out into the hallway. No harm, no foul.

Anyway, sounds like a noble trek that you are about to embark upon. Just make sure that you have a laptop or some way of updating this thread with the details about your venture.

Good luck!

[Tribe Fan 24]

Originally Posted by AnotherAlias

Just make sure that you have a laptop or some way of updating this thread with the details about your venture.

Good luck!

I second this statement, we need to see pictures as well!

Good luck!
Kevin

[ctorg]

I did once go to a site of a guy who visited every minor league baseball stadium (as of somewhere in the mid-1990s), but I can't seem to find that. It took him two years, I believe (there are quite a few).

[ctorg]

By the way, I thought this would be appropriate for Talk Sports, so I merged it with the OT thread.

[AnotherAlias]

Originally Posted by ctorg

By the way, I thought this would be appropriate for Talk Sports, so I merged it with the OT thread.

Excellent!!!



+1

[woodfeld]

Zuty, As someone who has (sort of) accomplished what you are looking to do, let me give you my background story and advice. I started doing an annual baseball road trip with friends from college and it has been one of the highlights of my life. Last year was the 4th year we've done it and I look forward to it more than just about anything I've got going for me. Plenty of inside jokes and funny stories will come out of this if you're doing it with friends. First off, we haven't been as ambitious as you in doing all 30 in 30 days (mainly because we had just graduated from college when we started this and thus had little money, but the logistics were a pain to figure out for one week, let alone a month). So here's what we've done...

2004 - 5 stadiums in 7 days - Minnesota, Milwaukee, Cincinnati, St. Louis (Busch Stadium II), Chicago Cubs (Logistics didn't work out for us to see the White Sox as well, they were away from Comiskey all week) - Trip was a blast and cemented our status of doing this every year going forward. We had 2 days off between Minnesota (Saturday) and Milwaukee (Tuesday) since most teams don't play on Mondays and they didn't play in Milwaukee on Sunday. We had to hightail it to get to Chicago from St. Louis since it was a day game at Wrigley, so we had to nurse our hangovers on the 4 hour drive.
2005 - 7 stadiums in 7 days - DC, Pittsburgh, Philly, NY Mets, Boston, NY Yankees, Baltimore - This was by far the most draining trip since there were no days off between games, but was where we started to perfect our craft of these trips. We didn't go out on the town afterwards too hard until the last night in Baltimore, so we were able to get out of bed in most cities quite easily. We also did a ballpark hot dog rating contest at the end after we all had hot dogs at each park (Baltimore won, though the Shea dog was rated highly too). Yankee Stadium had the best looking girls by far was the post trip consensus as well.
2006 - 7 stadiums in 9 days - Seattle, Oakland, San Fran, LA, Arizona, San Diego, Anaheim - The most fun trip by far since we had anywhere from 3-7 of us on the trip (friends living on the west coast only did part of the trip at different times). We also camped in northern CA on our drive from Seattle to the Bay Area because it's such a long drive and it ended up being a highlight of the trip. Southern CA (especially San Diego) had the best Mexican food I've ever eaten and that was good since Mexican is my favoirte post-bar food.
2007 - 5 stadiums in 7 days - Houston, Texas, St. Louis (Busch Stadium III), Kansas City, Colorado - We put a lot of miles on the odometer for this trip, and really, there was very little chance of us doing this with any less than 2 days off since we would go out on the town after the games and there were such long drives between cities. This was also the BBQ trip as we had BBQ in each of the cities (except for Colorado, but we also pit stopped in Memphis for BBQ), we concluded Houston had the best BBQ.
2008 - College World Series - Initial plans are for the CWS this year since we are all Univ of Michigan grads and UM is a favorite to make it to Omaha this year.

