-Homer Simpson, while at a baseball game sober
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I graduated from Michigan in 2001 and moved out to Boston with my buddy Walter shortly after. Near the end of that summer, the 2 of us decided to meet up with 4 of our Detroit friends (Matt, Joe, Dave and Chris) in Pittsburgh so we could take in a Pirates game at their new ballpark. It was kind of in the middle of our 2 cities, so we all could drive there . . . and then we all got stupid drunk. Just like that, a tradition now known as The Baseball Trip was born. And for the last 11 years, we've been meeting up once a year at various ballparks, so we can enjoy America's Pastime in a new venue. At least that's what we tell people. The reality is that it gives us an excuse to get back together once a year, get loaded, and act like we're still in college - girlfriends, wives, babies, travel distances, maturity be damned. Of the 6 of us, MAYBE 3 of us care about baseball (me being one of those. Anyone else excited to see Brad Pitt in a movie about baseball statistics? I AM!).
Different people have joined and ditched the trip at various points through it's 11 years, but the Original 6 still remain, and we'll keep going as long as humanly possible. Granted it may now be just a 3 day weekend like it was this year in Minneapolis, as opposed to the 9 day, 4 city excursion we took back in 2002, but The Trip lives.
The Trip itself has now been to 27 different venues, but I had been to Toronto and Cleveland on my own. So for me, I only had the Mets left on my list. And this Saturday, I took a bus down to NYC to meet my friend Aaron, and we crossed off the final franchise on my list.
I use the word "franchise" because I can't technically say I've been to every team's current home ballpark. Over the last 11 years, multiple team's have built new stadiums, and 1 has even moved to a new country. These new stadiums give us a great excuse to keep the trip going, as the number of possibly immature adventures continues to grow. But the spirit of the every-ballpark mission has been accomplished. And frankly, I would have rather of been to the ones I've been to than the current 30 because while a lot of the new ones are nice, they lack the character of the older ones (and even the semi-older shitty domed ones).
So 30 franchises, 30+ ballparks. ESPN has it documentary series called 30 for 30? Well, here's 30 pictures and 30 very short stories about my own 30 adventures, capped off by the weekend trip to Citi Field in Queens. Some stories are about the parks, but most are about the journeys in and around the parks. Hopefully all are at least slightly amusing.
Continued after the jump
Tiger Stadium / Comerica Park
My very first memory EVER was in 1984. The Tigers were in the World Series, and the Tigers WON the World Series (27 years later and still waiting). But I remember them winning, and I remember running around the house like a kid that just had 3 Red Bulls. It's a great first memory to have. So even though I may follow college football and the NFL more these days, I'll always have a place in my heart for baseball and for the Tigers. I'm been to Tiger Stadium more than any other park, so when they finally decided to tear it down, I HAD to have a pair of the seats they were selling off. So these lovely ladies currently sit in my living room, acting as the chick magnets that they are.
PNC Park (Pittsburgh Pirates, 2001)
The start of the tradition. Also, the start of us always choosing the cheapest seats we can possibly get. Note the Rick Mirer Notre Dame jersey on Chris. The one thing that most stands out about this first trip was the 2 mile walk through an industrial area we made to get to a nudie bar (one of only 2 we've been on during the trip). That, and the fact that I talked our way into the Igloo, where the Penguins play, by sweet talking to guy at the shipping dock. We went into the completely empty arena and got to walk on the concrete where the ice typically would be.
Fenway Park (Red Sox, 2001)
Back in 2001, the Sox were a decent team, but not the juggernaut money-maker they are today. That first year Walter and I were out here, we went down to Fenway for 3 straight games in September against the Tigers and got tickets no problem (unfathomable today with the existence of Pink Hat Nation). For the Saturday game, we went early for batting practice (Nate Cornejo is warming up here, in the bullpens, which, fun fact, have tomato plants growing in them). At one point, Jose Lima (Lima Time!) was warming up, and since I was wearing a Tigers shirt, he gave me his warm-up ball. I ended up getting it signed by him and one of those 1984 heroes, Lance Parrish (who was a coach for the Tigers at the time). A few years later, my grandpa ended up dying at the ripe old age of 98. He was the biggest Tiger fan I knew. One of those old timers that would rather sit in his apartment and listen to Ernie Harwell on the radio than actually watch the game on TV. Anyway, when he died, my dad asked if he could have the ball to place in his casket. That was about as big of a no brainer as they come. If heaven exists, when Jose Lima died last year, I hope he and my grandpa had a chance to meet up and discuss their connection with the ball . . . and Lima's unacceptable ERA.
Olympic Stadium (Montreal Expos, 2002)
Ahh, the best-worst stadium we've been to. Please, go read it's Wikipedia page. Learn about how it didn't actually get finished until 11 years after the 76 Olympics. Or how it's cost about $1.6 billion up till now (about 10x what they planned) thanks to numerous structural failures. Or how they can't even implode it due to mass transit around the stadium (it would instead cost $700 million to remove it piece by piece). Instead, please enjoy this picture of Chris, driving a high top van through Montreal while watching Girls Gone Wild.