Tips I have - get cheap seat tickets. It's the experience you're doing this trip for, not to be super close to the action, plus it saves you money. And you can meet some "characters" in the bleachers. Make sure you leave yourself plenty of time to get to the next city. You'll have to check in at the hotel and probably shower/unwind for a few minutes and you don't want to be rushing to the stadium. If you are hellbent on doing all 30 in 30 days, I would probably look to fly for some of the cities as Seattle and Colorado aren't really close to any other of the cities. If you are not planning on going out in the city after the game, I guess it's feasible to wake up extremely early and drive. #1 thing I learned - get reacquanted with old friends that live in or very near one of these cities so you can crash at their place in exchange for a free ticket to the game. 1 $15 ticket sure beats 1 $100+ hotel room. Plus you have someone to catch up with at the game if you haven't seen them in a while. If you have any other questions or tips you'd want, just let me know. Most imporantly, have fun and enjoy it! And take lots of pictures.

[Jonzard]

The best advice I can give is to please take me.

[rudel.dietrich]

I really should have done something like this in college
Like woodfeld I did make a few long trips to several different cities but never all 30 teams in 30 days
Just planning out the logistics of something like that would be daunting

Flying would make is easier but would also add in delays and perhaps canceled flights which would ruin the entire plan.
And driving around the US is just fun.

Maybe in the next few years when I build up some vacation time I can take a month or two off and do something like this.
It would be one of the highlights of my life

[Zoso1515]

I don't like baseball.

[zuty]

Originally Posted by redsoxford

Surely, it would make a bit of sense to find when say the Cubs have a home series followed by a White Sox one or vice versa, and the same with the Mets and Yankees and the same with the Angels, Dodgers, Padres, and the same with the Giants and Athletics. I know that doesn't give a new city everyday but it would cut down on travelling costs.

Are you flying between all the venues?

And you won't succeed in 2008 in visiting all the parks MLB teams play MLB matches in unless you start in Tokyo...

Absolutely this makes sense... The trouble is that the schedule doesn't allow for such conveniences -- not when you have to go to all the other cities in between.

The 30-day route I have mapped out is only able to pull off back-to-back in one city with Chicago; the Mets/Yankees are split up by a week, the A's/Giants have a lengthy trip to Seattle and back in between... The whole route is actually doable by car (I wouldn't be able to afford to fly to all the cities) with enough time to get to each new stadium with several hours to spare. (Of course, we'd have to find friendly folks in each new town to let us shower and refresh ourselves, but that's part of the adventure!)

...and no, I'm not planning to go to Tokyo. I'm talking the actual MLB stadiums.

Thanks for your ideas...!

[pfreek11]

When I was 12, my dad and I went to 21 MLB games in 18 different stadiums in 28 days (plus the MLB, NFL, NBA, & NHL Halls of Fame). I believe I've written a thread about it, though it may have been lost in the crash we had a long while ago. I will look for it and post the link if I find it. Otherwise, it may merit another synopsis...

[zuty]

Originally Posted by woodfeld

Tips I have - get cheap seat tickets. It's the experience you're doing this trip for, not to be super close to the action, plus it saves you money. And you can meet some "characters" in the bleachers. Make sure you leave yourself plenty of time to get to the next city. You'll have to check in at the hotel and probably shower/unwind for a few minutes and you don't want to be rushing to the stadium. If you are hellbent on doing all 30 in 30 days, I would probably look to fly for some of the cities as Seattle and Colorado aren't really close to any other of the cities. If you are not planning on going out in the city after the game, I guess it's feasible to wake up extremely early and drive. #1 thing I learned - get reacquanted with old friends that live in or very near one of these cities so you can crash at their place in exchange for a free ticket to the game. 1 $15 ticket sure beats 1 $100+ hotel room. Plus you have someone to catch up with at the game if you haven't seen them in a while. If you have any other questions or tips you'd want, just let me know. Most imporantly, have fun and enjoy it! And take lots of pictures.

Thanks for these comments -- extremely helpful.

I've thought about trying to fly to some of them, but I think that would take away some of the adventure... I've actually figured out a schedule that is completely driveable (including Colorado and Seattle!), but it would no doubt be exhausting. I'm thinking of making this a four-person journey, trading off driving and sleeping in the car (driving at night AFTER a game will create far fewer traffic headaches). Having friends in each city is a reasonable idea, especially now with online networking and whatnot opening up new social avenues to meet people.

...thanks for your ideas...!

[pfreek11]

Found it...

http://www.ootpdevelopments.com/boar...ad.php?t=97938