Yankee Stadium was a hole. It was a run-down piece of crap in a shitty neighborhood. Easily the most overrated stadium we've been to (and I'm sure I have no Boston bias whatsoever). But, NYC did give us the most impressive hotel stay. You see, despite being 31 years old now, we still pack upwards of 7 guys in a single hotel room. By now, it's just tradition. That year, we had 9 guys on the trip, and in NYC, it meant sneaking 9 guys past a doorman and an elevator guard up to a single room with just 2 room keys . . . and we did it. But sleeping accommodations?
Oriole Park at Camden Yards (Baltimore Orioles, 2002)
This is the only park I still don't have my ticket stub for, and here's why. It was a sparsely attended game, and there were multiple rain delays. During one delay, one of our trip-mates decided to toss his glass pint bottle (hooray for no pat downs!) from the second level seats to the concourse below. It broke. Shortly after, a security guard came up to our section and said "someone said they saw a guy in a red shirt throw a bottle down." Luckily that trip, we all decided to get matching red shirts with a team logo. Thus, we were all booted, and our tickets were taken from us. So we got tossed for 1 broken bottle . . . but not for the fight that one of Original 6 got into with some townie (kind of seen below).
Veterans Stadium (Philiadelphia Philles, 2003)
Walter and I got to Philly around 5:00, after driving from Boston . The game was at 7:00. At around 6:30, we get a call from the other guys driving from Detroit that their van died 60 miles west of Philly. So, just before the first pitch, we got to drive 60 miles west to pick them up, only to drive back 60 miles and get into the stadium during the 7th inning. Luckily, that meant we got there JUST before beer sales were cut off. Thus, it gave someone the mental strength to hump the statue outside the stadium. (NOTE - I am the official photographer of The Trip, but, the standard rule is that nothing incriminating ever leaks out. Nothing ever gets posted on Facebook. Thus, faces and names are redacted where appropriate. But if your know the 6 of us, it's not hard to figure out who is who).
Great American Ballpark (Cincinnati Reds, 2003)
Someone decided it would be a good a idea to buy a children's Reds cheerleader outfit and wear it as a top. That same person decided it would be a good idea to eat his ticket with mustard and to hit the Reds mascot in the groin. That same person posed for perhaps the most iconic Marylin Monroe-esque picture ever taken on The Trip. (NOTE - in addition the the cheerleader top, that is a Quebec flag being worn as a skirt. He also had a mohawk that trip).
Wrigley Field (Chicago Cubs, 2004)
Wrigley's nice . . . . but it's no Fenway. The Wrigley bleachers are a bar. The Fenway bleachers are a bar . . . where people can actually tell you the score and various batting averages. Our group got split up for this particular game. 5 went to the bleachers. Chris and I sat behind home plate, This was Chris's view (obstructed view my ass). Then we went back to the room and got hammered on 40's and someone called his girlfriend so that he could BARK "I love you" to her over and over again.
Metrodome (Minnesota Twins, 2004), Target Field (2011)
Meh, there's not much to say about the Metrodome. Go read about our trip to the new Target Field in Minneapolis in this post instead. But at least here's a pic with Chris and a sausage outside the stadium.
Miller Park (Milwaukee Brewers, 2004)
There's NOTHING better than drinking beers in the sun during an afternoon baseball game, and one of the Original 6 likes to take that to the extreme. At this game, he got nice and loaded while shirtless in the sun for 3 hours. He pretty much had to be carried back to the hotel. Afterwards at 5:00 or so, most of the Original 6 went to the local Indian gaming establishment. Day Drunk went to bed at 5:00 and didn't wake up until the next morning.
Cellular Field (Chicago White Sox, 2004)
The Red Sox played the White Sox. Curt Schilling threw a complete game shut-out for the Red Sox. When I can remember these type of details about the game, it means the stadium was pretty unmemorable.
Kaufman is the most underrated stadium around. The majority of you reading this have probably never even heard of it. There's nothing that particular stands out, but when we left, we all had the same thought of "Wow, I did not expect that to be that nice." So much so, that I'm willing to discuss the actual stadium in this section. Oh, and they have troughs in the bathroom. ALL stadiums, new and old, need to have troughs. And no, there's nothing creepy at all about a guy taking a picture of his buddy pissing in a trough.
Busch Stadium (St Louis Cardinals, 2005)
Below is a shot of Captain Gritty David Eckstein getting mobbed after hitting a walk-off grand slam to beat Chris' Braves. I think he cried. The worst part of this Missouri trip was that we drove through nothing but dry counties on our way back to Indy, where we were staying for the last night of the trip. Luckily, our friend Mary was about an hour away and became the trip hero by stealing hero parents liquor like a 15 year old and driving it down to our hotel. And good times were had by all.
I've got the Camden ticket stub...muahahahahaha
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